Song To The Siren


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Song To The Siren is a song by The Chemical Brothers written in October 1992. It was their first single.

Background and recording
Recorded in October 1992 in Tom's bedroom using a Hitachi hi-fi sampler, a computer, an S1000 sampler and a keyboard with no effects.

The song's title is copped from the This Mortal Coil song (which itself is a cover of the Tim Buckley song).

Samples:

 * "Song of Sophia" by Dead Can Dance
 * "God O.D." by Meat Beat Manifesto
 * "King of the Beats" by Mantronix
 * "Tuck's Theme" by Bill Deal & the Rhondels

Single
The track was first released on a very limited pressing of green label records in 1992. This was made possible by a 300 pound loan from a friend, who was promised 10% of all future earnings made by the pair if they weren't able to pay him back in six months (they managed to pay him back in time, to the misfortune of the friend). It was released on "Diamond Records", Tom and Ed's own label named after Ed's then-nickname, Diamond. This record was single sided and often featured Ed's phone number handwritten on the label. This record was repressed as a double sided vinyl, with the same label in a run of 500 copies.

Later, when Tom and Ed were picked up by Junior Boys Own, the label reissued the single in early 1993 on a black and white label record featuring two long remixes from The Sabres of Paradise.

Album
Song To The Siren next made an appearence on Exit Planet Dust as a live recording taken from a rare pre-Exit Planet Dust gig at Sabresonic in March 1994. This version is shorter, lacks the "yeeees" and longer wail samples in the original, and uses a different structure.

Compilations
The original single version was released on CD on the JBO Perspective 88-98 compilation. An edited version similar to the original single version was later included on Singles 93-03.

Versions

 * Song To The Siren (from the original single) - 4:49
 * Song To The Siren (from Exit Planet Dust, recorded live) - 3:16
 * Song To The Siren (from Singles 93-03) - 4:30

Remixes

 * Song To The Siren (Full Sabre Mix) - 10:46
 * Song To The Siren (Sabre 100% Chunk Mix) - 9:26

Live
Being their first record, Song To The Siren has been played live from the beginning. It has traditionally been played alongside Leave Home, either directly after its performance or mashed up with elements from it. From 1995-1997 the song was played fairly similar to its original version, with some changes resulting in a more intense second half. In 1997, the "rock the house in" vocal sample from The Chemical Brothers' Voodoo People remix was added to the mix. It transitioned into Three Little Birdies Down Beats after this.

In 1999/2000, the song was played after Block Rockin Beats and remade into an intense minute-long blast of percussion and siren samples. This was expanded in 2002 into a proper two-and-a-half minute track, with a teasing breakdown intro leading into the pounding second half. It transitioned into Under The Influence after this.

Its last appearance was during the 2005 shows, when it was snippeted alongside Leave Home as a percussion breakdown bridge between Block Rockin Beats and Come Inside. The percussion was completely changed and the siren/wailing sounds were used more as effects rather than as part of the structure of the song.