Though relatively recently rebirthed as a dedicated dubstep label, Macabre Unit initially cut their teeth in garage's more MC-oriented grime offshoot. Closely associated with the earliest incarnation of Plastician's Terrorrhythm imprint, the Unit were arguably the most prominent crews operating outside of London in the early-to-mid noughties. Here, unearthed from founding member Demon's harddrive, is an otherwise lost recording of Macabre Unit's first appearance on Radio 1Xtra - the station itself being only a year or so old at the time. Guesting on veteran garage DJ Richie Vibe Vee's show, with MCs 9er, Logical, Gamma and Nuse sharing the mic and Demon running plenty of Unit dubplates on the decks, the energy levels are very high.
Macabre Unit - Shootin Starz
Macabre Unit - Bubble
Macabre Unit - Tulipz
Plasticman - Death By Stereo
Macabre Unit - Transformer
DJ Wonder - What
Macabre Unit - Elastikz
Macabre Unit - My Show
Macabre Unit - Glok
Macabre Unit - Toothgrinder
Digital Mystikz - Da Wrath
Macabre Unit - 1st Blood
Macabre Unit - Unit Jam
Macabre Unit - Montana
Plasticman - Shallow Grave
Macabre Unit - Akuma
Macabre Unit - Take Time VIP
Plasticman - Spring Roller
Macabre Unit - Skittlez
Macabre Unit - Chopstix
Macabre Unit - Shape Shifta
Macabre Unit - Slo Jak
His first solo 12" since starting the label two years ago, the 'Physics EP' sees Demon showcase a new maturity as he experiments across each cut with a different balance of bass, drums and midrange. Lead track 'Gravity' weighs in heavily with a soft-moulded sub lending the track's melodic drive, whilst 'Morning Glory' is a more characteristic dose of the kind of coarse mid-range upon which the label was founded. 'Molecule', meanwhile, sees the drums take the rein in driving out rolling rhythms, occasionally cut through with a clapped snare.
To support the release, the man himself hit us up with a 40 minute mix of tough material from the extended MUD family, which is available to stream and download below.
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.
The second vinyl release from the ever-consistent Macabre Unit imprint comes from label staple, and arguably one of the best producers to emerge from the UK in recent years, Biome working in collaboration with the man behind the M.U.D/M.U.V movement, Demon.
Lead track 'Incubus' is a beat with a split personality, almost nodding its head to its origins in the imaginations of two separate producers. Gliding in on airy atmospherics, an emotive Eastern vocal sample and a lead synth-line that would be just as at home atop a trance anthem; the groove is easy and euphoric. A little under two minutes in, however, and a gunshot crack marks the point at which the tune is stripped down to its raw elemental state: sub-bass rolls, a rising mid-range bassline and ear-splitting snare snaps.
On the flipside is 'Symmetry', and again there is that sense of a tune of two parts; yet here the distance between the elements is far narrower, and even the listener most familiar with the work of both Biome and Demon individually would have difficulty discerning each individual influence on the track. This is a collaboration in the finest sense of the word, in which each artist mirrors and then completes the other's input to create, as wordplay would have it, a unique sense of symmetry. Where vocal samples reverberate outward, there is a taut snare tugging the groove back into line; while the kick drums establish a straight, stomping rhythm, hi-hats and slapped toms drive on at their own pace. Not unlike the eight-bar grime with which Demon entered the music scene, 'Symmetry' chops and changes as it progresses; but it does so without the predictable, looping format that determined that style of grime's short life-span, instead it instils Biome's core idea of taking the listener on a journey. And it is fitting that at this point, in the moment at which the tune achieves its real sense of togetherness, that the two producers' separate influences can be picked apart from each other.
Biome & Demon - Incubus
Biome & Demon - Symmetry
Vinyl release date: 16/07/12
Digital release date: 06/08/12
With an emphasis on atmosphere, DCult builds beats which carry a sense of mood. Important here is not only the mood but the building process itself, as each tune is meticulously constructed along a pseudo-narrative plane: each part of the beat is simultaneously informing and informed by that which is arranged around it, and the result is progression. It is perhaps this characteristic of DCult's productions that have made them a firm choice for leading DJs within dubstep, such as N-Type and Youngsta; these are original, hard-working, DJ-friendly tunes in the best possible way. This feature has long been in the pipeline, and has been well worth waiting for, we're sure you will agree...
Hedmuk: To introduce yourself, what's your name, where do you come from and how would you describe your sound?
DCult: I'm Dan Andreetti from Romford in Essex; I'd describe my sound as dark and atmospheric.
H: Do you consider yourself as a coming from a musical background, or was it something your discovered yourself? What was it that made you want to start producing, and had you been involved with other musical projects before focussing on DCult?
D: I wouldn't say I'm from a musical background as neither of my parents play an instrument or have ever been involved in music but it was definitely them that steered me in the direction of it. When I was at primary school I learnt some brass instruments and the piano which was all down to my parents paying for the tuition, and when I started secondary school I learnt guitar which I really got involved with off my own bat as I'd all ways wanted to be able to play. I went on to do a music tech course as I wanted to learn about recording live music and live sound, and it was there that I got into producing.
I'd always been into hip-hop but it wasnt until I started at college that I got involved with MCs who were recording their own tracks, making the beats and then recording the vocals in the studio we had. I started trying out the software at the studio, sampling vinyl for drums and loops and putting beats together; before long I was handing beats to the MCs at college. My main focus up until producing dubstep was hip-hop, and I still make the occasional beat and they will be showing up on a few albums.
H: You have close ties with Demon's M.U.D imprint; how did you get involved with the label, and how did it feel to be a part of both its first digital and vinyl releases? Have you got more M.U.D releases planned for the near future?
D: Yeah man, Demon's a top geeza. He got in touch via Fused Forces, I'd been meeting up with them on and off for about a year, swapping beats and they'd been playing them in their mixes. Demon emailed me saying that he'd heard some of my stuff and that Fused Forces had passed on my contact details.
Since then he's become an important part of my music, he knows exactly what works and exactly how to push things in the right direction.
Having 'Particle' and 'Inner Peace' released with M.U.D felt great, they were the biggest tracks for me at that time, seeing support from Youngsta, Distance, J:Kenzo & V.I.V.E.K, and M.U.D felt like the right label to represent them. I don't have any releases that I can confirm as of yet but there will definitely 100% be more M.U.D releases from me. In the meantime you can get the 'Deadly Hands of Shang Chi EP' which came out on June 11th.
H: Essex isn't a place usually associated with eyes-down, forward-thinking bass music: is there much of a scene for it there? Do you feel like you benefit from your proximity to London as a central hub for this sort of music?
D: No... (laughs) there's nothing. The only good thing to happen to Essex was Scruffy Hoodlum, a monthly night run by Fused Forces & S Dot in Southend. They're booking the right artists at a venue not too dissimilar to FWD: nothing fancy just a dark room with a big chest-pounding system. Other than that I don't think I can name another night in Essex representing dubstep.
I benefit when it comes to going to nights in London, like Fabric or whatever 'cause it's all about a half hour train ride in and you can always get a cheap dodgy cab home. Thing is now though, you don't have to go to London for this music, it's so wide-spread, some of the best producers are from outside of London and some of the best nights are outside of London, take Stink Like Sock in Cambridge .. oooffff..... that place goes off. I'd rather travel to that instead of travelling into London on a friday night for a club with a load of half naked blokes chewing there faces off (laughs).
H: Take us through how you went about putting together the mix you've done for us.
D: For the mix I've used beats by artists that I feel are pushing the sound and production that best represents my perception of dubstep. With my mixes I like to progress through sounds and rhythms, so I started with the more minimal sounds and gradually build into a more rolling style of beat. I feel that a mix should be a journey of sounds, an experience rather than just mixing whatever beats I've got to hand; I tend to pick what beats I feel roll well together to continue 'the journey'.
H: Finally, are there any forthcomings or anything else in the pipeline that you want to put the word out on?
D: As I've said there's no release I can reveal at the moment, but there will be some on their way and also a few remixes popping up over the next few months, so keep an eye out...
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.
