Comment: Apparently the UK has moved on from low-end frequencies. We beg to differ.

On Sunday just gone, a mildly amusing list-style article entitled '10 Things People Say To Pretend They Know About Dance Music' was posted on the blog space of Mixmag's website by Bass Editor, Seb Wheeler. It is, for the most part, a fairly accurate run-through of gripes that might be levelled at, well, someone pretending to know about dance music, in fact the list might even be commended for its rebuttal of those claiming that "Deadmau5 can't actually mix" or that "Analogue always sounds better than digital". However where it falls down, and heavily so, is the point at which it is claimed 'that the UK has moved on from low-end frequencies somewhat' and that 'America has become the new home of bass.'

The problem here is firstly in the suggestion that, in a post-internet world, something as broad as bass music could be considered to have a home. Dubstep is probably the finest example of the way in which the internet has globalised music to a greater extent than ever before - it still astounds me to see the huge variety of countries checking in over on Hedmuk's Soundcloud page. That, though, is another conversation entirely.

The issue I really took with the piece, though, was the apparent ignorance of the UK bass music scene's current state of health, and the general terms in which it was stated. The assertion that the UK has moved beyond an interest in 'low-end frequencies' would suggest that anyone from Mungo's Hi-Fi to Iration Steppas to Unit 137 to Manchester's Dub Smugglers had decided to pack it all in and play out off a radio set. 'Low-end frequencies' is not a suitable replacement phrase for "what Youngsta plays on Rinse". Semantics aside, the UK's long-term obsession with everything low and bold is arguably seeing some of its finest days in years: dubstep pushes on, led by the inimitable likes of Karma, Thelem, Taiko, Wayfarer, Biome and Kaiju; grime as a whole is seeing a resurgence that had been bubbling away long before the recent war dubs spat stirred things up, Boofy's 'Since When' is hard as a brick is, and Asa & Sorrow are showing that grime needn't lack the production value of its Croydon cousin; UK funky, through Champion, Killjoy, Brunks and Beneath, is still laying a claim to club space; house music is the sound of the charts, let alone the underground; and that's before you even start talking about the breaks-driven experimentalism being peddled by Etch, Special Request and Tessela.

What's more, and as good a sign of the UK's continued progression as any, is that there are so many names that don't fit easily into any of the categories above but who are carving out their own lanes regardless, and taking an open-eared following with them. Wen, Circula, Troy Gunner, Sepia, Blackwax, Facta, Underclass and Akkord are just a handful of the many defying the journalists' pigeon-holes.

As with anything like this there will undoubtedly be people I've missed, but if anything that only serves to make the point more strongly: there are literally too many names to mention.

It may well be the case that what was really meant by the offending remark was that the US has seemingly moved beyond its excitement over face-melt mid-ranges and car crash snares, and that what remains is a crowd highly receptive to a more subtle sound - speaking with Innamind Recordings boss, Jeremy, he couldn't emphasise enough how inspiring it was to see people so passionate about the sound that he and others like him are currently pushing. The US is, for want of a better term, catching up and is doing so - as exemplified by the likes of the Reconstrvct crew mentioned in the article - in fine style, however it shouldn't require a misguided knock of the UK scene to express that.

W.

Featuring: Kaiju

Since being featured by our friends over at PYC Sessions, Kaiju have been on a roll; buoyed along by a rapt fanbase as well as the big-hitting likes of Kryptic Minds and Youngsta, the first thing that most won't notice is the almost imperceptibly high benchmark they set for themselves. With a simple formula of 'less is more' - excepting, of course, when it comes to the sub-bass - the duo's productions serve to further the myth that simple music is simple music; with so few components to each tune, each one that is present has to absolutely earn its place. And earn their place, in a Kaiju beat at least, they do: the result is chasms of space for that characteristic, tape-warm sub-bass to groove in and through. With a very exciting 2013 ahead of them, January seemed the ideal time to link up with the pair, and have them contribute a stunner of a mix to our exclusive series...

Hedmuk: To introduce yourselves to those who might not know, what are your names, where do you both come from and how would you describe your sound?

Paul: He's Jamie...

Jamie: ...and he's Paul: together we're Kaiju. I'm from Sticksville somewhere near Bath/Bristol and Paul's in Cardiff. We make bassy stuff around 140bpm that tends to be on the deeper, dirtier end of the scale. Sometimes it's got garage-y undertones, sometimes theres reggae vibes, but all the time there's lots and lots of bass.

P: None of this Skrillex shit.

J: Right.

H: When did you both start producing? Had you been working on solo projects before Kaiju, and do you still have other projects on the go at the moment?

J: I'd been making D&B for about 5 years or so, had been through the ups and downs of the industry and started running a label. Paul, after much thought, decided that he wanted to send beats to us and it kinda blossomed from there really. I'm still involved in the running of the label but at the moment i'm really enjoying the 140 area so for now I'm concentrating on that musically.

P: I've been producing about 3 years or so now, still as involved with the D&B scene as much as possible, but also finding myself drawn to the 140 space more and more at the moment.

H: You were picked up relatively quickly by Kryptic Minds to release on their Osiris imprint: how did this come about, and was it more than a coincidence that you signed to a label run by producers with a similar musical background to yourselves in drum & bass? 

J: When I was working as designer for Chemical Records, Si and Leon came in to talk about the look of their album and I gave them a CD of our tunes I'd been checking on the car stereo during the tedious drive in [to work]. I didn't really expect to hear back, but they were really into 'Close Break' and 'Belcanto' and we then started to talk about being exclusive.



H: How did it feel to get such an opportunity? Were you consciously choosing these specific labels and artists to send your music to?

P: Amazing, to be honest. With J working at Chemical and us both having a bit of experience in the art of dub-sending we definitely had an idea of who to send to, and still to this day only really give new new tunes to Yunx.


H: DJ Thinking did mention, in our recent interview with him, an in-house designer at Chemical that he'd worked with on the Black Box, Black Acre and Box Clever stuff, but we hadn't put two-and-two together to realise it was you. How did you get involved with doing the design stuff at Chemical? Do you think that your music as Kaiju is at all informed by that aesthetic side to your creativity? Perhaps even just on the simple level of learning graphic design programme interfaces as helping to learn production DAWs, or vice versa?

J: I've wanted to be a designer since I was about 6, I think; it all stemmed from going car racing with my parents and seeing the liveries and stuff. I started copying what I saw (mostly cigarette logo's (laughs)) and then progressed onto making new liveries and logos. I find my creative process with design crazily similar to that of when I make music, and in both areas I feel my style is always 'less is more': I've never believed in over-egging something. Although I attended College and Uni for design, all of my computer knowledge is self-taught so opening Windows and fiddling with things is second nature to me, and definitely helped me when it came to getting down and dirty with Logic in the beginning.


H: You seem to enjoy working with vocalists: is there somewhere from which this particular influence comes from? Or is it more a case of viewing the vocal as just another instrument or 'part' within the tune?

J: I'm a sucker for a vocal. Being brought up on 80's power ballads and soul singers probably has something to do with it, but personally I think a vocal can really help make a tune human, especially nowadays with all this cold computer music about.

P: Some tunes feel as if they need a vocal and some tunes just don't. I've always been heavily into dub, reggae etc. so appreciate how a vocal can bring a tune to life.





H: Tell us a little about how you went about putting together the mix you've done for us.

J&P: Basically it's about 60 minutes of us. Being relatively new to the scene this is the best way to show people what goes on in our brains, so there's a couple oldies in there but most of it's new and pretty exclusive really. We've got collabs with Truth, Killawatt, Perverse and Nanobyte and a couple remixes, all with lots of nice warm sub. And we're working more and more with MC Toast  at the moment, so thought it'd be rude to leave him out!

H: How did the link up with Toast come about?

J&P: We're pretty lucky in that we hit him up and got on like a house on fire. We've had some vocals off him for a couple tunes, and are available as a package to book for gigs so it was only right to have him on the mix. He's genuinely one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, so we feel quite honoured to work with him.

H: Finally, are there any forthcoming releases or anything else in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out on?

J&P: We've recently spoken about our next two releases with Osiris, although we can't really say much. There might be a sneaky clip of a certain tune we've done with one of our heroes floating around, and that might be backed with something awesome but that would be telling….

Cheers Hedmuk, been an honour to be featured on your blog!



Download: Kaiju - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix (feat. Toast)



Tracklist:

Kaiju & Killawatt - Cave Of Wonders (Dub)
Kaiju & Perverse - Named After Heroes (Dub)
Kaiju - Snaggle Puss (Dub)
Kaiju - Close Break VIP (Dub)
Kaiju - Fall Guy (Dub)
Kaiju - Clang (Dub)
Kaiju - Seven (Dub)
Kaiju - Silverfish (Osiris Music)
Perverse - Cross Examination (feat. Beezy) (Kaiju Edit) (Dub)
Noisia - Dipolodocus (Kaiju Edit) (Dub)
Kaiju - Wrong Turn (Dub)
Kaiju - Atomic (Dub)
Kaiju - Think Twice (Dub)
Gantz - Catalyst (Kaiju Edit) (Dub)
Kaiju - Joke Shop (Dub)
Kaiju & Nanobyte - Faded (Dub)
Kaiju & Truth - Untitled (Dub)
Fat Freddy's Drop - Cay's Crays (Kaiju Edit) (Dub)
Kaiju - Roodbwoi (Dub)
Kaiju - Sniper Situation (Dub)
Kaiju - 3 + 2 (Dub)

Kaiju - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

W.

Featuring: FNC

Fornax and Content are two producers who've been lurking on the Hedmuk radar for a little while, and with a combination of their respectively organic and tech-y styles as FNC it was about time to get them on the line for an interview and to have them contribute a mix (their very first under the new moniker, no less) to our exclusive series. And it is that combination of styles which is so appealing; take, for example, the music made by Pinch and Distance as Deleted Scenes: each producer has their own clearly-established sound, and yet the combination doesn't sound like an uneasy mesh of textures but rather something refreshing and of itself. Gaining pace so quickly, and with collaborations with the likes of Razor Rekta and DCult in the works, we're looking forward to see where the duo will evolve to next.

Hedmuk: To introduce yourselves to those who don't know, what are your names, where do you come from and how would you each describe the music you make as FNC?

Fornax: My name's Aaron aka Fornax.

Content: My name's Tony aka Content. The music I guess I will let Fornax describe...

F: Magical

C: Right! That sums that up, then.

F: No seriously, we tend to make [music at] 140bpm and we have a strong emphasis on drums and percussion.

C: Well we got there in the end - there was at least 30 minutes work and this was the best answer we could come up with (laughs).

H: How did you both first get into making beats? Have you found that you are approaching production from a similar angle, or do you benefit from differing in this area?

C: I started 2 years ago, working with Benton under the Organics alias. He showed me everything I could need to know at that stage, I guess. I didn't really get into writing beats on my own until September last year, when I got back from Outlook.

F: I guess I started over 2 years ago: I watched a video about a KORG Electribe. I bought that...wish I still had it. Then I guess that opened the door to electronic music production; that got me asking questions around how other sounds were made. I didn't really know what to do at that point or what genre I wanted to make. I joined Uni doing Music Production, but I only started making dubstep around December 2011 -

C: - Before Fornax starts with all the geek squad shit; we totally approached it from different angles at the beginning. He's all about colours and things being in the right place, and I just like to get the idea down. But this has completely changed in the last month

F: I've turned him: he works my way now.

C: True.

F: Our styles still differ, but we do work off the same platform now.



H: How did the FNC project come about and how do you go about working on the tunes together? Do you prefer to work on developing stems independently or get into the studio together?

F: Basically Content was badgering me, messaging me for a couple of months and eventually I gave in (laughs) and we worked on what became 'Opticks'.

C: At the time I just wanted to do a collab, but we worked well together: that tune ['Opticks'] was done in 8 hours max. After the initial plays of 'Opticks' on J:Kenzo's Daily Dose of Dubstep show, and because the ideas were flowing so easily, we just never stopped. Eventually we just settled on FNC as a name.

F: Mainly because we couldn't think of a better name.

C: Besides, like, Boys Brigade or something overly camp.

FNC: We bounce ideas off each other, we talk about what type of tune we want to write (the type of sound we are after) and then we usually take it in turns to start a project. We just bounce it back and forth via Dropbox. We've only actually met once and that was to make 'Apraxia'.

C: Ideally we would prefer to be in the studio together more, but due to living a few hours apart this isn't always possible. If we got a bigger project on the go, like and album or something, I think one of us would have to relocate - i.e. Fornax! (laughs).

H: Since you've both also working hard on your own individual productions, as Content and Fornax respectively, how do you go about deciding which ideas to continue with on your own and what to use as material to collaborate on as a duo?

C: I guess we have kind of stopped individual work at the moment.

F: We do have the odd bits that we are doing, like I have a remix coming up to do and will have to fit that in when I can.

C: We don't start a track that we don't finish, mainly because we always discuss the idea and the concept behind what we want to make next.



H: Your tunes have been picked up by a number of big players recently, including the likes of Plastician, N-Type and Joe Nice; how does it feel to have your music spread to such a wide and varied audience? And do you feel that this puts pressure on you or challenges you to progress with your productions? 

F: Content was taking the piss out of me because I got excited about someone following me on Twitter a few weeks back. So to be played by some of these guys is humbling.

C: Fornax has covered it there: humbling. I don't think it puts any extra pressure on us, but I would say it challenges us.

F: We have been focussing on improving our production techniques and we have really upped out work rate to try and give us an edge.

H: Take us through how you went about putting together the mix you've done for us.

C: When we sat and discussed what we were going to do, we both clearly wanted to use this as a showcase of our sound, so we took a couple of weeks to make some new music that people hadn't heard.

F: We just wanted to put across the sound we're creating as well, as include some artists who inspire us.

C: I said I wasn't going to mix it as I am already known for my DJing, so I thought I'd slap this one in Fornax's lap! He did a grand job.

F: Content would have just spent all day crying about what key things were in anyway (laughs).

H: Finally, are there any forthcomings or anything in the pipeline you'd like to put the word out on? Can we expect to see FNC appearing on flyers in the near future?

F: We are in talks about releases, but we haven't as yet agreed tracks and put names on paper.

C: We don't really want to release music just for the sake of releasing music: it's got to be right for the sound.

F: We have got a track featuring on the next Dubstep Allstars, though, so that's one milestone we can shout about. DJing-wise, it's something we feel we are now ready to take on; we held off on a couple of bookings as we wanted to make sure we had the material to showcase FNC not just 'F' or 'C'.

C: If you are interested in booking us you can do it via the email FNCdubstep@gmail.com or get in touch with one of us via Twitter.



Download: FNC - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix



Tracklist:

FNC - Incognito [Dub]
FNC - Necrosis [Dub]
Core - Cyborg [Dub]
Sleeper - Zodiac [Dub]
FNC - Zen [Dub]
DCult - Xpansion [Dub]
FNC - Prism [Dub]
FNC - Unspecified [Dub]
FNC - Code Signal [Dub]
Fornax - Unconscious [Dub]
Widowmaker - Abscess [Dub]
FNC - Apraxia [Dub]
FNC - Ventral Thorax [Dub]
FNC - Quarantine [Dub]
Razor Rekta - Tugboat [Dub]
FNC - Mindless [Dub]
FNC - Interference [Dub]
Kaiju - Old Man [Dub]
Content - Osmosis (Content Special) [Dub]
FNC - Disillusion [Dub]
FNC - Archaic [Dub]

FNC - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

Preacha.

Featuring: Wayfarer

Wayfarer brought, with breakthrough track 'Fall Of The Zulu', a startling new energy to the 140 sound; and this fresh momentum was no mere gust, but something which has maintained a continued presence and influence. Bringing an intensely percussive sound and a sense of wide-ranging roots, the template has been flipped and re-extrapolated: the basslines and mid-ranges are still there, but in service to the groove of the drums rather than the other way around. We caught up with Wayfarer to discuss his take on this, and he's also contributed something of a showcase mix to our exclusive mix series.


Hedmuk: To introduce yourself, what's your name, where do you hail from and how would you describe your sound?

Wayfarer: My name's Alex, I'm from Nottingham and live in Aberdeen where I study Philosophy. I think I'd just describe my music as energetic, often dark, 140 music.

H: When did you start making beats, and had you been involved in any other musical projects before Wayfarer? What was it that lead you towards producing?

W: I've always made music, for almost as long as I remember, and had messed around with music software when trying to record other stuff for bands when I was a kid but I only persevered on the technical side of production at the start of 2012. I made it something of a resolution to go for this vision I had, and that's how this project started.



H: There's a, for want of a better word, 'worldly' or 'global' sound in your music: do you draw from a wide range of influences to achieve this?

W: Absolutely, I like the description 'worldly' - I guess that's one reason why I settled on the name of my alias. (That, and it's a bit of a homage to the Burial remix of Jamie Woon's cover of 'Wayfaring Stranger'). When I started in January, I felt like there were a handful of producers being emulated by a lot of people and things were starting to sound too clinically stripped back and a bit soulless; I listen to everything from Muslimgauze, James Brown, Helios, Burial, Tycho, Erik Satie to Fela Kuti and I love the organic energy in live music. I try to inject as much of that as I can into my tunes without sacrificing too many elements which make a tune 'danceable'. Ultimately though, I guess I want my music to grab people by their genitalia when they hear it on a system, just like every other dance music producer.

H: You recently had your debut release on J.Robinson's Tribe12 imprint; how did it feel to be included on such a strong release, and to see it reach the top of Juno's weekly chart? Do you have plans to release more music via Tribe12?

W: The 'Levitation EP' is something I am immensely proud to be a part of - all the people on that release are fantastically innovative producers and there are some huge artists involved with the label, all at the top of their game. I'm really excited to be sharing a roster with them and it pushes me to work as hard as possible on my music. I think J.Rob and I share certain ideals about dubstep and he's good to work with, I definitely want to stay close and I have plans to release more on the label.



H: Take us through how you went about putting together the mix you've done for us.

W: The mix, which I will just say now was done using a completely battered little Numark mixer, is about half my tunes and half contributions from other producers: essentially a bit of showcase of what I've been up to for the past months and a few new, unheard bits. I have been sent so much brilliant music recently, it was really difficult to pick tunes and I felt bad leaving out certain tracks that I really like. Essentially, the selection are tracks which bare some relation to the kind of vibe I go for. Out to all those who let me include their music and everyone else who continually send me great tunes.

H: Finally, are there any forthcomings or anything else in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out on?

I have a four track EP due on Tribe12 in the near future, no dates yet. Another release, hopefully a 12" for Shaman, is looking likely at the moment, I'm working on the details. Equally though, I'm hoping to secure a few gigs soon: I think the prospect of playing out is just as exciting as release opportunities. I build tunes for systems and I want to deliver new productions that way, rather than on Soundcloud or through other peoples' radio shows. I rarely get to play out because there is a very small scene for any kind of bass music in the city I live in. Still, I've only been at this for seven months so I'm happy with how fast things have progressed and I have only thank the listeners for that.

Enjoy the mix, and thanks to Willum and Sam for the support - much appreciated!

Download: Wayfarer - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix


Tracklist:

Wayfarer - Untitled [Dub]
Wayfarer - The Hunter [Dub]
Gantz - Tesseract [Dub]
FNC - Code Signal [Dub]
Gutcha - Into Your Mind [Dub]
Wayfarer - Untitled [Dub]
J.Robinson & Shima - Tundra [Dub]
Server - Them [Dub]
Perverse - Fucking Insanity [Dub]
Wayfarer - Jotnar [Forthcoming Tribe12]
Wayfarer - Meiji [Dub]
Kaiju - Centipede Style [Dub]
Wayfarer - Spitting Fire [Dub]
Wayfarer - Gozu [Forthcoming Tribe12]
Wayfarer - Shiro Ishi [Forthcoming Tribe12]
Kaiju - Double Dragon [Dub]
Server - The Wanderer  [Dub]
Anex & Disonata - Scratch The Surface [Dub]
Pheral - Tribe [Dub]
Wayfarer - Shaman [Dub]
Wayfarer -Fall of the Zulu VIP [Dub]

Wayfarer - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

.Preacha.