Lime (band)

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Lime was a Hi-NRG group from Montreal, Canada during the 1980s. The group comprised of husband and wife, Denis and Denyse LePage, although two younger and more attractive singers, Joy Dorris and Chris Marsh, were chosen to tour and appear as the act. They are most noted for their songs "Angel Eyes" (1983) and "Your Love" (1981 #1 US Dance).

1 Music career
2 Later Years
3 References
4 See also

[edit] Music career

Lime can rightly take credit for influencing the underground dance records that would come to be known as House Music. One listen to the duo's "Lime 3" album leaves little doubt, as the rafter-shaking kick drum of the TR-808 and the "303" basslines (in their "undistorted" form - see Acid House) that bind the album are definitely standouts for the time. Through Lime's discography, one can trace the evolution of the Studio 54-era disco to the type of deconstruction that would serve to identify House music and its subgenres. To understand House Music, one must first understand the concept of "deconstruction", and its evolution as a valid production technique on dance-oriented records. Lime had albums spanning the exact years in the early to late eighties that deconstruction was revolutionizing urban music in general, and revitalizing the Disco that clung to life in urban Black and gay and Puerto Rican clubs. To understand how "deconstruction" applies to a slab of disco vinyl, one needs a little primer on the genre: Perhaps following the placement of a "bridge" in a classic pop record (after the second chorus), a typical disco record would feature a "breakdown section" after its second chorus. The many recorded tracks forming the mixed arrangement would be deconstructed, often so that only the drums, vocal, and/or bassline could be heard, and then reintroduced dramatically. This served a dual purpose by forcing the record to a climax and also providing a place for the dj to begin mixing-in the next record to be played. In the years that Lime was active, it became conventional for the breakdown to be signaled by a drum or percussion "fill". Precedent for experimental use of the breakdown itself was Jackie Moore's classic 1978 disco record "This Time Baby", which featured a breakdown right at the beginning of the record, something Lime's "Angel Eyes" hit also would showcase. Contemporaniously, streetcorner DJ's were experimenting with taking only the "breaks" (the rhythmic instrumental sections that often served as the "bridge" in an R&B record) and reassembling them without the other elements of the record's arrangenment (i.e. "breaking it down"). The resulting tracks became known as "Hip Hop" and "MC's" (Rappers) stepped in to occupy the space left by the absence of what many thought was "the music". Back to Disco:

With a record such as Lime's "Angel Eyes" it would be easy to mistake a breakdown-and-rebuild for the normal introduction of the song. John Morales/Sergio Munzibai, mixers of the record, placed an eltronic drum "fill" right at the start of the song: exactly the device used previously to signal the breakdown section occurring in the middle of a hi-nrg record. It was a not-so-subtle way of saying that Lime's records would be sounding a little different from now on (and certainly the record in question!). Perhaps influenced by the non-linear productions of John Robie in New York (see "Freestyle"), Lime and M&M (as Morales and Munsibai were known) one-upped the others by effectively breaking down "Angel Eyes" so much that it is almost impossible to tell when the record is in full swing. It seems as if no element in the song's arrangement goes without at least one "solo". It becomes apparent after repeated listenings that the record is continually being deconstructed throughout its mix. The presence of both the chanted verse and the swooping, infectious, and anthemic chorus of that record leaves little doubt. however, that there is indeed a song going on, as opposed to a cut-and-paste "Dub" version. Follow-up cut "On the Grid" would feature some of the sparsest arranging Mr. Lepage had yet offered, and none of the string/synth laden "schmaltz" that had defined their earlier cuts. This constitutes a "turning point" in mainstream dance music. Together with New Order's "Blue Monday" (or more correctly it's B-side dub version "The Beach"), and Madonna's under-produced, almost-punk "Into the Groove", Angel Eyes is part of a trinity of high profile records that echoed what was going on throughout the "hip hop" culture at street level - structure and ornamentation were "out", and less was becoming more.

[edit] Later Years

Lime's star would slowly diminish through the rest of the eighties as the Lepages allowed themselves to be creatively distanced from the recordings and started to view "Lime" as product rather than a band. They would eventually relenquish vocal duties and even production responsibilities as the sales began to decline and the group appeared to lose its direction. By the dawn of the 90's, the group was all washed up.

After some hard times that saw him signing over rights to the "classic" Lime's royalties(1), Denis LePage released a new Lime album entitled Love Fury in 2002, although it didn't gain much success. It was enough to give them a rise in popularity. They have since became to tour again, this time, themselves, not attractive models who were just there for show.