Liquid’s Sound & Eamon’s Spirit: Culture Turns 30
August 30, 2025Article by Peri Siolis (aka GLOWKiD)
Released on 24th July 1995 via XL Recordings, ‘Culture’ was Liquid’s debut full-length album, and a defining moment in UK Dance music.
Fused with elements of deep house, early trance, piano-driven breakbeat and progressive rhythms, it landed at a pivotal time.
In a post-rave world where genres were diverging, ‘Culture’ offered a unifying sound. It resonated with both mainstream and underground audiences and caught the attention of key players of the time as some tracks from the album were remixed by the likes of Tall Paul and Way Out West, who brought their own progressive and club-ready interpretations to Liquid’s emotional core. At the time, NME called it “sophisticated, soulful techno”, while Mixmag praised how it “works beautifully.” Nearly three decades later, the record still surprises with its emotional depth.
Above board, ‘Culture’ is lush storytelling and a journey that captures the shifting spirit of a genre. Among the highlights are tunes like:
‘Liquid Love’ – the opener of the album with warm pads and breakbeat precision has that cinematic sense setting the mood for what follows. ‘One Love Family’, featuring IGad on the vocals, blends Balearic energy with John Themis touching flamenco guitar riffs. It was no surprise that Mixmag named it a Single of the Week that time.
‘Liquid is Liquid (Journey Into Dub)’, reworked by Red Jerry of the Hooj Choons fame, stretches out rave-era themes into a dub-inflected emotion. ‘Closer’ delivers percussive clarity and emotional drive. ‘Rise’ is a euphoric union of house and early trance, overflowing with uplift. ‘Drug Culture’ sets a moody attitude with haunting synths and a feeling of comedown contemplation. Additionally, ‘Snowstorm’ and ‘Mist’ both dive into ambient introspection, revealing a deeper side of Liquid.
Liquid Eamon Soundcheck – Brainstorm, Salonica, Greece 2016
Co-founded by Eamon Downes and Shane Heneghan, Liquid burst onto the scene in 1991 with the iconic ‘Sweet Harmony’, a timeless rave anthem built on CeCe Rogers’ ‘Someday’ and layered over breakbeats. Originally pressed on 500 white label copies, the record exploded, leading to a full release on XL Recordings and embedding itself into UK club history.
Some essentials of the group’s early work (e.g. ‘The Future Music EP’, ‘Time To Get Up EP’) were collaborated with producer Jezz Wright at Blockhouse. These formative recordings cemented instantly Liquid’s status as an innovating rave act. After Shane Heneghan’s departure, Eamon Downes continued Liquid as a solo project, pushing the sound further with releases like ‘Time to Get Up’ and ‘One Love Family’ (both Mixmag’s Singles of the Week).
After ‘Culture’, Eamon kept evolving. In 2017, he teamed up with Sanxion (a.k.a. Mark Coupe) to make a big studio return. First, he released ‘Energy Flows’ on Music Mondays, the label run by his good friend Billy Daniel Bunter. This sophomore Liquid album presented 12 standout tunes marking a mature return where rave spirit meets club wisdom. That was followed by the harder-edged ‘Spacemonkey’ (2019) and ‘Lethal’ (2021) – both released on Kniteforce Records. The latter one pushed beyond genre lines, capturing a sound that was both timeless and forward-thinking.
Aside of these, Eamon also explored music beyond the dancefloor. Together with Mark Coupe, they formed the award-winning Clerkenwell Sound Collective, composing for TV, film, and advertising. As composers, they crafted high-quality, emotionally resonant scores across multiple genres, further proving their versatility and creative ambition. That purpose never left him – whether in rave production, radio, or cinematic score. And then, just days before the 30th anniversary of ‘Culture’, came the news no one was ready for. The world lost Eamon Downes, and the sad news came early of the week from Billy Daniel Bunter on Instagram.
Liquid & GLOWKiD – Brainstorm, Salonica, Greece 2016
On a personal note, I first saw Eamon Downes playing a Liquid live set in 2012 at Plissken Festival in Athens. A year later, I had the honour of interviewing him for the Strictly NuSkool Blog, followed by another in-depth talk in 2016 this time in person and on camera, at Brainstorm event in Salonica, Greece, just after his explosive set.
He was my first ever video guest – and that moment stayed with me. All the laughs and good chat we had off the camera too. A year after in 2017, he joined me once more for a radio special this time featuring an interview among an exclusive Liquid guest mix – broadcasted on Planet Rave Radio on behalf of his studio return with the ‘Energy Flows’ album.
Culture – tracklist
Eamon Downes loved Greece and the Greek crowd has been loving him back just as much. He played around Greece so many times and his records were embraced by fans of different types of electronic music. We had stayed in contact all these years. He was always kind, with a unique sense of humor.
One year, I shared with him that I had to put all music side of things on hold for a while due to my MSc in Economics. His reply just struck me.
”Ah, congratulations on the economic studies – thats amazing man, don’t want distractions when you’re doing that”
It was short, sincere, thoughtful and the type of message that showed his kindness, authenticity and generosity.
We will never forget a legend like Eamon. A legend in and out of music.
Rest in Harmony, Eamon Downes (Liquid)
