The third edition of bass music magazine Trap - the one that this site's editor scribes features for - is back from the printers and out now. Featuring an SR penned article on Pearson Sound's club night, Acetate, you can catch one in your local store/venue shortly (check facebook.com/trapmagazine for a list of stockists).
Other great features in this issue include P Money, Icicle and Breakage, and luckily, in this age of optimum digitalisation you can preview the issue via the widget below.
Seek a physical copy out though, the paper quality really is awesome.
David Kennedy has always been a name to follow ever since tracks like ‘Offal’ and ‘Blimey’ started to surface under the Ramadanman moniker on labels like Soul Jazz and his own co-run Hessle Audio imprint in 2008. Since then his ascension to becoming one of the most eloquent and spatially aware producers on the – for lack of a better catch all term – bass music scene has been quick and decidedly fruitful.
Any followers of our prose here will no doubt be versed in his use of powerful basslines, field recordings and his love affair with his recently acquired classic drum machine sample pack. In the tail end of last year, he really grew to prominence unleashing anthems like ‘Work Them’ on Swamp 81’ and ‘Glut’ on Untold’s Hemlock imprint; but when you consider both the fact that he released 8 singles last year (under his Pearson Sound guise - the one he’ll be using henceforth - as well as as Ramadanman) and the quality of each of them it really doesn’t come as a surprise that he’s gracing clubs the world over every weekend.
“It’s ridiculous really but hey… it’s just making the most of it,” he tells us of his constant travelling over a crackling phone line. “Especially as I’m young and energetic, I can take it a bit more than some people who’ll perhaps get bitter [laughs]. I can quite easily function on no sleep whereas I know some people for whom doing an all nighter would throw them for a week or whatever. I seem to be able to handle it at the moment…”
“I had a lot of stuff out last year so it’s gonna bit a bit quieter inevitably,” he muses when the snatched conversation turns to forthcoming material for the early part of 2011; “but I’ve got a Maurice Donovan 12 inch - the Chicago House legend is making a comeback for 2011 - that’s coming on Sssssss or whatever it’s called. Then there’s a little white label which is coming on Night Slugs in probably a month or two…”
All of this is of course in addition to his contribution to his instalment in the fabric mix series, FABRICLIVE 56, which is due out next week. It’s an impeccable mix, drawing on Kennedy’s hard drive packed with exclusive blends and unreleased productions as much as it does his current DJ sets. It’s a mix that cements his raised profile and continuing residency at the London nightclub perfectly.
In honour of his launch party for the CD, happening at fabric this Friday which features a Room One lineup to rival any club (the full Hessle Audio trio + Joy Orbison, Mala b2b Pinch, Julio Bashmore and Midland) we’ve been given 2 copies of FABRICLIVE 56 and 2 pairs of tickets to the rave itself to giveaway. More info on the event itself is available here.
To be in the running to win these prizes just email us the answer to the following question by the end of play on Thursday.
Q: David Kennedy’s club night, which he runs up in Leeds, is called what?
Please note: winners will be notified by email.
UPDATE: You can stream 30 mins of FABRICLIVE 56 thanks to The FADER.
When West Norwood Cassette Library’s debut turned up earlier this year, it presented a confusing front. Considering 2010’s growing fetish for cassettes among lo-fi circles and an increasing tendency towards nostalgia (both from the lighthearted, often throwaway output of the chillwave set, and the warped, disturbing vignettes emerging from Not Not Fun and Olde English Spelling Bee), here was a producer whose name suggested an obsession with looking backward. Hell, before spinning ‘What It Is’ for the first time I fully expected to hear beats coated with static and analogue crackle, a thin haze of distortion and perhaps some heavily reverbed vocals chucked in for good measure. That it proved instead to be a jittery, anxious take on dubstep’s mutant template was a surprise, but a welcome one; instead of taking a rose-tinted look at the past, this was an impressively futuristic statement.
Still, with the release of his last 12” – the shimmering, deep house infused ‘Mrs. Fingers’ – and now the latest, ‘Blonde On Blonde’, his name has begun to make far more sense. ‘Mrs. Fingers’ offered a vision of dubstep as derivative of early house, all delicately swirling chords and a peculiar, offset groove. It occupied much the same territory as DJ Sprinkles’ gorgeous, elegiac Midtown 120 Blues album, examining the past with an emotive, if time detached, eye. ‘Blonde On Blonde’ goes one further, and sees him craft an anthemic slice of jackin’ house that, were its production values not subtly indicative of now, could have been made at any time over the last twenty years or so. Which isn’t to say it doesn’t fit neatly into current UK music trends; despite its gritty pockmarked surface, WNCL’s sound has an appreciation for bass-heavy immediacy that marks it out as a product of now. In that sense he fits neatly alongside much of the Olde English Spelling Bee label roster, who rebuild the sounds of the past into shapes that, whilst referential, are just as concerned with recent developments.
Securing man of the moment David Kennedy for the remix was a wise move; if the A-side delights in house music’s past, Pearson Sound’s version stares into its future. Admittedly it’s one of his subtler tracks in a while, slowing the juke and jungle inflections of his big hitters from this year (‘Work Them’; ‘Grab Somebody’; ‘Blanked’) into a stammering slo-mo groove, but delicately sliced vocals and a convincingly massive, synth-laden breakdown in the middle give the game away. A disorienting double kick-drum pulse lends the whole thing an aura of menace, like coming to your senses at 7 or 8 am and suddenly realising you’re left with one hell of a long, cold journey home. While it lacks the distinct percussive tics of much of his recent music, as usual you’re left safe in the knowledge that Kennedy continues to operate within his own unique, but impressively broad, niche.
Words: Rory Gibb Out: Now
West Norwood Cassette Library - Blonde On Blonde [Teal]
David Kennedy's work under the Pearson Sound and Ramadanman monikers has made a huge mark on the music community over this last year. From the very first Soul Jazz housed release of Pearson Sound material, 'Gambetta' b/w 'so Far Ago,' Kennedy displayed a keener interest in diversifying his track templates, ramping up his woodblock percussion with tracks like 'Wad' - released on his own co-run Hessle Audio label - and scoring dancefloor anthems with beats like the recent Swamp81 backed, 'Work Them.' His deviation from the conventional 'dubstep' template has already been greatly discussed, even on these super long, text loaded pages but at the time of posting he's currently toying with the public's very notion of his music.
Pouring ghetto house and juke influences into his music, bringing that constant bass thump and endlessly repeated vocal hooks, his newer material that club goers or Benji B's new BBC Radio 1 show have been privvy to, absolutely slays. There's that bass weight - a pure frequency slab that has always been present in everything he's ever released - but its really his swirling percussion and drum work that's making him stand thigh and tail above the competition. His new bits are punishing, totally bruising the well equipped soundsystems that he's wheeling them out on, so it gives us a great pleasure to be able to offer up an exclusive 320 from the man himself - yep you can download Ramadanman's brooding remix of Spark, and her track 'Revolving' which is forthcoming on 679.
The latest edition of the Sonic Router opinion column on theQuietus focuses on Joe who has to date released music on Hessle Audio and Apple Pips...
First releasing 'Grimelight' b/w 'Rut' on the closely watched Hessle Audio in April of last year, the unknown Joe - and his efficient command of stylistically brutal percussion, minimal arrangements, thick sub bass and subtle strokes of melody – has taken over a year to provide a follow up. In the last six weeks or so, though, he has hit out with a quickly succeeded duo of platters: an untitled piece backed with 'Digest' for Appleblim's Bristol based Apple Pips label and his DJ tool-come-party-starter 'Claptrap' b/w 'Level Crossing' for Hessle. Thankfully each piece he's released has been worth the prolonged silence, jumping out from the off with stuttering drum lines and or a sense of groove that's now recognisably his: a playful yet mature exploration of unadulterated percussion and minimal sound colouration.- Oli Marlow
To his credit, it’s getting harder and harder to talk about David Kennedy’s music without sounding hyperbolic. Already this year he’s put out a steady stream of groundbreaking releases, each of which has effectively redesigned what was already a very malleable template into an entirely new form. Perhaps even more impressive – if just as unsurprising, given his record over the last couple of years – is the sheer level of quality control he manages to exercise over his music, as though it’s literally impossible for the guy to make a bad tune. In the last three months alone, his first Pearson Sound release in a while toyed with the same Autonomic ideas he first explored on his remix of Scuba’s ‘Tense’, to dramatic effect. The output of his usual Ramadanman alias, on the other hand, has shot literally through the roof: the drum machine blasts and delicate vocal chemistry of ‘Glut’, where juke’s battle-scarred 808s were put to the service of something far more intangible, jittery junglist stylings on his self-titled Hessle Audio EP, a Todd Edwards lovin’ collaboration with Midland, and a seemingly endless array of quality remixes.
So trying to trace a steady path through Kennedy’s maze is proving a little nightmarish, but on the evidence of his latest plate for Swamp81 it’s probably safest to say his optimum working state is one of perpetual change. The shifts are usually incremental – ‘Work Them’ is a not-so-distant relation of ‘Glut’, with a rapidly descending upper register drum hit that strafes the dancefloor, and ‘Fall Short’ possesses the same nervy, restless energy as the best tracks from his self-titled effort – but they are suggestive of a mind that operates in constant motion. ‘Work Them’ is the obvious big hitter on here. Appropriately for the following release on Swamp81, it’s the bigger, badder and smarter brother of Addison Groove’s ubiquitous ‘Footcrab’ (I always preferred ‘Dumbshit’ anyway), crafted with a careful sleight of hand that allows its monotonous groove to be both maddening and compulsive at once. Halfway across its length, Kennedy opens up the mix to a stunningly elegiac wash of harmony, thoroughly putting paid to the false notion that anthemic in any way equals unsubtle.
‘Fall Short’, though, is the superior cut on an already superior twelve. Like ‘A Couple More Years,’ the almost unbearable melancholy Burial is able to inject into his tracks fully permeates its skeletal percussive structure. It’s as though Kennedy’s built another ‘Work Them’, then proceeded to subtract every extraneous element and leave nothing but the barest essentials. The result, as with so much of his recent music – and that of the rest of the Hessle Audio stable – defies many of the notions of what ‘dubstep’ is, or ought to be. If you can even call it that anymore; in future, I have my suspicions that this sort of stripped-back, polyrhythmic bass sound may well be referred to simply as ‘Hessle music.’ As mentioned earlier, I’m cautious of sounding excessively hyperbolic by praising Ramadanman this highly at what is still a comparatively early stage in his career, but in five or ten years’ time, if people aren’t looking back to this twelve as a crucial step in the genre’s ongoing evolution, I’ll eat my own copy.
This week marks another milestone for us: our 50th installment in the Sonic Router mix series. A tidy number and a goal we’ve achieved that, when we started, we never really knew we had. Without looking back at the past 18 months with glossy eyes, patting ourselves on the back, high five-ing all of our separate achievements since we first unleashed Rekordah’s 20 minute plus beat tape, we’re focusing all our attention on the future. And whilst we're more than aware this is a poignant moment for our humble blogspot, we’re still more than content to always be looking for the next thing... that next producer whose tunes make us hustle to educate our friends, familiars and the wider internet at large.
One such dude we felt compelled to push, is Blawan. The Hessle Audio backed producer – his debut 12” on the label ‘Fram’ b/w ‘Iddy’ was released recently – has a strong and rugged approach to his drum lines; a similarity he shares with label mate Joe and to a lesser extent - given this player’s more dancefloor centric wanderings of late, Ramadanman. Making tonal wanderings simply from his selected percussion he booms out bass stabs on ‘Iddy’ rollocking through the beat’s progression with whispered layers of phrase and machine hum atmospherics plucked straight from the bows of dystopian warships and the winding lead synth on ‘Fram’ could have been taken straight out of Kode 9’s ‘Black Sun’ era. It’s simply the way he cracks out his drum loops that grabbed our attention, subtle snaps of snare drum piquing through the top end perfectly.
We caught up with the South Yorkshireman between train journeys, giving him the opportunity to further introduce himself and his music ahead of his forthcoming date at fabric for the Hessle Audio takeover...
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
Blawan: For starters I am not Ben UFO despite the kind rumors. My name is Jamie, I am a DJ/Producer originally from the cultural melting pot that is Barnsley and I recently had my debut release on Hessle Audio.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
On the daily, I drink a lot of tea, don't finish tunes, delete ones that I have finished and get easily distracted...
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do so?
Like a lot of people, school really got me into music. I went to a pretty rough school that thanks to Labour's deprived schools policy had mint facilities, so I started playing drums at the age of 10. I first got into making electronic music on a dodgy version of Fruity Loops when I was 15 but didn't really get serious about making tunes until I was about 18. Prior to the Hessle Audio release I had a pretty random musical background. I used to drum in a couple of bands playing like post-punk stuff as well as making dance tunes, and just muddled it along until now.
What’s your production set up like? What’s your favourite bit of kit in the studio?
My set-up is pretty simple, I run Ableton Live, midi controllers and some decent monitors… oh and some nice flat response headphones and that's really it. My favorite bit of kit has to be my Ozone 4 plugin; it’s a sweet all rounder.
Where do you take inspiration from when making music? And how did you get into this current flux of dubstep?
Erm, that's a hard question, I've always found it hard to pin point what inspires me to make a tune and to be honest I still don't really know. I think trying to keep my mind occupied when making a tune helps, as I find makings tunes when am bored rarely has a decent outcome or it ends up turning out as some weird jacking house thing.
I got into dubstep around late 2004/5. Before this, mates from Sheffield used to send me their badly recorded vinyl rips of Big Apple releases and old garage tunes and things just carried on down the usual routes from there really. I've also always had a passion for house music and think that's had a big impact on me musically. The tune that really pushed me to think I wasn't just making some weird garage type music was Pangaea's ‘You & I’ (HES006). The vibe caught me perfectly, it's still easily my favorite tune to date.
How would you describe your sound? You’ve got this proper tough percussion going on that drives everything… is the rhythm a main focus for you when making tunes?
Honestly, if I could just make drum loops for a living I would. Percussion is definitely something I focus a lot of my attention on when producing. Other elements of my tunes are always considered but are subtle enough to make sure they don't take away purpose from the rhythm and percussive melodies. The outcome of that in a tune is something minimal, but I fought my last battles with complex synth arrangements a long time ago and bare rhythms win hands down for me each and every.
Your first couple of releases are out now on Hessle and Folkwood respectively. How did you link the releases?
My debut with Hessle was a pretty surreal affair, I had a few tunes that had been sitting around and one day, I just said ‘Fuck it. I’ll send these to Untold.’ I did that then within about 2 hours I got a phone call off David (Ramadanman) saying Jack sent him the tunes and the guys liked them and want to put something out. A simple but crazy outcome and I can't tell you how lucky I feel to be in the Hessle camp. Oh and I still haven't bought Jack a drink yet to thank him.
The folkwood thing really was something that happened a while ago, a group of friends at Uni got hold of some cash to press up some music. They asked me to submit a track so I did. The tune is kinda old now, but it’s nice to get bits out there when you can. Big up Ste Shine on that one! Oh and you guys for the kind words about it…
What other projects have you got in the pipeline? What’s happening with you in the rest of 2010? Gigs, releases, personal growth etc?
2010 has been an amazing year already; I am just focusing on putting out tunes I am happy with, when I can so theres no rush. Hopefully DJing as many gigs as I can because that's what really gets me making more music. There are a couple of things in the pipeline that should be surfacing soon, so watch this space.
Any words of wisdom for our readers?
Yes, it needs to be strong with one sugar and milk. Secondly, catch me at Fabric on the 20th August, for the Hessle Audio takeover.
1. Titus 12 - Step Up (Mosca Remix) [Unreleased] 2. Afefe Iku - Bodydrummin' (S63 Refix) [Silver Label] 3. Ludacris vs Joe - How Low Claptrap (DJ Orgasmic Bootleg) [Unreleased] 4. Wookie - Weird Science [Manchu] 5. Randomer - Be Electric [Unreleased] 6. Mistamen - Lengthy Riddim [Bass Tourist] 7. DJ Faz - Believe [Locked On] 8. Menta - Sounds Of Da Future [Sounds Of Da Future] 9. Unknown - Unknown [Unreleased] 10. Untold - Angry Hat [Unreleased] 11. Commix - How You Gonna Feel (Pangaea Remix) [Unreleased] 12. Unknown – Unknown [Unreleased] 13. Ramadamman - Fall Short [Swamp81] 14. Blawan - Potchla Vee [Unreleased] 15. Oris Jay - Trippin (2010 Dub) [Gusto] 16. Untold - Come Follow We [Unreleased]
Catch Blawan at the Hessle Audio Room 3 takeover at fabric on 20th August alongside 2562, Ramadanman, Ben UFO and Pangaea - Addison Groove performs live in Room One on the same night alongside the first ever live set from Hessle affiliate Cosmin TRG. You can also catch Blawan taking to the airwaves of the newly FM licensed Rinse FM on 12th August on the Hessle Audio show from 12-2am.
You know you've heard/read us singing David Kennedy's praises since day dot of this tedious publication. His 'Wad' 12" under his Pearson Sound alias remains one of the most insightful things thats happened to Sonic Router HQ's Tannoys and his forthcoming smasher, 'Work Them' 12" as his more commonplace Ramadanman moniker is set to drop on Loefah's Swamp 81 label in two weeks time.
Well... dude is playing Bestival this year, so he's done a mix. Trust us, every one that he's ever done has been worth the space in your Temp Files folder and plus it means we got to post this picture where he looks about 12...
If you’ve been listening to the recent Sonic Router radio shows on Hivemind.fm you’ll have noticed a bunch of tracks - work by the likes of George Fitzgerald, Hypno - credited as forthcoming on Brownswood Electr*c. Well, the goose is cooked, crackly on the outside and suitably juicy across the innards and we’re happy to be able to reveal the info... It’s a new compilation put together by Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label as somewhat of an ode to the bass led continuum you’ll find playlisted on his BBC Radio 1 show. One of the collections most charming indulgences is its breadth; refusing to stick to a template and joining the metaphorical dots between styles, languages and producers like 16Bit, Rockwell and Leathertte it’s a substantial and informative listen, collating work by some of last year’s breakout stars (Mount Kimbie and Mosca), producers on the rise (Eliphino, Rockwell, Clueless) and Sonic Router favourites (devonwho, B Bravo, Pearson Sound and Hypno).
Ahead of the compilations release on the 28th June, we grabbed five with the CD’s compiler, one third of London DJ clique Patchwork Pirates and Brownswood demigod, Alex Stevenson.
Sonic Router: So... Brownswood Electr*c yeah? Whats the deal? Obviously Gilles has embraced a lot of this newer music championing people like Mount Kimbie, JoyOrb etc of late, so what’s the inspiration behind the compilation?
Alex Stevenson: You know how it goes, all you need to make electronic music these days is a scraggedy computer, some free software and a good idea. Unfortunately 95% of the bedroom producers out there are lacking the latter component, but there’s still a very healthy movement of free-thinking artists operating just under the radar and making really great music. What’s more, the boundaries between so-called “hip-hop”, “house”, “techno”, “dubstep” and “drum & bass” have never been so blurred. There’s a lot of cross-fertilisation and hybridisation (haha – can’t believe I said hybridisation – is that a word?) But that’s the key isn’t it? It’s at these crossings, junctions and awkward intersections where the most inspiring and stirring sound clashes occur… and those are the joints that grab Gilles’ attention. As you rightly point out, Gilles supports this “sound” heavily in his radio shows and DJ sets (I think he calls it something slightly comical like “future motion beats”) and so I suggested that he do a compilation of his favourite tracks, to which he responded: “Good idea… you know more about it though, so why don’t you do it.” So I did.
And similarly, what’s the thinking behind the selection of producers...? Is it all people Gilles has supported played etc?
There’s a nice blend of established artists and hitherto undiscovered talent on the CD I think and yes, Gilles has supported practically all of the featured artists at some point in the last year. We wanted to represent the full rainbow spectrum of electronic goodness so it was important to nod to that low-slung hip hop vibe, the burgeoning “funky” sound, house/techno, dubstep in its myriad forms and, of course, drum & bass. Ramadanman aka Pearson Sound has consistently been one of Gilles’ favourite producers over the past couple of years so it made perfect sense to include ‘Wad’ – one of his finest moments to date in our opinion. We wanted to try to bring something new to the table though; I think people expect that from Gilles and Brownswood, so for many folks this will be the first time that they hear Eliphino, B.Bravo, George Fitzgerald, Clueless or KiEnRa.
Brownswood has a strong presence in the compilation sphere, with five Bubblers compilations to date. What do you think makes this one different from those that have come before?
The Brownswood Bubblers compilations are really just an indulgence for Gilles to highlight some of his favourite new, obscure or unfairly overlooked music from the Worldwide underground on a jazz/hip-hop/soul tip. Basically stuff that he’s been playing a lot on his radio shows. The latest volume features everyone from globetrotting boogie monster Dam-Funk to Tobago’s calypso queen Calypso Rose via Daru & Rena, Analog Monsta, Trilogy and fLako. With Bubblers and Brownswood Electr*c the notion of giving folks some new shit that they haven’t heard before is exactly the same, it’s just that with Electr*c we’re focusing on a particular area of dance music that we’ve been really excited about of late.
Where do you think Electr*c fits, given that it’s not 100% dubstep focused? Like do you think the fact that it isn’t, is a major strength?
Yep – I think that the fact that Brownswood Electr*c isn’t focused solely on dubstep is a distinct advantage. Like I mentioned before, it was a conscious decision to reflect the spectrum of styles and tempos represented in Gilles’ radio shows and I hope that that inclusive attitude will be embraced by the music buying public.
We just want to share our excitement for this inventive spirit and fusion with fans of electronic music in general… folks who want to scratch the surface and see what’s hiding underneath.
There are some awesome pieces of music included, (Hypno, Rockwell, Pearson Sound, George Fitzgerald stand up), yet everyone seems on the precipice level if you get me, like on the edge of bigger things. Was it a conscious thing to keep it a bit more underground?
Yep, definitely. I think folks expect that new, new shit from us and I wanted to keep things as fresh as possible. Rockwell – alongside dBridge and Instra:mental – has really re-ignited my interest in drum & bass in the past year. I nearly pooped my pants when I first heard that ‘Underpass’ track, then he dropped a great EP on Critical and did a killer remix of Jose James for us too. Hypno is one of those dudes seemingly sitting on the fringes of UK funky, dubstep and techno – he featured on Elevator Music and has an EP coming on new Ramp sub-label PTN. ‘Over The Top’ is a banger, plain and simple. George Fitzgerald is coming through quickly too, he’s got forthcoming 12”s for Doldrums and Hotflush – ‘Painted Jezebel’ is exclusive to Electr*c though. SHAZAM!
What are some of your highlights from the CD...? Are there plans to do more?
Let’s not forget the likes of Clueless (a Norwegian chap who makes 2-step reminiscent of classic El-B productions), KiEnRa (the criminally underrated Estonian beathead) and Lazer Sword’s Low Limit (bringing his techno game). Personally, Letherette’s neatly julienned ‘Blad’ is a highlight. But it’s ALL good. There’s no filler here – we gave it 110% - hahaha!
As for plans to do more – I guess if we manage to shift more than 7 copies and folks seem to be down with it, then the bosses will be up for another chapter. We’ll have to wait and see. I sincerely hope so, there was so much good shit, we could have done a double CD!
Full Tracklist:
01. B. Bravo – Computa Love 02. devonwho – Whispers 03. Eliphino – Let Me Love You Forever 04. Pearson Sound – Wad 05. Mosca – Square One 06. Shlohmo – Antigravity (Low Limit Remix) 07. Letherette – Blad 08. KiEnRa – BB Thing 09. 16bit – ADSL 10. Hypno – Over The Top 11. George Fitzgerald – Painted Jezebel 12. Clueless – Lady In Red (Club Edit) 13. Von D – Berlin Call (Alps Edit) 14. Rockwell – Underpass 15. Mount Kimbie – Serged
Brownswood Electr*c drops on 28th June on CD/download supported by a 12” featuring two cuts from B. Bravo and Eliphino.
Present in this month's DJ Magazine is a hype chart from yours truly.
Went like this:
1. Mono/Poly - Oil Fields [Fat City] "The true sound of a mouth trumpet summer." 2. James Blake - CMYK [R&S] "More serene composition from Blake." 3. Blawan - Iddy [Hessle Audio] "New heat from Blawan's debut Hessle 12"." 4. V/A - Tropical Heat Vol. 1 [Myor] "Slugabed, Mesak and Nino ride to the very pinnacle of awesome hip-hop." 5. Mount Kimbie - Maybes (James Blake Remix) [Hotflush] "Blake shatters apart Kimbie's breakthrough, re-staining it a fragrant orange hue." 6. Guido - Mad Sax [Punch Drunk] "Might as well be called Mad Sex given the facial reactions this one's getting..." 7. XI - Ghost [Orca] "First platter from the Orca imprint frames XI's drum funk perfectly." 8. V/A - Astro:Dynamics [Astro:Dynamics] "New compilation of next level beats." 9. Ramadanman - Glut [Hemlock] "Mr Kennedy happily turning his woodpecker percussion up to 11 on this one..." 10. Eleven Tigers - Clouds Are Mountains [Soul Motive] "Illustrious debut LP from Lithuanian producer Eleven Tigers."
With thanks to Markle.
Audio of all the above is available on the archives of the Sonic Router x Hivemind show on mixcloud.
After a wee break, David ‘Ramadanman’ Kennedy has jumped back on the prolific wagon of late, releasing no fewer than three EPs on various labels. The first, his self-titled effort for his own Hessle Audio label, met with general acclaim when it emerged a couple of months ago: tracks like ‘I Beg You’ and ‘No Swing’ felt like a logical step upwards from his earliest productions. Still focusing heavily on the brittle, bone-dry percussion that’s swiftly become a Hessle trademark – witness the monochrome pressure of the label’s latest 12” from Blawan – they showed a leap forward in terms of structure and intricacy. Still, while ‘Tumble’ may have shared the same icy chill as Wiley’s early eski instrumentals, and ‘A Couple More Years’ wielded deftly sliced breaks to devastating effect, there were points where the EP’s clinical precision felt a little too austere to connect with fully.
This new plate on Hemlock, though, is the real deal. It’s certainly the best thing Kennedy’s put his name to since Pearson Sound’s underrated ‘PLSN,’ and lead track ‘Glut’ shares its rattling top-end and peculiar rhythmic sensibility. Its booming 808 kicks and claps place it alongside recent tracks by Addison Groove and Girl Unit in that strange grey area where Chicago juke’s influence is beginning to percolate through UK bass, a region which will doubtless soon open up to far wider exploration. Above all else though, ‘Glut’s gorgeous clipped female vocal and shimmering synth melody lend it a real human warmth. Alongside the build-and-release dynamic of ‘Tempest’, which winds like a spring before suddenly exploding in a burst of noise, it makes for a formidable one-two punch of a twelve.
Big shout to Ben, furthering his mining of discogs and continuing his run of website dominance in sterling fashion with a mix for US site XLR8R and garnering deserved comments like: "one of the best DJ's in the world right now" from the braun behind Electronic Explorations Rob Booth.
Look out for Blawan's 12", 'Fram' b/w 'Iddy,' for Ben UFO's co-run Hessle Audio imprint dropping shortly in shops now.
Milyoo deserves props. The American producer’s debut 12” will be out imminently on Subeena’s OPIT Records imprint and it’s a particularly varied and bewitching triplet of tracks. Sitting betwixt the genre malaise with little concern for what surrounds him, we caught up with Tommy - who was busy shovelling mud out of his studio after a storm hit his native Kentucky domicile - to obtain a bit of backstory and grab the 45th exclusive Sonic Router mix.
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
Milyoo: Sure. I’m a 32 year old guy from a mid-size college town/city called Lexington, Kentucky. I used to smoke cigarettes, but I quit.
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
When I’m not attempting to make music, I’m a soon-to-be-former (eventually to-be-returning) PhD Student in Cultural Geography who used to think about writing (though never fully wrote) a dissertation on ghosts and memory. But with the school thing winding down I’ve mostly been writing tunes, hanging out with my super-cool wife Erin, and trying to get back in climbing shape in the Red River Gorge (also see: unemployed)
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do so?
I guess I’ve always made music to one degree or another... more or less. I bought my first piece of gear in ‘98, but I failed to get very into it until the last year or so. Seems like good timing as I can’t think of a time when I’ve been as excited about the overall state of music-making.
What’s your production set up like? What’s your favourite bit of kit in the studio?
I write in Propellerheads Record/Reason environment and arrange in Live 8 using a few different midi controllers. I also have an Emu E4xt where I chunk up samples sometimes, a korg electribe synth box which I like quite a bit, and a variety of drums, tambs, bells, and whatnot. A tapedeck w/ pitch control. Some 1200s. A guitar. But my favorite gear is my field recorder and mic. I seriously don’t know what I was doing before I started finding sounds.
Where do you take inspiration from when making music?
Movies, bus brakes, great hooks from songs that suck, my friends, other artists... If I’m feeling particularly dim on days I’ll throw in something amazing (right now I’m listenining to some Ramadanman) and just sorta vibe off it for a bit and see what happens. But most of the time I just sit down and start beating on stuff, turning knobs, sampling records, and eventually a song comes out. The process is still really amazing to me.
Whats behind the Milyoo moniker?
Milieu is of French origin and means something like the context or situation in which a thing develops. In my mind, to split the ‘milieu’ from the ‘things they develop’ is a really unnecessary gap. That is, the two are seamless. The milieu and the thing are both collections of stuff, themselves collections of stuff. So, in my mind, everything is a milieu or milieus are everything. ‘Milyoo’ (the phonetical bastard of the original) then is my attempt at highlighting this always-already-beyond-me of music; the ‘not-me’ stuffiness of it all.
Plus my old name ‘The Tommy Wilson Electronic Music Band’ was too folky.
Opit 12" snippets:
How would you describe your sound? I mean your mix for us jumps from Madlib to James Blake via Airborn Audio… would you say hip hop was a big influence on you?
Yes, hip hop was and is a massive influence on me. I grew up rocking out to Guru, Casual, Wu-Tang, Dre, and Biggie when I was a kid, but more recently Dilla’s stuff really turned me around. I know Dilla love isn’t too uncommon these days, but the way he brought together Detroit house vibes, hip-hop cuts, and tripped out production it felt like – seriously – he had made a pile of music just for me. When I’d listen to Donuts on the walk to campus I felt ridiculous if I wasn’t dancing. That’s some serious stuff I think.
But in terms of my sound it seems like I’m always writing a lot of different stuff at any given time. Sometimes I settle into a groove of sorts and write a type of something for a bit. I guess – at the moment – I write slo-mo tribal rnb-tinged psychedelic house music...(?) My last three buys are Flylo’s album, the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack and Dimlite’s new one. All three of which are bearing heavily on me at the moment so we’ll see what comes of it.
And how did you discover dubstep?
To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable taking credit for discovering dubstep. While I am the first guy I know (personally) who accidentally found Burial while searching through the iTunes store, I’m not quite sure that marked the origin point of the movement. Kidding. I take full credit. You’re welcome.
You live in the US in Lexington, Kentucky. Is there any tangible scene there? Where do you go for live bass music?
Lexington is basically a really big (500,000) college town so there’s always enough kids here to get something going; and while you can pack a club with students easy enough, Lexington is just not large enough to sustain a stable community of niche music junkies. Of course, there are some talented people here, and there’s cool stuff cooking at the moment so we’ll see I guess. The other option would be to drive to one of the larger cities in the region (Atlanta, Chicago, etc.), but I’m hard-pressed to drive 2-3 hours to go see live music with any regularity.
Your first 12” on Opit Records is out shortly. How did you hook it up? Tell us what peoples can expect…
Pretty short story really. I sent Subeena a link because I liked her release and the Opit logo, and it turns out she liked my soundcloud stuff. I used to have a ton of tracks up (70+) and she combed through all of it and picked these three. I’m not sure how to characterize the release really...it’s a variety 3 pack of tunes taken from a ton of different influences recorded over an 8-month span.
What other projects have you got in the pipeline? What’s happening with you in the rest of 2010?
I’ve got a remix from Greymatter’s ‘Mind Over Matter’ coming out soon. It’s pretty cool I think. I also have some stuff going on/over with Hold Box Flat that I’m really excited about. I’m assuming everyone already knows this, but just in case: Thristian bPm and D’Wala’s Transmit Box Flat is the absolute penultimate in podcast awesomeness. Seriously: 10/10.
As far as other stuff goes, I’m in the symbolic stage of starting a label called Landforms, mostly because I can count the number of quality US labels (not located in LA) on one hand, and it strikes me there are enough talented artists on this side of the Atlantic to get something going. That and I’m apparently addicted to working really hard sans pay. Finally, I’m trying to do some collaborative work with my Dublin-based friend Shatterfreak and other than that I can only speculate... might have a kid this year... gigs... more releases... job getting... I’m doing a guestmix of some of my stuff for Mary Anne Hobbs on May 26th which is really cool. And I’m gonna keep writing tracks.
Shai - If I Ever Fall in Love Again (Acapella Ver.) Radiohead - Reckoning (Kidkanevil Remix) James Blake - The Bells Sketch Pariah - Detroit Falls Milyoo - Like a Fool Madlib - Lifetime (Lifeline) Kankick - Mas Fire (Snip) Kidkanevil - When Doves Bounce Latyrx – Latyrx Airborne Audio - Trust Me Untold - Yukon (Fantastic Mr. Fox Remix) Tokimonsta - Glaring Lights Take - Horizontal Figuration Paul White - Floating Free Beach Boys - Our Prayer Adele - Chasing Pavements (Various Production Mix) Bullion - Crazy Over You Milyoo - So Many Windows
The next edition of Sonic Router on URB.com is live now, presenting a snapshot of the dubstep releases that are imminent or ominously close on this date in March 2010. It includes words on Addison Groove, Ramadanman, Shortstuff, Blunted Robots, Joker, Pariah, those Mount Kimbie remixes, DJG, Simon/off, Milyoo and this particularly handsome sentence:
"my position deep in the colon of James Blake is patently well documented if you’re adept enough to use google at even a novice level"
The Bruk DJs, Elgato and Bilal, just linked up a mix ahead of their appearance at fabric for the 4th Hessle Audio takeover which features Ikonika, Ramadanman, Pangaea and Ben UFO - names you'll be no doubt familiar with if you've glanced our way over the past year.
Catch Bruk on Sub.fm - they've taken over the old Ruffage slot on Thursdays between 8-10pm.
The West District Allstars feat. Natasha Watts - Reach Up (Enzyme Black Stripped Dub) Kid Majesty - Desfile De Los Santos Tadow Productions - Rising Sun Stephanie Mills - Free (Domu Stripped Down Remix) Sony - Sugar Rush DVA - Nasty Nasty Nasty (Roska Remix) Xara - You Got Me Crazy Cousinz - Sonar Tonya Renee - About You (Karizma Boucha Remix) DJ 2face - I Love You Plastic Cash - Store Card Ultramarine - Hooter (Carl Craig / Ver. 1.1) Karizma - Necessary Madness Argy - The Storm Thommy Davis - Mars Needs Women
Having been led into TAKE Records blossoming roster thanks to the involvement of Mr. Spatial, who contributed 2 remixes to the 1st vinyl release, a 12" comprised of remixes of False Prohpets' 'Wake Up,' our ears really pricked up when we received promo files of the 2nd 12", 'Put It Back' which also includes a particularly cultured Ramadanman remix on the flip, by the somewhat unassumingly monikered, James Fox.
Crossing straight house ruminations with interesting flourishes of mechanical melody, his productions sit right with us so we thought we'd reel him in for a chat and to provide our 33rd exclusive Sonic Router mix...
Sonic Router: Can you provide those who may not know you with a bit of background info?
James Fox: Well, I’ve been DJing for about ten years now, and making music for probably half that. I’m from Manchester originally, and I moved down to London a couple of years ago, for a change of scenery…
Outside of music who are you? What do you do on the daily?
I am a professional admin drone, currently employed at a college in central London for posh rich kids from all over the world.
How did you first get into making music? What was it that infected you to do produce?
Pretty standard really; always been fascinated with music in all its forms, so once I got a taste for DJing it was a logical progression to get into creating my own tracks.
What’s your production set up like?
I’m on a battered old PC running Ableton Live, I’ve got a Nord Rack that I use for most of my synth sounds and plugin wise I keep it pretty stripped down. I’m partial to the Korg Legacy synth package and I am a massive fan of the Sonnox EQ / Compressor / Reverb. I used to have a bazillion and one plugins, but I realised I was spending all my time trying to get my head round them (and failing), so I got rid.
How would you describe your sound to someone zoning in for the first time?
Hard to say really, the common thread between all the records I play and make is probably sub bass, I’m a sucker for it. Not about all the distorted midrange stuff in the slightest, it just sounds like music for sweaty teenage boys to mosh to. Beyond that, I guess I like records that are groove-based and not too obvious - from deep dubstep through house, broken beat, 2step, whatever really.
What first brought you to the dubstep/house-ish sound? what drew you to that?
Probably the complete disregard for the sort of perceived genre boundaries and tribalism that can really suck the fun out of DJing and production for me. It’s really exciting, because nobody knows quite what to call it, or where it’s going - they’re too busy making records or putting nights on or writing a blog or raving to really give much of a fuck about such insignificant details.
What inspires you musically?
That’s a hard one. I suppose people would often say that they are inspired by other producers, but I have the opposite problem – i.e. making a track and then thinking ‘well, my mixdown will never be as good as this Modeselektor record, or the vocal work won’t be as good as this Burial record, or the drums won’t be as good as this Scuba record… so what’s the point?’ – which is a very dangerous area to get into.
I guess I’m inspired by two things mainly: the producers that I’ve known for a few years who are doing things their own way and not compromising, and also going to clubs with my friends and hearing DJs that I respect rock it over a crisp soundsystem. When you get involved with DJing and production it can take away some of the thrill that you got at the start, so I think it’s important to go out dancing as much as you can, rather than sitting in the studio staring at a computer. I still can’t help but stop and stroke my chin if the DJ fluffs a mix even slightly, though…
Your debut 12” is coming on the TAKE imprint next Monday. How did you hook up with them? What can people expect from the release?
I’ve known the guys who run the label for a good few years. The whole project has actually been in the pipeline for a while now, and I think it shows – they’ve really taken a lot of care over the remixes they’ve had done, the artwork and the mastering to ensure that the final product is something you'd want to own. As for my release - 'Put It Back' is a percussive bass driven house groove for the club, and the Ramadanman Refix… well, I know I’m biased but it’s probably one of the best things I’ve heard him do. It sounds like 2step from the year 2020, and the breakdown is like a Boards of Canada record or something! There’s also a digital only track on the release called Rebuildings, which is well worth checking if you like Alex Smoke – think deep glitching electronic house, a proper B-side.
What other releases have you got forthcoming?
I’m currently working on a few things for TAKE, I need to find an extra day in the week so I can get them all finished though.
You’re a contributor to Bass Music Blog too; tell us a bit about how it all came together and where you wanna take it?
I know Sam Baobinga and Ed ID from around the way in Manchester; they decided to start a blog about 18 months ago, and being the sort of person who tends to ramble on about music to whoever is in earshot, they asked me to contribute. The idea – much like this fine blog – is to be editorially led, i.e. not just pumping out free music. I think it’s working out pretty well thus far; one angle that has been good for us is offering readers insight into the industry, so we've done interviews with mastering engineers, promoters, that sort of thing. We’ve also been focusing on bass music culture in cities around the world that might not get much attention elsewhere, and I think that’s an area that we’ll continue exploring. In future, we aim to get to the level where people like Fact Magazine are; their guest mixes and interviews are always super on point, so yeah – big up Fact.
What else does 2010 have in store for James Fox?
I've got to finish some more damn records that I don’t decide are rubbish and immediately scrap, play some more gigs in London, go out raving more, basically continual upping of game on all fronts.
Tell us about the mix you’ve done for us, what kind of vibe have you gone for and what tracks did you just have to put in?
I really like creating DJ mixes that stand up to repeated listening, so to me this means things like: re-editing, mixing in key, subtle fx, layering things up, vocal / acapellas blends – the best tool for this is definitely Ableton Live, so that’s what I used. Vibe-wise, I wanted to try and represent the different styles that I like to play in the club, so you’ve got deep bass-driven house music, some 2step / bruk, a bit of edgy synth stuff and a few big ones at the end. It also ended up being a bit of a recap of my most loved tracks of 2009 ('WAD,' 'Pimp Jackson,' 'Since Last Night,' 'The Lighter/MAW' blend I did, etc).
1. Soul Clap - Rock The Boat [dub] 2. Dubbel Dutch - Trollsta (Round Table Knights Remix) [Palms Out Sounds] 3. Julio Bashmore - Tread Soft [dub] 4. Worthy - Crack El' (Justin Martin Remix) [dirty bird] 5. Lil Silva - Different [dub] 6. James Fox - Put it Back [TAKE] 7. Horacio - Taverna Del Funk [Raum] 8. Drop The Lime - Set Me Free (Zombie Disco Squad Remix) [Trouble & Bass] 9. Dan Black - symphonies (Hot City Remix) [Polydor] 10. Loco Dice - Pimp Jackson is Talking Now [Desolat] 11. Pearson Sound - Wad [Hessle Audio] 12. Wookie - Down On Me [Manchu] 13. Deadboy - U Cheated [Well Rounded] 14. Martin Kemp - Aztec [Blunted Robots] 15. Skinnz - Euphorbia [dub] 16. Joy Orbison - BRKLN CLLN [Doldrums] 17. Lighter - Skanker (James Fox Work Vocal Edit) [dub] 18. Uncle Bakongo - Bambara [Roska Kicks & Snares] 19. TRG - Since Last Night [Tempa dub] 20. Jaheim - Put That Woman First (Calibre Remix) [dub]
Ramadoozle just dropped a new mix in aid of the next Ruffage at Wire in Leeds next Friday which features selectors Ben UFO and Untold alongside a headline slot from Hatcha doing a 2004 set.
01. Timeblind - Space Cadet [Agriculture] 02. Rhythm & Sound - Why [Burial Mix] 03. Alix Alvarez - Boom Bip [Sole Channel] 04. DVA - Ganja [Forthcoming Hyperdub] 05. Untold & Roska - Long Range [Forthcoming Build] 06. A Made Up Sound - Sun Touch [Forthcoming A Made Up Sound] 07. Jam city - What I think about you [Unreleased] 08. Ikonika - dckhdbtch [Unreleased] 09. Ramadanman vs. Missy - Mir's a bitch [Unreleased] 10. Mos Wanted Mega - Diffrent Lekstrix [Unreleased] 11. Joy Orbison - So Derobe [Forthcoming Aus] 12. 2562 - Who are you fooling? [Tectonic] 13. Pangaea - 5-htp [Hessle Audio] 14. Ghost - Two Thousand [Ghost] 15. LV feat. Rubi Dan - Crossfire [Unreleased] 16. Bok Bok - Citizens Dub [Forthcoming Blunted Robots] 17. Ramadanman - Glut [Forthcoming Hemlock] 18. Pangaea - Neurons [Hessle Audio] 19. Icicle - Xylophobia [Unreleased] 20. Ramadanman - Bleeper [Unreleased] 21. Lil' Wayne - A millie (Harmonimix) [White] 22. Mala - Blue Notez [DMZ] 23. Ramadanman - Don't Change For Me [Unreleased]
I was gonna tap this recording on to last week's piece on this very subject but I figured it deserved its own post; it's a bitter sweet honour for me to be able to present you with the audio from the final Ruffage Session on Sub.fm.
4 hours with Ben UFO, Ramadanman and Pangaea at the helm.
There’s something so vital about internet radio; something about it feels a lot more hidden from the mainstream. You can’t flick across it accidentally on your FM dial as you drive, you have to be there locked into your station, frantically asking for wheel ups in the chat room by bashing your fists on the keyboard, adding a bunch of exclamation marks and then pressing enter. For me there is yet to be a more instant and personally rewarding medium.
After 3 years of helming the cult radio show, The Ruffage Sessions on the longest running original pirate internet station, Sub.fm, the core trio behind the Hessle Audio label, Ben UFO, Ramadanman and Pangaea, are calling it a day. Tomorrow night’s 4 hour special - from 8pm right through to midnight - presented by and featuring the platter merging of all 3 of them (“for the first time in ages” according to Ben UFO) will be the send off; that special present given to the loyal listeners and message board frequenters.
So, to mark the passing of a big part of the trio’s lives they’ve selected 10 of their favourite sessions - some archived on Sub FM’s cavernous recesses and others re-upped especially for this occasion – to give you a great idea of the guests they’ve had along the way along with a vital insight of the multitude of styles you can expect to hear tomorrow night.
This is one of the first shows we ever did... it feels like a long time ago. We were all based in Leeds at this point, so we were doing a lot more shows together.
This was at the point when there was more hype around techno oriented dubstep than there'd ever been. At the same time there was a lot of music coming out of the house and techno scenes that sounded really exciting, and was unfamiliar to us. This show’s a good document of that.
Ben: One of the hypest and most enjoyable show’s I’ve done. A lot of fun was had piecing together house music from all over the place and trying to keep everything from falling apart.
The first half of our second birthday celebrations, broadcast from Lille. Ramadanman picked out some of his favourite tunes that got played regularly on the show through the two years it’d been running.
Ben: Some of the happiest memories of radio I have come from this show. It was a real privilege mixing with everyone all crammed into a tiny room with piles of records all over the place. We kept it going for nearly 4 hours. There are tunes in this show I've not heard since.
One of the first Ruffage Sessions focusing on a transition from lower tempo house through garage ending up at 140bpm.
Catch the last ever Ruffage Session on Sub.fm tomorrow night from 8pm. Oh and look out for Pangaea's double pack EP dropping on Hessle Audio imminently, 'Why?' is the one...
