Troop Groop

Troop Groop Unearths Previously Unreleased Remix from 1990

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Before Troop Groop took an extended breather, they had been working on a much-anticipated followup to their debut album, Fribbles & Giggles. The band completed only three tracks towards that effort, the first of which was the quirky, sinister single, I'll Light A Match To You in 1989. In the course of their travels, Jay and Dave had met up with a local producer TMC, otherwise known as "The Musical Congress", who had a home studio up in Torrington, Connecticut. TMC listened to everything the band had at the time, and invited Troop Groop to the studio to remix or otherwise re-record a song. The song he chose, was I'll Light A Match To You. We believe this meeting took place in the early winter of 1990.

Troop Groop and TMC worked late into the night, laying down all the tracks to the new version of the song. They did the vocals in one take. The band actually intended to go back and re-record the vocals, but never did. The times being what they were, there were many external demands on the band which eventually put a halt to their recording altogether. But they left the studio that night with a mixed-down version of the song on a cassette tape. The tape was only heard by a few people, and the song never saw general release, that is, until now.

While searching recently through the archives of tapes, band member Dave stumbled upon the one existing copy of the TMC Remix to I'll Light A Match to You. He promptly digitized the recording, and the band are now making it available for the first time in nearly 25 years. Due to the age of the tape, the sound quality has degraded some, but the song itself rings out as a strong pop tune. It's dark, brooding undertones stand in contrast to the aggressive drums and percussion. It's Troop Groop at their height at the turning of a decade. It truly is a product of it's time.

"The song is like a bridge between the old and the new," explains Dave. "When we recorded that version, it raised the bar. We knew there was no going back to 8-bit preset sounds, that we were going to have to step up our game. Our new single Nuclear Betty Ford closes the loop with what we started with I'll Light A Match To You. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to have worked with TMC, for allowing us to dream a little bigger.'