This way: Insect Love
A.R. Kane (sometimes AR Kane or A.R.Kane) is an English musical duo formed in 1986 by Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala. After releasing two early EPs to critical acclaim, the group topped the UK Independent Chart with their debut album 69 (1988). Their second album, "i" (1989), was also a top 10 hit. They were also part of the one-off collaboration MARRS, whose surprise dance hit "Pump Up the Volume" was released in 1987. Ayuli coined the term "dreampop" in the late 1980s to describe their eclectic sound, which blended elements such as effects-laden guitars, dub production, and drum machine backing. The group broke up in 1994. Though their work fell into relative obscurity in subsequent years, they have been characterised by critics as among the most innovative and underrated groups of their era, and recognised as an influence on styles such as shoegaze, trip hop, and post-rock. In 2012, One Little Indian released Complete Singles Collection, which compiled the group's single and EP releases.
Tambala briefly reformed A.R. Kane from 2016 to 2018 with Maggie Tambala and guitarist Andy Taylor but without Ayuli. This reformation was later spun-off as its own band, Jübl, which has since released two singles and a studio album.
Ayuli and Tambala first met as school children in an East London primary school. Ayuli is of Nigerian descent, while Tambala was born to a Malawian father and English mother. Both were involved in formative and culturally diverse music communities as adolescents, with Ayuli part of a dub soundsystem and Tambala part of a jazz-funk scene. In 1983, Ayuli became an advertising copywriter, one of few black creatives working in the London ad business. The two were both inspired by a mid-1980s Channel 4 performance by Cocteau Twins; Tambala explained: "They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and Liz Fraser looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin [Guthrie]'s guitar! That was the 'Fuck! We could do that! We could express ourselves like that!' moment."
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