As a group which mainly specialized in a hybrid of house and techno music, 808 State was, at least in its first half-decade, highly enigmatic. After its first release, the tracky, deep acid house collection Newbuild, it avoided the clichés of each genre, and consequently never produced anything that fit comfortably into those styles, or into any others, for that matter. When the products of this labor were coherent, evocative songs that morphed, unfolded, and refolded upon themselves like self-aware works of sonic origami, any unfamiliar aesthetics in them were easy to regard as sheer creativity, examples of a higher order of synthesized dance music. Sometimes though, the results were churning, bombastic messes of percussion and melody working in competition rather than harmony, leading the listener to wonder if a techno band ever need consist of more than two or three people. The ability of the group to straddle this artistic boundary, erring just on the side of creativity, is perhaps never more apparent than in Quadrastate, a 5½-track mini-album released in 1989. It was a stark departure from Newbuild, instead opening with loon calls, melodic synthesized pads, and of all things, a saxophone solo. Ordinarily, none of those things would bode well, but with the addition of a battery of clever drum programs, a manic bassline, and a suspenseful breakdown, the lead track, Pacific State, was an instant classic played by every forward-thinking house DJ, and then some. Licensed by ZTT, mildly remixed and released as just Pacific, the song was a UK Top 10 pop hit. The rest of Quadrastate was further left-of-center, a set of densely arranged, not-so-radio-friendly material more for the DJs and collectors, but no less adventurous or melodic than Pacific. The hopping, skipping Disco State is almost fully techno, but is built on disco-style octave basslines and seems to be a favorite of my friends despite being the weakest song on the release for me. The strongest track for me is Fire Cracker, a tune which dramatically emulates its title with every instrument while somehow remaining both listenable and danceable, an astonishing feat still unrivaled two decades later. The repetitive State Ritual alternates an ultra-hypnotic casade of staccato flute samples and multiple rolling, roiling basslines against incessantly hammering drum programs, easily earning the title of the busiest, noisiest proto-trance track of its day. State To State is an uplifting, anthemic epilogue reminiscent of State Ritual. By the end, one wants to hear it all over again.

An interesting feature of this 12" is that the labels contain detailed composer credits (whereas following releases only state "all songs composed by 808 State"). As with many producer teams, the combination of influences and characteristics is what makes the sound unique; none of the producers alone would have got there. But I also often feel that there's one crucial person in a team and only if he's present, things are certain to turn out right. Judging from this 12", in the case of 808 State this person must be Martin Price for me.
"Disco State" has an absolutely timeless sound and an incredibly bouncy bassline that amazes me every time - it's by far my favourite track on the record. "Fire Cracker" is interesting, too, though; it still doesn't sound very dated, though it was pioneering in its use of breakbeats when it was released.
On the other hand: Too much Masseyism, as in "State Ritual", can get severely on my nerves.

This marvellous EP has colaboration of Gerald Simpson, the same producer of A Guy Called Gerald. The seminal classic 'Pacific State' changed the conception of dance music with its unique textures. Later another version, 'Pacific 202', the same of the 'Ninety' LP, was released. This original 'Pacific State' is a bit more groovy & dancefloor than the jazzy '202'. Their work was a mélange of breakbeats, melodic textures and synths , EBM influenced timbres (like '106'), experimentalism, which put 808 State at the forefront of the dance music of that time. The only other track that appear on the american album is 'State to State', but it is another version. This EP goes into a more experimental way than their first album. It was recorded on Spirit studios, Manchester, from november 1988 to march 1989. The 'Firecracker' has a breakbeat base, announcing their future musical direction.

The track that projected 808 State higher - 'Pacfic State' is the shining star on this release. However, check 'Disco State' for it's Detroit Style percussion, killer bassline and catchy riff.