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The White Room The KLF
As an ardent Heavy Rock fan, you might be surprised to find The White Room in my collection, but it is one of my favourite albums of all time.

At the time, I had no idea what Stadium House or Ambient House music was, and to be honest, I still have trouble with the differences between House and Garage music. I just knew that I liked some of The KLF’s songs, and most of those were listed on the track list of this album.

Pidgeonholing and labeling aside - this record was released at the peak of The KLF’s popularity, having just released the single “Justified & Ancient” with Tammy Wynette. The single peaked at #2 in the UK single charts, but this album is a complete departure from the radio-friendly commercial material that The KLF had been releasing.

Perhaps as a departure from the commercial world that Caulty & Drummond aped so much (to the point where they were to eventually delete The KLF’s back catalogue and burn the £1M royalties they still had remaining). This album is a mixed selection of ambient chill-out and loud ‘Stadium House’ - House music mixed with crowd noises and a large ambiance, making the music sound as if it was being played in a large stadium.

I remember being somewhat underwhelmed by the album, as the versions of the chart songs I was familiar with were different. In fact, if you’re used to the source material and listen to the album with those expectations, it feels like a collection of outtakes and ‘b-side’ mixes.

However, for some strange reason, I keep coming back to this album…
You can only listen to it as an album - individual tracks flow into each other, and the vocals reflect various themes across songs - prominently the Justified & Ancient melody, which opens the album, and also features on track 7 “No More Tears”.
Unlike a lot of music from the late 80’s/early 90’s, this album still sounds as fresh as ever. I know it’s a cliche, but it’s true… Perhaps because it is so unique it has stood the test of time.

Lyrically, it is nothing clever, witty or cerebal, but musically it is something else.

I’d highly recommend getting this album, listening to it a couple of times, and then leaving it alone for a couple of years - putting it on when you’re a bit bored with your record collection and rediscover it as opposed to just listening to it.