Operation Blade (Bass in the Place)

"Operation Blade (Bass in the Place)"
Maxi-CD cover artwork
Single by Public Domain
from the album Hard Hop Superstars
Released20 November 2000
Genre
Length
  • 8:22 (original mix)
  • 3:07 (radio edit)
LabelXtrahard
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Mark Sherry
  • Alistair MacIsaac
  • James Allan
Public Domain singles chronology
"Operation Blade (Bass in the Place)"
(2000) 		"Rock da Funky Beats"
(2001)
Audio
"Operation Blade" (7-inch radio edit) on YouTube

"Operation Blade (Bass in the Place)" (also titled "Operation Blade (Bass in the Place London)") is a hard techno song by Scottish electronic group Public Domain, written and produced by the group's three members: Mark Sherry, Alistair MacIsaac, and James Allan. It samples the remix of New Order's song "Confusion" by Pump Panel, which was featured in the 1998 superhero horror film Blade, the source of the track's title.[2] "Operation Blade" is also based on the theme to the 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner.[3][4]

The song was released on 20 November 2000 as Public Domain's debut single. On 26 November, it debuted at number five on the UK Singles Chart and stayed at that position for another week. Throughout December 2000 and early 2001, the track charted in at least 10 other countries, peaking within the top 10 in Australia, Austria, Germany, and Norway. It was also critically successful, with British publication NME calling it "hardcore brilliance". In April 2001, it was included on Public Domain's only studio album, Hard Hop Superstars.[5]

  1. ^ Twan Van Loon (15 May 2019). "The story behind "Public Domain – Operation Blade" by Mark Sherry!". LinkedIn. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  2. ^ Stavenes Dove, Siri (17 February 2001). "Stots" hard house enters the Public Domain" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18, no. 8. p. 7. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  3. ^ Roth, Harold (25 November 2000). "Dance Beat" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 48. p. 19. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  4. ^ Roth, Harold (27 January 2001). "Dance Beat" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18, no. 5. p. 38. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Public Domain – Hard Hop Superstars". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 August 2020.