Review: Biome - Layers EP

Following a relatively quiet 2013, Biome returns and takes the release process into his own hands with the Layers EP. Encapsulated in the EP's title is a sense of moving up and down through the tempo spectrum: this is Biome's first release to fully engage with his cross-tempo experiments. Though best known for his work around the 140 notch, pitching things down is nothing new to the Manchester producer, having released previously on fellow Mancunian Indigo's Mindset label. In fact a useful touchpoint here would be Indigo's own Akkord project, whose album Biome also contributed, as we see a similarly raw, almost industrially approach to the blend of style and influence on show. In many ways, what we're seeing here is Biome showing off the full potential of a sound that has been undeniably his own, despite the many imitators, for the last half decade.

'Happiness' eases proceedings in with airy pads, delayed vocals and shuffling hats, whilst 'Broken' and 'Rise Up' provide more familiar territory for the majority of Biome's fanbase, and are a deft reminder of why he continues to hold such stead within the scene. 'Layers' and 'Philly Blunt' meanwhile, provide the EP's standout moments; the former is tightly-coiled, pounding UK funky rhythms married with characteristic dashes of reese, and the latter a rolling, pummelling junglist history lesson. Winding down, 'Foreigner' and 'Hajime' are both beautifully spacious, and further demonstrate Biome's remarkable versatility - it's rare to see a producer able to imbue such a varied spectrum of musical tone and movement with their own unique sound and presence.

Preview and purchase the Layers EP from the Bandcamp embed below.



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HEDMUK - Top 13 of 2013

It's end of year list season, and though the feature has never cemented itself as a regular one on these pages - in fact, it's only been done once before this - in a year of such notable transition as that just passed, it seems a run through of some of the defining releases of the last twelve months might serve as an opportunity to take stock. Of course, since the list will reflect its own themes, there isn't much to add other than a note for those tunes that will inevitably have slipped the mind, and those others which only just slipped the net. So, in no particular order - because, frankly, there's nothing in it - here are our top 13 tunes, and 5 of our favourite free downloads, for 2013. Enjoi:

Tessela - Horizon [R&S]
One of the year's most consistent producers, any one of Tessela's releases - remixes included - could have appeared here. His masterful judgement of stop-start rhythms has set him apart, and left more than a few dancefloors wide-eyed too.



Boofy - Since When [Bandulu]
Tight sampling, sharp drums and a bass lick that'll make you screw your face up. Grime in its purest form: demands a reload.



Karma - How Ya Feel [System]
Those who've been following the blog for more than a few years will say that Karma has been long overdue some vinyl with his name on it. This was as good a way as any to end the wait.



Wayfarer - Reflections (feat. Animai) [Uprise Audio]
The word "anthem" is an easy one to throw haphazard into a press release, but there are few better ways to describe this arms-to-the-sky number from Wayfarer.



Etch - Scattah [Keysound]
Blew out the booth monitors on its first airing at Fabric. Enough said?



Commodo - $pace Cash [Deep Medi Musik]
You'd be hard-pressed to name a tune released this year with as much effortless swagger as '$pace Cash'; Commodo proving himself incomparable all over again.



Taiko - Spray Can [Uprise Audio]
It's all about the drums in this one: while some producers have spent their time chopping breaks and fills, Taiko just makes his own.



Wen - Commotion [Keysound]
The tune that set the stall out and sent a whole wave of new producers trailing, for better or worse, through grime sets and DVDs searching for soundbites. The key here, though, is that Dot Rotten's cameo isn't what makes the tune stand up: it can do that all by itself.



Alex Coulton - Too Much Talk [92 Points]
Simplicity reigns: one of the year's most infectious beats,



Killjoy - Memories [Tumble Audio]
The extraordinarily prolific backbone to one of the UK's most exciting new labels, Killjoy's second release for Tumble Audio is tough and fun in equal measure.



Gantz - U Wont Mind (Thelem Remix) [Black Box]
Two Hedmuk favourites on one tune; Gantz' offkey source material teasing Thelem into the leftfield with amazing results.



Dubkasm - Victory [Sufferah's Choice]
Dubplate exclusive to Dubkasm and Aba Shanti-I before going on sale and selling out two presses in a matter of hours - a third is said to be on the way - it's safe to say that this one has captured its audience fairly successfully.



Youngstar - Pulse X (Blackwax Remix) [Liminal Sounds]
A tune that, in many ways, sums up the year quite nicely: a touch of grime nostalgia, an elastic garage bassline and a healthy dose of breaks all bent into something which somehow manages to sound like none of its parts.

As ever, you can share your thoughts on the list either in the comment section below, over on the Hedmuk Facebook Page, or via Twitter.

Free downloads are now a staple of any modern day music scene, but the price - or lack thereof - needn't reflect the quality: here are five of the best from 2013.

Caski - Patient [Download here]
Heavy grooving and moody as hell, this is unadulterated dubstep goodness.



Dark0 - Violate [Download here]
A highlight of the 'Zero' mixtape, this is grime with its sights on the headtop.



Geode - Pistachio [Download here]
A late but more than worthy entry, this one swings and grooves like its going out of fashion.



Hugo Massien - Mystik [Download here]
A few name alterations later and Hugo Massien still comes with it slick as ever.



Sepia - If We Could Only See Us Now [Download here]
First hitting the Hedmuk radar in late 2012, a producer whose sound has only grown since and is set to take 2014 by the horns: you actually did hear it here first.




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Premiere: Boofy - Warzone [TUM006]

Without a doubt one of the most exciting new labels around at the moment, Tumble Audio rumble onto their sixth release, welcoming Bristolian Boofy to the roster in the process. The EP's title track - all rapid hi-hats, clattering snares and a bounding bassline - has been doing the rounds for a while now, cropping up in sets from fellow south-westerners, Kahn, Neek, Asa and Joker, and thus accordingly gets some remix treatment to keep things fresh: Hi5ghost adopts a classic grime pairing of distorted synths and skittering strings, whilst Nativ takes the tempo down a little and delivers a Champion-esque synth groove for a succession of claps and snares to bounce off.

The B-side, premiered here today, rounds off the release perfectly: all the raw, pirate radio venom that Boofy captures with such consistency, but with a bass lead and rolling rhythm that hits the mid-point between grime and UK funky that Tumble have been pushing since first leaving the blocks. That Wiley's choice words for God's Gift that are sampled here - and the sore jaw he received in return - would contribute to grime being banned from Rinse FM seems almost ironic considering the genre's recent ubiquity.

With every release, Tumble stamp their unique identity onto the UK's club scene more prominently, and long may it continue.



Boofy's 'Nank EP' will be released digitally on December the 2nd 2013.

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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.

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Rabit Vs. Parris - Keysound FabricLive Promo Mix

This Friday, London's legendary Fabric plays host to one of the labels of the moment and, more specifically, a fast-rising Texan's UK debut. Rabit's standout appearance on Keysound's 'This Is How We Roll', as well as providing one of the standout releases of the year with his 'Double Dragon EP' on Glacial Sound, has seen him increasingly held up as one to watch. Perhaps it's the fact that he moves so effortlessly between the delicate synth arrangements of 'Sun Showers' and the sucker-punch percussion of 'Black Dragons', or maybe just the fact that he doesn't talk much and leaves the natter to the music - either way, he's got plenty of ears on this side of the Atlantic.

In the run-up to the aforementioned debut we caught a few words from the man himself and he - hours after hitting the tarmac, no less - hooked up with BM Soho counterman and, to quote Etch, 'the Randall of our generation', Parris, to record a special promo mix for the event.

Cop the mix below, and head over to the Fabric website to grab advance tickets to guarantee entry to Friday's event.

Hedmuk: How does it feel to be making your UK debut in one of the world's most renowned clubs?

Rabit: It feels surreal, I haven't really had the chance to process it all because I've been so busy. But yeah, it feels great: I'm blessed to have the opportunity.

H: What else have you got planned for your trip across the pond?

R: A lot. I'm playing clubs in Dublin and Berlin, and one night in Bristol as well. I'll be getting in the studio with a few different people also, definitely set aside a week or two for that. And I'll be on Rinse FM for a guest spot too.

H: In your recent studio mixes you've drifted from hip hop, to synth-led soundscapes, to the off-kilter rhythmic blends of grime and UK funky, but what can people expect from a Rabit live set?

R: The same, but different. Variety...dynamics...feelings...

H: Grime has typically developed in very localised scenes and Texas most likely wouldn't be the first place that springs to people's minds when thinking about grime, but what sort of a scene is there for it in Houston, and the US more generally?

R: In Houston there is none. As far as the rest of the US, there are some parties that do well but even then the best turn out is for the US artists that have a little bit of grime to their sound. There's a big disconnect, there may be people that are into grime because Total Freedom put it in a mix but these same people wouldn't pay money if Wiley or JME came to town. There's a general lack of knowledge about the whole thing. I don't really care if there's a scene or audience for grime here: I'm not into making anyone like anything, it's either for you or it's not.

H: Are there benefits, do you think, to being perhaps more isolated from what's going on in the UK? Do you feel any less pressured to confine yourself to certain or singular genres and influences?

R: Possibly. I'm not sure, do producers in the UK feel confined to having a certain sound, because they have to represent or something? I just do what I like. There's never pressure. The only pressure is to make that shit bang harder than the last one.

H: With an appearance on the This Is How We Roll compilation, and now joining the crew for this Fabric takeover, can we expect to see more link-ups between you and the label in the near future?

R: Possibly. I'm featured on Logos' full length, 'Cold Mission', that comes out mid-November. The link up with Keysound has been fluid so far, I'm just rollin' with it.


Download: Rabit Vs. Parris - Keysound FabricLive Promo Mix




Tracklist:

Grovestreet - Mook
Chemist - Blocks
DJ Eastwood - U Ain't Ready (Dubbel Dutch Refix)
Acre - Symbols
Wen & Parris - Time
E.M.M.A - Glitter
Dubbel Dutch - Deepa (Vocal Dub)
DJ Tev - Ready Or Not (feat. Gutta)
Rabit - Black Dragon
Strictface - Taipan Showers VIP
Plasticman - Shallow Grave (Wen Remix)
Epoch - Windmill (feat. Afiya) (138 Mix)

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MisDigest 1st Birthday Rumble - Swing Ting, Fullfat & Tumble Audio

This Friday, MisDigest turns one - and quite the year they've had, bringing Paleman, Happa, Noodles, Walton, Sully and NDread and plenty more to play in Leeds. To celebrate the occasion, they've invited crews from Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham to bring their own unique flavours to the dance. The Swing Ting 'trainers only' policy means anything from garage, to grime, to jungle, to hip hop, to bashment, ragga, rap and UK funky; Fullfat bring the steppers, with Geode, J. Robinson, Onset and Sun Of Selah; and Tumble Audio, represented on the night by Sergic & Lyka, come with their distinctive brand of dancefloor-projectiles. With that lot on offer, the only thing that can be guaranteed is that this'll be a party, but without the posers and pouters.

For more details you can visit the Facebook event page over here, and to purchase tickets online from Ticket Arena head over here.

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Free Download: Hugo Massien - Mystik

The artist formerly known (and featured on these very pages) as Dr. Hugo has taken the tempo down a few notches, and stretched his name out accordingly. Tunes from the newly-monikered Hugo Massien have been coming in fits and spurts, with each new beat showing yet more progression from the young producer as he continues to find his way around his own shape-shifting sound; and yet, each one that lands in the inbox feels just as self-assured as the last. No surprise then that the new moniker has been backed to the hilt by anyone and everyone on the mail-out list, and has received heavy rotation on Mark Radford's Rinse show.

Originally planned to go up as a promo clip on the Hedmuk Youtube channel, Massien was generous enough to give the whole thing out as a free download. Sitting somewhere between early UK funky, grime and the sort of groove-riding 2-step that has always set Horsepower Productions apart from the crowd, Hugo's past spend making minimal dubstep shows through too in the beat's weight and sparsity. The binding mystic sample deserves a mention too: one of those that'll have producers sitting back wishing they'd found it first.


Download: Hugo Massien - Mystik



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Free Download: Lamont - Awake

It's not dubstep, but it's got everything that made dubstep's earliest movements so exciting. And by everything, of course, we mean 'anything': the drums draw rhythms from everything from UK funky to halfstep to techno to halftime kuduro, while the groove and atmosphere stems from a handful of disparate sound snippets - not afraid of keeping it minimal. In fact if there's one thing that could be stretched out as a definition across all of Lamont's output, it's that he's never trying to make just one thing and that, in fact, he wants to get as much of his musical pedigree as possible into every track. Go and listen to his 'Bangclap' remix if you feel like you might still need a further convincer.

There's a vocal snippet run throughout here suggesting that 'the people of this country need to be awakened', and it's a statement that Lamont seems more than willing to challenge.


Download: Lamont - Awake



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Featuring: Wen

Ever since 'Takin Over' dropped in midway through Etch's Hedmuk Exclusive Mix, Wen has been firmly on the "to-feature" list. Someone else with their ear in was Blackdown, who stirred things up by asking 'what's all the commotion about?' Those in the know, of course, already knew - and that the track referred to was to fill out 12 inches of wax a few months later on the Keysound imprint came as no surprise. This, for many, was the first introduction to the abrupt rhythms, guttural space and stretched synths of the young producer from Margate. And a successful introduction it proved to be. Since then - and by then, we mean since the 'Commotion EP' sold out entirely - Wen's tunes have been picked up and rinsed by everyone from Kahn, Akkord, Elijah & Skilliam, My Nu Leng and, of course, the interlinked collection of producers who have spent the last year and half bouncing off each other and providing us with some of the most forward-thinking music the UK underground has to offer. Producers like Facta, Sepia, Underclass, Threnody and Etch have featured heavily across Hedmuk's pages and work within context of the UK's rich underground heritage - and with the releases mounting, it may not be long before they're commanding their own shared shelf in the record stores that have been at the heart of that heritage.

Hedmuk: To introduce those who might not already know, how would you describe your sound?

Wen: Dark and kind of violent, I guess - there are moments of cold emptiness interrupted with bright bursts of energy, there's a sense of urgency in the rolling versus stop/start pace of it and lots of contrast in the palette of sounds.

H: Your beats are minimal in the sense of leaving a lot of pregnant space, in the same way in which a lot of early grime instrumentals were very stripped back, and yet they don't seem to be as inviting to an MC: do you ever find yourself writing beats with an MC in mind? Is working directly with an MC something you'd be interested in doing, perhaps in the future? 

W: I make my beats to hold their own on the dancefloor, it's never really been about making instrumentals for vocalists. They are sparse for the sake of being spacious and giving the rhythm some silent groove, not really to be filled with vocals. It's fun to chop vocals in like verses ([see] Patwah, Lo-Fidelity), but I prefer the impact of occasional lyrics - something to hold onto while the drums and bass roll out. So that's probably why they aren't inviting. Most of the time when I use vocals it's of a moment I enjoyed in a set, so I do write with that particular MC in mind, but I'm just trying to catch their vibe and energy, accentuate it a bit and take it further my way. I’d love to have the opportunity to work directly with an MC though for sure, it would be a completely different way of making music

H: And how does it feel to hear the likes of Wiley, Riko, Scratchy and God's Gift riding your beats on radio?

W: Yeah that was something else; it felt like a massive accomplishment, something I aspired to do when I started to make music and still will, it's not something that’s ticked off the list by any means. If I'm honest I kind of lost hope of that aspiration when the freestyle radio shows slipped away - Logan's show and Westwoods short lived 1Xtra Grime slot, they were the major ones I listened to potentially send instrumentals to. I sent stuff to a couple of blogs, Hyperfrank used one for an intro to a Griminal freestyle once, which was a bit of a tease, so it was great to finally hear some MC’s over my tune.



H: Your debut 12” on Keysound was one of the label’s biggest to date; how did you get involved with the label? Do you feel that working alongside a label which has a deep-rooted sense of influence and musical narratives with regards UK-based electronic music has helped with giving you a certain fixity and confidence when it comes to producing and pushing your own take on the underground electronic music of the last decade or so?

W: It feels right to be a part of Keysound, there's a lot of energy and a sense of focus within the crew. I got hooked on the label when I heard 'The Bits (feat. Trim)', it was one of those edgier instrumentals that Trim's known for but was actually accessible and had a path to follow (in contrast to Brain / T-Spark / Jerzey etc. who you didn't hear of, aside from on his mixtapes). I started checking Dusk + Blackdown on Rinse and eventually sent them some music. I think as a label it’s always been really quick to expose new sounds and make sure what it's doing is innovative. And that process feels continual, I find that important, it’s reassuring to know I can do my thing; I'm not expected to make tracks like the ones we did with the EP, it's more “cool, that was fun... let’s keep the momentum going".

H: In recent interviews with Threnody and Underclass, we touched on the idea of hybridity: in the mixture of influence, sound components and tropes or styles of music. Is this something that you can relate to in terms of your own music, and its apparent refusal to fit any preconceived or notional genre? 

W: I think that’s interesting, and I agree with the hybrid influences in my own music, but that’s probably as far as I consider it. I just draw from styles I like and found some space in 130 to try to do my own thing, the main reason I started to make beats at that tempo was 'cause I was listening to the Keysound Rinse show. I held that as a catalyst that I wanted to be a part of - through 2011 and particularly towards the end of that year there was something really exciting building, I wanted to be involved in that movement. I could never predict what they were going to play but I knew it was going to be cutting edge. I wasn't intentionally refusing to fit in with dubstep or grime, I was just addicted to this alien sound I discovered on their show.

H: Is this hybridity something that you see reflected in the 'cluster', as Blackdown himself puts it, of producers currently peddling this darker take on 130bpm music?

W: You can narrow it down to 'hybrid' but I feel it's quite dismissive, there's a lot more than a two-fold hybridity going on with us lot; if that was the case I'm sure a genre name would have been coined by us to label it and call it our own. We share a gravity, which is, in my opinion, UK underground music, LDN, no doubt it's the origin everyone draws considerable influence from. Blackdown talked about this idea of satellites before, it's the sickest image, every producer being a satellite, worldwide. It's important there are other styles and clusters in this thing, I kind of feel I need the colourful synths/rolling funky/zero rhythm grime/4 to the floor energy/swung 2-step/warm (and cold) jungle nods. All these sounds compliment each other and give me something to draw influence from, the scene's so healthy at the moment - "these are fine times".



H: You’ve since followed the Keysound release up with a vinyl-only 12" on Baitface’s Badimup; how important is it to you to be releasing your music on a physical format?

W: It's even more important than I thought it would be. I did two digital releases before the debut 12"; once that dropped and I held the full artwork record it completely changed the way I wanted to see my music being out there and represented. The first one with Epoch felt real 'cause he cut a few dubplates of it, so I did get my own physical copy. I'm not against digital by any means, just strongly prefer the idea of people buying my music in a tangible format. I felt really proud when I saw the record in shops, friends sending me photos of them buying it etc. I didn't feel that way when I saw my music up on a website for instant download - maybe a little bit at the time, but in hindsight it didn't compare at all. It's funny actually, I was more excited when my EP got leaked: despite it being annoying that someone we trusted had shared it, it was a compliment at the same time. Growing up hounding the grime forums for Rapidshare links, you know the hot music gets uploaded quick, so I'm quietly grateful. Anyway, yeah, the 'Swingin' vinyl: I felt I needed to balance out the physical/digital with the Badimup record, I'm glad Baitface was supportive of doing vinyl only. There was no process in choosing the tracks, I just sent him those two and they clicked with him instantly. In fact I thought the decision was kind of brash a couple of months later, it was a situation where there was such a big impulse connection between my music and Baitface it left me feeling it shouldn't have been so smooth, the whole thing was a natural process; even when he mentioned about 180g it felt like it would have been rude not to.

H: Bootlegs and versions have always been a big part of grime, and your ‘Strings Hoe’ refix has caught the attention of some of grime’s biggest DJs: how does it feel to be picked up on by the likes of Elijah, Skilliam, Score 5 and Logan Sama?

W: Yeah my favourite Dizzee instrumental. It was always a bit of a gamble doing that bootleg, but it seems to get nothing but love. Glad I finally have that connection to some of the grime DJs, particularly the Butterz guys I love what they're about.



H: As your music begins to attract more and more attention, do you feel a greater pressure to deliver or do you see it as an opportunity to push at your own creative boundaries?

W: It's all positive to be honest, pressure is good for me, I welcome it. I probably feel more pressure from the way my friends are getting exposure to be honest, not really in a seriously competitive way but there's this whole one-up ethos going on amidst the entire family moving forward. I'm just having fun with it right now, enjoying 2013 so far.

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

W: It's a collection of music I feel has been influential on me lately, lots of producers included who are new on my radar and others who I'm always listening to.

H: Finally, what do the coming months hold for Wen: are there any forthcomings or anything else in the pipeline that you'd like to put the word out on?

W: There will be new Wen records out before 2013 is over. Doing a small tour of Australia at the end of August, gonna finally link Epoch out there - he's just moved to Melbourne - and Arctic too, hopefully be the grounds of some new collab projects. Also come join our bi-monthly Sunday Keysound Sessions at The Waiting Room, London - the E.M.M.A album launch was special.


Download: Wen - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix


Tracklist:

Skepta - Mastermind [Boy Better Know]
Walton - Haze [Dub]
Self Evident - Calgary [South Fork Sound]
My Nu Leng - Waltaknocks VIP [Dub]
Arka - Innamorta [Dub]
Akkord - Compound [Houndstooth]
Neana - Bow Kat [Dub]
Elmono - Shadows on the Moon [Cold Recordings]
Dizzee Rascal - Strings Hoe (Wen Refix) [Dub]
Luthor - STL [Dub]
Elsewhere - The Espers [Mindset]
Wen - Persian [Dub]
E.m.m.a - Nostrum (feat. Sully) [Forthcoming Keysound]
Facta - Hieroglyph [Dub]
>>> President T - Heard What I Said [Adamantium Music]
J-One - Ask Me [Dub]
LAS - Liketha [Forthcoming Signal Life]
Etch - Rise [Soundman Chronicles]
Teeth - Black Thigh Snakes [Forthcoming Signal Life]
K-Lone - Crunch [Dub]
>>> Lil Nasty - Firework [Rock N Rolla II]
Mickey Freeze - Carbon [Dub]
Kahn & Neek - Thief In The Law [Bandulu]
Dot Rotten - Give Me The Money [Ghetto Platinum Productions]
Epoch - The Steppenwolf (Gantz Remix) [Dub]

Wen - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

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Featuring: Facta

Photo by ShotAway.com

A young producer who's been fairly firmly on the Hedmuk radar since first hitting us up with a pack of beats a few years back, Facta has, since then, been steadily carving his own niche into the UK underground's ever-shifting sound map. With one foot held steady in his '06-dubstep roots, the other treads through garage, grime, UK funky, hip-hop and the trippier side of experimental electronic and what results is sturdy, rough-edged and system ready. This broad approach is what makes the East Londoner's beats so captivating: whilst one might be swinging out off tough kicks and snappy snares, the next will be all tucked grooves and slinky hi-hats, and the next still will just have you sat bewildered at how he's managed to fit every bit of it together to make something that moves so slickly. It's not worth simply saying he's one to keep an eye on; it would be more accurate to just wish anyone luck in predicting which direction he might lead that eye in next...

Hedmuk: By way of introduction, what's your name, where do you hail from and how would you describe your sound?

Facta: My name’s Oscar; I grew up in Hackney, East London, and currently live between there and Bristol, where I’m living and studying most of the year. In terms of my sound, I tend to see everything I make in terms of dubstep as that’s where I initially found my roots – realistically, though, I produce a variety of styles that draw from garage, grime, dubstep, techno, hip-hop and breaks to varying degrees.

H: Would you consider yourself as being from a musical background, or is it an interest that you've developed yourself?

F: Well it wasn’t as if my parents were playing in bands or singing in choirs or anything, but like most families there was always music about in the house and from a young age I was slightly obsessive about finding my own path within music, which was something that my family always encouraged. When I was 9 I was convinced that I’d be in a world famous punk rock band touring the world by the time I was 16 – I’m ashamed to say that I’ve let my kid-self down in that respect, but I guess I’m still driven by the same ambition to create stuff now as I was then.



H: In terms of your actual production, you seem to take a mostly sample-based approach; do you feel like having a wide sphere of influence helps with this? Where, or from whom, would you say you take most influence from?

F: Yeah, well that’s definitely the key characteristic of my sound – I work almost entirely from samples; it’s partly due to an inability to programme synths very well and partly down to a deep respect of the whole culture and procedure around sampling. I listen to a lot of hip-hop and experimental electronic music, from which I have developed a love of rough, fast sample work. I’m also heavily influenced by non-electronic music – most recently jazz in particular. For this reason I’m always hesitant to make music that sounds overly polished or fine tuned; when I produce a track I like to cut up the samples right on the grid, trying not to quantize things too heavily or cut the clips too precisely: I tend to leave in trails and imperfections so as to maintain as many of the nuances of the original source material as possible.

H: A lot of people from the city talk about Bristol as being a great creative environment to live and work in: is this something you would agree with? How important is the sense of existing within a creative community to you?

F: Bristol is definitely a special place. I could talk on for hours about it, but anyone who has spent any length of time here will agree that there is something about the city and the scene here that just feels distinct from the rest of the UK. It’s always had its own path and it continues to develop on its own trajectory: Bristol Dub and Reggae, Bristol Jungle, Bristol Trip-Hop, Bristol Dubstep and Grime, Bristol Techno – these have always been special, unique pockets within their relevant scenes and all have a unifying trace running through them. It’s a constant source of inspiration and motivation to work and play out here, not only is there a huge audience for forward-thinking, experimental music but everybody is willing to help one another out and collaborate in a way that I never see happen in places like London.

H: Your tracks have featured heavily on Dusk & Blackdown's Rinse show in recent months, how does it feel to have that kind of backing? How far would you consider this idea of a musical community to extend to the tight group of artists being represented on the show?

F: It’s been a massive honour to receive recognition from figures that I have looked to and respected for years and years, and it’s been particularly great to be involved with the pocket of artists working within the Keysound sphere over the last half a year or so: it has the perfect combination of feeling like a tight, cohesive movement whilst still remaining totally undefined and uncontained. There’s a massive variety in sound from producer to producer: nobody feels like they’re stepping on each other’s toes. We’ve all got our own room to breathe within a collectively-occupied space and that’s a very inspiring thing to be a part of.



H: You've also recently started a night in Bristol: can tell us a bit about your reasoning behind it, and what sort of ethos you're aiming for?

F: The night in Bristol developed as a result of me and two friends deciding we wanted to throw no-nonsense parties at some of the cooler, smaller venues across Bristol: you can’t move for great, cutting-edge line ups at big clubs in Bristol, but we did feel that there was room for a party where the emphasis was taken off new music and reinvested in location and atmosphere. So we hatched the idea of throwing house party-esque events at cool locations where we’d just ask friends and DJs to come down and play sets that they wouldn’t be expected to play, giving them the chance to draw strictly for their favourite party jams. We called it Elephant 'cause that’s a dumb name for a dumb club night. It’s going to be sweet.

H: Take us through how you approached the mix you've put together for us.

F: Well I’ve recently been lucky enough to get to know a bunch of stupidly talented producers – both in person and through exchanging tunes online – and so I wanted to throw as many of them in as possible, plus include a few of my own. The mix sits somewhere between what I’d consider to be home listening and the sort of thing I’d play in a club. Normally when playing out I tend to get carried away dropping fruity old garage tracks and golden era dubstep and grime; I’ve reigned that in a bit for this mix, although couldn’t help but slip a few percies in.

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

F: I have a vinyl-only 12” EP coming out this summer which will feature 'Montpelier', 'Kobra' and 'Upsetter'; I have a track with K-Lone that's just come out on the unbelievably-good debut 'Chord Marauders' compilation [now available exclusively from the Chord Marauders website]; I’m in talks about a few other 12”s, although nothing is set in stone; I’m working on collaborations with a bunch of producers including Gantz, Wen, Rabit and B9. I’m going to be playing at Summer Saturnalia festival in July alongside Pinch, Elijah + Skilliam, ∆kkord and Gantz, and that’s about it on news. Thanks a lot for having me on – been a pleasure to get involved.



Download: Facta - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix



Tracklist:


$tush - Dollar Sign [Social Circles]
E.M.M.A - Cherry Favour [Dub]
Facta - Montpelier [Forthcoming]
Beneath - You & Me Remix [Forthcoming]
Dizzee Rascal - Strings Hoe (Wen Remix) [Dub]
Facta - Kobra [Forthcoming]
Brunks - Steppin' [Dub]
E.M.M.A - Untitled [Dub]
Facta - Hieroglyph [Dub]
Epoch - Gun Talk - [Egyptian Avenue]
Gantz - Free Focus [Forthcoming]
Sepia - Outbreak [forthcoming Redshift One]
James Fox - Put It Back (Ramadanman Remix) [TAKE Records]
Etch - Lost Methods [Dub]
Karma - Armshouse Dub [Dub]
Wen - Galactic [Dub]
Bloom - Quartz [Gobstopper Records]
Facta - FWD [Dub]
Amoss - Tangent (Geode Remix) [forthcoming Horizons X]
Facta & K-Lone - Voodoo [Chord Marauders]
Solwork - L Town [Dub]
Geode, B9 & Congi - Scrumpy [Chord Marauders]
Facta - 36th Chamber [Dub]
Kode9 - Addiction - [Hyperdub]
Rabit - Wolf Spider [forthcoming Glacial Sound]
K-Lone - Melt [Dub]
Mark Pritchard - Heavy As Stone [Deep Medi]

Facta - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

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Radio: Hedmuk X Kanjira X Rood FM - 24/04/13

Hedmuk X Kanjira X Rood FM - 24/04/13

Download: Hedmuk X Kanjira X Rood FM - 24/04/13

Stream: Hedmuk X Kanjira X Rood FM - 24/04/13

Tracklist:

Coleco - Lovin' Me
Killjoy - Memories
Caski - Elephant Tribe
Kollectiv - Hung
J-One - Yours
Notion - Future Funk
Atlas - Honest
Walton - Homage
Pinch & Roska - Shoulda Rolla
Youngstar - Pulse X (Blackwax Remix)
Etch - Hybrid
DJ Eastwood - U Ain't Ready
LAS - Preaching
Taiko - Spray Can
Sepia - Cornered
SP:MC & Youngsta - Kenshin
Taiko - Waylay
Binomiala - Nibiru
Karma - Armshouse Dub
onlyjoe - Wicked Land
Fable - Aftaparty (feat. Beezy)
Rude Kid - Yagga
Merky ACE - Wack (feat. Ego & Faze Miyake)
Lemzly Dale & Boofy - Catch A Body

- Kanjira


Vaun - Taking Over (feat. Animai) (Anex Remix)
Wayfarer – Nomad
Kanjira & Wayfarer – Amputate
Taiko – White Bear
Piezo – Marwuk
Wayfarer & Taiko – Sanka
Kanjira & Wayfarer – Untitled
Kanjira – Kifo
Wayfarer & Taiko – Untitled


- b2b

Ipman - Flipmode
Etch - Scattah
Sepia - Skyline


Wayfarer – Mandala
Piezo – Kaleya
Kanjira & Wayfarer – Uprising

SP:MC - Trust Nobody
Kuduashe - Afriquoi

Hedmuk X Kanjira X Rood FM - 24/04/13 by Preacha [Hedmuk] on Mixcloud

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Free Download: Sepia - If We Could Only See Us Now

One of the most consistently brilliant producers to regularly pepper the Hedmuk inbox with fresh dubs is Sepia. His music skips ably across a whole range of sounds and styles - from swung garage to prim UK funky to ruff jungle to straight sub-weight steppers - whilst simultaneously refusing to be strictly defined by any of them. But this sense of nostalgic retrospect goes no further than his moniker, as the music (and the title of this particular beat) is nothing but forward-facing; again we have this sense of hybridity and, with it, excitement: if this is the indefinable 'something' that's been brewing in the UK's underground, then it's with Sepia - all puns intended - that we find the bubbles.

Opening up with the sort of textures and delicate melody that Sigur Rós might manage to carve from their Icelandic landscape, when the drums kick in the listener is split between a lulled head-nod and all out two-stepping: an amazing level of rhythmic complexity, delivered with potent smoothness, is arguably the defining characteristic of a Sepia tune. And that's before the bent basslines, unrelenting at the second drop, have gripped your ear and pulled it all the way through the track. In all honesty, it's difficult to capture the full feel in writing as there is something entirely unwritten - indefinable - which brings and holds each element of the tune together; so for now it's probably wisest to let the music do its talking.


Download:  Sepia - If We Could Only See Us Now [WAV]
Download:  Sepia - If We Could Only See Us Now [320kbps mp3]



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Review: Keysound - This Is How We Roll [LDN036]

There's a certain casual swagger to everything Keysound, and it's that sense that's caught up in the title of their debut compilation 'This Is How We Roll': a title that all-at-once nods to old-school jungle rollers, a previous release on the label from garage legends Zed Bias and Steve Gurley, and, perhaps most strongly in this instance, to the sense of a crew (and with this, by no small stretch, grime and the importance of the sound's founder crews such as Meridian, Ruff Sqwad, Slew Dem and, by no coincidence we might suggest, Roll Deep). And despite this ease of reference, the title is purposefully obfuscating; in recent discussions we've had with label co-owner Blackdown and intrigued attendees to the sound pushed here, there has always been an emphasis on a much wider approach to the sound: this is just music, let's just leave it at that, and "let's just roll".

In a similar way to the original 'Grime' compilations on Rephlex, this compilation might be taken as a moment of pause to collect what we've got so far and to - very loosely - define where things are with the sound; and it's that uncollected hybridity (a word which has appeared on plenty of occasions during our conversations with some of this sound's proponents) of styles that makes the whole move, and this compilation, so attractive. Opening up with a triple-header collaboration from Dusk & Blackdown Rinse regulars Visionist, Beneath and Wen, the tone is set to dark and drum-led as Beneath's characteristic kicks drive through the eery synths and grimey snips that can be found littered throughout both Visionist and Wen's beats. Each of these three appear once more as solo artists on the CD, with Beneath's gully take on tightly-syncopated UK funky rhythms, Visionist offering what it might sound like if Horsepower Productions made grime, and Wen delivering an enormous 130 VIP of his already large 'Commotion'.

Throughout there is a sense of musical pedigree, and pride in it: all over the CD are flecks and inflections of grime, UK funky, garage, jungle and dubstep but nowhere is there anything that might be straightly defined as any of these things individually: Epoch's 'The Steppenwolf' has been receiving regular rotation on the Keysound Rinse show, and rightly so as it is pure mood, taking the listener through a complete route of skunk-smoke head-nods; Double Helix' 'LDN VIP' rolls along all warm basslines and the tightest drums around, and Dusk + Blackdown's own offering - in the form of the the Android Heartbreak Drumz Remix of 'Lonely Moon' - achieves a similarly tense hybridity in its drum patterns as it skips in the mid-distance between garage and UK funky beats; Gremino and Samrai, meanwhile, both stretch as much pace out of the standardised 130 tempo, with jumpy bashment- and dancehall-influenced funky that would have most crossover MCs passing the mic back.

Showcased too is the label's fondness for experimentation with sound, as Rabit strips everything back to the coldest synths since Wiley was pressing white labels, and Mumdance & Logos include a tune literally 'In Reverse', and end up with a driving pulse that would have a dancefloor in fits.  The compilation is not all dark drones and tripped-up beats, however, as Fresh Paul delivers a purple synth workout and E.m.m.a. and Moleskin close out the affair with the sunrise that follows the murky late-night walk through, as the catalogue number would have it, a figurative LDN.


Keysound - This Is How We Roll [LDN036] will be available for purchase on 25th March 2013, on CD and as a digital download. In the meantime, the entire release is available to stream over here on Resident Advisor.


Tracklisting:

01. Visionist, Beneath & Wen - New Wave
02. Beneath - PVO
03. Samrai - Hear Me Now
04. Visionist - Dangerous
05. Wen - Commotion VIP
06. Double Helix - LDN VIP
07. Epoch - The Steppenwolf
08. Dusk + Blackdown - Lonely Moon (feat. Farrah) (Android Heartbreak Drumz Remix)
09. Fresh Paul - Blaster
10. Mumdance & Logos - In Reverse
11. Gremino ‘Monster VIP’
12. Rabit ‘Satelite’
13. E.m.m.a. ‘Peridot’
14. Moleskin ‘Burst’

W.

Featuring: Underclass

Reflecting a period in which dubstep and grime were still just undefined - or perhaps even over-defined, carrying with them a multiplicity of different, and differently inadequate, names - offshoots of a similarly difficult dark strain of UK garage, Underclass is emblematic of that raw, somehow-cohesive multiplicity that had an increasing number of disenchanted and disillusioned garage heads entranced as the UK crept into the noughties. Similarly to the way in which the likes of Threnody, Etch, Wen, Beneath, Visionist all contain, in their music, nods towards the rich musical history they have - often simply by making music where they do - inherited, Underclass' beats are aware of their influences and rejoice in twisting them into a new, informed figure. But what is striking about tunes like 'Ecko', though, is the intensity of their sparsity; and while this may sound paradoxical, it's a concept well-illustrated and illuminated below as we receive an insight, as unlikely as it might be, into the influence of John Cage and of Futurist theorists on Underclass' music. The result is a sound which is very raw and very engaging.



Hedmuk: Your tunes tend to share a raw, stripped-back aesthetic: is this something you feel you aim for consciously, or does it seem to come naturally?

Underclass: I do separate the textures and the rhythms consciously. The beats and bass are about vibes, movement and flex whilst the textures are more precise and all about depth. If you listen to my beats the instruments might be stripped back, but that is just to leave space for the incidental sounds in the background.  I’ve always been interested in the ambience encasing sounds, natural reverb on mechanical sounds like a helicopter or traffic, so leaving other areas sparse to let ambience ring out is important.

H: What was it that first got you involved with producing and making beats?

U: I got into making beats through DJing. I have a decent collection of early grime and dubstep and have been mixing it for a long time now. Really I started making beats mainly because my old vinyls had more crackle than bass as I’d rinsed them, so I wanted to make something with that aesthetic but for this decade. I wanted music that was raw, dark, cold but also paid attention to detail. 10 years ago coming out with something made on a Playstation was acceptable and new, but whilst the melodies and beats are still sick the depth isn’t there in terms of texture.



H: It's clear that you draw a significant influence from early grime and dubstep sounds, but do you find yourself trying to step away from your influences, to an extent, in order to set your music within a new, fresh framework? Where else do you tend to draw influence from, is it mostly music or are there other things that you find to be inspiring?

U: Early grime and dubstep are just what I grew up with so those sounds and that aesthetic is just ingrained in me. I have some older friends who were junglists and it is the same with them, 'Amens' are part of their psyche. Alongside grime I listen to a lot of electroacoustic music and I've listened to that since before I locked onto grime. I felt grime fitted into that, especially early on it was abstract and vanguard in the same way Jonathan Harvey, Jonty Harrison, Pierre Schaeffer etc. are. I use a lot of those composers as references for sounds and textures, while my rhythms & bass come from grime. I don’t look to step away from or step towards my influences, I just see what comes. I never think ‘I want this track to sound like DJ Oddz/Luigi Russolo/Trevor Wishart’, I just write.

I’m not interested in going back and trying to recreate anything that isn’t already ingrained within me. I don’t want to go back further and make a rave, garage or jungle pastiche because that was then. I also don’t want to make a record that sounds like 'eski' or early grime, but these sounds and rhythms are just what are in my head and what my brain is wired to so they probably come out. If I ever write a track with an Amen or an obvious 2-step beat then I have sold out because I would deliberately be trying to be something I am not. I didn’t experience garage or jungle first hand and I don’t have a complex about that and feel the need to make neo-garage/jungle through guilt, so I just write what comes.

As for taking influence from other places, like I mentioned probably the biggest thing is how sound behaves in space and just using my ears at different times in different places and thinking ‘how do I make a police siren sound like it is travelling towards me at 120mph through a city at 3am, and how can I incorporate that in a tune’. Probably the single biggest influences on how I listen to sound comes from the Futurists and their writing, and also John Cage and his lectures. Reading those teaches you to really listen to everything and without the Futurists we probably wouldn’t treat the sounds of industry as music. It is almost 100 years ago now but without them I don’t think we would be open to sounds and textures in electronic music today.

H: Like many of the producers within this loose grouping which we've mentioned previously, you're taking certain core aspects of styles such as dubstep and grime and pulling them back to a slower 130 tempo: what was your initial thinking behind this, and how important is the extra space that doing this can give?

U: Well, I don’t write dubstep and apart from a few tracks and producers I’m not interested in it particularly these days. A lot of the grime I have on vinyl is slower than 140 too and the beats I was making weren’t halfstep so they didn’t need the extra tempo to drive them. 130 leaves enough space for the background sounds and textures and it is a bit of a coincidence that some other producers seem to be working at that tempo too. I thought when people talked about 130 they were talking about Swamp81 or Night Slugs and although I like some records from those labels it is a completely different sound, although the framework might be similar. It is the difference between standing in front of a speaker in a rave or listening to the beats from the back of the room. One is direct and the other has space. I think the same difference was present in grime vs. dubstep 10 years ago. I suppose the only thing linking a lot of this loose grouping is the use of grime aesthetic with early dubstep’s sense of space. Obviously a lot of new dubstep has moved from the back of the room to in front of the speaker and lost that space whilst other stuff is obsessed with the space and has lost the vibes.



H: You've recently been picked up by Dusk & Blackdown, receiving regular airplay on their Rinse show: how does it feel to be getting that level of recognition and exposure? 

U: I’m shocked that I have been picked up so quickly by some big names but I had spent a while working on tracks and I knew at the end of last year that I had reached the right level to send beats out. Initially Threnody played a few tracks and this got me a lot of attention very quickly. Blackdown messaged me to say he had heard my beats on Threnody’s show and asked if I could send some. I locked onto his show the next week and him & Dusk were playing them. Brackles and J:Kenzo have played them out too, which surprised me a bit, but I’m honored they like them and feel they work in their sets. If anyone plays my music then it means a lot and the fact that people I’m playing, like Filter Dread, Epoch and Rabit are playing me means more to me than if someone told me Skrillex had just dropped my track.

Hearing Blackdown & Dusk drop them was special as Keysound is on fire at the moment and that Rinse show is a monthly ritual for me. It’s good for me to get support from DJs because I’m not that up for the hype game of Facebook pages or whatever. I have a Twitter to communicate and a Soundcloud to put out some tunes, but I’d prefer to be judged by my beats than how many followers I have. DJs are the important people for repping my beats and getting them out to the wider public.

H: How did you go about putting together the mix you've done for us?

U: I started off by pulling out all my vinyl and thinking what I could put in but in the end the only track that did was an old SLT Mob one. I think it is far more important to rep what is now rather than what I like. I can listen to my vinyl for fun at any time. I did consider putting in a little live re-edit of Loefah’s 'Mud' that I do with 2 vinyls, but I just thought if I start messing around with vinyls and tunes everyone knows already it is too much of a vanity thing. Everyone knows and loves 'Mud' so it was too easy playing that.

After that I just sat down and mixed. A few producers have sent me dubs that I’m really feeling and I feel work with my tracks so I just hunched over the decks and treated it like any mix I do. Nothing was planned I just went with the mood.

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

U: Nothing is set in stone at the moment. I have given out a track with you and another one out for free with Below The Line, and then I'll be seeing which labels are interested. I’ve been chatting to a few and now just need to find the right home. I may just stick out a white label 12” to get a couple of tracks out there. Really it is only a couple of months since I came out the dark so I’d like to get a few gigs to hear my beats on a system within the space of a rave whilst continuing to develop new material too.



Download: Underclass - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix



Tracklist:


Steve Reich – Come Out (Underclass Edit) [Dub]
Underclass – Ecko [Dub]
Threnody – Emergency [Dub]
Underclass – The Revenge [Dub]
Sepia – No One Is Safe [Dub]
TMP – Battleground [Dub]
Rabit – Black Dragon (Shy Mix) [Dub]
Underclass – Klang [Free]
Name_Pending – 1snewve2 [Dub]
Filter Dread – She Glitched It [Dub]
Si Begg – UFO (Threnody Remix) [Dub]
Filter Dread – Murky [Dub]
Rabit – Air Port Systems [Dub]
Underclass – Istiklal Avenue [Dub]
Threnody – Ark [Dub]
Slaugter Mob – Fireweaver [Rephlex]
Underclass – Hype Dem [Dub]

Underclass - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

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Radio: Hedmuk X Rood FM - 23/01/13

Hedmuk X Rood FM - 23/01/13


Stream: Hedmuk X Rood FM - 23/01/13

Download: Hedmuk X Rood FM - 23/01/13


Tracklisting:

Distance & Cyrus - Rude
BunZer0 - Overdrive Dub
Gantz - Enso
Caski - Patient
Core - How It Is
Asylum - Blindfold
Heny G - Candy
BunZer0 & Kamine - Reciprocity
Taiko - Unrest
Wayfarer - Shaman
Threnody - Synchronic
Breen - Hooded Up
Boofy - 50hz
Preditah - Evil Twin
Boofy - Nank
Dark0 - Violate
Bookz - Get Paper
Darq E Freaker - Mortuary
DJ Pantha - A Dat Me Seh (feat. MNT)
Dot Rotten - Bazooka
Dot Rotten - Bazooka (2008 Remix)
Devlin - Dumplin'
Karma - Meanings
Cluekid - Dolphin
Truth - Time (feat. Yayne) (Kaiju Remix)

Sparxy & Fused Forces - Leviathan (Yungwanz Remix) [Competition Winner]
Sparxy & Fused Forces - Leviathan (Feonix Remix)

Baitface - Trackers
Wayfarer - Hesitation
LX One - On My Own
Commodo & Lurka - Glue Sniff Riddim
Distance & Cyrus - Titan
Taiko - Risky
Facta - Watertank
Youngsta - Poseidon
Sepia - Observer
Coleco - Lovin' Me
Underclass - Rawkus
Beneath - Name Droppin'
Killjoy - Memories
Caski - Buss It
Sepia - Bullets
Etch - Take Me
Majora - Shook
Sleepy Time Ghost - Rule Your Destiny (feat. Ras Demo)
The Mouse Outfit - Who Gwan Test (feat. Sparkz & Dubbul O)

Hedmuk X Rood FM - 23/01/13 by Preacha [Hedmuk] on Mixcloud

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Free Download: Underclass - Rawkus

There are very few people who listen to dubstep, grime jungle or UK funky who could claim that they don't care what a snare sounds like; and if they do, then they're either lying or haven't realised that they care yet. 'Rawkus' is not just a snare workout, but it certainly includes one: a shower of different snares, claps and clicks all chopped and shuffled around until your head won't stop nodding; then just as it settles you, it pulls the floor from under your feet with a cavernous sub-bass.

Underclass jumped to our attention after Threnody included 'Ecko' and 'Klang' in his exclusive mix for us last month, and his sound - raw, and hinting at a strong and diverse range of influence - is one that keeps you coming back for more. Alongside the likes of Etch, Visionist, Beneath, Epoch, Wen and Threnody, Underclass is taking what is most exciting and attractive about British underground music and dragging all the way up to date.


Download: Underclass - Rawkus [WAV]
Download: Underclass - Rawkus [320kbps mp3]



Preacha.

Free Download: BunZer0 - Sunburn

Known perhaps more for his skills behind the decks than a computer, BunZer0's productions - notable for their organic, open rhythms and vivid approach to melody - have been stepped up a gear over the last year or so. To celebrate reaching two thousand followers on his Facebook Page, the Belgian maestro is giving out a free beat: 'Sunburn' is, rhythmically, in the vein of the garage-dubstep hybrids which made something of a resurgence on 2007's dancefloors, and flows with BunZer0's characteristic airy yet intricate synthlines.


Download: BunZer0 - Sunburn



Preacha.

Featuring: Soap Dodgers

With a third release on N-Type's Wheel & Deal now on the shelves and a 12" forthcoming on longstanding staple label Tempa, Soap Dodgers seem to have barely put a foot wrong in their stratospheric rise. Noted for their ultra-clean production, which belies the duo's origins in grime,  an energetic presence behind the decks and a tirelessly innovative approach which underpins both of these endeavours, the pair's own high standards have gained them the attention of the biggest DJs in not only dubstep but also, more recently, UK funky's 130 spectrum. Yet Soap Dodgers' career is, they assure us, still in its fledgling stages; and with such promising beginnings, we can only predict more and greater progression to come. To coincide with the release of the 'Unleashed EP', and their Tempa announcement, we had them on the phone for perhaps our most in-depth interview yet and to ask them to contribute the latest mix to our exclusive series.

Hedmuk: As an introduction, what are your names, where are you both from originally, and now, and how would you describe the music you make as Soap Dodgers?


Jamie: It’s Jamie and Max, and we’ve always lived in Hanwell in West London, so we’re still here now. And how would I describe the music that we make? Erm, I don’t know really. [to Max] How would you describe the music that we make? [to Hedmuk] Max just reckons it’s whatever we fancy making (laughs).

H: So you don’t feel that you’re constrained particularly by genre/style at all?

J: No, not really: there’s no strict theme, or plan, or guidelines.

H: And when you sit down to make a tune do you tend to be in the studio together, or do you work on ideas independently and then come together and finish them?

J: Well sometimes we’ll sit down together and start something together from scratch; but it’s Max who’s got the studio stuff over at his house, so a lot of the time what will tend to happen is he’ll throw a load of ideas into a project and then maybe in that one project there’ll be, like, three things that we can go from and make full tunes from. And then when I come round, me and him will sit together and take those ideas in the project apart bit by bit and then ‘rebuild’ them into something.

H: Yeah, so it’s a case of both of you coming with ideas that aren’t yet fully formed into what you would call ‘a tune’, so the final result is only achieved by your working together on it?

J: Yeah, the ideas never really are, like, ready; so he’ll put his ideas down and, instead of just telling them to me, he’ll obviously just put them into the program and then say, you know, ‘this is what I think of this this and this’. Then I can come to it and put my ideas in, and we’ll sit there together and just bounce off each other. It always, at the end of the day, comes down to sitting together and finishing the tune off.

H: So when you sit down to make a tune it’s more a case of working with the idea that you have at hand, rather than sitting down and thinking ‘here, let’s make something for the headphones, or something for the dancefloor or whatever’

J: It’s more to do with how we’re feeling, so I might be like ‘I like this part that you’ve got here, so let’s work on that and make it more like this’; and it just depends on how we feel really. We bounce a lot off each other, so I think the tunes would be completely different if we worked alone.



H: And other than working together as Soap Dodgers, do either of you do anything individually? As you say, it would sound very different if you worked individually, so do you do other things that you feel don’t fit for how you work as a duo?

J: Well, the way I met Max was through music, because me and him used to make grime. [to Max] When did we make grime? What year was that? Year 9? [to H] So yeah, in 2005, we were making grime individually and then started making grime together and then that’s how the whole Soap Dodgers thing’s come together now. Although we both stopped making music for ages actually, and we’ve only being doing Soap Dodgers for about, well, coming up to two years now. So individually I think we’re both capable, and if we wanted to we could easily do our own projects; but right now there’s not really anything I’m looking to do, [to Max] are you? [to H] No, neither of us are looking to do stuff individually, but I think we’re both capable of doing it so, maybe in the future…

H: You say you took a break from making music and it is only in the last couple of years that you’ve been building a name for yourselves and gaining success as Soap Dodgers; so were you surprised by how quickly everything took off, or was it more a case of, because you’d been making music before and it wasn’t something so new to you, you weren’t so surprised at being able to establish yourselves quite quickly, as it were?

J: I don’t know, when we were making grime it was always for fun and we’ve only ever wanted to make music just for a laugh, to keep ourselves entertained; and then when we stopped making music we just stopped altogether - I don’t know why, I think it was because we left school and, I don’t know, the whole music thing just sort of didn’t really appeal to us anymore.

H: Yeah, grime went a bit downhill…

J: (Laughs) Yeah, there was a lot of stuff coming through and we just weren’t really feeling it. I think we both got jobs as well, so we just stopped making music. It was a couple of years after that when I heard dubstep music for the first time - I think it was Benga, ‘Crunked Up’ - and I was like, ‘fuck, this stuff’s proper sick’. So I showed it to Max, and then I just started buying vinyls for no reason, I still don’t know why I started doing it, but for some reason I started buying records; Max had turntables at his house so we just started playing them and then thought, we should try and get a DJ set somewhere. And when we started getting a couple sets, the next thing was that we thought we should start making our own music. We made ‘Machines’, and where it all started really, we just made our first tune and then went from there.



H: So Soap Dodgers was originally a DJing project before you started making tunes?

J: We never really intended on, you know, making a load of music; we sort of just wanted to DJ out because it was cool, and you got free alcohol and shit (laughs). We just thought, ‘this is sick, we’ll get a couple drinks and it’s something to do on the weekend’. And then we thought, you know what, we might as well make some tunes. We both knew how to use Fruity Loops, but actually when we started making dubstep we never used Fruity Loops, we would just take the knowledge that we had of how to make tunes and then we sat down and just learnt Logic, and then, yeah man…

H: And then, very quickly, you were linking up with people like N-Type at Wheel & Deal and getting support from the big name DJs, and it all started to come a lot quicker; how did it all come about, you know, moving from ‘I want to DJ so I can get into a club for free and get free drinks’ to actually making tunes for some of the biggest DJs within dubstep?

J: It sort of just feels like…it happened, I don’t know, it was a bit weird to be honest; we started making tunes and then, I can’t remember, I think it was our first agent introduced us to certain people, like N-Type for instance.

H: Do you feel that being in London, although dubstep now isn’t as London-centric as it was previously, helped in that it was easier to actually meet these bigger players, as it were?

J: Yeah I guess so, but I wouldn’t really put it down to just that. Obviously it helped with me and Max driving around trying to get our tunes to people, but we still got off our arses and, you know, made CDs and went around and I think that sort of stuff pays off - and living in London obviously helps, because you’ve got that more direct link with people even when you’re, you know, ‘no one’. I think, it’s hard to say because obviously people have got their own situations; there was times like it was, ‘I’m either going to eat my dinner, or I’ve got to go and buy CDs to make sure I can get this tune to someone’. So everyone’s got their shit, everyone’s got their own problems and stuff, but I think that anyone can go and meet these people and show them their music first-hand rather than just sending links over the internet. I think that definitely helped us, anyway.

H: Yeah, I think you’re probably right there; in terms of being personable, networking, to call it that, is still the same thing as it was before you could do it online. But actually handing someone a CD: they’re much more likely to listen to it than if you’ve just sent them a link to Soundcloud.

J: Yeah, definitely.



H: You’ve developed a close working relationship with Wheel & Deal as a result, with your third release, the ‘Unleashed EP’, which came out on the 30th of July. What was the thought process behind that EP? Did you feel that you could push the boundaries a bit more with this release, since you’re now more established and having had two successful releases on the imprint already?

J: Yeah I think it helps, and because we’ve had our first two releases already people know from the difference in those releases that we do like to make different stuff, and I think the ‘Unleashed EP’ shows that as well. I just think that obviously the more we do with Wheel & Deal, the more weird and different it’s going to get because right now it’s sort of just a showreel of what we can make and what we like to make; and I think that as we work with the label, we’re going to start making a lot more different stuff because I think N-Type trusts us to make what we enjoy making too. I think he knows that when we’re just left to our own business, the music’s going to come out a lot better.

H: Would you say as well that the forthcoming release on Tempa, which is a huge achievement for you guys, is almost the flipside to that, in that you’re showcasing a more specific aspect of your sound?

J: Yeah it’s a lot more picky, so obviously says a lot and it’s nice to have been asked to do a Tempa release: that’s a good look for us.



H: How did that one come about, the link-up with Tempa? 

J: That was Youngsta. We basically wanted to get a tune to Youngsta – we had 'Water Landing' and we wanted to show it Youngsta – and asked some people online, for his AIM and stuff, and the they were like, ‘don’t bother sending Youngsta anything because he’s not going to play it’. Which was like (laughs), ‘alright, but I’m still going to ask him anyway’. But that’s basically the reaction we got when we were saying to other people that we want to send stuff to Youngsta: ‘don’t bother’ sort of thing ‘he won’t play it’, you know, ‘we’ve been sending him tunes for years and he don’t play no one’s stuff’.

So, we sent him ‘Water Landing’ and straight away he said not to give it to anyone else because he wanted it exclusive . Then we made - [to Max] Max, what did we make after Water Landing? - [to Hedmuk] then we made ‘Unbalanced’ and he started supporting that, and he’s got his whole exclusive thing so we let him have the tunes exclusive for a long time and we built up the relationship like that: by letting him have full control over the tunes and not giving them to any other DJs, and from building that trust with Youngsta and allowing him to have the tunes exclusive, he put us forward to Tempa. We sent a load of tunes to Tempa and they picked, well…they picked none of them (laughs): they didn’t want any of them because they were all too similar. And then there was a long situation with that so we released those tunes on Wheel & Deal instead. And then – when we thought, Tempa don’t want our tunes – they came back and they picked up ‘Ill Minded’. So we were like, ‘fuck, alright then, they want Ill Minded’; then they asked us to write the B side, and we wrote ‘Contact’ in about a week and that was it, that’s just how it happened. It was all through Youngsta really.

H: And all of this was happening only a year or so after starting out as Soap Dodgers…

J: Yeah, I mean, all that happened a little bit too fast for us to sort of even understand what the fuck was going on. Basically, the same thing happened with Wheel & Deal: we wanted to release a single with Wheel & Deal and we ended up getting brought in to sign a contract to write an album for them; after the first tunes we even sent to them.

H: So is that still on the way then, an album on Wheel & Deal?

J: Yeah, we are doing an album but we haven’t started yet (laughs). We haven’t started yet, we’re just trying to get ourselves sorted and just focus on the singles and making sure they really represent what’s going to be coming.

H: And, with that in mind perhaps, have you been working at all at different tempos from your usual 140 bracket?

J: Well, yeah, I’ve noticed that that’s becoming quite popular now; and actually the reason Max ever had vinyl turntables at his house was that he was heavily brought up on house music: I think there’s always been an element of that in our music. But yeah, we’ve done two 130 tunes; one of them no-one’s heard, but the other one is ‘Lady Lips’ that we made for Roska.



H: And that one’s been getting some decent airplay from him on Rinse, has it not?

J: Oh yeah, no, he’s been battering it every show. It was sort of an experiment tune to see what our sound would sound like at 130.

H: You must feel almost pretty lucky that you branch into 130 and you’ve already got Roska, who again is one of the big names in that field, giving regular airplay your tune.

J: Well I think, in mine and Max’s opinion, we’ve always wanted what’s best for the music because, at the end of the day, we make the music because we like making it and if we enjoy it and want to give it to someone then we want it to be someone who’s running shit in the scene, do you know what I mean? That’s why we give stuff to N-Type, Youngsta and Roska.

H: Do you think that it’s important - particularly with the recent boom in electronic music that has saturated the scene in many ways - that if you want to back something, that you back it properly? And if you’re happy with something, to really push it to people who you think are really going to do something with it? 

J: That’s just it, yeah; and it’s no disrespect to any other DJs if we don’t give it to them first. To us, Roska was the person that we thought of – because he actually supported 'Rachel Went South' and 'Belly', our second release on Wheel & Deal: he asked for a 130 edit of the tracks, so we made them for him. And then we thought, right, let’s make him a track. So, yeah, when we were really happy with it, Roska was the obvious choice of who to send it to really.

H: And do you feel it’s important to make sure that whatever style or tempo it’s at, that it’s recognisably Soap Dodgers’ music?

J: Yeah, and I think even if you hear it for the first time and you have no idea who made it, when you realise who has made it you can sort of sit back and be like, ‘oh yeah’.



H: So would you say that you’re at a point now that your sound and your style has developed and matured into something that you can quite comfortably recognise as your own, as Soap Dodgers, and happily put your name to it?

J: I mean, yeah I suppose in a way, yeah, but at the same time we’re always trying new stuff and don’t really want to keep ourselves to a strict sound. I think as long as once you know the track is made by us, and then you can recognise it afterwards, that’s fine; but we’re always making new stuff so I don’t know how we’d class what our sound is exactly.

H: I suppose it’s difficult when you’re making such a variety…

J: Yeah, it is: when you’re stretching across so many different styles to keep yourself entertained, it’s hard to pin it down. And when there’s so many plugins in the world, you’re always finding new things and finding new stuff that you enjoy; and I think that’s the most important thing: if you like it yourself. So even if it sounds completely different, and it doesn’t sound anything like you, the important thing is that you like it. And right now, we’re only very early into our career and we just want to show what we can do, really. And we’ve got really short attention spans as well (laughs).

H: (Laughs) Yeah, I think I can relate to that one. Can you tell us a bit about the mix that you’ve put together for us?

J: Well the mix is just pretty much everything we’ve spoken about: we’ve tried to get everything in there that we enjoy playing and maybe give people an idea of what we play when we’re out. Although that’s quite hard because, again, it sort of depends on what we want to play when we’re out.

H: So, to finish up, can you give us a quick rundown of your forthcoming releases, and anything or anyone else you want to put the word out on?

J: I don’t really know, like, I don’t really like doing shout-outs because I always forget people (laughs). But yeah, anyone who helps us, they know who they are, so that’s alright; and, yeah, I don’t think there’s anything else really that we can say or want to say right now as those things aren’t really important at the minute, they’re not really materialising at the minute so yeah, in terms of releases the most current thing really that we can talk about is the Tempa one, which should be out in August.

H: Have you got a confirmed date for that yet, or?

J: Nah, (laughs) it’s hard to get a date out of them guys. But it’ll be on 12” and digital and the pre-orders are up already, I think.

H: Yeah, I’ve seen them up on Red Eye.

J: It can’t be too long then, it’s gotta be soon.

H: Although Red Eye can sometimes be a bit hasty with these things (laughs).

J: (Laughs) Yeah. The other one, though, is the ‘Unleashed EP’ on Wheel & Deal which has just come out, and that’s a double vinyl with full artwork sleeve and the digital is coming out too. Also, if you buy the full release from the Wheel & Deal Surus store then you get the bonus track, which is ‘Unbalanced’, too. But other than that: shouts to Justin Bieber and Jagermeister, safe.


Download: Soap Dodgers - Hedmuk Exclusive Mix


Tracklist:


French Fries - Hugz (feat. Bambounou) [ClekClekBoom]
Killawatt - Capa VIP [Dub]
Soap Dodgers - Unleashed [Wheel & Deal]
Icicle - Need A Job [Shogun Audio]
Soap Dodgers - Ill Minded [Forthcoming Tempa]
LX One - On My Own [Forthcoming Wheel & Deal]
Soap Dodgers - No. 6 (Benton Remix) [Dub]
Seven - Invasion [Black Box]
Soap Dodgers - Infinite [Dub]
Dismantle - Witch [Digital Soundboy]
Jammer - Big Man (Lost & Hatcha Remix) [Dub]
The Others - Bad Taste [Forthcoming Dub Police]

Soap Dodgers - HEDMUK Exclusive Mix by Hedmuk on Mixcloud

.Preacha.