Resolute is a new night launching this New Year's Eve in Maidstone, Kent and drawing together dubstep and roots music through the High Rollers soundsystem. Boasting an extensive, finely curated lineup that includes RDG coming over from Denmark, the first appearance of J:Kenzo's latest project alongside Mosaix under the Artikal moniker, Dub Police mic man Rod Azlan featuring alongside the likes of Pressa, Legend4ry and, the man behind the night, Crisp.
To support the night's launch, Pressa and Crisp are giving away their deep roller 'Atom', a tune that steps tightly with swung kick drums and a reverb heavy snare driving a warm, grooving bassline, exclusively through Hedmuk.
With the surprise giveaway of 'Icarus' earlier in the year as well as the recent long-awaited release of 'Myth' and 'Flow' TMSV has steadily been gathering the recognition and fanbase that his production is worthy of, and he's joined in with the giveaways this year too with a free EP of some of his early productions.
"I wanted to give away these 3 tunes to say thanks to everyone who's been supporting me this year. 2011 has been a very good year for me and I hope that 2012 will be even better.
Thank you for listening to my music, spending your hard earned money on my releases, downloading my mixes and coming to see me play...it really means a lot.
Sentinelese and Levitate are two of my earlier 140 bpm tunes, from 2007/2008. Smoke is from 2010.
Sleeper's multiple free downloads this year have been topped off by this Christmas giveaway, and celebration of reaching 2000 fans over on Facebook, from Distance's own Chestplate Records imprint. Featuring beats from the label boss himself as well as new signings Sleeper and District this EP, on top of the recent flurry of activity from the label including the announcement of their takeover of Fabric's third room in February, suggests that 2012 will be a busy year for the Chestplate crew.
Following up from 2009's 'Oh Geezus, It's Christmas' mixtape P Money, Blacks and Little Dee are back fronting this free eight track release. With features from some of the less known OG members and the beats being provided by a tight selection of some of the most in demand producers at the moment (just take a look at the beat selections from Lord Of The Mics 3 for an idea of how dominant these guys currently are) this is a welcome return to the mixtape format from the crew, who have remained relatively quiet since 'OG Season' and the departure of Dot Rotten.
1. OG'z - This Is GRIME! (feat. Kozzie, Jammin & Shower) (Prod. By Darq E Freaker) 2. OG'z - Taking It Old School (Prod. By Preditah) 3. OG'z - Who We Are (Prod. By Zdot) 4. Blacks - La La La (Prod. By Faze Miyake) 5. OG'z - Dead Battery Freestyle (Prod. By Faze Miyake) 6. Stormer - Sisters (Prod. By Preditah) 7. OG'z - Shutdown Vs. OG'z (Prod. By Sukh Knight) 8. OG'z - Numbers & Letters (Prod. By Faze Miyake)
Skream weighs in this Christmas with yet another huge, and apparently final, giveaway: this time he's collected eleven tracks which all date between 2004 and 2006 (a period many consider to be among the golden years of the garage off-shoots of both dubstep and grime). Coming with a slightly wry warning that 'This will not impress people who found dubstep in the last 3 years', the free zip should provide something of an insight to more recent fans as to the minimal and hugely experimental foundations from which the now-global sound has grown.
Featuring some Stella Session classics, such as 'Potent Cloud' and 'Hurt The Soundboy', this is a must have for everyone: regardless of when they were first introduced to the sound.
1. Zoned 2. Potent Cloud 3. Deeper Concentration 4. Dubbers Anonymous Pt.2 5. Hurt The Soundboy 6. Live & Learn 7. Sound Trak 8. Tale of the Haunted Flutes 9. Top Gear 10. All Hail 11. My Calculations
Following last year's 'Merry Christmas EP' Ghetts' has offered up another generous seasonal offering. The 19 track 'Momentum Mixtape', hosted by the infamous Whoo Kid, includes a number of collaborations with big names in the UK grime scene including the likes of Devlin, Mercston, Giggs and Badness.
1. Merry Xmas Intro 2. In A Zone 3. Karma 4. Red Pill (Ft. Mercston) 5. Insight 6. Venemous Tongue 7. Not Lose 8. No Comment (Ft. Giggs) 9. Rebel 10. Orions Belt 11. Troubled Man 12. Story of the Pauper 13. Girl At Home (Ft. Brutal) 14. System (Ft. Badness) 15. Roof Off (Ft. Rawz Artilla) 16. Ima Boss Version 17. Piping Up (Ft. Devlin) 18. 3Style (Ft. Kyzer) 19. Séyi – It’s Christmas
2011 has seen an explosion in interest for what, over the course of the year, has been termed and re-termed multiple times but ultimately is dubstep in its most elemental form. Perverse have risen through the ranks at an incredible speed this year and are on course to make the coming year their own: what is important about the duo, though, is a dedication (shared with a number of the year's other breakthrough producers, such as Killawatt, Thelem, District and Sleeper) to progression. With many people happy to level the lazy argument that the deeper end of the 140bpm spectrum has become 'boring' or 'repetitive' it is necessary for producers to continue to strive for originality and, to a certain extent, for the fans to demand it too. Originality is something that this New Zealand duo have, and to note it's correlation with their rapid ascent this year is key. We caught up with them for an interview and got them to lay down the latest instalment in our exclusive mix series.
Hedmuk: As an introduction, what are your names, where are you from and how would you describe your sound?
Brett & Alex: We are Brett & Alex [aka Perverse] and we're based in Auckland, New Zealand but originally from South Africa and Scotland respectively. We like to think of our sound as clean, deep, emotional, bass-driven and thought-provoking.
H: Had either of you previously been involved in making music in any form, or is Perverse your first real venture?
Brett: Both of us produced under different aliases before meeting: I produced under the name Ducer and Alex under the name Zander. For me, Perverse was the first serious thing I had done.
Alex: I had been messing around with producing for about 2 years before forming Perverse with Brett. I didn't really find my "sound" until about 4-5 months ago; I used to experiment in all kinds of beats like trip-hop, D&B and experimental stuff, but dubstep was always my favorite.
H: In only a matter of months you've successfully caught the ears of many of the most influential DJs and producers, including the likes of Youngsta and J:Kenzo: is there anything in particular that you would out this down to? Does this kind of support add an extra element of pressure when you come to making new beats?
B & A: The way we look at it, in most cases these guys are bombarded with tunes daily so it's not common that they just happen to stumble across up-and-comers. For us it was about chasing down those we felt might connect and feel the music we are producing, and only sending our best quality stuff: nothing we were unhappy with. We always sent what was, in our eyes, [music that was produced] to the best of our ability.
It does [add an extra element of pressure] in the respect that we have to maintain a standard, but that can only be a good thing.
H: How do you find producing as a duo? Do you always produce together, or have you other solo projects outside of Perverse?
Brett: We may not always start a tune together but we always finish it together. We spend most nights in the studio so just bounce ideas off each other and let the tune write itself a lot of the time. I think both of us have singular projects on the go as well, but not with the same passion I have for Perverse.
Alex: I found it very hard to work with others before working with Brett. We both work really well together and our styles seem to merge when making a tune. I make tunes on the side too but they won't see the light of day for a long time, I'm experimenting with loads of styles at the moment.
H: How much of a scene/following for dubstep is there in New Zealand? How did you first come into contact with dubstep, in particular the deeper sound that you're building yourselves?
B & A: Bass driven music has always had a huge following here, especially in drum and bass. The scene is extremely healthy catering to those of all tastes, it's continually growing and 9 times out of 10 in a positive way. Both of us were introduced to dubstep through friends and the internet, it became quite the addiction very quickly. The first artists we came into contact with were people like Mala, Vex'd, Distance, Burial, Pinch, Cyrus, Cluekid, Benga and Skream. I guess it was that first taste of the darker, minimal heavier vibe that we fell in love with and that is why we choose to reflect that in what we produce. You can possibly hear their influences in our stuff but hopefully it has an individual sound as well.
H: You've recently joined Rood FM, with your Monday night show: how did this come about? What sort of vibe do you aim to create with the show?
B & A: We were approached by Fish, one of the owners of RoodFM, saying he'd heard some of our stuff and wanted to know if we'd like a slot. To have a radio show was definitely a goal of ours but we didn't think it would come so quickly. We play anything we are feeling and we like to have a laugh. Anyone that has tuned in knows we don't take anything too seriously and we like to have fun, while interacting with the people in the chatroom and people on Facebook and AIM.
H: Can you take us through how you went about putting together your mix for us?
B & A: We just chucked a bunch of tunes we were feeling together and had a jam, as well as including a few of ours for good measure. To be honest, planning mixes for us never seems to really flow it's better just to have a jam and let the mix dictate itself.
H: Finally, are there any forthcomings or anything else in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out about?
B & A: Definitely. We're stoked with the reception the Innamind release has received and are truly honoured to be a part of a release with some good friends and people we look up to. 'Skylark' is currently sitting at #5 in the sales chart (shameless self-promotion).
We also have a forthcoming vinyl release featuring 3 of our favourite tracks, coming early next year as well as a few other releases and projects in the works which will hopefully see the light of day very soon. There's collabs too, with some of our favourite artists and people we really look up to.
Big shout out as well to all the people helping us, pushing us, buying the releases and chatting to us. Churrrrrrrr...
With a debut release on Distance's Chestplate label dropping very soon, Sleeper has given away another free tune. With the usual balance of weighty kicks, eery atmospherics and rolling mid-range this serves as an ideal lead in to the patiently-awaited release of Zombies / Scanners.
One of the hardest working producers around, Legend4ry is known not only as a talented beatsmith but also as a tireless promoter of all that's positive in music. Striking a balance between a fierce sense of independence and a dedication to pushing good music to new ears his is an interesting take on what might loosely be called 'the music industry', and this is continuously reflected in his own tunes as he refuses to be boxed in by genre specifications and other industry terminology. The result is music filled with a striking sense of originality and a feel that is instantly recognisable as 'Legend4ry'. We caught up with him to talk about his approach to making beats, among other things, and got him to contribute the latest mix to our series.
Hedmuk: To introduce yourself, what's your name, where are you from and how would you describe your sound?
Legend4ry: I'm Chris Gallienne and I make music under the moniker of Legend4ry (as well as Lienne and JustAnotherAlias). I'm from Woolwich which is in the borough of Greenwich in South East London.
I would describe my sound as bass music with an emphasis on pads and percussion.
H: When did you start making beats? Had you made music in any other forms beforehand?
L: I started making music at around 14 or 15. I distintively remember having a copy of Ejay from a PC magazines demo CD which only had about 20 loops in it when I was around 10/11 which I used to drive everyone in my family bonkers with hearing the same stuff just moved around a little bit each time. Someone uninstalled it from the PC and took a key to the disc to deem it unuseable (harsh, I know! Still don't know who did it (laughs)). Other than that I had toyed with things like Music/Music2000 on the Playstation but didn't really 'get it' . I have always liked the idea of making music but never really pursued it until I was around people who felt the same way.
H: You've got huge variation in your productions, ranging from straight-up dubstep, to hip-hop to beats hanging around the 130bpm bracket: Is this something intentional, aimed perhaps at keeping your production fresh, or does it just happen for you? How do you balance all of it?
L: I start making music by finding a break, a sample or even a sound and find something which 'hits' me in a certain way (which is hard to explain) and sometimes I'll think "I need to go a bit hip hop with this" or "this would go well in a house tune" and then work from there.
95% of the time I will have the intention of making a dubstep track and if it starts to shape into something else then I will let it. I don't think its healthy to force a tune into being something it isn't. Even if I have never made that genre before I will always stick with an idea if it's solid. I am not afraid to make other genres, I think a lot of people give off that impression with their music, each tune just sounds like a re-hash of their last tune with a few set of drums: that doesn't interest me at all! I want to take music as far as I can as a person not genres.
This is what 'JustAnotherAlias' is all about, when I make music which isn't totally a "Legend4ry" track I put it into the JustAnotherAlias name so as not to stear one name in too many directions. I don't really push this alias as much as I should, with only one commerical release under that name and a recent self-released free EP called 'An Introduction'; a mix of house, dubstep, hiphop and triphop. On the whole, JustAnotherAlias is more of a personal project for now.
H: You also host your own radio show, Wednesd4ry: what was the original thinking behind the project? Have you any plans to expand it?
L: Wednesd4ry is primarily a vinyl-only radio show (with the addition of a CDJ if a guest brings it themself) broadcasted with video which is thrown every Wedneday with my best mates T4X and Chris Melo.
It started from me and T4X wanting to get on radio and we played on pirate station WaxFM after doing a one-off internet show and really enjoying it. We stopped broadcasting on Wax as it was cheaper to buy our own webhosting and stream it ourselfs pushing dubstep and we also do the odd hip hop set.
We recently revamped our website and hit our 50th show a few months ago which was a really big thing for us! We had a huge party with ballons to celebrate and got some of our past guest as well as other DJs to come down and play (the line up was Myself, T4X, Melo, Triggy, One-R and Focus).
Carrying on from that we now have a pretty solid regular fan base and will continue to be independent from any other radio show, having a one-off broadcast every Wednesday. We don't have to compete with DJs who played before us nor have any constrainsts on how long we can play or be told how to act when on air. I think this helps us do the best show we can, play what we feel like and just have a radio show which is a fun and interesting listen. I think a lot of radio shows these days are all about dubplates and are very formal, and that's not our cup of tea.
H: Some may also know you as one of the moderators of the Production forum on dubstepforum.com, how did you get involved with the guys who run the site and what were your motivations behind taking up the post?
L: I have always frequented dubstepforum, it has been one of my main sources of browsing on the internet for around 5 years now. When I got more into making music and wanting to better my music I pretty much 'lived' in the production area.
At around '09ish the production forum wasn't really moderated by any of the current mods and it was a death trap for anyone wanting to ask questions which have been asked before due to unhelpful members and no moderation. As a forum we nominated Shamanji to moderate the board, after a few months he went on tour with his partner (who together make up Sub Swara) and asked Dubway to add me as a mod temporarily while he was on tour. Long story short, Mr Shamanji is a busy man and had to step down as a mod so I became the dedicated moderator for the production forum. Now its run by myself, Pete Bubonic (aka forsaken/runs the Soul Motive label) and Wub, who is famously the funniest person on the forum (and probably the whole of the internet in my opinion).
Together we try and make it a place where you can get the help you deserve and we constantly add to the huge database of knowledge we call the 'Production Bible' which is a great resource for anyone wanting to get into making music.. It covers everything from making sounds to layering drums, mixing down and where to find the best and cheapest mastering all the way through to being an artist in this day and age. I think this is my motivation for moderating the board, I like the fact that I can hand pick discussions and add them to the Production Bible which helps people stick at making music; that is something I struggled with for a few years before I found my feet. Obviously I like the fact there's less spam and derailing of topics as it makes it a pleasant place to browse and to be part of it makes me happy in some way!
H: Tell us a bit about how you went about putting together your mix for us.
L: Honestly, I thought about a mix to show to off my DJing skills but then I thought that's a bit of boring: people can listen to my weekly show, or come see me out to hear how my DJing is. For this mix I picked tracks I am really feeling at the moment to create a interesting listening experience as opposed to something that needs all your attention. It goes from a mellow start to house pitched up to 140 and then to loads of my own tunes with the odd track by someone else. I took a really mellow approach with this mix, so pop it on when you're sitting on the train or having a nice lazy day; that's where it sounds best!
H: Finally, are there any forthcomings or anything in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out on?
L: I'm playing the Audio Doughnuts first birthday on the 25th of this month. Don't forget to lock into my weekly radio show every Wednesday 8-10ish (pm) GMT at www.Wednesd4ry.com. My 'New Directions' EP recently got re-signed to Dubstrict Records after a bit of a ca-fuffle over which label is going to sign it, so that's good!
Shout outs to: Crises, Majora (aka Bandicoot), T4X & Melo, Sashwat (of Dank N Dirty Dubz), Dubstrict Records family and anyone else who pushes and enjoys my music!
Not forgetting thanks to Hedmuk for asking me to do one of these: I've been wanting to for ages!
We've linked up with the people behind In:Motion in Bristol, who are at the forefront of the city's underground dance music scene, to give you the opportunity to win a pair of VIP passes to next Friday's huge Bloc. takeover. The winner will receive two VIP tickets, including queue jump and VIP area access, as well as a bunch of drinks tokens provided by the club.
Since Bloc. is 're-booting for 2012' and moving to a new location this night serves to distill the core elements of the legendary Bloc. Weekend that has become a mainstay on the electronic music world's collective calendar; and Bristol, with its world-renown within bass music, has been chosen as the ideal place for the event. The lineup presented is an eclectic mix of some of the leading lights across the bass music spectrum, taking in the purple sounds of Joker, 2562 relentless desires for progression within the hardcore continuum, a musical pioneer and multi-faceted producer/DJ, among the innovators responsible for the birth of the dubstep sound, in the form of Artwork , Gemmy's unique take on the loose hybrid sound of dubstep and grime and Manchester's innovative Illum Sphere all on top of the likes of James Holden and Nathan Fake.
To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following simple question:
Where was the Bloc. Weekend held last year?
Answers should be emailed to hedmuk@gmail.com with the subject 'Bloc Competition', and emails should include a contact number by which you may be contacted upon winning. The competition will end at midnight on the 23rd of November and the winner will be announced via the Hedmuk - Bass Music Facebook Page.
Since we got such positive feedback for our last collection of classic sets and mixtapes, we've decided to make it a semi-regular feature and will be posting old, and sometimes hard to find, mixes in slightly nostalgic bunches like this from time to time.
Radio 1's Essential Mix show has a simple formula, and that is to put some of the world's biggest DJs to the two-hour test and see what sort of a set they can come up with. Few Essential Mixes have retained as much legend in the UK's bass music scene as the dubstep and grime special hosted in 2006, which featured the newly-renamed Plastician, Digital Mystikz and Roll Deep taking shifts around the decks.
A legendary Stella Session in which Skream is joined by Mala and Chef. All three DJs have a huge selection of dubs with them and vow to keep playing 'until the dubs run out'.
The set in which Wiley's mouth may have got the better of him as his constant sends for God's Gift eventually saw the studio rushed and the show ended early, and would also contribute to Geeneus' famous ban on grime at Rinse in 2007.
A genuine rarity, this live recording from Transmission in Leeds is a run through of much of the material that has made DMZ and all involved with it such an institution within dubstep.
Dubstep's American ambassador, Joe Nice, is reputed for the wide selection of dubs he carries as well as his passion for the music. This mix goes down as a catalogue of some of the tunes that have been lost to the scene's celebrated dubplate culture.
A melodic garage stepper reminiscent of some of Synkro's early productions, with crisp percussion draped with drifting female vocals, warm sub-bass and a rising piano line, this is one to zone out to.
Skream is at it again, and has given away the collaboration he worked on with Joker a couple of years ago. With some hefty swing in the drums, and the Bristolian's purple synths at the forefront, this tune was a big tune on the dancefloor as a dubplate and will undoubtedly be making it into plenty more people's sets now.
Drum & bass MC-turned-producer, SP:MC has been a firm favourite for many fans of deeper half-step sounds since his debut dubstep release of 'Trust Nobody' and 'Future' (alongside Joker D, the man now known as LX One) on Tempa. Over the years SP has had a string of releases, each one as anticipated as the next with a strong emphasis on quality over quantity.
To coincide with his most recent release on Tempa, the huge 'Hunted' / 'Oh My Gosh' 12", he's given away an unreleased beat made back in 2008. Featuring his characteristic super-tight percussion and warped basslines, this one is a straight cop.
Innamind Recordings step up to join the likes of M.U.D, MindStep and Sub Lab in providing a new platform for some of the up-and-coming artists who are pushing some of the more sub-driven productions from within the dubstep spectrum; and with the masters for the new imprint's debut release having been on repeat here at Hedmuk over the last week, we are excited to announce that it will be dropping on the 12th of December. With more exciting releases in the pipeline, including full vinyl releases, Innamind is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
To help launch the compilation, we've linked up with the label to offer the chance of winning a fresh Innamind T-shirt and a bunch of stickers will go to runners-up aswell. To be in with a chance of winning an Innamind t-shirt and stickers, just send your answer to the following question to hedmuk@gmail.com with the subject 'Innamind Competition':
In which southern hemisphere country is Innamind Recordings based? (Competition closes on the 16th of November, on which date the winners will be notified and their postage details/sizing requested).
As a further gift we're also giving away this murky bit form Arktrix, who is also the man behind the excellent 45hz blog.
If he didn't already have enough tunes on their way to people's record bags, Killawatt has decided to celebrate reaching 1000 followers on his Facebook page by giving away a free, four-track EP including three original productions and a remix of Black Sun Empire's 'Kempi'.
Featuring the usual weight, tightly-layered percussion and bending basslines, this collection serves as an apt pre-amble to the slew of forthcoming releases the Guildford producer has in the pipeline.
Having put their formative imprint, For The Win, on hiatus for the past few months, Goli & Ashburner return with their latest project in the form of DEM Recordings. Backed by both Manchester-based agency Faze 2 and us here at Hedmuk, DEM is aimed at bridging the seemingly small, yet apparently huge, gap between grime and dubstep. Since taking on their own individual growth-spurts from the UK garage scene, the two have often been set in opposition with each other despite many of their obvious structural similarities. There have been attempts to draw the two together in the past, but with a somewhat inconsistent rate of success which has arguably and, at least in part, been down to the lack of a label aiming simply to bind the two together for a positive result: the hugely competitive market created by digital releases has meant that many labels are left trying to establish themselves as consistent houses for dubstep or grime, alongside a minority who are still willing to push the envelope to varying degrees of success.
Thus DEM taps into an area that has perhaps been wrongly disregarded by labels in the past, not wanting to appear inconsistent in their brand development. With the simple goal, in their own words, of looking 'to bring a bit of bassweight to grime and experiment with how the two genres can work together', the duos approach is suitable to the task at hand; not wanting to try and define or mark something out before it has been created, the label presents an intriguing prospect and one which the many fans of both dubstep and grime have no doubt been waiting for. Dedication to the cross-pollination of the genres is the key here, and is something that DEM seeks to provide from the off.
To celebrate the launch of DEM, we are collaborating with Faze 2 and Goli & Ashburner to release the first in a series of free Zip files and mixes exclusively through Hedmuk. Featured in the Zip is a free EP featuring tunes from the duo alongside the likes of Merky ACE and MIK aswell as an exclusive thirty-minute showcase mix among other things.
Core - 3rd Chamber (dub) Lurka - The Forgotten Ones (dub) Killawatt - Rolling Dunes (dub) J:Kenzo & Mosaic - Alone In The Darkness (New State Music) Biome - Swirls (M.U.D) Matt U - Voids (Black Box) Benny Page - Take You Back (Subway) Silkie - Sela Nova (Deep Medi) Sunship (feat. Warrior Queen) - Almighty Father (Badness) Subreachers - Machine (dub) J:Kenzo - Engage (dub) Mz Bratt - Selecta (label) Quantize - Alkaline (Forthcoming MIMM) Ashburner - Creeper Refix (dub) Royal T - RIP Hot Ones (Free) Taz - Arterial Girl (dub) Goli & Ashburner - Do It ft. M.I.K. (forthcoming DEM)
Linking up for the label's first release with one of the most exciting talents in the grime scene at the moment, Goli & Ashburner and Elementz' remixes of MIK of Family Tree's grime anthem 'Do It' is to join the first free Zip file as a serious statement of intent. Keep an eye out for the official release date, announced soon.
With skippy drums, delicate synths and well-placed samples the tune builds over the course of its five minutes with an immaculate sense of control which seems to emblematic of the two young producers.
Since dropping his debut 12" on Push & Run, Ifan Dafydd has been turning a few influential heads and with good reason: 'Miranda' comes on with the precise vocal chops of early James Blake material layered over warm basslines and panned-out clicks, snaps and drifting piano. The production is tight and leaves plenty of hard-working space to engage the listener. Whilst the James Blake comparison is the easy, and perhaps dangerously obvious, one to make there is an inherent originality to Dafydd's tunes which suggest that he will take the hard-to-pin-down sound in a fresh direction.
Only a few months on the scene and already making big waves, the New Zealand duo go from strength to strength with each new production and are quickly gaining support from major DJs such as Youngsta, J:Kenzo and Distance. As part of what is becoming what appears to be quite a positive trend, Perverse are giving away this free tune after gaining 350 fans on their Facebook Page.
Displaying the big kicks and eery synths characteristic of the pair's consistent production, this atmospheric, swung stepper exemplifies the sort of tight beats that have shot Perverse into the limelight since the end of this summer just gone. Enjoi:
A duo who have quietly been building up a lot of support over the last half a year or so, My Nu Leng first came to our attention with the lurching 'Fireflies' as a standout track on Dr. Hugo's Exclusive Mix for us last May and since then have been impossible to pin down as they continually bring something fresh to the table with their beats. Switching with ease between a range of styles around the 130-140bpm mark, and with crisp production to boot, a strong garage influence underpins their sound without leading them down the (admittedly occasionally inviting) path of so many Burial-soundalikes. With a weekly show on Rood FM and close ties with Crises and MindStep Music, it seems that the My Nu Leng have built themselves a solid platform from which to take on 2012; we spoke to the pair about their approach to making tunes and got them to add the latest instalment to our mix series.
Hedmuk: As an introduction for those who may not know yet, what's your name, where are you from and how would you describe your sound?
James / Tommy: We are My Nu Leng and are a duo consisting of James Irving (Jammo) from Bristol and Tommy Jackson from London.
We like to write music covering a large spectrum of genres and styles, from garage to funky and from down-tempo to dubstep! Usually always fitting somewhere within the 130-140 BPM range. Our influences have worked well together and the more music we are making, the more we feel we are honing in on a particular sound.
H: How do you find producing as a duo, particularly considering the physical distance between yourselves?
J: We have managed to find a nice balance considering the distance at times but it can vary for each track. Before writing as a duo we both worked on our own individual music - to have another set of ears and eyes when it comes to production has really helped us strive to create music that (we hope!) is a little bit different, not sticking to certain barriers producers may be accustomed to in certain genres.
T: I personally prefer it, we only started making tunes together a short while before Jammo left the area for Uni, during which time we had sat down & made just a few tracks together. It works well in that one of us can work on something pretty much until hitting a block, then send the file to the other to have a crack at. It pretty much goes back & forth & changes the whole time until we're happy with what we've got.
H: Your beats take in a diverse range of sounds and styles including garage, uk funky, bassline and dubstep; is this something you have always set out to do or has it occurred more naturally?
J: It has definitely happened as a natural progression the more we produce together. The diversity of music we both listen to has always helped but the more new music we show each other, the more we seem to get blown away by the talent out there! And I think it is then about just striving to get even remotely near that level of production: one day!
T: Yeah definitely naturally, I know that when I've sat down with the idea of starting something of a certain style, it's always ended up completely different; for instance 'Fireflies' was originally a nice little garage-y number before Jammo put the b-line in it and it completely changed the tune! Between us we pretty much listen to anything, which I know is a bold statement & probably overused, but for example my missus' favourite kinds of music are people like Dean Martin, Edith Piaf, the blues etc. so that's always on in the gaff: it means there's always a different kind of idea there, it's just being able to get our ideas down, which we can't always do but that will come with time & learning, which we are still constantly doing.
H: There is a strong garage influence throughout your tunes; who are some of the artists that you draw inspiration from? Where, or from who, else do you take influence from when building beats?
J: We've both been pretty much obsessed with Burial & have been for years now. We put together our 'All Burial Mix' quite some time ago just for ourselves at the time, just so we would be able to listen to all of our favourite bits in one mix: we still love it just because it's a perfect collection of music!
T: Other artists include heads like Sully, Jamie xx, Phaeleh, Scuba, Dark Sky, Eleven8 etc., as well as a lot of old (proper) hip hop, drum & bass, grime & old school garage.
J: I also feel we've definitely got a lot inspiration from the other guys in the scene at the moment. There's a really strong community at the moment where a lot of people are doing big things & all seem to be kind of coming up together, everyone is pushing their own sound & doing it really well which just pushes us harder to be more productive. Guys like Versa & Rowl and the whole ICU lot, Percept, Anex, Majora (Bandicoot) are smashing it.
T: Mixing-wise, I'd rate Solitude & Oneman who, although are both at completely opposite ends of the spectrum, are both at the top of their game in what they do & always leave me feeling a little bit mind-blown (laughs)!
H: You recently released your debut EP (the 'Fireflies EP') through MindStep Music; how did this come about?
T & J: The release came about after one of our good mates Syte introduced us to Crises. We had put out a couple of free downloads & been sending stuff out for a bit, and we'd had a couple of responses, but MindStep just seemed like the perfect label to put out our first release on.
H: Tell us a little about how you went about putting together the mix you've done for us.
T: It's pretty much a collection of some of our favourite music & artists at the moment, as well as a chance to put out a few of our unheard tracks.
I basically made a playlist in my Serato a while ago & have been adding my favourite pieces of music for a while, then it was just a matter of having a couple of practice mixes to get a rough order & record it! There are a fair few Leng tunes in there, a couple of which, like 'Fireflies VIP', that pretty much no one has heard yet & 'Saviours' which is the first actual track we made together (laughs)!
Anyone who has heard our radio show on Rood FM (Saturday's 4-6) knows that we cover most genres within the show & it's always pretty fast-paced. I thought it was important to cover the majority of styles which we actually play out or on the radio so that people who have only heard a few of our tracks know what we cover!
H: Finally, is there anything forthcoming or in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out on?
J: We have an EP forthcoming on Mindstep Music featuring 'Fireflies VIP' and 3 remixes of 'Fireflies' from Crises, Wonder and Tunnidge! We are just finalising our first vinyl release, which we are very excited about, and have remixes coming from J-One, Versa & Rowl and Demon as well as a few remix projects ourselves!
T: Deejaying-wise, we are residents at 51 27 at the Thekla in Bristol which is a new exciting night to be involved with, so big shout to the 51 27 lot and Thekla heads! Please check out our Facebook page for our full listings, we have quite a busy end to the year!
My Nu Leng - Time Goes By [dub] Versa - Shadow Movement [dub] DJ Rum - Turiya [2nd Drop] J-One - Work it Out [dub] Eleven8 - Motions [dub] My Nu Leng - Untitled [dub] J-One - Deep Down [dub] Throwing Snow - Shadower [Sneaker Social Club] MJ Cole - Hawaii [Prolific] Braille - A Meaning [Hotflush] Sorrow - Reminiscence (Troy Gunner Remix) [dub] Dark Sky - Leave [Ninja Tune] XXXY - Ordinary Things [Ten Thousand Yen] Majora - Questionable Logic [dub] >>> Brandy - Never Say Never (Acca.) [Atlantic] Champion - Lighter VIP [Formula] Sunship - In the Pocket [Filter] Mosca - Bax [Numbers] Pusherman - Shake It Off [dub] My Nu Leng - Damp [dub] Deadboy - Here 4 U [Numbers] Hugo - Out of Breath [dub] Gang Colours - Dance Around the Subject (Pedestrian Remix) [Brownswood] Sully - Let U Know [Keysound] My Nu Leng - Fireflies VIP [dub] Burial - Versus [Hyperdub] Anex - Counter It [dub] Wonder - What Have You Done (Inst.) [Newera) Digital Mystikz - Lost City [DMZ] Kaiju - Snake Spirit [dub] Versa & Rowl - Full Moon [dub] Content - Forewarned [dub] Perverse - Cerberus [dub] Percept - Corrupt [dub] My Nu Leng - Consume [dub] My Nu Leng - Norma Jean [dub] My Nu Leng - Saviours [dub]
After the sell-out success of last month's Subtitled with Kryptic Minds and Biome, October brings a fresh lineup and another chance to win tickets to one of Manchester's most exciting new nights.
Featuring DJ Madd, District, Sleeper, Thelem and Subtitled resident, Biome all on the same stage, this is a finely curated event; to find out more about the night, including where to grab advance tickets from, click here.
Once again, we've linked up with the guys at Subtitled to offer the chance to win a pair of tickets to the event by answering this simple question:
What was the name of DJ Madd's very first release on Boombap Records back in 2008?
To be in with a chance, just send your answer to hedmuk@gmail.com with the subject 'Subtitled Competition' before the closing date of the 20th of October. The winner will be randomly selected after the competition's close, and announced via the 'Hedmuk - Bass Music' Facebook page (aswell as being notified by email).
With the notable and relatively recent rise in popularity for the deeper end of the dubstep spectrum has come, of course, an increased demand for quality releases. With a small number of labels, such as Box Clever, MindStep and Deep Medi, currently working hard to meet these ever-increasing demands it seems that the time is ripe for a new, fresh label to join the ranks. With this comes the resurgence of Macabre Unit, a name that many will know for their influence in the grime scene some years ago. Headed up once more by Demon and this time coming back from a different, almost darker angle the label is set to hit a balance between digital and vinyl output that has been hard to master for many labels over recent years. We caught up with the man behind it all to find out a bit more about this new venture and managed to squeeze a free beat out of him as a little extra accompaniment to his addition to our exclusive mix series.
Hedmuk: To introduce yourself, what's your name, where do you come from and what is your label M.U.D all about? Demon / M.U.D: Hi, I'm Raff Di Renzo (aka Demon), I'm currently based in Buckinghamshire, UK and M.U.D (Macabre Unit Digital) is my own imprint which has been set up to push the darker sound of Dubstep and remind people where it's really at.
H: With confirmed releases already from D-Cult, Biome, Versa and Catacombs the label is representing a fairly specific sound: how do you go about selecting tunes/artists to sign? D/M: The music that I'm surrounded by right now is exactly the kind of stuff I've been in tune with for some years, having our two radio shows on Sub & Rood FM is a great way to test tracks out and get opinions and feedback for the artist, and I'm very broad minded when it comes to listening to tracks for playing on the radio: if I like it, I'll play it. However with the imprint it's different, if a track seems to have a bit of me living in it (in my head) then it's got my attention; I have a specific sound that attracts me and you can hear that in the tracks that are signed already and the mix that I've compiled for you guys. I think anyone who is running a label will tell you it's rare you 'um and ahh' about tracks to sign: it's an instant thing. As for signing artists, I don't really believe in it: being an artist myself I know how important it is for you to have the freedom to explore all avenues, and I'd feel like someone's dad if I signed them and they'd be hanging off my every word...I cant be arsed with that (laughs). Signing tracks and having a good ongoing business relationship with anyone involved with M.U.D is what it's about for me.
H: Tell us about your plans to run a vinyl imprint alongside the digital label. How important do you think it is for a label to have a physical arm in the music industry today? D/M: Yes I'm planning on doing vinyl runs of all the digital releases I put out, my reasons for this are simple: people want vinyl, they want something they can have and can add to a physical collection, along with spinning it in true DJ fashion on a Technics 1210. Also I find many artists are much more willing to work with an imprint if there is a vinyl side to things, so yeah, in my honest opinion it is very important for a label to have a physical arm in the music industry.
H: Do you find it difficult balancing your commitments as a DJ, producer and label owner? Which would you consider yourself most strongly to be? D/M: I find that all three of them coincide with each other: I DJ to promote the music I produce and sign and then I have the label which is the outlet for that material. I'd say, though, first and foremost I am a producer: that’s where the fire burns for me.
H: Many will know of Macabre Unit as a grime crew from Bedford: what became of this side of the collective, and will M.U.D be in any way connected to it? D/M: The Unit as a grime collective broke down as life tookover, being a huge team and being so young we were always going to lose people along the way. We were all very young and we didn’t have a clue what life had in store for us, the whole grime thing was a blur to me (laughs), I didn’t even realise how big we were until it all blew over, if that makes sense. At times I look back now and I feel we didn’t embrace it enough, didn’t get the maximum out of what we had going on, but you know everything happens the way it happens for a reason: I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now writing this if it didn’t go how it did.
M.U.D is almost like a new turning of the leaf for the Unit musically , but we will always be known for our grime days, and people are right in expecting me to have MCs spraying bars for me over sets. And yeah, half-way through a dirty dubstep set, I'll switch to ‘Dem Na Ready’ or ‘Shootin' Stars’. I'd be crazy not to...
H: Take us through how you went about putting together the mix you've recorded for us.
D/M: I think as soon as we agreed I'd do this feature I already knew what artists I was gonna feature; all of these artists (excluding myself, 'cause I don’t want to sound like I'm blowing my own horn) are in their prime at the moment and they have so much material, but I chose the tracks that represent the sound that truly makes me tick.
H: Finally, is there anything forthcoming or in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out on? D/M: Yeah there is, of course there is: two M.U.D releases dropping together on the same day on the 17th of October (those releases consisting of D-Cult/Biome/Versa) we also have our Sub FM & Rood FM ICU & Macabre Unit shows that we do every other two week. There are a few other things in the pipeline, but they're a tad too far down the pipe to really mention right now...
Last of all, I would like to dedicate this feature & mix to my friend and fellow original Macabre Unit producer Fabio Cataldo, aka Blaze, who passed away very recently: you will never be forgotten, this one's for you bruv, all my love and rest in peace x.
