Phew, for a minute we wondered just who was making the decisions in the 808 State camp. Throughout the summer, all over Europe, dancefloors have been trampled to the sound of 'Cubik', which originally appeared as an extra track on their 'Ancodia/Cobra Bora' early in the year. 'Cubik' went unnoticed here initially, but the sheer momentum of its thunderously heavy intro was too great to resist and it was soon entrenched as the rave tune of the summer. Imagine our surprise, then, when advance copies of a different track - 'Olympic State' - appear on the Dance desk, which by all accounts is nothing more than an atmospheric album track. Surely they couldn't be considering releasing this wimp of a tune in favour of 'Cubik'? Some frantic action on the telephone put our (and thousands of others) minds at rest. 'Olympic State' was merely an attempt to bolster Manchester's bid to host the 1996 Olympics and was not intended for full release. 'Cubik' is to be the next release, so you can stop wasting your money on expensive imports on Tommy Boy and finally crank up the volume of the hardest and heaviest house noise this year. At least it would have been the hardest and heaviest had they not taken so long in doing what appeared obvious to the rest of us. Now their thunder might be stolen by the likes of 'Total Confusion' by A Homeboy, A Hippie And A Funki Dred or even Fabio & Grooverider's 'Rage'. Still, there's nothing like a bit of competition is there?

Tim Jeffery