Resources For The Nymphomation Era

Originally published at Fletcher Andersen. Please leave any comments there.

When a person thinks of drum’n'bass, they don’t necessarily make the connection between the genre and a bastion of cultural temptation such as France. To make the judgment that the genre is not alive and well in the back alleys and clubs of the nation, would, however, be a mistake, and one group is showing the world the French scene’s vibrancy.

Forming over five years ago, the five lads from Dirtyphonics, Playte, Capskod, Pho, Pitch In and MC Youthstar have captured the soul of d’n'b in a way that once again helps to invigorate the genre. Combining production techniques with an innovative and exhilarating live performance, and having been signed to the salubrious RAM record, their sound has managed to grab attention world round.

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One of the most successful, well known, and respected names in the drum’n’bass scene, both today and over the past decade, is Andy C. From his position founding RAM Records, to his solo and group production work with the RAM Trilogy and Origin Unknown - not to mention his often explosive and sometimes unbeatable DJ sets, Andy C has been riding the high roads of d’n’b for some time. Reaping the rewards of his talents and, by all accounts, loving every minute of it, Andy C is a man both happy with his place in life, and passionately optimistic about the music that he loves.

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The word veteran brings connotations of age, and yet with such a status, Oakley “O.G” Grenell is anything but a wisened patriarch - instead, this youthful “veteran” is so full of vim and vigor that in his thirty years short he has already cut a wide swath, intent as he is in putting as much of his creativity in the hands of his listeners as often as he is able – whether by performing, DJing or releasing records on his label Central Records.

“This is my sixth release in New Zealand, so it’s kind of what I’m here to do, release music and put it out there as much as I can,” he responds sincerely. “I’m hoping to do an album a year. When i first started out I knew my stuff wasn’t really going to be commercially viable to get signed so I decided to throw it down on my own label. I’ve had six releases in seven years, I think.”

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When a familiar face from a successful group goes solo, there is always slight trepidation that the strength of their work may diminish, however, for drum’n’bass performer and producer Audio, undoubtedly one of the top notches in the tech-heavy d’n’b echelons, going solo after several years with the popular Resonant Evil has proven to be a boon, as his success continues on an upwards spiral of popularity amongst lovers of the genre.

“I always worked solo, and, obviously, I started solo when I was sending tunes to the guys from Resonant Evil (Mackie and Risk),” Audio explains. “I’d send Mackie a little material to sign, and he said come to the studio and we’ll see how it goes. So I did and we wrote a few tracks, and the rest is history. So it wasn’t really a conscious decision or something new for me, but it was more convincing myself that yeah I could do it on my own and that I could be successful, and that people wanted to hear what I do on my own. I’ve think I’ve got something different to offer, so, it wasn’t too hard.”

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Amongst the drift and tide of the musical realm, it is a rarity for an electronic music group to have mass market appeal, and yet several years ago, three guys from Perth embarked upon a journey that would take them not only to the top of the drum and bass charts, but also into the living rooms of anyone with an interest in cutting edge music. No stranger to fans since breaking out with their seminal album, Hold Your Colour, Pendulum are now poised on the verge of being one of the few bands who have been able to escape their niche, as their upcoming new album, In Silico, is sure to prove.

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After their rousing performance here in Perth a few weeks back, Crazy Penis have certainly made their mark amongst their fans over the years. Yet emerging from the CP story are the murmurings of a new sound, as more and more people become aware of the Bionics side project that members Danielle Moore and Tim Davies have joined in recent times.

“Ben Davis is the founder of the group,” explains Danielle, talking about the project. “Myself and Tim joined him. He produced and came up with the majority of ideas for the Bionics, which helps differentiate the sound from CP. We are all very close friends and Ben used to be one of the team that ran Paper Recordings, who CP were first signed to.”

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Originally published at Fletcher Andersen. Please leave any comments there.

When it comes to political consciousness within drum’n'bass, there is no other group that has made more of an impact with their message of equality and tolerance than Asian Dub Foundation. Now, after having spent years as the front-man for the seminal and oft acclaimed group, MC Spex is now branching out from his long time association with the band, and entering new territory as a solo artist. In the past few months there has been some speculation as to why Spex left ADF, and the truth is, as always, much more realistic and down to earth than the rumours.

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Eighteen years is a long time in the electronic music world, but for Elite Force, one of the unquestionable kings of the beat, the time has been more than well spent.

Constantly evolving his craft and forever diversifying into different areas of production, Elite Force has over the years managed to stay at the top of his game by constantly exploring the variable patterns of change within electronic music, and his love for the journey works in near symbiosis with his over-arching optimism.

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Without innovation, there would be no progress, and nowhere is that saying more appropriate than within the world of drum and bass, where new stars rise from bedrooms studios every week. With such a huge influx of producers emerging, it is often difficult for new comers to maintain an edge and to separate themselves from the pack, yet one such trio of artists, Sigma, comprised of friends Cam, Wooz and Ben, has managed to do just that.

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The turns and tides of an artists journey through a musical genres is not always without its ups and downs, and quite often riding the wave of popular opinion stands many in good stead, but amongst all genres there are always those who eschew the pro-offered, well laid down route towards success, and there are few who have a less care of the “proper” way of doing things than the enigmatic Mampi Swift.

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In the ever shifting and tumultuous landscape that is the modern drum and bass world, producers and DJs rise, fall and stay fast. Yet in the past few years Chase and Status made more waves in such a short amount of time within the genre than most others, and after only four years in the business, have managed to produce music that is now to be found at the front of every Djs crate.

Their meteoric descent into the forefront of the drum and bass does, however, seem to contain almost a hint of a conscious decision on behalf of the duo. “We DJed since we were about fifteen or sixteen, and for ten or eleven years we’ve been DJing in our bedrooms and at house parties, anywhere we could really,” Chase explains. “Then we kind of realised that unless you really put effort into it you wouldn’t make it just on DJ merit alone, so we decided to pack in university and quit all that, and got a studio in Manchester and just sat in there every day for ten to twelve hours and learnt how to work on tunes.”

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There is nothing more confusing these days than the line between both breakbeat and electro. With an increasing amount of DJs moving between the two genres, and indeed the two genres both disseminating and sharing ideas, DJ Madox aka Stephano Miele success in recent times is a prime example of how to overcome any form of barrier which may be inherent in attempting to pander to both crowds.

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The world of drum and bass as a genre has never been short of creativity and has, in fact, mostly gained its popularity by being a positive force of experiment within the electronic music field. Although it can be quite hard to pin down specific leaders in the field of Drum’n’bass production, there is no mistaking that both Calyx and TeeBee clearly sit within that circle of prominence. Whether it is within their own solo productions, individual DJ sets or as the incredibly energetic performance and production duo, Calyx and TeeBee have risen over the years to prominence with their blindingly powerful, yet meticulously rendered talents.

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The last several yeas have marked a distinctive change in the face of Australian hip hop. With acts such as the Hilltop Hoods and our own Downsyde making their mark and busting out into the mainstream, and with radio stations playing more local produce, things seem to have shifted. Where once it was very difficult to ever get an australian accented tracks onto the airwaves, things have now shifted rapidly into a window of opportunity.

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Having flown the flag for Australian electronic music for so long, Greg Packer now finds himself in a position that many DJs would be more than envious of, and it is this hard work over the years that is to be celebrated this Friday night in his very own showcase at The Nine. For years, Greg Packer has been one of the major faces of Australian drum’n’bass, with international recognition and acclaim.

Since his first release on Hardleaders in 2001 he has clocked up a remarkable ninety releases on over thirty two different labels, including the likes of Good Looking, 31 and Tangent. Yet with this astonishing average of one release every month over seven years, it may only just be now that he is really about to hit his stride with the resurrection the once stalled Interphase, Australia’s only dedicated drum and bass record label. Yet the question on many peoples lips is; why did Interphase go through such a long hiatus after between releases? At the end of the day, Greg believes that the finger may point at the economic problems that have plagued the record industry in the past few years.

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Makoto is one of the reasons why Drum and Bass continues to be a musical representation of enigmatic purpose, and why there is truth in the cliché that music really is universal. Hailing from Tokyo, Makoto has, in many respects, brought DnB to his homeland with his passion, drive, and unwavering creative ability. Traditionally, one does not think of DnB when Japan is brought into a discussion; however Makoto’s very name is intrinsically joined to that of his chosen genre within both his homeland, and the rest of the world.

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Imagine you are out in the country. You’ve pitched your tent and you’re sitting back relaxing, you’ve started hitting the piss (as you do in these situations) and decide to put on a trance album. You love this music, so why not play it really loud out bush? This is your weekend after all. Suddenly, you’re surrounded by a pack of fugans (fucking ugly bogans), looking rather ominous and swearing that if you don’t turn off that ‘techno’ crap that there could be Trouble.

The problem demonstrated above, is that electronic music is all too often not seen as “real” music. It’s seen as something that you really only listen to out at clubs, or in the case of the country, at the one local club that plays it sandwiched between some dodgy RnB anthem and Loveshack. The definition of music, to some, is a very pure thing. To some of those who love bands, electronic music such as trance is nothing of the sort. But what if you aim to take that image, and rebuild it? What if you are, in fact, a musician and you want to try to get that sense of true music out using the electronic music medium?

Darren Tate is synonymous with the kind of electronic music that would have fugans up in arms. At the heart of things, he is known for his epic trance production and sets, but for this classically trained artist there does not seem to be any form of distinction between the various ways in which music is created - and he is attempting to move beyond the typical stereotypes.

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Unassuming, devoid of pretension and as laid-back as anyone can be after constantly being on the move, Mallorca Lee is a guy who has been around the block more than a few times, and has the relaxed, humble attitude to prove it. As once a member of the seminal and acclaimed Ultrasonic, and having long since struck out on his own as a DJ, he has seemingly managed to find a balance that most DJs can only aspire to between his love of music, and his need to keep his feet firmly on the ground in regards to it - and he’s not afraid to bring things down a level at which others are envious.

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Everyone knows the Gold Coast - home of bleached babes, movie world and parties that just seem to go on forever. But the party capital of Australia isn’t just renowned for its plethora of tourist orientated activities, but its DJs also beginning to make its mark on the global electronic and house music scene, and the Stafford Brothers are one of the many acts that are helping to lead the charge.

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Matrix and Futurebound

On their own, both Matrix and Futurebound have made their own waves through the world of drum and bass through both their DJing and production efforts, and yet it by collaborating together that they have also now managed to reach a whole new level of both talent and innovation.

“We’ve known each other for a long time just DJing and exchanging music and such, but Brendon (Futurebound) lives in Liverpool and I live in London so we are quite a ways away from each other so that’s probably why its taken us so long to get into the studio together,” Matrix explains of their eventual hook-up in the studio. “We kinda talked about this for a year or so. When we’d bump into each other we’d be like ‘oh we should do some music together’ but we never got around to doing it, and when we did get together it was really easy for us to write together.”

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