The Shamen (/ˈʃeɪmɛn/ SHAY-men) were a British psychedelic band,[1][2] formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, Scotland, who became a chart-topping electronic dance music act on the UK Singles Chart by the early 1990s.

[citation needed] When rapper Mr. C joined, the band moved on to international commercial success with "Ebeneezer Goode" and their 1992 Boss Drum album.

By mid-1987, frontman Colin Angus was discovering the sounds of early house-music pioneers,[4] such as S-Express and M/A/R/R/S, and increasing his knowledge of the latest studio equipment.

By September 1987, the Shamen were applying these techniques to their own music, mixing rock guitars, techno and hip-hop rhythms and sampled radio voices, which was to prove influential to groups like Jesus Jones and EMF.

Their single "Christopher Mayhew Says", released in late 1987, was their first to experiment with beat machines and samples, fused with their psychedelic rock sound.

Help was at hand from the Glaswegian Will Sinnott (23 December 1960 – 23 May 1991), aka Will Sin, who joined the group in October 1987, on bass and keyboards,[4] freeing up Angus to handle vocals and guitar.

"Knature of a Girl" was the first record by the Shamen to feature Sinnott, but it was not until June's "Jesus Loves Amerika" single that the techno influence began to show.

[4] By this stage, Angus and Sinnott had become hooked on the acid house movement taking place in London, and its music and clubs were to exert an influence on the pair.

1989 was a busy year, as they set out on their Synergy tour, a nightclub experience,[4] combined with live music from the Shamen and others like Orbital, and with DJing from Paul Oakenfold, Mixmaster Morris, Mr C, and Evil Eddie Richards.

Also notable was the appearance of rapper, DJ and producer Mr. C, as well as incorporation of a female vocalist, Plavka Lonich – who was intended to become the focal point of the group.

With Mr. C now a full-time member of the Shamen, and Soul Family Sensation's[nb 1] Jhelisa Anderson[9][10][11][12] (who was chosen to replace Plavka, as she was already a One Little Indian artist) providing guest vocals, the Boss Drum album followed in 1992.

[4] Boss Drum featured a spoken-word collaboration, "Re:Evolution" with Terence McKenna, and the Shamen's biggest and most controversial hit: "Ebeneezer Goode".

The tracks "Boss Drum", "LSI (Love Sex Intelligence)", "Phorever People", "Ebeneezer Goode", and "Re:Evolution" were all released as singles in their own right.