The release itself sets a new benchmark for the MUV imprint, and for Catacombs too as 'Music Mi Luv' and 'Badman Culture Pt. 2' show the young producer relishing a newfound energy and pleasure in rhythmic expansion, with the former's perfectly-levelled bob and weave and the latter's quick step and dark techno aesthetic. That both beats have been go-to tunes for two of dubstep's foundational DJs, Hatcha and Youngsta, is a testament to the balance they strike between defining a current sound and giving a nod to its future. 'Cursed' and 'Searcher', both collaborations with label head Demon, combine Catacombs enormous kicks and precise sense of atmosphere and movement with Demon's penchant for razor-sharp Reese basslines.
To be in with a chance of winning, simply head over to the Hedmuk Facebook Page, share this image publicly, and leave a comment as to which size of T-shirt you'd like to receive. The competition will close on Friday the 19th of April, on which date a winner will be selected at random by an independent third party and then announced via Facebook and Twitter.
Catacombs - MUV005 is set for release in late April/early May, with 'Searcher' available as a bonus track on the digital release.
Longtime, or even more recent, Hedmuk followers will no doubt be aware of our support for one of the continent's finest musical exports, Gantz. Those same followers will also be aware of our long-running support of Kiwi-born label Innamind Recordings, and so to see Gantz taking the reins for the imprint's third vinyl release serves as something of an ideal marriage of the two forces.
Following heavyweight efforts from Perverse and Catacombs, IMRV003 sees Gantz' characteristic experimental streak being drawn through the series' 140 template. 'Enso' is hypnotic, with a pulsing low-end and bongos rolling intermittently between cut up, decaying vocals. On the flipside 'Siyam' nods, with its intro's nostalgic synths and Bez-like shakers, to a bygone rave aesthetic before dropping into a sub workout and dragging the track straight into 21st century uncertainty with complex percs and eery atmospherics. This release undoubtedly marks a newfound confidence to Gantz' sound, and can only indicate more exciting things for the coming year.
When Innamind Recordings boss Jeremy announced that the label was due to celebrate its one year anniversary this December it served as a sharp reminder as to just how far the imprint has come, and how quickly: Innamind has, over twelve rapid months, become a tight and efficient machine, pushing out quality material on a regular and consistent basis without having to sacrifice anything of quality or artistic value to meet its own mechanistic specifications. Quality is an important word here too, as while many labels would struggle to put out releases at a rate of almost one a month and still maintain the close attention to detail and upfront A&R work required to ensure that everything hitting the shelves - be they virtual or not - the Innamind tag has become, in a way, its own seal of approval.
When speaking to DJ Thinking about the origins of his labels Black Box and Box Clever, he couldn't stress enough the importance of a new label establishing its own identity in order to put its own stamp on the scene; and it seems fitting that Innamind's stamp-like artwork has become, over the last year, symbolic of the label's development into something which has developed and almost grown into its own striking, and reliable, identity. And with the recent announcement of a third vinyl release dropping in January, this time with with the inimitable Gantz at the helm, it seems that this strong run is set to continue apace.
To celebrate this first milestone, as seems fitting, we've linked up with the minds behind Innamind once more to deliver a selection of free music which shows off just a slice of some of the talent that the label plays host to. Taking a standout track from Nanobyte's debut release on the label, and putting it in the hands of Gantz, Anex, Occult, Dubtek and Congi to take on remix duties, the results are as varied an pleasing as you'd expect.
It doesn't seem like anywhere near as long as a year since we announced the very first release on Innamind Recordings, but over the past eleven months the label has delivered an increasingly-impressive and challenging series of releases and this summer stamped it's iconic kaleidoscopic artwork on its first vinyl record. The latestt 10" from the imprint features two standout cuts from the North-West, with Catacombs and Knowledge teaming up for the 'Exodus' on the A-side - a hefty stepper, moving with old-school Oriental sampling that's been receiving regular rotation from the likes of Biome - and Catacombs' solo joint 'Organism', a grizzled favourite of Rinse FM legend N-Type, occupying the flip-side. The digital release will also feature, much to the delight of any followers of Catacombs' progress no doubt, 'East' as an exclusive third track.
In anticipation of this release we've once again linked up with Innamind, this time to offer the chance to win one of the super-limited Test Presses of vinyl release number two. To be in with a chance of winning, simply send your answer to this question to hedmuk@gmail.com with the subject 'Catacombs Competition':
How many releases to date - including singles, EPs, compilations and vinyl - has Innamind Recordings put out?
The competition will close on the 19th of October, on which date the winner will be chosen by an independent third party and announced on Facebook and Twitter, as well as via email.
But it doesn't end there, we've also got hold of a mix from the man Catacombs himself to accompany the release: stacked with dubs from start to finish, including plenty of as-yet-unheard new material from the Stoke producer, it's been racking up the playcount with us over the last week already.
In support of next week's M.U.D release, the Out Of Focus EP, Manchester-based pair Catacombs and Knowledge are giving away a beat put together in October of last year. 'Tactics' is an exercise in restraint: building from taut kicks and snare, a lilting synth-line and choral drapes into a swollen bassline drop and carefully-arranged hi-hats which undercut the eery top lines with a dose of swing. The second drop lets the bassline take over, slowing the drums into a march before picking up the pace again with that all-important swing.
Since beginning as a livestream show back in May of last year, Project 13 has grown into a clubnight and podcast series whilst still maintaining their Wednesday night streaming sessions with appearances from some of the most exciting names in bass music at the moment, such as Biome, Versa, Indigo, Thelem and Shadowfax (and our own selves here at Hedmuk, of course).
In the run-up to their second solo outing as a clubnight, which features a stellar lineup of some of the hottest tips for 2012, we've linked up with the guys over at P13 to give away a pair of tickets to see Commodo, DJ Rum, Biome and Versa smash the basement of last year's Manchester Evening News 'Club Of The Year', Joshua Brooks, alongside some of the best resident DJs in the city. For more information about the night, including how to buy tickets, head over here.
To enter the competition simply send your answer to the following question to hedmuk@gmail.com with the subject 'Project 13 Competition':
Which four labels has Commodo released on to date?
The competition will end at midnight GMT on the 18th of January and the winner (selected at random by an independent third party) will be announced via the Hedmuk - Bass Music Facebook Page and 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.
