ESG (US)

The story of ESG is one that gives them a place in three different musical histories – House music, Hip-Hop and Punk. A unique position, to which no other band can rightfully claim. Their first single summed this up perfectly: “Moody” soon became a classic prototype early House track in New York’s thriving underground Disco scene after its release in 1981. The B-side, “UFO” became one of the most sampled tracks in the history of Hip-Hop. The single was produced by Martin Hannett and initially released on Manchester’s Factory Records, reflecting the beginning of a point in time when Punk groups in England such as A Certain Ratio and New Order were becoming interested in Black America dance music.

ESG hail from the South Bronx and began as four sisters (Renee, Valerie, Marie and Deborah Scroggins) forming a group encouraged by their Mother, who thought music was a good way to keep them out of trouble whilst growing up. “In the mid-70’s we were young girls growing up in the projects. It was pretty rough around that time and a lot of girls were getting into trouble, or getting pregnant. My mother, who was an office clerk, knew we wanted instruments. It was a struggle for her but she managed to scrape up enough cash to buy them for us. It kept us busy and off those wild streets. While the other kids were hanging out we were at home creating new music”.

The story of ESG begins at this time when, as a group of teenagers, they entered a talent show in New York. They didn’t win but one of the judges, Ed Bahlam, had thought them incredible and would become their manager/producer.
Shortly afterwards, ESG found themselves booked to open a gig for A Certain Ratio, who were in New York to record their “To Each” LP for Factory Records. Tony Wilson, who ran Factory records, saw the gig and was suitably impressed with ESG to offer to release a single by them. Three tracks “Moody”, “You’re No Good” and “UFO” were recorded in New York and then mixed and produced by Martin Hannett in Manchester. Martin Hannett, who was producing many of the Factory artists such as Joy Division, Durutti Column and New Order, gave the music a very sparse raw sound that suited the music perfectly, a sound that the band has kept to this day. The three songs were released a 7” single by Factory in 1981.

This is the environment in which ESG found themselves at the beginning of the 1980’s and it is from this starting point that the importance of the band can truly be seen. ESG were courted by the established punk/new wave community. They were flown in to play the opening night of Factory’s Hacienda in Manchester.

In New York they also found themselves popular in the dance world. “Moody” is listed in the top fifty all time classic tracks in the following New York clubs: Paradise Garage; The Gallery; The Warehouse; The Music Box and The Roxy! Larry Levan got them to play the closing night of the Paradise Garage (where bands hardly ever played live). During one week long booking ESG played alongside Grandmaster Flash and The Clash on the same bill.

At the heart of Hip-Hop is the break. As Renee states “I’d turn on the Rap hour and I’d hear this continuous thing where “UFO” was going on and on in everybody’s record”. And it was! Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, 3rd Bass, LL Cool J, Marley Marl, Doug E Fresh – everyone sampled ESG. The sparse drum and bass sound and distinctive vocals made ESG one of the most sampled groups ever. The distinctive intro to “UFO” was endlessly used.

In 1983 ESG released their first full LP “Come Away With ESG”. Originally released on 99 Records and produced by Ed Bahlman, the record included ten new songs as well as a new version of “Moody”. It was around this time, however, that 99 Records’ trouble began. The fact that ESG had been managed by Bahlman as well as being on 99 Records, effectively put a temporary halt to their career. It would be a few years before they would record again.
ESG resurfaced for a number of small-label releases during this period and their records continued to be played in clubs by many supporters, especially House DJs such as Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage. These small independent releases, however, were not able to sustain the same amount of attention as the earlier releases and went relatively unnoticed.

Throughout the ’90s, ESG’s stature as an influential group began to rise, with groups like the Beastie Boys and Luscious Jackson citing them as a profound discovery. The value of the group’s rare early releases responded in kind, which was remedied somewhat by the UK’s Soul Jazz label. A South Bronx Story, a compilation that included all the group’s best material, was released in 2000. The renewed interest helped lead to another resurfacing that culminated in a 2002 album, Step Off, for Soul Jazz. With a revamped line-up that included Renee’s daughter Nicole and Valerie’ s daughter Chistelle, Step Off was met with the consensus that the group had picked up exactly where it left off.