Sine -

Sine was a soul-funk project headed by American producer/keyboardist Patrick Adams, who used the moniker for the 1977 Prelude album Happy Is the Only Way.

Background

Sine was the brainchild of Patrick Adams, a prolific New York keyboardist and producer.

Adams was born Patrick Peter Owen Adams on March 17, 1950, in Harlem, New York. He lived near the Apollo Theater, where stage manager Pete Long let him attend dress rehearsals and observe the theatre orchestra. Adams also played keyboards in The Sparks, a Harlem group that auditioned for the Apollo’s 1968 community stage production Listen, My Brother.

Adams entered the Today/Perception circle after he presented demos of Black Ivory, a Harlem vocal trio. As their manager, he produced and arranged their 1972 Perception release Don’t Turn Around. He worked on their subsequent three albums and 1973–75 titles by Ace Spectrum, The Brockingtons, Executive Suite, and Sister Sledge.

He departed Perception in the mid-Seventies and launched Patrick Adams Productions Music, an umbrella for multiple concurrent studio-based disco projects, including Cloud One, Bumblebee Unlimited, Universal Robot Band, and Sine.

Happy Is the Only Way

Sine released their debut album, Happy Is the Only Way, in 1977 on Prelude Records.

The album presents electro-disco workouts from Patrick Adams, who arranged the five tracks with chant phrases, rubbery synth figures, and piano-led instrumental passages.

“Happy Is the Only Way” glides through a nonchalant refrain with sharp upper register. “Chimi” revs with the same wheeze-toned figure through a clipped vamp. “Just Let Me Do My Thing” chatters across a rhythmic pattern with direct vocal command. The longer pieces reserve break-space where chant-and-response phrases overtake central figures.

A1. “Happy Is the Only Way” (7:40)
A2. “Chimi” (6:13)
A3. “Just Let Me Do My Thing” (6:52)

B1. “Keep It Coming” (11:58)
B2. “Mosquito Walk” (5:26)

Sessions occurred at at Minot Sound Studios in White Plains, where Adams produced the album in sequence with titles by Art Webb, Caress, and the Universal Robot Band.

Happy Is the Only Way shows a seated woman on a red stool against a blue backdrop.

CBS issued “Just Let Me Do My Thing” as a May 1978 UK single backed with a disco version, which reached No. 33 during a nine-week run on the UK Singles Chart. In September 1978, CBS/Prelude issued “Happy Is the Only Way” as a UK single (b/w “Chimi”).