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.
