In 1988, and 89, Jasper Van’t Hof’s Pili-Pili was a big tune. Originally released in 1984, it was very likely a spin at Ibiza’s Amnesia, the official birthplace of The Balearic Beat, but personally I associate it with dodgy South London dos, held during the UK’s Second Summer Of Love. Shindigs such as the Fascinations bashes at Bonnies, in Catford, and The Downham Tavern all-dayers. Parties populated by pilled-up working class kids. A generation promised nothing but the dole and dead ends on a brief drug-driven getaway. I must have heard it countless times. The cowbell and tribal drumming fading in like a caravan travelling toward you from the horizon. Approaching out of a heat haze on serene Serengeti savannah plain. Central to its groove is the rolling, introspective piano. Keys similar, sonically, I suppose, to Talk Talk’s Life’s What You Make It. A soaring Hugh Masekela-like horn topping it off.

An end-of-the-night classic Pili-Pili must have elicited thousands of Ecstasy-fuelled epiphanies – mine included – dance-floors full of folks, eyes closed, arms raised to the Heavens. All feeling good, feeling better than they ever have before. Warm, happy, free of insecurity, anxiety, and consequently full of bonhomie. Something that you want to share with everyone you see, and everybody – on one – wants to share with you too. Creating, if not a clarity, then definitely a calm. The chemical equivalent of a religious experience. Who was it that wisely said psychedelics are a shortcut to transcendence? It was one of those records where I watched clouds rush across a time-lapsed clear sky, in a pitch black room lit only by lasers and strobes, and lost in self-love, the Joanna pounding like ominous bells tolling, saw a movie-like montage of my story so far flash past. Life-changing for at least as long as you were listening. I, of course, had to have a copy.

To begin with I had to make do with a compilation, called Ethno Beats, where Pili-Pili was packed in with a ton of other favourites. I’m sure that all the DJs also had this comp, as everything on it – Tony Allen, Code 61, Cultural Vibe, Ofra Haza, Jhalib, Kinkina, Miriam Makeba, Monsoon, Neon, and The Unknown Cases – was rinsed at the raves I went to. I later found a 12, in Trax, on Greek Street, in Soho, and much, much later Soft Rocks’ Chris Galloway tipped me to the LP, which features a 15-minute plus version. Pili-Pili was also huge with the afro cosmic crowd, and in 1990 Italian producer Danilo Minotti put out a cover – retitled Hoomba Hoomba – under the alias Voices Of Africa. This then found its way onto the soundtrack for A Short Film About Chilling, the scene-defining documentary on Brits in The Balearics.

Suffice to say, that in my book, Pili-Pili is essential, every home should have one, and to that end NuNorthern Soul are doing a legit reissue (the album and 12 have been out of print since 1984). On the A-side of the new single is an edit from the mid-90s, which does a terrific job of tightening up the OG album mix, losing the Burundi breakdowns and fuzz guitar washes, but still rolling and building beautifully for over 15 minutes. That’s backed by a Coyote remix, which is full of subtle twists to keep old heads on their toes. The cowbell and chants are dropped into echo, the drumming further doubled by delay. Loops, filtering and phasing, adding to the track’s trance-inducing properties. The duo’s dubwise trickery pulling in favourable comparisons to Adrian Sherwood’s seminal seismic shake of the aforementioned Unknown Cases’ Ma Simba Belle.

Jasper Van’t Hof’s Pili-Pili, including the Coyote remix, can be ordered directly from NuNorthern Soul.