MARRS


MARRS was a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit "Pump Up the Volume".

History

MARRS started in 1987 as a collaboration between the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, with additional input from DJs Chris "C.J." Mackintosh and Dave Dorrell. The result was that instead of working together, the two groups ended up recording a track each, then turning it over to the other for additional input.
Of the two pieces completed, one, "Anitina", was an A.R. Kane track with drum programming by Colourbox's Steve Young. The other, "Pump Up the Volume", was a propulsive Martyn Young track constructed largely of samples, including one of A.R. Kane's guitars.
The record was released under the alias MARRS, an acronym derived from the forenames of the five 4AD artists involved in the project: Martyn Young, Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala, Russell Smith, and Steve Young.
The ostensibly double A-sided single "Pump Up the Volume" / "Anitina", released on 4AD in the UK, was to be the sole MARRS release. Only "Pump Up the Volume" gained significant attention and airplay and went on to be a #1 hit in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand, as well as a top-ten hit in several other countries.
"Pump Up the Volume" was released on 4th &B’way/Island Records in the US. Because of legal issues, some of the samples used in the original UK release of the song were removed and replaced in the US release.
It was nominated for the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, but lost out to "Close-Up" by David Sanborn. In September 1987, MARRS announced that it would not issue a follow up release. Colourbox would never reform, while A.R. Kane would continue with a hiatus period from 1994 to 2015.
Group member Steven Young died on 13 July 2016.

Discography