One of the few MCs who has maintained a consistent trajectory in grime, Trim is known for his innovative flows and interesting beat selection. Following up from his recent, and celebrated, appearance on Damu's debut album, this ten-track release forms a medial point between Trim's experimental choice of beats and his roots in the original grime sound, as a former member of Roll Deep.
With beats from upfront grime producers such as Rude Kid and Teddy Music (aka Silencer) alongside producers, notably Harmonic 313, less likely to be seen credited on a grime mixtape, Bandoolou is more engaging than most.
1. Intro 2. No For An Answer 3. Hate Me (feat. Obese, Nico Lindsay & Careless) 4. DAT 5. Freestyle (feat. Nico Lindsay) 6. Lord Of Lords (feat. Riko) 7. War Mode (feat. Scorcher) 8. Bandoolou (feat. Obese, Nico Lindsay & Careless) 9. Motto Freestyle 10. Bar So Hard
We've been predicting Damu's rise for a while now, here at Hedmuk, and a feature on FACT as one to watch at the beginning of the year and a recent appearance in XLR8R's Bubblin' section suggest that 2011 may indeed be his year. On this free tune, put up a few hours after it was built, he combines techy pads with a bending synth-line and adds in a crisp Amen break to drive it forward.
Another little exclusive from Damu, again bringing a mix littered with fresh dubs. Damu's Gargoyle EP is out now on Silverback and comes highly recommended.
Dubbel Dutch - Pulso Tessela - Push Big Sean - Bullshittin' (Tony Senghore Remix) Funkystepz - XYZ Riddim (Original Instrumental Mix) Damu - Skinnydipper (Jack Dixon Remix) Canblaster - Triple Ring (Magnum Remix) Frank - Tessela Hackman - I Just Want Your Clothes Die Barbie Musik Kollektiv - Face [Junk] Flying Lotus - Table Tennis (feat. Laura Darlington) ▽nkown ShΔpes - Used To Give A FK Dizzee Rascal - Vexd (Chopped & Screwed) ▽nkown ShΔpes - If I Should Die Wheez-ie - 3rd Ward Shuffle Grown Folk - Block Is Hot (Damu's Futurwurx Reflex) Sines - Drop Gimme Canblaster - Lost in the Shell Deadboy - If U Want Me (Wheez-ie Remix)
With the ever-increasing apparent necessity for music to come with a genre label there comes an increase in the number of artists seeking to push past these boundaries and defy taxonomies by blending a wide variety of sounds. It is not often, however, that this is done successfully as it is all too easy to either go to far and lose a sense the essentials of rhythm and melody; when done well, though, the results can be thought-provoking, immersive and even danceable. Cogidubnus is one producer who is consistent in this and works to defy genre categories in both his own tunes, his DJ sets and will soon be providing a solid platform for other artists with the launch of his label, Broken Bubble. We caught up with him for an interview and he laid down an exclusive mix for us, which can be streamed and downloaded below.
Hedmuk: For those who don't know, what's your name, where are you from and how would you describe your sound?
Cogidubnus: I’m Guy, I’m from and have spent most of my time in and around Manchester. Hmm, my sound…deep, ambient, percussive electronica that could vaguely be-called post-dubstep.
H: Would you describe yourself as from a musical background, or is it something that you have picked up yourself?
C: Yeah, both my parents have spent their whole lives playing in orchestras and my mum’s a music teacher so it’s always been a strong presence in my growing up. I played the piano, guitar and oboe at various stages of childhood, but wasn’t very committed with any of them at that time. Fortunately I can just about still remember a few piano chords which has come in handy recently.
H: Where or from who would you say you take the strongest influence?
C: My brother introduced me to The Orb and Future Sound of London when I was about 13 and some of those early-90s ambient albums made a huge impression and I still listen to them a lot now. I’ve always been a bit of sci-fi geek too, so the music from a lot of film & TV stuff has wound its way into my consciousness, particularly Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack and the sounds the guys at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop were coming up with in the 60s, 70s and 80s.
H: Your output is very varied in terms of the mood it carries, do you find yourself setting out to make beats for a particular environment (e.g. club, bedroom etcetera) or is it a less controlled process?
C: It’s not really that controlled from the off, I just bounce ideas around until they form into something cohesive. I don’t write in a highly structured way at all, I’ve got a young daughter so I rarely get the time to spend several hours at once making music. Having only short bursts to produce can be incredibly frustrating, but it also yields some little moments of inspiration and new perspectives on a sound or tune that I might not have had otherwise.
H: Manchester seems to be one of the few places with a large number of artists, such as XXXY & Damu, who are willing to push things forward irrespective of genre boundaries: what's your take on this situation? And, as part of this loose collective, can you shed some light on what is behind this experimentalism?
C: I’ve DJ’d with those guys quite a bit at Sicknote and This City is Ours, two nights that always had a very open musical policy, vaguely aligned to the dubstep scene but basically giving DJs carte blanche to play whatever they want. Given that a few of those early nights (one in particular I can remember all 3 of us being at) were, er… less than well-attended, many of us have got experience of just playing our own stuff through a decent system just to a handful of other DJs and producers and playing in those kind of situations encourages a bit more risk-taking. But mainly I think, we’re all independently making the music we want to be making and the Manchester scene over the last couple of years has seemed particularly receptive to people who want to push the boat out a bit more and not necessarily play to genre expectations.
H: You're about to launch the new Broken Bubble label; what has inspired you to make this move and can you shed some light on any future releases lined up?
C: After putting together the Pan-Galactic Memory Bank EP, I felt really happy with it as a collection of tracks but couldn’t see a natural home for it on any other labels, there’s quite a wide range of bpm’s going on and as something I felt very attached to, I wanted to keep full control over how it was marketed and distributed. I’d also been in contact with Duskky & Hurtdeer from the Mothers Against Noise collective down in London for a few months whose tunes I absolutely adore and they were really into the idea of getting involved and have each delivered stunning 4-track collections that I can’t wait to get out there for people to hear. We’re also putting together a free compilation of new tunes plus some remixes of tracks of the first 3 EPs from the likes of Wagawaga, Second Line, Muteqx and Manc band From the Kites of San Quentin - I’m hugely excited about the way that’s shaping up so far, and all being well we’ll try and get that out by the end of March. There are plenty of tasters of our sound on the mix…
H: Your mix is an expansive one in terms of the variety of sounds represented, how did you go about selecting a tracklist for it?
C: There’s tunes from my last couple of sets at This City is Ours and a few tasty beats that have hit my inbox in the last week or so. I always try and cram a lot of different styles in these days – I love my chilled beats but wanted to make sure there was plenty of dancefloor energy in this set as well, so I’ve tried to blend things around making sure that it’s never stays at just one particular vibe for too long and hopefully maintains interest throughout.
H: Seeing as it's January, what do you want to have achieved by this time next year?
C: Getting a vinyl out would be nice, but I’m not really setting myself any major goals at the moment beyond getting the label up-and-running and continuing to enjoy making and playing music.
H: Finally, is there anything forthcoming or in the pipeline that you want to put the word out about?
C: Wagawaga and Hurtdeer will be coming to Manchester to help me launch Broken Bubble at This City is Ours at An Outlet on March 12th. It’s a great intimate little venue round the back of Piccadilly Station and Waga’s doing a brand new all-hardware live set, so it’s one not to be missed.
Damu has been kind enough to send us over his latest mix as another little exclusive, featuring new dubs from himself and others. For those unaware, Damu has had an almost meteoric rise since we first featured him in May and has become something of a favourite of Dusk & Blackdown's (see Blackdown's interview with the man here). With forthcomings on Keysound Recordings, Local Action and Silverback Recordings amongst others, now is the time to get to know.
Big ups to Damu: this is the second mix (find his September mix here) we've receivedfrom him in a month, introducing fresh dubs and showcasing a range of styles. As usual, it comes highly recommended: enjoy.
Caribou - Sun (Midland Re-Edit) J-Wow - Fogo (Diamond Bass Remix) BD1982 - Trails (Jam City remix) MJ Cole & Wiley - From The Drop (L-Vis 1990 Remix) LV & Okmalumkoolkat - Boomslang (Original Mix) Ladybox - Got It Right Here (Dubbel Dutch remix) Loco Dice - Pimp Jackson Is Talkin' Now (Dubbel Dutch bootleg) Boris Dlugosch - Bangkok Hot City - Twist (Chopped Dub) Damu - Be Free Samo Sound Boy - Taking It All (Mele remix) Tessela - Thames Child Damu - Mermaid Untold - Fly Girls Terror Danjah - Air Bubble (Brey's Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure Unmix) Bok Bok - Say Stupid Things Girl Unit - Every Time Ramadanman - Bass Drums Brey - Alaskan Thunderfuck Damu - Seraphim Smoothie Baobinga & DVA - This One's Wavey Sub Swara - Steam Steve Starks - Git Em (Munchi Kuduro Rmx) Damu - Flibberdiflobberdifloo Aaliyah - R U That Somebody? (Brenmar Windy City Mix) Distal - Chit Chat Starfoxxx - Unknown Wheezie - Bak It In Cubic Zirconia - Hoes Come Out At Night (Ikonika Mix) DJ Rashad - In Da Club Before Eleven O' Clock DJ Clent - Get Up In Your Heart DJ T Why - Go Head DJ Roc - That Girl Can't Juke
We've banged on about Damu for a while now and with his production currently seeing airplay on Rinse FM, notably by Dusk and Blackdown, it's the perfect time to post a new mix by the man. Enjoy:
Origin Unknown - Valley Of The Shadows Johnny Jungle - Johnny 94 (Origin Unknown Remix) DJ Nate - Ima Burn Him Leatherface - Jigglin’ DJ T Why - Beat That Shit Up Dj Killa - Take Yo Azz Out Da' Circle DJ T Why - Lets Juke On The Wall DJ Clent - How Low Can U Go DJ Roc - One Blood Diplo & Laidback Luke - Hey! (Starfoxxx Juke) Cedaa - Juke Clap Damu - She's Liquid Maxmillion Dunbar - Way Down J-Wow & Sui Zhen - River Song Kaiser - The Art of War C.R.S.T. - The Bells (Distal Remix) Kavsrave - Deluded Bloom - Love Phaze Damu - Ridin' Lazer Sword - Batman XXXY - Turn Raffertie - ▼▲ Brey - All Black 1959 Ford Thunderbird Raffertie - They Pecked Off Her Nose Mu-Gen - Fizzdom (Sam Tiba Remix) Nguzunguzu - Unfold Sebastian - H.A.L. (Munchi Bootleg Kuduro-More Rmx) Damu - 2010 Sentinels - Synaesthesia Roulet - Kitamanda (Girl Unit Remix) Myd - Train to Bamako (Monsieur Monsieur Remix) Breach - Fatherless (Doc Daneeka Remix) Kanji Kinetic - Thrill Seeka Brackles - Blo Slackk - Eski Clicks Damu - Crystal Gaea Jacques Greene - (Baby I Don't Know) What You Want KidKut - ILove04
Having introduced Damu last month (read the full interview and download his exclusive mix for us here) the young producer's been very busy. Coupling an intense work rate (he seems to have a new tune finished every week) with high levels of natural talent and the all important perfectionist streak common to the best artists about, he's certainly one to be keeping a very close eye on.
The latest tunes to be aired are in keeping with Damu's eclectic style as 'Mermaid' works as a development of the synth-laden summer vibes of tunes such as '2010' (forthcoming on Swing & Skip audio), whereas 'Gargoyle' and 'Sashima' move away from this style in opposite directions with the former setting cascades of jilting 8-bit sounds over a rolling bassline and the providing the listener with far less direction in terms of an obvious rhythm, yet still managing to hold the ear throughout.
And despite these new additions to his portfolio, he's still found time to put together the 'Silverback Mix' for the guys over at Voltron.
Flying Lotus - Brainfeeder Holgi Star - Pretender (Ascion Remix) Brey - Bengela Lil Silva - Night Skanker Girl Unit - IRL (DVA's High Emotion Mix) Altered Natives - God Made Me Marcus Price & Carli - Mat Bira Kvinnor Weed (Kingdom Remix) Ultravid - Total Recall (Maddjazz Remix) Pier Bucci - Verte Atki2 & Dub Boy - Tigerflower T. Williams - Anthem D-Rashid & Kid Kaio - Tarzan Dubbel Dutch - Deep Underground Damu - LED Shortstuff & Mickey Pearce - Tripped Up (Ramadanman Re-Edit) Supra1 - Still Believe (feat. Amy Douglas) (Brackles Remix) Format B - Edding 850 Egyptrixx - Just Can't Sleep (Egyptrixx Remix) Doc Daneeka - Deadly Rhythm Damu - Mermaid Brey - Trois Couleurs Rouge
Post-2009, UK bass music found itself in a funny position: with dubstep creeping ever nearer to properly breaking into the mainstream, grime actually being really good and exciting again and even drum & bass taking innovative steps into the future, it seemed like anything could happen. Perhaps the most interesting development was that of the constantly un-termed techstep/dub-techno/funky-tech/deep house sounds coming from the likes of Flying Lotus, 2562 and Four Tet. However, it was not the fact that any of these acts were new faces (as many of them actually weren't) but that 2009 saw them properly come into their own in making a recognisable and relatable sound. Thus, 2010 was ushered in by a listening audience who were just as happy to enjoy intriguing club experiences as they were to be entertained. Damu is undoubtedly a direct beneficiary of this development, as he strives to produce music which challenges its audience to be intrigued, and even occasionally confused, by what they hear...
HEDMUK: To start with, what's your name, how old are you and where do you hail from?
Damu: I’m Sam, I’m 20 and I live in sunny Manchester, originally from the countryside.
H:When did you start producing music?
D: I’ve been making various types of music since I was about 14, although I’ve only really been doing the more laptop/electronic side of things for maybe a year and a half, seriously for about a year. It’s been an intense year though. I got really into dubstep a few years ago, but I started out making jungle. I fucking love old school jungle and it’s still probably my favourite thing to dance to, as well as being the only thing I have a decent vinyl collection of.
H: Would you say you're from a musical background, and had you previously been making other types of music?
D: I guess so, yeah. I’ve been playing instruments since I was about 6. I’ve always liked playing piano, guitar and drums. My room is littered with little percussion instruments and knackered keyboards. I used to be in a few bands, I used to do the ‘production’ on my computer, so when I got into more electronic music I just kind of drifted into Ableton and stuff from that. I really think that the more I get into music production, the more I can identify with it and the people associated with it, and that’s really nice.
H :You seem to bear your influences strongly, which artists in particular have affected your approach to your music?
D: I love Animal Collective and Flying Lotus. They have a real mastery of creating nice sound rather than just parts of a song that stick to rules. I’ve just bought a new toy, a sampler and I’m really looking forward to getting that going. It’s sometimes hard to keep the organic side in the music when everything’s on the laptop and that’s something that’s important to me. I guess I’ve just kind of slipped into making house-y music, it’s just a sound and BPM that appeals to me. It has room for musical elements to breath but also a smooth, danceable rhythm. Obviously I listen to a lot of Rinse FM DJ’s and I’m a big fan of the Hyperdub, Nightslugs, Brainfeeder, Applepips and Minus Labels; along with the Rinse stuff, they probably make up the better part of my favourite contemporary electronic music. I always have a few different projects going on, they probably bear my influences in different ways, but I always try to make it as clear in my music as possible that, basically, I love music in all its different forms. I’m very fond of hip-hop, techno and classical: anything from Disney to death metal, to be honest. I should start posting some piano compositions or something. I’m a real advocate of producers who create a distinctive sound, that’s something that Actress, Zomby, FlyLo, Burial and Four Tet all do really well. You can really hear FlyLo’s musical upbringing and the heat and sweat of the place he was recording in in his productions. That shows real class and it gives you something special to work within. I only hope I can get better at it in future.
H: Is there anything else, where you live for instance, which has particularly influenced your sound?
D: Manchester has definitely had a big influence on me. There’s always so much great stuff on here. Hoya:Hoya, Hit’n’Run and Sicknote in particular have been three nights I always hear inspiring new music and meet people who’ve helped me on my way. I definitely think that the mood of the place you live in definitely affects the music you make aswell though.
H: Which producers are currently interesting you, or even inspiring you?
D: I think the Nightslugs label has it going on at the moment. Dubbel Dutch, Deep Teknologi, Brackles and Kyle Hall are all doing it for me. The new Actress album, ‘Splazsh’, is fantastic, as is the new FlyLo LP. In terms of inspiration, I love Zomby. I saw him live a couple of weeks ago and his new stuff was so good I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Anyone who can use a fresh/abstract noise, make it melodic and make it their own, I will pretty much be all over. When I can do that, you know I’ll be nearly happy. I love what Flying Lotus does live, if you’ve not seen him, I highly recommend him. He really brings a creative element into live electronic performance and his shows are just crazy as a result. I’m working on doing something kind of similar. I just find myself listening to loads of old school deep/Chicago house at the moment: it’s relaxing, well-made and just generally smooth so you can’t go too far wrong.
2010.
H:Have you got anything coming up yourself (live dates, releases etcetera) in the near future that you'd like to do some healthy plugging for?
D: Keep checking my Soundcloud, people. I’m always putting new stuff up there. I’m working on a live AV show at the moment; so look out for that when it’s ready. I really just want to keep working on the tunes so I can get something signed when the time is right.
H: Anything else you'd like to add?
D: Go listen to ‘Young Montana?’, ‘Brey’, ‘Caribou’ and ‘Dr Strangeloop’. You won’t regret it!
Damu has put together an exclusive mix for us, blending a selection of his current favourite tunes and biggest influences in fine style:
