808 State's Lopez

Taking a brief respite from their usual thumping, propulsive stylings, acid-house pioneers 808 State in 1996 decided to venture briefly into the then-burgeoning trip-hop genre with the laid-back, chilled-out 'Lopez'. Featuring classic existentialist-angst lyrics from Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield (who also lent his distinctive vocals to this superior slice of electronic melancholia), evocative synth tones and a clean, precise drum n' bass-derived backbeat, 'Lopez' remains one of the more underrated gems in the veteran Mancunians' extensive repertoire. Check out the panoramic video clip, shot on location in an undisclosed, eerily deserted seaside resort somewhere in Central America.