Chris and Cosey: ahead of the Hypnogogues

Yum -the track 'Moving Still' from Heartbeat (the post-TG duo's debut on Rough Trade) is pure Onehotrix Point Never. Slip it on Lopatin's 2010 'thank-for-releasing-all-this-stuff' wrap up album Rifts and no bugger'd notice. I'd figured C&C to be genetic dead end, just an overdue flex of the latent, sophisticated Kraftwerk muscle we all knew TG had under all that camo gear. The recent, not to mention welcome, reissue of their legacy has helped re-evaluate their place in electronic music. However, while they have been responsible for a whole clutch of nicely prescient pieces (like the aforementioned Moving Still), none were ever striking enough to leave a mark on the skin of UK dance. Influential, yes, but they lacked the revelatory glamour -the feeling of sonic/hedonistic epiphany -that acts as needle of change into music's vein. Not overground enough to disseminate widely, not coveted, cherished or jealously guarded enough to wield the aura of mystic, and, therefore, Catholic influence through awe and mystery a la Muslim Gauze/Coil etc. They just were. Thankfully, that's all we ever needed from them.