Smith & Mighty
Hailing from Bristol, Avon, England, Smith & Mighty is the recording moniker employed by Rob Smith (b. England) and Ray Mighty (b. England), who are aided in the studio by long-term collaborator Peter D Rose. They worked with Mark Stewart and Adrian Sherwood before breaking through in 1988 with two memorable cover versions of Burt Bacharach/Hal David songs, "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "Walk On By". Both were effortless, breezy interpretations of the originals, tuned up via dub and hip-hop stylings, garnished with the sensitive addition of female vocals. London Records were first off the mark in signing the duo, who had previously worked on their own 3 Stripe imprint (which also issued records like Tru Funk's "4AM (The Lucid Phase)". However, the momentum was lost when the debut album for Bristolian artist Carlton bombed. Smith & Mighty's reputation for the Midas touch was lost with that album, and in the fast-changing world of dance music they became yesterday's men. However, they persevered in relative silence (as well as fathering six children between them), re-emerging in 1994 with a new album and single, a cover version of Diana Ross' "Remember Me", featuring their new vocal discovery, Marilyn. Their highly individual breakbeat style, which remained with them over the years, was sampled on the U2 cover, "Drowning Man", while elsewhere the album contained denser material akin to the jungle movement. Underpinning it all, however, was the seismic bass that had characterized their early recordings, their philosophy on low frequency incorporated into the album's title.
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Albums
- (1999) DJ Kicks
Top Tracks
- Higher Dub
- Walk On
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