“Justified & Ancient” by The KLF
Artistically, The KLM is a counter-industry musical duo who relies heavily on their own lingo, so on and so forth. As such, trying to make too much sense out of “Justified and Ancient” could take days, i.e. an in-depth study of the philosophies of the primary artists at hand.
But ultimately what the title is meant to boil down to, most simply put, is the idea that The KLF are poppin’ artists. And being electronic musicians and all, their collaboration with Tammy Wynette, an old school singer, was an unorthodox choice, as she alludes to in the bridge. And the idea of the boys ‘driving an ice cream van’, as noted in the second and third verses, points to their unconventional sense of expression (i.e. actually using an ice cream truck to promote this song in England).
This track also sports another vocalist who was known as Ricardo DaForce, who holds down the third verse. And he drives home the idea that the main purpose of this piece is to big up The KLF (neither of whom apparently are vocalists).
Even though the lyrics are a bit exquisite, or shall we say out there as far as a dance song goes, a dance track “Justified and Ancient” is. So conclusively, pondering too much on all that’s being said, such as references to “Mu Mu Land” and what have you, is kinda beside the point.
The KLF and “Justified & Ancient”
The KLF is a late 20th century electronic music band from London whose acronym, depending on who you may ask, either stands for Kopyright Liberation Front or the Kings of the Low Frequencies. They are also known by other imaginative names, such as the Timelords or Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (aka The JAMs, i.e. the subtitle of this song). For the most part, this act consisted of only two individuals, that being Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, whose collaboration history commenced in 1987.
“Justified and Ancient” is itself a song whose origins dates back to that period, i.e. The KLF’s album 1987 (What the F–k Is Going On?). The song officially came out, via the duo’s own label, KLF Communications, on 4 March 1991 as part of their fourth studio album, “The White Room”.
This was during the group’s musical heyday, but Drummond and Cauty would go on to disband in 1992 , though they did get back together later in 2017. As such, the songs associated with “The White Room” stand as the last original music album that the KLF has put out.
The co-headliner on this track is tenured American country singer Tammy Wynette (1942-1998), who wasn’t that much older than Drummond but is still considered to be from a different musical generation than The KLF. Still this song proved to be a notable hit.
More Facts
It topped music charts in a handful of countries (including on the Canada Dance/Urban chart), reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart and breaking the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. This song has also been certified gold in Australia, New Zealand and Germany.
The vocalist on the standard version of “Justified & Ancient”, which also appears on “The White Room”, is a British reggae singer called Black Steel. So the rendition of the song featuring Tammy Wynette is actually a remix, which is entitled, in full, “Justified & Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)”. And it is this particular version that proved to be a hit.
To note, the rapper of the third verse of “Justified and Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)” was DaForce (1967-2013), another British singer who was also a regular collaborator of The KLF’s.
The KLF produced this track, with Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, both of whom are instrumentalists, also being acknowledged as its co-writers.
“The White Room”
“The White Room” was released on 4th of March, 1991 by British electronic band, The KLF.
The band holds production credits for the album while KLF Communications, a record label owned by the band, handled the task of releasing the album.
“The White Room” was originally a soundtrack album to a movie of the same name. The movie project was however abandoned due to lack of funds.
The album happens to be the final album released by the band before their retirement the following year.
In April of 2021, music streaming platforms saw the release of “The White Room (Director’s Cut)” an edited version of the album.
It earned a Gold certification from the ARIA in Australia where it peaked at No.5. It peaked at No.3 and No.39 in the UK and the US respectively.
