Trap Magazine Issue 22

S U M M E R

2 0 1 5

# 2 2

K A H N

+ SPECTRASOUL GAVIN WATSON LEVELZ GOODCHILD RANDALL NIGHTSHIFT

Bringing underground electronic music to an abandoned fort For full line up see website

dimensionsfestival.com

George Clinton Parliament/Funkadelic

Four Tet Live Little Dragon Floating Points Live Juan Atkins Underground Resistance presents Timeline Live

Moodymann Ben Klock Lil Louis Ame Boddika Mala Gerd Janson Dusky Loefah BADBADNOTGOOD Mount Kimbie/dj set Blawan

John Talabot Surgeon Bicep Rødhüd Hessle Audio: Ben UFO x Pearson Sound x Pangaea Daniele Baldelli Motor City Drum Ensemble Osunlade Daniel Avery Delano Smith Objekt Horse Meat Disco Goldie Sadar Bahar Rush Hour pres: Antal, Recloose, Hunee Legowelt Plus many many more

JURASSIC 5 SBTRKT NOISIA BEENIE MAN RUN THE JEWELS DUSKY WILEY BOY BETTER KNOW THE MADLIB CARNIVAL:

MADLIB (DJ SET), PETE ROCK, J ROCC, MOODYMANN LIVE

SHY FX

FLATBUSH ZOMBIES RENEGADE HARDWARE 20 CONGO DUBZ FLY CONGO NATTY FT.& TENOR THE BEATNUTS GOLDIE

DIGITAL MYSTIKZ CUTTY RANKS KATE TEMPEST MOUNT KIMBIE DJ SET LOEFAH DAVID RODIGAN DJ EZ PROTOJE & THE INDIGGNATION ONEMAN BADBADNOTGOOD YUNG LEAN

ARAABMUZIK

THE BUG

DJ HYPE DBRIDGE

KODE 9

ZED BIAS ICICLE ENTROPY LIVE DUB PHIZIX & STRATEGY SANGO MR CARMACK TODDLA T NEWHAM GENERALS STORMZY P MONEY + 3 0 0 M O R E

SAT 30 MAY 2015 / COLWICK COUNTRY PARK / NOTTINGHAM

NAS PERFORMS ILLMATIC

SUB FOCUS / SIGMA / WILKINSON LIVE SKEPTA / ÂME / DUSKY / DAVID RODIGAN SHY FX / ZOMBY / MSSINGNO RONI SIZE: REPRAZENT LIVE / PREDITAH CAMO & KROOKED / CALYX & TEEBEE A GUY CALLED GERALD LIVE / LONE LIVE AV MIKE SKINNER / DJ HYPE ZED BIAS PRESENTS MADD AGAIN / KOWTON CAUSE & AFFECT / ICICLE ENTROPY LIVE DUB PHIZIX & STRATEGY MUMDANCE & NOVELIST / DJ MARKY CONGO NATTY / HAZARD / S.P.Y KLASHNEKOFF PERFORMS THE SAGAS YOUNGSTA HISTORY SET / SCORZAYZEE THE SQUARE / MELLA DEE / MR MITCH + LOADS MORE TBA

TICKETS NOW ON SALE: DETONATEEVENTS.COM /DETONATEUK

@DETONATEUK

@DETONATEUK

@DETONATE_UK

#22 S U M M E R R 2 0 1 5

Marc Sethi

EDITOR: Jon Cook jon@trapmagazine.co.uk

COVER: Kahn by Theo Cottle theocottle.com

CREATIVE: Andy Hayes andy@trapmagazine.co.uk

PICTURES: Theo Cottle, Ollie Grove, Marc Sethi.

FASHION & STYLE Kasha Malyckyj kasha@trapmagazine.co.uk REVIEWS EDITOR: Gwyn Thomas De Chroustchoff gwyn@trapmagazine.co.uk SALES & ADVERTISING: Iain Blackburn iain@trapmagazine.co.uk MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION: Justin Iriajen justin@trapmagazine.co.uk WEB: All That Good Stuff & Nick Hills www.allthatgoodstuff.co.uk

WORDS: Jon Cook, Oli Grant, Monki, Deanne Ball, Maria Pizzeria, Matt Jakes, Gwyn Thomas de Chroustchoff, David Clark, Nick Watkins, Justin Iriajen, Lauren Clark.

THANK YOU: Adam @ Backdrop, Rob & Tom @ The Blast, Charlie @ John Doe, Sarah @ Anon, Oli & Saul @ Fabric, Louis, Rich & Syd @ 50/50, All @ Team Love, The Who??Cares fam, Chris @ Same Old, Gavin Watson, Ollie Grove and everyone else we forgot.

C 2015 Camouflage Media Limited.

All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine or its contents may be reproduced without prior written consent of the publisher. Disclaimer: The views expressed in Trap Magazine are not necessarily the views sharedby its staff or publisher. While we strive to ensure the information in Trap Magazine is correct, changes can occur which affect the accuracy of the copy, for which Trap Magazine holds no responsibility. t r a p m ag. c o m

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MONKI

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FASHION

20

FIFTY FIFTY

T H E 30

KAHN

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ART: GOODCHILD

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P H OT O G R A P H Y: G AV I N WAT S O N

53

LEVELZ

Theo Cottle

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FASHION SHOOT: UNHOOKED

25

RISE UP #30 WILL CLARKE

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RISE UP #31 NIGHTSHIFT

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SPECTRASOUL

D R O P 68 IN DEEP:

DJ RANDALL

70

BOSS SELECTIONS

73

MUSIC REVIEWS

2 0 1 5

08 NEWS

S U M M E R

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RISE UP #29 COMMODO

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N E W S

#22

OutlOOk & DimensiOns 2015

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he full line-ups have been released for the 2015 instalments of Europe’s most on-point bass and electronic music festivals - Outlook and Dimensions. As any regular reader of trapmag will know, we’re passionate supporters of both of these festivals, which this year again take place in the incomparably evocative location of the medieval Fort Punta Christo, just outside the Croatian town of Pula.

Outlook, taking place from Thursday 2 to Monday 6 September, is going in deeper than ever this year with an incredible line-up of bass-driven music’s biggest superstars and underground heroes, including Jurassic 5, SBTR KT, Beenieman, Run The Jewels, Wiley, Protoje, B B K and Moodyman, alongside the likes of Rodigan, Loefah, The Bug, Toddla T, Goldie, E Z, Dusky and many more.

The more intimate Dimensions takes place a week before on 26 to 30 August with the cream of house, techno and bass music’s deeper strains booked to play.

From Four Tet and Little Dragon at the opening party in Pula’s ancient Roman amphitheatre, to Juan Atkins, Hessle Audio, Mala, Ben Klock, Swamp 81 and DJ Randall, this is one serious line-up.

Tickets for each festival start £140 head over to their respective websites for more info and to cop yours. outlookfestival.com dimensionsfestival.com

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Marc Sethi

With the best sound-systems you’ll hear anywhere playing until the early hours of the morning every day, plus amazing weather and the sickest crowds you’ll find at any festival, whether you’re a die hard house and techno fiend or bass-music purist, these two festivals have got you covered.

C r e at i v e M e s s

I

f, like us, you’re bored of the same old phone, tablet and laptop covers, or those stickers you’ve plastered all over your favourite electronic device are looking less than sharp, give Creative Mess’s range of cases a look.

Collaborating with artists from around the world to produce some of the best looking and most unique covers around, all of us at trapmag are keeping our phones and MacBooks safe in one of these right now.

Head over to the Creative Mess website to check the full range and for the artists amongst you, you can even pitch to get involved with designing your own. creativemessuk.net

s e e dy s o n i C s

O

n Friday 5 June, Birmingham’s premium bass-merchants Seedy Sonics return for their annual Summer Party. Taking over the full Rainbow Venues complex in Birmingham’s Digbeth, including the massive Arena space, this year’s bash looks unmissable for all you Midlands ravers.

With an eye-popping line-up that includes, Ben Pearce, My Nu Leng, Preditah, Shy FX, TEED, Zinc and Tom Shorterz, this is the perfect way to get your summer really moving. Final release tickets are on sale now for £25 - head to the Seedy Sonics Facebook page for more details. facebook.com/seedysonics 009

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N E W S

FIB - BenIcassIm

O

ne of Europe’s most unique festivals, Benicassim, takes place this year on 16 - 19 July, with an enormous line-up covering the full breadth of music, from dance to indie and pop. Taking place on the Costa del Azahar, around 90km from Valencia in Spain, this truly international festival instantly establishes itself as a favourite of anyone that attends, no matter what their musical persuasion.

This year’s event features a typically massive roster of artists, including the likes of The Prodigy, Florence and the Machine, Public Enemy, MØ, Portishead and many more, offering party-goers the chance to enjoy beautiful beaches by day and world-class music by night.

Day tickets start at just €£45, with full four-day passes costing only €£160, meaning that, even once you’ve bought your flights, attending Benicassim won’t cost you much more than it would to reach one of the increasingly expensive bigger U K festivals.

With the weather always guaranteed to be scorching, things kick off at 5pm every night and don’t stop until 8am the next day. If you’re tired of reaching the same old festivals every summer and if you’ve never made it to Benicassim, we recommend you make it top of the list for your 2015 festival plans. f i b e r f i b. c o m

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t r a p m ag. c o m

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N E W S

Marc Sethi

EastErn ElEctrics

E

astern Electrics returns to Hatfield House in Hertfordshire on Saturday 1 August for another day-long dance music celebration.

With eight stages and over 50 DJs and live acts set to perform in the beautiful grounds of the historic stately home, if house and techno is your thing, you need to make sure you’re at E E this year.

Skream takes over the Big Top stage with his Skreamizm party, inviting the likes of Robert Hood under his Floorplan guise and Richie Ahmed to join him, while Germany’s tI N I presides over the Switchyard

stage,

and

Black

Butter

Records bring DJ E Z to the party for the London label’s debut E E appearance.

Other highlights include house music legend Lil’ Louis, who headlines Gloria’s Stage for XOYO and Sink The Pink, and Steve Lawler playing Sankey’s stage.

Head over to the E E website for more e a s t e r n e l e c t r i c s. c o m

of the line-up and to grab your tickets, priced at £39.95.

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N E W S

Farr

I

f you’re tired of reaching the same festivals every year, then we recommend you give boutique bash FAR R a try this summer. Taking place on the weekend of 16 to 18 July in Bygrave Woods, Hertfordshire, this year’s edition keeps true to the festival’s ethos of ‘better not bigger’, promising three exceptional days of music for a ticket price that’s cheaper than last year!

Headliners include Toddla T, Ame, DJ Koze, Channel One, Prosumer, Heidi and many more, with stage partners including NTS, Just Jack, Rubadub and Trouble Vision.

The remaining two tiers of tickets still remain at the time of writing, starting at just £85, with buses leaving from Bristol, Reading and London. Buy four tickets and the lovely guys at FAR R will thrown in a fifth absolutely free - head to their website for more info. f a r r f e s t i v a l . c o. u k 012

N E W S

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t r a p m ag. c o m

B e r l i n F e s t i va l

W

hether you’ve never made it out to Berlin, or you’re one of the many who just can’t get enough of the place, Berlin Festival on the weekend of 29 - 31 May is all the excuse you need to get yourself over to one of Europe’s very best cities.

Berlin has a well-deserved reputation as one of the world’s most forward-thinking creative and cultural hotspots, the 20,000 capacity Berlin Festival in Arena Park showcases everything that’s so good about the German capital.

With a powerful roster of many of electronic music’s biggest and best names booked to play, plus a strong focus on onsite production and artistic installations, even if you’re a veteran of the summer festival circuit, this is one event that we can guarantee will leave you seriously wowed.

Many of the key players from Berlin’s notoriously vibrant and world-renowned club scene, including Richie Hawtin, Dixon, and Ame, prop up a massive lineup at the three-day festival that features the likes of James Blake, Seth Troxler, Robert Hood, Rudimental, Roisin Murphy and Underworld.

Tickets are a complete bargain at just €79, and the site is around 25km from Berlin’s Schönefeld Airport. For more info, check the Berlin Festival website. berlinfestival.de 013

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N E W S

L ov e s s av e s T h e D ay 2 0 1 5

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N E W S

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t r a p m ag. c o m

n the Bank Holiday weekend of 23 and 24 May, the incredible Love Saves The Day festival returns, with a new location and a bigger and better line-up than ever before.

After three amazing years at Bristol’s Castle Park, this year LSTD makes the move to Eastville Park for two days of love-soaked sights and sounds from the cream of the dance music world and beyond. Headliners include Jessie Ware, Groove Armada and Azealia Banks, with many of Bristol’s best club-nights involved hosting stages across the weekend.

On the Sunday, Trapmag is hugely proud to be linking with our very good friends at Who??Cares to host a stage all of our own, with a line-up that we think takes some serious beating. We’ll have Redlight, Newham Generals and DJ E Z topping a bill that includes Pinch, NYTA, My Nu Leng, Jus Now, GotSome, Joker, Barely Legal and more. Oooosh.

Es s en ti a l In f o

Elsewhere, our fellow Brizzle publishing powerhouses Crack Magazine welcome Four Tet and Floating Points, while Shy FX brings Stormzy, Wiley and Skepta to his very own arena. Other highlights include George Fitzgerald, Rodigan, Hannah Wants, Gorgon City, Ame, Julio Bashmore and Channel One.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ME? £45 for a day pass, £79.50 for both days. limited tickets available from; lovesavestheday.org/tickets

And don’t forget the Love Saves The Night after-parties too - again, we’ll be linking with Who??Cares for a massive Motion mash-down with Rodigan on the Sunday, while Saturday night will see a very special ‘Gorgon City Curates’ party, plus loads more.

Tickets are selling quick, so head over to the LSTD website and get yours quick. We will see you there!

WHEN? Bank Holiday weekend 23 / 24 may WHERE? Eastville Park, Bristol

WHO’S PERFORMING? Sat: Jessie Ware, Julio Bashmore, Leon Vynehall, Hannah Wants, Gorgon City, Jackmaster, George Fitzgerald, tourist + many more Sun: Azealia Banks, Grandmaster Flash, Roni Size Reprazent, Shy FX, Wiley, Four Tet, Newham Generals, Redlight + Many more. l o v e s a v e s t h e d a y. o r g

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LIMITED EDITION ANNIVERSARY TEE _ AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT STORE.TRAPMAGAZINE.CO.UK

F A S H I O N

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Wo r d s : K a s h a M a l y c k y j

Pa m Pa m L o n d o n

R

epping the London girls’ trainer game, Pam Pam is the first exclusively women’s sneaker store to launch in the U K. Channelling a clean aesthetic and lifestyle-orientated philosophy, the three comprising rooms offer a quality selection of footwear from adidas, Reebok, Saucony and New Balance, as well as an impressive range of branded clothing, accessories and jewellery.

Benefiting from over ten years’ experience in the menswear market, founders Bethany Heggarty and Rio Holland have swapped over to the fairer side; reacting to the everincreasing demand in women’s sneakers to launch the Bethnal Green store back in March.

Exciting plans to expand to host classes and workshops are also in the pipeline - Pam Pam aims to promote wellbeing, culture and individual style in as many ways as possible. www.pampamlondon.com 017

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F A S H I O N

D r e a dy

Y

ou don’t need us to tell you that right now, all things 1990s are dominating street fashion. From curved-peak caps and bomber jackets, to Reebok classics and EQT adi, we’ve all gone crazy for the looks and labels of two decades ago.

The timing couldn’t be better, then, for the resurrection of Dready; easily one of the most iconic and memorable labels of that era.

The Dready Originals Collection features lost and unseen work from the original artist and creator of Dready, the late Robert Sidslaukas.

Head over to the website to shop the full range of graphic tees. dreadybrand.com

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F A S H I O N

Effra

S

imple yet strong, new London jewellery label, EFFRA combines heritage design with contemporary aesthetics. The collection of matte and polished gold and silver signet rings and pendants are engraved with the signature swallow motif - a reference to the traditional seafaring tattoos that encouraged a safe journey for the wearer.

Inspired and endorsed by London’s music and art scenes, E FFRA is backed by singer/model Rosie Lowe and DJ Jon Rust. The men’s and women’s pieces are available alone or as a set, via the E FFRA London webstore. effralondon.com

Monokel

W

ith a minimalism that’s unmistakably Scandinavian, eyewear label Monokel brings us a perfectly nostalgic range of handcrafted sunglasses for S/S15.

The premium frames and finishes reference classic styles of the 60s and 70s and the era’s rock-and-roll rebel spirit. Professional snowboarders, Robert Sandgren and Fredrik Sävenberg founded the label during a period of injury-induced boredom and haven’t looked back - gaining a mass following in extreme sports and beyond.

The collection, featuring over 20 individual styles, is available now from the Monokel website.

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T

he sun is finally out and there’s been plenty of skateboarding activity keeping us busy over here at fifty fifty. The Skateboard Café crew have been wrapping up their first fulllength skate film ‘Alfresco’, which features our very own Korahn Gayle, Josh Arnott, Harry Ogilvie and a guest part from Danny Wainwright, alongside Mike Arnold and Shaun Currie. A powerful line-up .

This is set to be a super-rad film that we’re hyped to see - everyone involved has put in hours of work travelling to Copenhagen, Barcelona and all over the U K. The guys are also travelling the country to hold a series of premieres and the film is set to drop alongside the Skateboard Café summer line at the end of May. Keep your eyes out for this; we’re all really stoked on it.

There’s a bunch of other solid skate film releases set for 2015 and we’ve just witnessed the new Vans film ‘Propeller’, featuring the entire US team and filmed

and edited by Greg Hunt; the genius behind the Alien Workshop classic ‘Mindfield’. This is also a must-see film with a incredible line-up and absolutely amazing level of skateboarding! Go watch it now.

In other Vans related news the fifty fifty team has just competed in this year’s Vans Shop Riot contest at Pioneer Club in St Albans, which has been a true landmark in U K skate comps over the last 20 years - the memories came flooding back!

This year, we were represented by a three-man team consisting of Korahn Gayle, Tom Gibbs and Ollie Lock, who got through to final and ended up a very respectable fourth. The official edit from this can be viewed over at sidewalkmag. com. Go watch the vids, grab ya whip and enjoy the summer. _ 5 0 5 0 s t o r e. c o m @fiftyfiftystore

F I F T Y

#22

F I F T Y

Va n s

S

peaking of Vans, these two new styles of footwear come from the brand’s new Spring/Summer line.

The first is a brand-new pro model from Tony Trujillo; a mid-top model with a classic Vans look that’s a very functional skate shoe with extra ankle protection .

The next model is another classic, slightly remodelled. The Skate Mid Pro has the classic Sk8 Hi look with a lower profile.

The green colourway by Jeff Grosso is part of the very strong Anti Hero Collaboration pack. v a n s. c o. u k

Butter Goods

N

ext up are these caps from our favourite Australian brand, Butter Goods. Their Summer collection is as on point as ever; the caps have great shapes, materials and colourways . Every line gets stronger and stronger from these guys and we’re stoked to be one of the few U K stockists . b u t t e r g o o d s. c o m

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M O N K I BBC Radio One’s Monki brings us her latest run-down on all the happenings in her world. Oh, and make sure you grab her recently released FABRICLIVE mix now!

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C AT C H M E AT: Summer is upon us. Put away your duffel coats and get out those pasty legs of yours, it’s festival season!

Here’s a few you can catch me at. For full listings head to my Facebook page at facebook.com/monkidj.

VENUE:

Manchester Albert Hall

30 May

We Are FSTVL

25, 27 June

Glastonbury

1, 2 July

Hideout

18 July

Latitude

9 Aug

Boardmasters

22, 23 Aug

V Festival

10 - 13 Sept Bestival

Over the last 12 months, this place has quickly become one of my favourite venues in the country. As well as holding upcoming gigs from the likes of Jamie XX, Leftfield and Hot Chip, it’s also one of the most unique clubs in the U K to have a good rave in. It’s an old gothic building, with a big stage facing a horseshoe-shaped upper tier and a sea of people below. The soundsystems not too bad either! I’m looking forward to seeing who pops up there next.

I L OV E :

Melé - ‘Ambience’ After setting up his own label ‘Quadrants’ and releasing Callahan’s debut EP; Melé returns to concentrating on his own productions for 2015. His latest free mixtape ‘Melé Vanelé’ gave us a taster of what was in store, but I don’t think anyone predicted the breathe of fresh air that’s come with his latest track ‘Ambience’. Driven by a big soulful vocal and drums that would make the most awkward of people show us little two step. The urge to dance to this record is impossible to ignore and I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot more of it this summer!

O N E TO WAT C H : Kalyde

When one of Kalyde’s tracks pops up in my inbox, I always look forward to pressing that play button and sticking in my headphones. A producer you may not have heard of yet, but he’s released on Madtech, New York’s Nervous Records and my own label Zoo Music.

His production infuses techno with a U K Bass influence brilliantly. One to watch for sure.

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#29

COMMODO

I am...

Commodo, aka C’Mo’Dough, aka your favourite producer’s favourite producer.

I can’t get through my day without...

Bread. I thought a while about this and I don’t think I’ve had a bread-less day in many, many years.

You might already know me for...

My singles and EPs on Deep Medi, my DJ sets, my straddling the line between what is cool and what is thoroughly uncool.

The best party I’ve ever played at was...

I do remember one of my favourite ever sets being at Outlook Festival in 2012. Me and Lurka went back to back.

Really great crowd, monstrous sound system and surrounded by friends. We were absolutely steaming by the end of it though. I think I went up on top of the fort afterwards to get my shit together, maybe threw up on myself a lil bit. Good times.

I’d describe the music I play as...

Bargain basslines repackaged for Waitrose.

When I’m not working, you’ll find me...

Cooking or eating. I spend a lot of time thinking about my next meal and sometimes getting to the location where it will be consumed.

If I need inspiration, I...

Usually dig through a pile of records for samples. I’m lucky that my work process relies so heavily on sampling as it means that if I’m in a rut creatively, the cure is often to sit through about five full LPs of insufferable prog rock, then get to work with the samples I have acquired. Either that or talk with one of the few other producers I’m close friends with, that can help a lot; seeing as the way you view your own music can be wildly different to how others perceive it.

The one track I wish I’d made is...

Madlib - ‘Movie Finale’. It’s the instrumental from Mos Def ’s ‘Auditorium’.

024

You may be surprised to know that ...

I have a strong aversion to UK hip-hop and a soft-spot for skate punk.

Three words that describe my mix are...

Not. A. Journey.

My life won’t be complete until...

I don’t really have thoughts or goals like this, apart from ones in my personal life. One thing I would definitely like to achieve just as a trophy for myself is to get a feature from DOOM. Not holding my breath though.

@commodomusic

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WILL CLARKE

I am...

Will Clarke.

You might already know me for...

My tracks ‘The Boogie Woogie EP’ on Dirtybird or ‘Big Booty’ on Anabatic also for having serious facial hair.

I’d describe the music I play as...

House that makes you want to shake your booty.

When I’m not working, you’ll find me...

Often cooking up a good hearty burger, going to the cinema or doing some sort of exercise.

If I need inspiration, I...

I like to go for a jog sometimes - sounds a bit weird, I know, but just being able to watch the world go by is a great feeling. I also love listening to hip-hop; it always gets me in the groove to write. Who doesn’t like a bit of Jurassic 5, eh?

The one track I wish I’d made is...

Frankie Knuckles ‘Your Love’ or Cajmere ‘Percolator’.

I can’t get through my day without...

A good bar of dark chocolate mmmm.

The best party I’ve ever played at was...

It was last year at Motion in Bristol, my night Cut A Rug was hosting the outside smoking area, we were expecting it to be dead and it was rammed; couldn’t get in to the club from outside. Such a good party.

You may be surprised to know that ...

I used to be UK Junior champion at kickboxing when I was 12…

Three words that describe my mix are...

Booty. Bass. House.

My life won’t be complete until...

My beard is as long as Gandalf ’s

d j w i l l c l a r k e. c o m

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xx

Cases & skins for iPhone, Samsung, iPad & Macbook SAVE 10% USING THE CODE TRAPMAG15

creativemessuk

#31

NIGHTSHIFT

I am...

Nightshift, a house producer from London.

You might already know me for...

The darker side of house.

I’d describe the music I play as...

Mostly UK productions.

When I’m not working, you’ll find me...

Down the pub, chilling with the missus or in the studio.

If I need inspiration, I...

Always manage to draw inspiration from other producers around me.

The one track I wish I’d made is...

Hollis P Monroe - Im Lonely (Laura Jones Remix).

I can’t get through my day without...

My E Cig. The best party I’ve ever played at was...

Audio Rehab at Ministry.

You may be surprised to know that ...

I use Fruity Loops. Never got on with Logic.

Three words that describe my mix are...

Fresh. Dark. House.

My life won’t be complete until...

Arsenal win the champions league.

@nightshift84

Download the mixes at t r a p m a g . c o m 027

T E N Q_ U E S T I O N S

S p e ct r a S ou l

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Tr a p # 2 2 SPECTRASOUL

T

his June sees the release of ‘The Mistress’, the second album from Spectrasoul. Known for their soulful, mood-ridden take on the drum & bass template for the mighty Shogun Audio imprint , the London based duo of Jack Stevens and Dave Kennett have been pushing the boundaries of 174-bpm music since their debut release back in 2006.

Here at trapmag, we’re massive fans of the Spectrasoul sound, so caught up with Dave and Jack to ask them 10 quick questions. Read on to hear about blood-fisted cab rides, signing people’s heads and a Mr T doll. _ What’s your favourite city in the world and why?

Jack: “I love San Francisco. The food, the culture - and it’s just hours from Yosemite park. One Day…” Dave: “Take the diversity of London, the vibe of San Fran, and the weather from Perth and you’ve got my perfect city.”

Describe your average fan.

J: “We’ve got a really broad cross section of fans. From young guys and girls who like to get fucked up and rave their bollocks and lady bollocks off, right through to the people who first listened to our music back in ’06. We hope they’re still with us!”

D: “Intelligent, open-minded music lovers from all walks of life. I’ve never met a bad one.”

D&B producers can be treated like gods in certain countries abroad – what’s the weirdest fan experience you’ve had?

D: “Well, one girl gave us a painting of our faces once. That was kind of sweet and bunny-boiler-esque in equal measure.”

J: “We did an in-store at BM Soho (RIP) for our first album, ‘Delay No More’ and some dude made Dave and I sign his

head in permanent pen. I’ve got the video somewhere…”

going once we landed back at the coast.

Good times!”

How is this album different to your last?

J: “The first one was a culmination of all our early ideas, packaged into an album.

We’ve definitely moved on from that.

We’re hoping to put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons with some tracks on the new album. We’ve developed our palette a bit and took a long time working on new methods before we really got stuck in.”

Most random place you’ve heard one of your songs?

J: “I once heard a track of ours in the interlude of a Little Dragon show. That was odd, but good.”

What’s the worst thing a critic or journalist has said about you?

J: “None that I can recall off the top of my head. We’re all about positivity, as your readers probably gathered from my twitter feed, so we only focus on positive publicity!”

What’s the coolest thing you own?

J: “My bike. It’s ever evolving. It gets me from A to B and looks bloody cool.”

D: “Not sure abut journalists, but someone once said I look like Nu:Tone’s ‘special’ younger brother. Cheers, whoever you are!”

What posters did you have on your bedroom walls as kids?

J: “My room was a shrine to Liverpool football club. Although the wall space was liberally punctuated by my drawings.

Mainly of the X-Men.” D: “Tazmania, Dreamscape, Helter Skelter, Hysteria, World Dance… Yep, I was a full-on 90s raver kid.”

You travel a lot – what’s been your most memorable journey?

J: “I once had a cab driver deliberately ram a scooter rider with his car after a heated exchange. That led to a bloody fist-fight in the street. The rest of the forty-minute ride was fun. Luckily, I made my f light, which was nice.”

D: “The 6am Shogun cab rides back to Brighton from The End & Cable were always pretty eventful and memorable!

Friction, KTee and the rest of us ‘Brightonians’ would often keep the party

D: “I haven’t actually of ours while being out I did see a three-legged doughnut this morning, random.”

heard anything and about, but pigeon eating a that was pretty

D: “An original, 1983 Mr T-Doll. Boxed, accessories, chains and all.”

What do you think are the best and worst things about the dance music industry now compared to when you started out?

J: “For me, the best thing is that the music still continues to evolve and more and more people seem to gravitate towards it. The worst, and not wanting to sound like an old fart, is that artists don’t talk, share music, or help and push each other like they did when we started out. It’s all fragmented.”

D: “The best is an obvious one; the internet has definitely opened things up a lot. Being able to go and play your music to people in countries that previously wouldn’t have had access to it still amazes me. The worst is probably the demise of independent record stores. I (and, I think, a lot of people) miss the social aspect of having a central point to pick up music and interact with other like-minded music folk.”

‘The Mistress’ is out on 7 June 2015 on Shogun Audio - grab an exclusive album preview over on their website. w w w. s p e c t r a s o u l m u s i c. c o m

Ka h n

F R O M T H E O U T S I D E I N

Wo r d s : J o n C o o k Photos: Theo Cottle

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THE COMMUNITY ASPECT OF L I V I N G I N B R I S T O L I S M A S S I V E LY IMPORTANT TO ME; IT’S A PART OF OUR IDENTITY, IT’S WHAT WE’RE ABOUT.

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t’s a grim, early April night when trapmag arrives back in our original hometown of Bristol. After a brief diversion to catch a clearly unwell Danny Brown and bunch of London grime acts play in a old manor house on the edge of the city, in aid of a well-known, sticky energy drink’s latest attempts to attach themselves to UK youth culture, we pull up to the car park of Thekla, Bristol’s famed club-on-a-boat moored in the city’s floating harbour.

We’re here for a special link-up between Sureskank, one of the city’s longest running grime parties, and Bandulu, the record label helmed by the man we’ve come to Bristol to interview, Kahn, with his partner in grime Neek.

Boasting a line-up topped by a tripleheader of grime’s most revered OG MCs and a who’s-who of fresh Bristol talent , expectations had been high during our trip up the M4. But there’s no queue outside - and Thekla’s open-air top deck smoking area looks ominously quiet .

For a moment our hearts sink. After the listless experience we’ve just had a few miles outside town, at a party boasting not just one of America’s most exciting rappers, but a fair few of the UK’s hottest young grime stars, we’re wondering whether the hype

surrounding the resurrection of grime is nothing more than internet gas and journalistic bluster when it comes to the genre on a grass-roots rave level.

“Yeah, it was a wicked night. I didn’t know what was gonna happen getting everyone together like that - it was kind of an experiment. But I thought it went really well.”

Thankfully, we’re wrong. As we descend the packed stairs into the bowels of the boat , the walls shudder and the unmistakable voices of Flowdan, Riko and Killa P ring out over the roar of a crowd. There’s no queue, because everyone got here early. And there’s no one outside smoking because they’re all inside raving. Hundreds of them. And that is exactly what we’ve come to see.

What do you mean by ‘an experiment’?

“It was important to do; it was a dream line-up for us. Those guys, Flowdan, Riko and Killa P, when I was coming up, I really clicked with that ‘yardie’, or whatever you call it, take on grime. The f low that those guys all have in common. I was really getting into dancehall around the same time and it all fitted together and made sense to me back then. So, since that period, it’s been a dream to get them all together in a place. And then to have D Double and Slimzee there, and to do a back to back; it was mad; a real honour.”

Working our way through the throbbing crowd, we can see Kahn, Neek and grime original Slimzee manning the decks on stage. Stood in front of them, growling their patois-heavy bars, stand not just the aforementioned MC trio, but also Newham Generals’ D Double E. The crowd, meanwhile, are losing their shit . This is grime in 2015, the old with the young, exhilarating as ever and beautiful to behold…

The next day, we meet with Kahn, one of the men responsible for the previous nights sonic shell-down. He’s a guy we’ve been keen to interview for a long time - but not just for his involvement in Bandulu, Sureskank and grime.

Over the last couple of years, the 26 year-old Bristol native’s name has been on everyone’s lips right across underground bass-driven music; making serious waves in the grime scene with his close friend and collaborator Neek, while also releasing for the likes of Mala’s tightly guarded and highly revered Deep Medi imprint and DJing at quality dubstep sanctuaries such as DMZ, Subloaded and Reconstrvct . And that’s not to mention his ‘Gorgon Sound’ reggaesoundsystem project with Neek, with whom he also runs the vinyl-only Bandulu record label.

There is, then, a lot to discuss with the man as we sit down and begin talking.

With the night before still spinning in our heads and ringing in our ears, it’s on that subject that things begin…

Last night was pretty special - how was it for you?

Grime has got this new, younger crowd now. Do you feel a responsibility to show them the roots of the scene they’re discovering by getting those sort of guys down?

“Yeah, those guys deserve full recognition and attention. It’s a funny one, this new crowd. You do worry about things getting so popular. I was hanging out with Skywalker, Danny Brown’s DJ and producer, before their show last night and we were chatting about grime in the US. He’s worried it’s gonna suffer in the way dubstep did - with a Skrillex type of producer coming on to grime and completely rinsing it in their own way.

It’s trendy at the moment and it’s wicked ‘cause, like I say, there are a lot of people that deserve the the attention. But that worry is there.

“But then, I guess we are part of that new wave of things, certainly some of the Bandulu artists are, but I think myself and Neek are more in the middle generation.

We were younger than the first wave, but we were going to the raves back when we were 17. Sureskank is eight years old, we’ve been doing it that long.

“Back in 2009, especially in Bristol, there wasn’t a grime scene in the mainstream clubs. It was a different environment. For a good year, Sureskank was the only place in the centre that you could hear grime in a club. It’s interesting how it’s come round again and now so many people are on this sound. Who knows where it will go from here.”

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You’ve mentioned Sureskank starting all the way back in 2007 - how did the night come into being?

“It was Chris Batman’s (Sureskank designer) birthday, and him and Sam Neek set it up with a guy called Tom, really early on, him and El Kid from Young Echo.

Neek and Batman were the main core. I was 17, they were 18, it was at Cosies in St Pauls and they had open decks at the end.

I came down to play some tunes. I was playing breakcore at the time and had big hair. We were just kids. And everything grew from there.”

So you met Neek through Sureskank?

“Yeah, that’s right. Meeting Neek was really important. I’d heard this sound, this grime thing, but I’d never actually seen any of the records, because they were so hard to find and the golden era for the sound had already passed. There wasn’t a real scene for it at that time. Neek had all these Slew Dem records and old white labels, a good selection. I went over his house and hung out and he showed me all these records. It’s little experiences like that that end up being really important…

“You know, I’d see all these records and logos, and think ‘OK, that’s those guys, he’s him and that’s that crew.’ You start to learn and go back in, recognising the voices and joining it up in your head. The same way I’ve learned about reggae.”

You’ve already made the admission you were playing breakcore before meeting Neek. What was your musical diet before stumbling onto dubstep and grime?

“I was really into band-based stuff. I’ve been going to music festivals since I was a baby; my mum worked in that world.

She was working as a stage manager for the RSC and then went on to work at raves and the nightlife side of things. At one point, she ran the press at Glastonbury and was a booker at massive early-90s raves. I remember going to fields in France

as a four or five year old; I didn’t know what was going on! Music has always been around me. My parents are really into reggae, so that was always there, but in my teens, I was into bands. I was a bit of a goth back then.

like that is having the same bag of records with you for a few months; it’s difficult to keep excited with what you have.

Carting all the dubs around - that’s the only downside to being committed to only playing vinyl.”

“I definitely had a darker taste in music, but I figured that grime and certain dancehall, they’re worlds away from bands like Nine Inch Nails and goth stuff, but I realised there was a darkness to it, an evil energy, and I connected with that.

That dark, dangerousness vibe.

This is something we had to talk to you about . Are you really that committed to old-fashioned Technics and 12s that you’ll sacrifice the versatility and convenience playing digital would give you when you’re away from the studio for weeks on end?

“Yeah I am. I think its part of the experience for people, the authenticity, bringing the real deal. I’d feel kind of bad if they knew about our work through Bandulu or Peng Sound; it seems really hypocritical for us to do a label where we only put out vinyl, and then go to a country where people buy it and pay import tax on it and us not play it. It would be a joke to turn up with a USB. And I have to accept that with our thing, a lot of the attention we get is because we play vinyl.”

“I never really got into D&B, and I wasn’t convinced by dubstep when I first heard it.

But that was online so it was wasn’t right; when I heard it at raves, it made perfect sense. Going to The Croft and Dubloaded; it just clicked, as people always say.

Hearing it on a sound-system - that set me on that path.”

There aren’t many ex-goths making underground UK bass music, least of all grime! You trod a very different path to many who do what you do now...

“Yeah, that’s true. And I guess it feeds into why I do so much different stuff now, with different aliases. It can be frustrating sometimes; I wish i could just concentrate on one thing in the studio, but I’m constantly getting bored and wanting to do other things. But overall, having different interests and trying to do other things has been useful and aided my path so far.”

Beyond the grime thing with Neek and Bandulu and your work as a solo dubstep artist for labels like Deep Medi and Black Box, you’ve also got your reggae thing Gorgon Sound. Is it hard to balance all three?

“It is hard to focus on one thing. I think it goes Kahn & Neek, Kahn and then Gorgon Sound, in terms of the amount of time I put into each thing. I haven’t consciously sat down and done it like that, it’s just the way it’s happened.

“I’m about to go on tour to America for a good while and that will be just me for most of it. I’m suddenly thinking, ‘Shit, I wanna have loads of new stuff to play.’ I haven’t thought about the Kahn dubstep stuff in a while, I haven’t been giving it a lot of thought, so I’m gonna have to try to find my identity within that again.

“The hard thing with going away on tour

Do you really think so?

“I think with certain crowds, it is. I think what initially make people take notice, especially the older generation, is when they see us playing dubplates. It doesn’t define us but it’s a point of our whole project that we’ve had in place for years.”

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I T S E E M S R E A L LY H Y P O C R I T I C A L FOR US TO DO A LABEL WHERE WE O N LY P U T O U T V I N Y L , A N D T H E N GO TO A COUNTRY WHERE PEOPLE BUY IT AND PAY IMPORT TAX ON IT AND NOT PLAY IT.

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You mentioned your and Neek’s label Bandulu. As the link-up with Sureskank last night showed, it’s more than just an imprint - there’s a whole crew of you flying the flag for grime in Bristol behind that banner…

“That’s right. We’ve released five records over three years; not that much. Initially it was me and Neek who set it up out of Sureskank; we’d always wanted to do a label. That gave us the kick up the arse to put ‘Percy’ out - there weren’t that many decent grime labels putting out music at that point, so we thought ‘Fuck it, we’ll do it ourselves.’

“And then in the crew there’s Hi5 Ghost and Boofy, the most permanent members at the moment, I guess. We’ve released Gemmy, Breen, Oatz. OH91 and Lemzly Dale haven’t released on the label but are part of the extended crew, and then obviously Lemz and Boofy do stuff for Sector 7, too. It’s the extended Sureskank.

These guys are young but they’re coming up with us.”

It does look like you’re consciously making efforts to bring other people through with you whenever you can, from Neek to the newer guys…

“Yeah, the community aspect of living in Bristol is massively important to me; it’s a part of our identity, it’s what we’re about.

Neek doesn’t produce on his own much, but even early on, there was something about this guy, with his energy and knowledge. I wanted to be working with him in the studio.

“His opinion helps craft all this music and it’s been really important for me to bring him through, even though he introduced me to it all and showed me the way in the first place. I’ve been able to bring him in on the production side. Now we’re going to Japan on tour together. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Neek’s had a massive inf luence and effect on everything we’ve done; without him, none of it would be the same. And it’s the same with having the younger guys involved; it feels like you’re part of something bigger. That’s all we need man, that little microclimate of energy. If you’ve got that, you’re good to go. I guess Bristol’s always been like that, these little self sufficient movements here that do big things.”

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I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE YOURSELF.

We hear it a lot , but there’s something really special about Bristol’s musical community. From the music you play, to the commitment to vinyl and focus on community - it’s clearly been a big influence and inspiration for you?

“Yeah, it’s been massively inspirational.

Going back again to when I was 16 and 17, going to Rooted finding out about this music, buying my first records, going to DJ lessons in the old DMT shop on Stokes Croft where Idle Hands is now. Coming from other music, I felt like, even at the time, ‘OK this is something not even at the height of where and what it’s gonna be yet.’ It was exciting and musically interesting.

“I’d go out to stuff on my own all the time - I was that kid in the raves with a fucking wafro, always the weird kid in the corner or at the front. As I said, I was into the breakcore rave scene in Bristol. That introduced me to dubstep; I remember hearing Bass Clef in room two at Toxic Dancehall at Black Swan, that whole year was like ‘What’s this, what’s that?’ It was a discovery. Rooted was just down the road from my school so I’d be down there after school, Peverelist showed me different things, I bought my first reggae 7s there, I was testing the waters…

“That was all I was doing, I fucked school off, didn’t get my A Levels or anything. I was just out all the time; not drinking or smoking, just out getting involved finding out about stuff. I didn’t listen to radio, I’d just go to raves and hear music there.

We were so lucky looking back on it; the

old Wednesday Dubloaded parties at The Croft - everyone was there, the whole scene was there. It gave someone like me, from a totally different world, the chance to meet everyone.

“I’d come to raves with scarves, waistcoats, long black coats... I had the swag down from early, haha. I’ve always thought and always will that it’s important to be yourself. I remember when I first met Flowdan, thinking ‘I rate these guys, but I don’t know what they’ll think if I turn up to the show to play with them with loads of make-up on…’ So I eased into it.

“Now at Sureskank or whatever, I can wear my goth shit. Not that I care what people think, but you never know where people are at; going into a scene that I’d looked into from outside, a lot of London rude boys or whatever, and I’m there; a white, goth kid with big hair… Of course it was on my mind.”

You feel freer now?

“I’ve always been like that, I’ve never really cared about people judging me, but I guess it was just a case of testing the waters, experimenting with different things. It’s hard at times; sometimes you don’t know what yourself is anymore. The last couple of years, I didn’t quite know what my identity was. I guess it’s getting older, but I know where I’m at now. I like being on the outside a little bit, that’s always been important to me.” _ @kahnbristol

G

oodchild is a London-based graphic artist .

Inspired by comics, graffiti and graphic novels he creates artworks and abstracted narratives wherever he can.

A man of few words, his striking graphical murals do the talking for him - watch out for his work on a wall near you.

G O O D C H I L D

Wo r d s : D a v e C l a r k e

R E A C H F O R T H E L A S E R S

G a v i n Wa t s o n

H

ere at trapmag, we love a bit of nostalgia. While many of us weren’t even born, or had just come out of nappies around the time of the birth of the rave scene in the late 1980s, thankfully revered documentary photographer Gavin Watson was there with his camera to capture the whole thing. Along with his brother Neville, Gavin spent his youth bouncing from movement to movement; from skinhead to punk, raver and back again - and capturing it all through the lens of his camera.

In 2008, Gavin published the book ‘Raving’, a collection of images serialising events around the organisation of a warehouse rave near his home town of High Wycome. Over the next few pages are an exclusive, never-seen-before set of images that didn’t feature in that book. Capturing the styles and vibes of the times in his own inimitable style, we’re honoured to feature Gavin’s work in our pages. g a v i n w a t s o n p h o t o. t u m b l r. c o m

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WHEN RAVING CAME ALONG THERE WAS NO CHOICE. GOING TO THE PUB PRETENDING TO BE HARD, OR STANDING IN A FIELD WITH THOUSANDS OF BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE WATCHING THE SUN COME UP?

Dutty 116 Cheltenham Rd Stokes Croft BS6 5RW

Ta king I t U p Wo r d s : J o n C o o k

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W E U S E D T O A L L B E R E A L LY CLOSE BUT THEN FOX SLEPT WITH EVERYONES WIVES.

ver the last couple of years, any fan of underground British bassdriven music can’t have helped notice that there’s something stirring up in Manchester. The northern metropolis that likes to pretend it’s the second city (yes, this writer is a Brummie) has been a serious musical hotspot since the late 80s, consistently turning out some of the best producers, MCs and parties around.

But in recent times, the heat from the north has been coming thick and fast , with the likes of Chimpo, Skittles, Dub Phizix, Chunky and Fox turning up the temperature at raves and on the airwaves nationwide.

And then, last December, that heat hit boiling point with the release of ‘LVL.7’ - one of the most exciting, original and hype-ridden tracks to hit the UK underground for some time, and with it a video that left you not just gawping the LEVELZ collective’s outrageous on-mic skills, but pissing yourself laughing at their tongue-in-cheek onscreen antics as they rolled round MCR. From Skittles rocking two caps at once while tossing a brandy bottle in the air, to a red-wigged Truthos Mufasa with a water gun and, of course, a bespectacled Chimpo reclining on a Chesterfield sofa drinking Ribena with Lillian from ‘Shameless’, the video and track were a rocket up the batty-hole for our usually far-too-serious little scene.

And that was the just the start . With a mixtape on its way and the camp in the midst of a 16-date nationwide set of parties, which includes a full Room Two takeover at fabric on 22 May, the collective of Biome, Black Josh, Bricks, Chimpo, Chunky, Dub Phizix, Fox, Jonny Dub, Metrodome, Rich Reason, Skittles, Sparkz, T-Man and Truthos Mufasa are clearly on a mission to bring a slice of Manchester madness to all our lives.

We caught up with several of the crew’s members to find out more and as their growing rep and answers to our questions prove, taking life too seriously gets you absolutely nowhere…

Yes yes LEVELZ crew. First up, how and why did you come together as a collective?

Chimpo: Rich Reason was running Hit & Run, a night in Manchester that we all played at regularly. He never paid us, so we got together and decided the best way to get back our debts was to utilise his services as a manager and, if we became a crew, it would be harder for Rich to escape.

Rich Reason: I’d been running Hit & Run for years and guest artists would always be surprised by how most of the Manchester artists didn’t just know each other, but were a tight-knit bunch of friends. I wanted to make it explicit that these lot have a creative chemistry between them that’s very rare and special. Dub Phizix and Skittles had been saying for a while I should try to bring us together…

Black Josh: Pause.

Chimpo: Bigger and better faux fur coats.

RR: Everyone involved is doing great things in their respective individual careers, but before everything took off for them all too much individually, we wanted to come together and try to create something bigger than the sum of our parts.

If you could recruit anyone to join LEVELZ, who would it be?

RR: The point of the project is that it’s a Manchester-based thing. Anyone else we’d want to work with would be other dons from Manchester like DRS, Trigga, Tyler Daley, Jenna G, Shaun Ryder, Ian Brown, John Cooper Clarke…

Manchester seems like quite the spot at the moment – is it as close-knit and vibing as it seems from outside?

RR: ‘The LEVELZ Project’ has only been running about 18 months - but the history and roots run deep with this lot. There are other talented MCs and musicians who were in the running to be involved, but the chemistry between us had to be right for this to work, and that comes across when we’re in the studio or on a stage, or even just on the bus together.

Truthos Mufasa: There’s just a shared idea of a good party stemming from good music and vibes. We all grew up with that, so it helps our egos coincide quite neatly and brings out the best in each other.

Chimpo: We used to all be really close but then Fox slept with everyones wives.

Most other city’s with similar talent pools would struggle to get everyone together to work towards a common goal. What is it about Manchester that’s enabled LEVELZ to happen?

RR: Shared history and a shared love of genre-bending eclecticism.

Chimpo: Shared girlfriends and a shared love of genre-bending drugs.

What’s the long-term goal for the LEVELZ project?

RR: To join the pantheon of great Manchester bands. I want the world to realise that this lot are as talented a bunch of musicians as any of those great artists that have preceded them. A Nardwuar interview would be pretty sick, too!

Jonny Dub: To get so famous that when we split up there is a national day of mourning.

TM: To nurture each other artistically, achieving our own individual and collective greatness that can be shared widely through a well known platform LEVELZ. Metrodome: Stick me in a room full of synths and leave me there.

Chimpo: T Pain.

Chunky: Riot Jazz Brass Band, Kaleidoscope Orchestra, Mr Scruff.

What’s been the best LEVE LZ experience so far?

RR: Going to a mansion in Wales for four days to record a load of music. We did a massive show at the Ritz with The Mouse Outfit and Riot Jazz that had nearly 1,200 people there. To do that in our own city, with just Manchester acts, was a great feeling.

TM: Roaming around central London at 5am with the LEVELZ crew, screaming my head off, thinking planes were transformers. Nothing has come close yet.

M: Tripping bollocks at 6am outside London Bridge.

Chimpo: When Rich set the back room on fire at Gottwood festival.

Chunky: Skittles on a f loating platform; when Jonny left.

T-Man: Driving to London in a stretch hummer.

What should we watch out for from LEVELZ for the year ahead?

RR: Our mixtape and loads of tour dates, both in the UK and Europe, including a Room 2 Takeover of Fabric on 22 May. Chimpo: Individual playgirl centrefolds and talking action figures.

M: The growth of my beautiful hair.

Chunky: Scandal and the unexpected.

Watch out for the LEVELZ mixtape dropping soon and head over to their facebook page to find out when they’re playing near you. facebook.com/levelzmcr

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S h i r t : WAV E N waven.co .uk Jeans: FELDT feldt-clothing.myshopify.com Shoes: CONVERSE co nverse.co .uk

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Styled by: Kasha Malyckyj a n d Ta z m i n O s b o r n e - S a n d e r s Photography: Ollie Grove Hair and Make Up: Bethany Swan Model: Anaystasia at M and P Models

A n ay s t a s i a w e a r s : Jumpsuit: K.O.I k i n g s o f i n d igo.com Shoes: ADIDAS ORIGINALS adidas.co.uk

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A n ay s t a s i a w e a r s : T- S h i r t : R A S C A L S r as c als . d k Jeans: ARIES ar i e s a r i s e . c o m

A n ay s t a s i a w e a r s : Shirt: LIBERTINE LIBERTINE lib ertine-lib ertine.co m Jeans: PEPE JEANS pepejeans.co m

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A n ay s t a s i a w e a r s : S l i p S t y l i s t ’ s ow n Jeans: EDWIN edwin-euro pe.co m Jacket: EDWIN Shoes: ADIDAS ORIGINALS

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A n ay s t a s i a w e a r s : Jacket: EDWIN Jeans: EDWIN e dw i n-e u r o p e . c o m

A n ay s t a s i a w e a r s : S k i r t a n d To p : A N T I P O D I U M a n t i p o d i u m .com Shoes: CONVERSE c o n v e r s e . co.u k

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A n ay s t a s i a w e a r s : T- S h i r t : L I B E R T I N E L I B E R T I N E l i b e r t i n e - libert in e.com Shorts: ARIES Shoes: ASOS asos.com

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B O S S S E L E C T I O N S

In Deep

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R A N D A L L

T

he word ‘legend’ gets thrown around far too easily and far too often these days; but in the case of DJ Randall, it’s actually an understatement .

One of the original hardcore and jungle DJs who helped turn the UK on to dance music back in the early 1990s, over his quarter of a century in the game, Randall’s rep as one of the very best in the business has never slipped.

With a technical prowess to rival anyone, combined with impeccable skills of selection, he’s quite rightly regarded as the DJ’s DJ. And while many of his peers from the golden age of rave have long since faded away, Randall can still be found headlining raves and tearing up dancefloors worldwide as if it was still 1994.

With a new compilation, ‘Pieces’, just dropping on his own Mac II imprint , we seized the chance to invite Randall to share ten of his all-time favourite jungle tracks. Read on for a history lesson you can’t afford to miss.

mac2 re cor ds . bandcam p . releas es 1. THE CHARM & CRAZY J ‘Bass Overdose’ EP (White Label) I first found this tune back in the early 90s. It’s one of those tracks that I used to play at AWOL at the Paradise Club and it always did damage on the dancef loor. It still does now!

2. GOLDIE ‘Terminator’ (M etalhe ad z ) I was blessed to have the opportunity to witness this track being laid down in the studio. The minute I first heard it, I knew it was a game changer.

3. RANDALL & ANDY C ‘Sound Control’ (Ram Re co rds ) This was the first track I ever did with Andy C and Ant Miles at their studio down in Essex. I had loads of fun making this track with them, but it’s funny that I hardly played it out!

4. RONI SIZE & DJ DIE ‘Music Box’ (Full Cycl e)

I was on Kings Road in Chelsea, heading to the Section 5 record shop when I bumped into Krust and Roni with the white label of this tune. That was when I knew Full Cycle had landed. This was, and remains, a big, big tune. Salute!

5. LENNI DEE ICE ‘We I Re’ (White Label) This track was one of the very first jungle tunes in the early 90s, and it open the doors to this then-new UK sound. I was honoured to be a part of pushing this tune out into the world. Lenni is a good mate and he’s still doing his thing.

6. SHY FX ‘Bambatta’ ( E b o n y Re c o r d s ) This is one of those tunes that was getting played any and everywhere for a long time.

It was an absolutely massive and completely original tune when it landed. Shy totally killed it with this bullet.

7. DILLINJA ‘Nasty Ways’ ( FFRR) There’s just to many tunes to mention from this guy, so I went for the one that’s still in my sets today. Dillinja is the don.

8. 4 HERO ‘Journey From The Light’ ( Re i n f o r c e d ) These guys were the scientists of our scene.

Once again, there are too many tunes to mention from them, but this one is pure class.

Mark and Dego - salute!

9. DOC SCOTT ‘Here comes the Drums’ ( Re i n f o r c e d ) Now this is what we class as damage on the dancef loor. Scotty was and always will be the king of the rollers.

10. DIGITAL & SPIRIT ‘Phantom Force’ ( Ph a n t o m Au d i o ) When these two guys came together for this track, they just killed it. It’s a groove that’s still getting played to this day, and rightly so.

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1. KELELA ‘Send Me Out’ (Nguzunguzu Remix)

#22

B O S S S E L E C T I O N S

2. LAST JAPAN FT. D DOUBLE E ‘Till Da Morning CoMes’

Amy Becker

3. FUTURE ‘never gon lose’

Radar Radio

4. DOTORADO PRO ‘African Scream Marimbas’ 5. BENTON ‘Askurs Reese’ 6. RUSHMORE ‘Grind Out’ 7. DEADBOY ‘Copwar’ 8. RABIT FT. RIKO DAN ‘Black Dragons’ (Ziro Remix) 9. FREDDIE GIBBS & KAYTRANADA ‘My Dope House’ 10. CHAMPION ‘Cannon’

N u : To ne Hospital Records

M u m d a n ce

_

XL Recordings

1. ANILE ‘Stay With Me’

_

2. SERUM FT. INJA ‘Red Eyes’ 3. LYNX FT. MARCUS INTALEX ‘Ghost Train’ 4. DIGITAL ‘Deadline’ (Rockwell Re-Edit)

2. LOGOS ‘Glass’ (Shapednoise Remix) 3. RABIT ‘Tearz’

5. NU:LOGIC ‘Everlasting Days’ Vip

4. AIRHEAD ‘Kazzt’

6. D’ANGELO ‘Brown Sugar’

5. STRICT FACE ‘Into Stone’

(Nu:tone Re-Edit) 7. ANILE ‘Exchange’ 8. NU:TONE FT. LEALEA ‘Tides’ 9. DIE & BREAK VS MAD HED CITY ‘40 Hurts’ 10. ALIX PEREZ ‘Acid Jam’

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1. PINCH & MUMDANCE FT RIKO DAN ‘Big Slug’

6. ACRE ‘No Signal’ 7. DEMDIKE STARE ‘Rathe’ 8. PINCH ‘Waterbomb’ 9. JAMMZ, FINN & FALLOW ‘Final Warning’ 10. FIS ‘Branch Light’

1. BREAKAGE ‘I On U’ 2. FRACTURE X MORESOUNDS ‘Dead & Bury’ 3. DJANGO DJANGO ‘First Light’ (Mickey Pearce Remix) 4. BREAKAGE ‘Future’ (Calibre Remix) 5. NOCTURNAL SUNSHINE ‘Take Me There’ 6. DIE & DISMANTLE ‘Unauthorised’ 7. JUNGLE ‘Busy Earnin’ (Special Request Vip)

G ot S om e M TA _ 1. GOTSOME ‘Just A Feeling’ 2. MELÈ ‘Latifah’

8. BREAKAGE ‘To Be Around You’

3. GOTSOME FT WILEY ‘Vibe Out’

B r e ak ag e

9. JKENZO FT. COLLINJAH ‘Straight Defeat’ (Jubei Remix)

4. NEW YORK TRANSIT AUTHORITY ‘Dinner & Corsica’

Digtal Soundboy

10. BREAKAGE ‘Creepers’

5. JUSTIN MARTIN & ARDALAN ‘Princess’ 6. MAK & PASTEMAN ‘Oh Baby’ 7. GOTSOME ‘Heart Starts’ 8. DOJA CAT ‘No Police’ 9. CAUSE & AFFECT ‘Stampede’ 10. GOTSOME ‘Tell You Why’

Mar k R ad ford Audio Rehab _ 1. RIAZ DHANANI ‘Bout These Things’ 2. NIGHTSHIFT ‘Something About Your Love’ 3. WHITE LABEL ‘Lost’ 4. CARNAO BEATS ‘Burning Wires’ 5. MYDON ‘OMG’ 6. HUGO MASSIEN ‘Higher’ 7. PESCI ‘Stronger On My Own’ 8. PARRUBALLAR ‘Downtown Strutting’ 9. ANDME ‘Get Down’ 10. CADAM COTIER ‘Stay Too Long’

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R E V I E W S

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Wo r d s : E r i n M a t h i a s , C h r i s T h o m a s , K o y e j o O l o k o , O l i G r a n t , O s c a r H e n s o n , S h a u n P h i l l i p s , B o r o , J u s t i n I r i a j e n , D e r r i c k B o n e s , F i r e m a n S a m , T i m D u b B o y, Ta y y a b A m i n , G e o f f W r i g h t .

JAMIE XX ‘IN COLOUR’ (Young Turks)

_

J

amie XX’s debut album ( depending whether you count 2011’s Gil Scott-Heron collaboration We’re New Here) opens, perhaps surprisingly, with chopped hardcore breakbeats puffing and clattering in precise shapes, misty-eyed samples of MC chat and fuzzy-warm synths rising.

Evidently the work of the same Jamie XX that created responsible for ‘All Under One Roof Raving’, it’s a sharp re-imagining of jungle, with a devotion to contemporary sound design and technique that makes it more interesting than the merely souped-up throwback tracks you get nowadays. The track’s finale brings in a electro-pop synth solo reminiscent of Orbital’s ‘Halcyon (& On)’ that squeezes your sweaty hand in a poignant moment of pure nostalgia.

Fear not though, because those steel drum sounds that became his calling card start to appear again by the second track, amid the interesting staccato-snipped voices and swung beats of ‘Sleep Sound’, and by the fourth track they’re out in full force.

On an otherwise melancholy slowmo house beat, they make for an odd vibe, like sobbing into the sand at a party on a Caribbean island.

The tears really do start to come on ‘Stranger in a Room’ – electronic soul for breakups, with vocals provided by another fellow bandmate, Oliver Sim. The other XX vocalist Romy also provides support on some predictable but pleasant tracks, and suddenly, out of nowhere, the lunatic teen-beloved rapper Young Thug and dancehall legend Popcaan appear TOGETHER on the catchy, snare-bouncing ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be Good Times’, and Jamie XX shows you he’s capable of more than just smoothed off and accessible – yet undeniably emotive – dance music.

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R E V I E W S

COSMIN TRG ‘FIZIC002’ (F izic) The Romanian modular master returns after a short while off the radar, with a brutal assault on the eardrums fuelled by drone, noise and industrial texture. With almost a decade of production under his belt, Cosmin started out with a more bass music-aligned vision but evolved an intense techno sound. Recently focusing his production prowess on dark, blistering tracks through his Fizic imprint, this is more of the same coarse and unrelenting basement business. HW

RUDEBOYZ ‘RUDEBOYZ’ EP (Go on Cl ub Al lstar s ) Township music with a London rail-arch edge, this is as much the soundtrack to late-night Durban taxi rides as it is uneasy stumbles from urbane clubs. ‘Get Down’ presents an ongoing struggle between a quantised 4x4 pound and twisting Afro toms before the EP opens up to collaboration and a night-time drive in full, vocal swing. ‘Mitsubishi Song’ is the standout in an otherwise desultory EP, with glimpses of genuine rhythmic inhibition thrown in for no other measure than good. WP

TYPESUN ‘ICEBERGS’ / ‘WATER SONG’ (Ro ot Elev ati on) Luke Harney re-emerges from the depths of his Bristol studio after some quietly received but excellent singles (including a collaboration with Guido), and he’s hitting new levels.

On the cosmic RnB of ‘Icebergs’, crystalline synths shine through the cavernous spaces carved out by Alison Garner’s voice. ‘Water Song’s pitch-perfect broken beat and jazzed keys help Alex Rita’s vocals hit a tense, memorable note, and then ‘Icebergs’ is flipped by Harney, as 7 Arrows, into a grinding, syncopated ankle-snapper. Hot wax. GTDC

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HNNY ‘SOLSIDAN’ / (AVALON EMERSON REMIX) ( Let ’s P lay Ho u s e ) It may be a bit early, but it’s hard not to get excited for summer with the Swedish house afficionado HNNY’s new release, full of mellow, sun-craving samples and bright danceability. Berlin-based producer Avalon Emerson reconstructs ‘Solsidan’, cutting up the mellow, sun-craving samples with a grittier style – more rough around the edges.

While definitely heavier, Emerson’s effort improves the EP, giving it more of a late night dancefloor attraction.

JW

SHANTI CELESTE ‘MOODS’ / ‘LUMI’ ( B rs t l) Having broken through in 2014 with some subtly excellent releases , Shanti Celeste returns to her original home, Brstl, with her first release of 2015. First up is ‘Moods’, a rousing and energetic house jam brought to life by infectious stabs and Shanti’s tight percussion grooves. On the flip, ‘Lumi’ is a different and darker affair; eerily interwoven synth lines sit atop brooding bass hits and surging drums to create a moody techno number. GW

WEN ‘FINESSE’ EP ( Tect onic) Wen’s back, darker and weightier, on an impressive debut for the everrelevant Tectonic. The imposing 3D dynamics and grinding pressure of ‘Finesse’ and ‘Backdraft’ forge industrial, techno-inflected atmospheres quite unlike much we’ve heard from Wen before. Similarly, on ‘Ghost’, he kills it at a D&B tempo he’s not known for. It’s exciting to hear his burgeoning technical skills and versatility on an EP bristling with new ideas, rhythmic switches and dread-laden bass. OG

LEGOWELT ‘ANACONDA FLOW’ ( Te c h n i c o l o u r ) This Record Store Day release doesn’t deviate much from Legowelt’s trademark bleep-ridden techno. Saying that, it’s a strong addition to an ever impressive output.

‘Evaporate With Me 2 Infinity’ is the dancefloor beast here, with a big gurgling bassline and the organ of a madman. ‘Anaconda Flow’ hisses with dissatisfied bluster; ‘Never Not Know U’ huffs and wheezes like an overloaded steam engine, and highlight ‘Eternal Flux’ lures you down a dark digital forest with some impish siren call. TK

STERAC ‘DIFFERENT STROKES’ (Mote Evolver) Of Steve Rachmad’s many aliases, Sterac is one that has aged well. The latest release comes on an influential label commanded by Luke Slater, offering four ‘different strokes’ on the techno sound Rachmad has developed. This is proper ‘minimal’ techno in the style of Robert Hood or early Plastikman and Jeff Mills, which means that we have in our hands a futuristic, warm and deep set of tunes that evoke the very best momentum techno is capable of. NJP

WILDLIFE! ‘FEVERPITCH’ EP ( M i x pa k) Mixpak continue their fine discography with a new signing who’s EP comprises 140 bpm club heaters influenced by Jersey club, booty bass and bashment, linked together by pitched up ‘Dem Bow’ drum loops (the Caribbean version of the amen). Of the 3 cuts, ‘Whoao’ is the standout, built around a cheeky Barrington Levy sample. This is wonderfully energetic, intense, bonkers club music that brings together so much of what is exciting about underground club sounds in 2015. TDB

R E V I E W S

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T

he list of DJ Kicks compilations reads like a roadmap for the way dance music has mutated over the last 25 years. For the 50th edition they’ve chosen DJ Koze, one of a rare breed who encompasses much of that illustrious history while retaining a distinctive aesthetic. His 2013 album Amygdala was my highlight of the year, playful throughout and chock-full of irresistible tunes. A remix compilation followed last year, and now this: a mix made up almost entirely of his Kosi edits that eschews introducing new sounds in favour of a picture-slide puzzle approach, shifting elements around to form something barely recognisable. The result is strangely alluring and undoubtedly beautiful.

DJ KOZE ‘DJ KICKS’ (!K7 )

Trademark hazy vocals bleed through a choice selection of the weird and wonderful. Raff Daddy’s irresistible romance sits side by side with William Shatner’s paranoid ode to dissatisfaction; Mndsgn toes a line between unease and familiarity. Not until nearly an hour in does it stretch out, unfurling into the clockwork motions of a house beat, just when the off-kilter tempo threatens to grate, culminating in the warmth and melancholy of Portable’s ‘Surrender’.

This is the sound of a man unshakably confident and willing to keep let his capricious whims run their course, a fitting half centenary for !K7’s superlative mix series. T K

RAPID ‘RAPID FIRE VOL. 2’ (R u ff Sqwad Enter t ainm ent ) Grime in full effect, with unmistakeable skittering hats and “hey” samples to boot; Rapid casts off commercial peer pressure and applies a bit of his own, enticing former mainstream limelight courtiers back to their roots with a batch of bumping, kick-driven instrumentals. It’s not all nostalgia though, as ‘Opinions’ delivers a leansuited, distinctly London counter to the encroachment of US trap-styled beats into the UK scene. For the uninitiated, it’s ‘White Label Classics’ rebooted; for everyone else? More of the best. WP

BUSY SIGNAL ‘TAMARA’ (SWING TING REMIXES) ( Equik nox x ) Using Busy Signal’s sleeper hit from 2014, Manchester’s Swing Ting crew have created two sick versions both perfect for UK raves.

The smooth mix is all lush pads and wonderfully restrained beats aimed straight at the waistline, while the club mix ramps things up with heavy nods to UK funky & grime sonics.

Both versions are great and enhance the crew’s ever-growing reputation for on point street rave sounds. TDB

BAMBOOMAN ‘RUSTED’ FT. JEHST (S o n i c R o u t e r ) It’s a very welcome surprise indeed to see UK hip-hop legend Jehst crop up on Bambooman’s latest for Sonic Router. ‘Rusted’ emanates a

hazy

and

the

summer’s

day

celebrated

warmth,

wordsmith’s

thoughtful, circling flow decorates its languid 4x4 pulse perfectly. On this evidence, we’d love to hear more

lyricists

grace

the

young

Leeds-based producer’s gloriously enveloping, field recording littered and organically styled beats. OG

R E V I E W S

MUNGO’S HI FI FT. CHARLIE P ‘YOU SEE ME STAR’ (S cotch Bonne t)

M

ungo’s Hi Fi are rightly one of the UK’s most popular reggae soundsystems and their latest body of work perfectly demonstrates why.

Having recorded a number of great cuts with young singjay Charlie P in recent years, they have joined forces here to produce an excellent LP. ‘You See Me Star’’s 10 tracks cover a decent variety of lyrical topics and production styles which work well as a cohesive body of work. From the jump up dancehall vibes of the title track,

076

to the heartfelt ode to his mother on ‘Life Is What You Make It’ and the regaling of experiences from the road that have speeded up his youth in ‘Traveller’, Charlie P demonstrates a deep understanding of the nuances and variety to be found in reggae. The honesty & humanity in his writing really help the tracks connect with the listener. Mungos of course do their bit, providing their trademark riddims covering dubstep, deep roots and 80’s digital styles and even include the melody from ‘Axel F’ on ‘Imitator’! So often reggae LPs can suffer from being one dimensional, but this offering successfully covers enough ground to keep the listener engaged throughout.

Really good stuff; sit back, light it up & enjoy. TDB

GANTZ ‘SPOOKY ACTION FROM A DISTANCE’

PEV & HODGE ‘21 VERSIONS’ / ‘WHAT YOUR HEART KNOWS’

(B lacklist)

( Livit y Sound )

Who better to open Innamind Recordings’ experimental label offshoot than Gantz? A producer as unhinged as anyone out there, he leads out Blacklist’s first venture with a couple of beats which were supposedly just too elastic for the otherwise envelopepushing NZ label. ‘Spooky Action From A Distance’ delivers a drop, but that’s about as close to dubstep as you’ll get here; offset hi-hats and pseudo-ironic dub sirens are the key: it’s 140bpm cannibalism in the best possible sense of the phrase. WP

Peverelist has always been ahead of his time, pioneering the exploration of the techno-dubstep junction since the late noughties. Teaming up again with rapidly-risen Bristolian Hodge, he takes a look into the future. ‘21 Versions’ sees the pair getting deeply rhythmic, with haunting arpeggiation and some intense, omnipresent cowbell. On the flipside they take their sound signature to a maximum level of pressure, on an intense journey through dark and mechanised soundscapes. NJP

JAISU ‘A LONG PLAYER’ ( A s t r a l Bl a c k)

I

t’s been a few years in the waiting but the follow up from Jaisu’s 2013 release ‘A Short Album’ is here. The Edinburgh-based grime and hip hop inf luenced producer sits alongside peers Jon Phonics and DJ Milktray on a record label (and club night) that’s hitting the spot with up-and-coming producers.

April’s premiere of ‘Maximus’ got listeners excited with snippets of the album’s sandy saxophone and mystic samples, in keeping with his 2013 release. However, tracks such as ‘HaHa’ and ‘Mrs Blue Sky’ stand out as more progressive and hardhitting. Although the longest track ‘Whussamadda’ is still less than 3 minutes, it sets off a perfect ending to the f low of this album. The f luidity of each track to the next is something to be admired, and with support from the likes of Bok Bok and Novelist, we can only expect good things to follow.

JW

R E V I E W S

077

DÉBRUIT ‘OUTSIDE THE LINE’ (ICI)

X

avier Thomas voraciously devours and regurgitates African sounds, whose career has taken him on journeys through real and imagined areas of the continent, bringing a visionary production skill to bear on a feast of rhythms and colours.

This new, kind of concept album imagines an intersection between West Africa and 80s NYC, with ice-cold retro synth work merging amazingly with skittered, swung African rhythms and jubilant moods. ‘Shock’ is a great example of how Thomas has executed an unlikely sounding plan, and combined sneeringly cool and restrained melodies and timbres of 80s synthesisers with celebratory feeling of classic African pop and dance music.

Another highlight is the beatless synth-prayer of ‘Desert Dream’, where digital and accoustic tones intermingle, coaxing each other into a sweltering, swaying mass. There’s nothing quite like this out there. GTDC

SAMUEL ‘STATIC ON THE DANCEFLOOR’ / ‘PUMP ROOM’ (n otsomuch)

The first artist to release on Mosca’s label after the label-head himself, Samuel’s stark, skeletal, dubstepinfluenced techno drops on ‘Static On The Dancefloor’. ‘Pump Room’, again in an unmistakeably 2015 style of UK techno, is laden with hydraulic snare rolls and throbs with production line efficiency and robotic swagger. SP

LAUER ‘BORNDOM’

LYNX ‘I AM LYNX’

( Perm anen t Va c a t i o n )

(H o s pi t a l Re c o r d s )

P

A

hillip Lauer is an incredibly underrated producer. 3 years and countless quality releases since his first album ‘Phillips’, he offers us a masterful LP which affirms his continuing creative development. Permanent Vacation is the chosen home for ‘Borndom’ and its reputation precedes it; previous releases set the scene for his future work and this album displays unequivocally his status as contemporary house music genius, as portrayed by the LP’s distinct sound signature. If you listen to the album with closed eyes, it could be mistaken for an 80s synth pop duo creating tracks with an eye on the future.

The retro elements, accompanied by a blatant understanding of the necessity for electronic emotion, infuse together and create an incredible stylistic venture which pays homage to Lauer’s background and his maturation as an intelligent producer. HW

lthough a relative newcomer to the much-loved Hospital stable, Lynx is a familiar name to anyone who’s had more than a casual f lirtation with D&B over the last decade or so. His distinctive, hard-hitting, half-time drums and funk-infused hooks have seen him grace almost every credible label in the scene, as well as release two full-length albums. His debut for Hospital finds the producer marrying his already signature drum-heavy style with lashings of melody and groove. Tracks such as the Disco Dodo-like ‘Clap Trap’ and skatty ‘Genesis’ are nods to a sound that’s been expertly honed since the turn of the Millennium, but there’s clear progression here. A diverse clutch of tracks which build on past offerings and span the entirety of the genre, from liquid right through to jump-up.

A solid release from a great producer.

JI

CLARK ‘FLAME RAVE’ (Wa r p) Warp Records’ Chris Clark is arguably more exciting and unpredictable now than many of the names who are counted as the label’s, and the IDM scene’s, stars – Aphex Twin, Autechre and Squarepusher. ‘Silver Sun’ twists ornate junglist breaks around the kind of deep-piercing synth motif adored by Warp. Elsewhere there’s introspective chuggy techno, distorted sunburnt synth-hop and beatless, flowing melody bursts. Flame Rave is, as the name suggests, pretty intense music.

GTDC

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R E V I E W S

KERRIER DISTRICT ‘4’ (Hy per col our )

F

or the first time in four years, prolific shapeshifter Luke Vibert reverts into his disco-funk-house form for an album of sugar rushinduced highs, providing more of what Kerrier District is known for.

Sample-heavy f lares of colour feature throughout, the woozy lead line of ‘It’s the Disco’ and rigorous drum work of ‘Funky Train’ providing early highlights. The hyperactivity is fun, but with any sugar rush there comes the crash, taking the form of some forgettable tracks and making you wonder if ‘4’ would have been better suited to a shorter format. It’s typical of Vibert not to take anything too seriously though, and that attitude is at its peak here; ‘Techno Disco’ sounds like Queen and Inner City collaborating for example, and track titles such as ‘Treacle Tits’ only add to the mischievous mood. SP

DIE & BREAK VS MAD HED CITY ‘40 HURTS ’ (Gutte rf unk)

When it comes to quality dancefloor wile outs Die & Break are a sure thing: this is a sublow thumper with various percussive switches that crisply change up the direction. There’s still plenty of space for Trinidadian vocalist Mad Hed City; his low range vocals and switches in flow are a natural accompaniment, and work brilliantly on Skitz & The Sea’s reggae-infused remix, while Sam Binga’s version pummels you with timewarping drums JC

ANDREYA TRIANA ‘GIANTS’

VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘FAST SOUL MUSIC’

( Count er R e c o r d s )

(H o s pi t a l Re c o r d s )

F

ineteen years in the making, ‘Fast Soul Music’ documents a journey that has propelled the mighty Hospital Records to the forefront of an ever-changing genre. Showcasing the work of over 30 artists - from label mainstays such as High Contrast and Danny Byrd, right through to new signings Etherwood and Tokyo Prose. The label’s knack for seeking out and pushing D&B that combines melody, soul and dancef loorfriendliness are apparent throughout each of the compilation’s 46 tracks.

Classics such as Logistics ‘Together’, Cyantific’s ‘Cover Story’ and Nu:Tone’s ‘System’ nestle amongst more recent successes like Netsky’s ‘Memory Lane’ and Camo & Krooked’s ‘Afterlife’, offering as a reminder of just how consistent the imprint has been. On the strength of this, it looks likely we’ll be enjoying at least another two decades of classics yet! JI

ive years ago, Triana’s Bonoboproduced debut firmly pitched her in the Ninja Tune camp; her smooth, f leeting voice seemed more instrumental than poetic.

Five years on, working with Lianne La Havas and Paloma Faith producer Matt Hales, she’s found her voice and seems a fully-f ledged pop star.

Lots of sentimental slowies show off Triana’s f lick-f lacking vocal range and straight-to-the-heart hit. ‘Gold’ is play-it-ten-times-a-day Radio One stuff and packs a punch like Adele’s 21. The album hits its stride with the uptempo, early-Noisettes-like tracks though. ‘Lullaby’, about the mundanity of working class family life: a song you can imagine in a teen’s bedroom, helping them through their tired days. In ‘Keep Running’, a father who never sees his children works ‘9-5 in a dark and dirty place’.

Although Triana’s sharp storytelling can be moody, the punchy musicality and ricocheting production proves the ability of soulful music to overcome the dark, universal themes. EM

N

REDLIGHT X TINASHE ‘PRETEND’ (L o b s t e r Bo y ) The Bristolian bass king readies the follow up to this year’s ‘Gold Teeth’, which went down extremely well in the right clubs. He’s still on those skitter-beat drums and grimacing midrange bass inherited from his alterego as the king of jump up D&B. He’s borrowed the voice of the brilliant US RnB artist Tinashe; the silkily sensual tones have been cut up into a druggy stutter, and wrapped around the spacious rhythm make ‘Pretend’ a sweet, deadly 2-step mover. GTDC

079

MONKI ‘FABRIC 81’ (Fa b ri c)

F

abric bring the bass music goodies here with a trusty contributor to this very magazine who cut her teeth working at Rinse FM and other underground radio stations. Her style is reminiscent of Oneman’s genre-blending yet cohesive mix of tracks and erasand totally peak-time focused attitude. This mix is no different, often focusing on likeminded producers who cherrypick elements of bassline, grime, garage and jungle and fix them to a brisk yet housy pulse - such as Mella Dee, Sly One and Melé. The latter’s ‘Angorra’ is a highlight thanks to MC/producer Chimpo bringing the whimsical f lex with some ridiculous bespoke lyrics “this one’s bad; if you don’t like it, go get your dad”.

All these gritty, whompy tracks get a bit

samey, so it’s for the better that Monki includes stylistically diverse additions elsewhere that make this a much more pleasurable ride than just a selection of modern bass music. From Robert Hood’s steaming Detroit techno and DJ Spen’s tensely-strung (proto UK funky) house to the raging nu-skool grime clash in Sudanim’s remix of Gage and the extremely joyful finale of a Frank De Wulf ’s 90s rave classic version of Kinetic’s ‘Golden Girls’; the widening of the horizon puts the fun into this one. GTDC

FRICTION / DIMENSION / PROLIX / ULTERIOR MOTIVE ‘FRICTION VS VOL. 3 ’

DETROIT SWINDLE ‘FIGURE OF SPEECH’

SLACKK ‘BACKWARDS LIGHT’

(Freer ange )

( R &S)

( S h o gu n Au d i o )

Deep house institution Freerange has recruited its friends for another EP of well executed, functional tracks.The buoyant title track, awash with African vocal snippets and teasing synth flickers, is followed by ‘Victoria’s Secret’, beginning like a remix of Floating Points’ seminal ‘Vaccum Boogie’ before heading into fairly predictable but no less satisfying territory, all side chained synths and door knocking drums. Chunky tribal cut ‘Live at the Cosmic Carnival’ completes a solid release with flurries of samba drums. SP

This unique trailblazer has led a wave of artists who go beyond grime; his induction to this hallowed label makes sense, especially with the reminiscence of R&S veteran Aphex Twin in the dramatic sound design and acidic gurgles of ‘Posrednik’.

This is beautiful, experimental music, with an eye on the fizzy sampling and buckled rhythms of grime but a head full of myriad feelings and ideas that surpass anything else to come out of this scene. GTDC

Friction has teamed up with a handful of the scene’s hottest talents to unleash the third release in this collaboration series. ‘Kinetic’ launches into a rich and winding groove topped with lifting synths; on a grimier tip Prolix sets down basslines reminiscent of early Virus releases. The rave-ready ‘Timelapse’ layers summertime pianos onto vintage amens, and to round things off, ‘Curfew’ is a rather more refined stepper. BORO

ACTRESS ‘DJ KICKS 49’

080

(! K7 )

W

hen Darren Cunningham plays in clubs, you never know exactly what you’ll get – as his moniker suggests, he likes to mess with people, and you can often expect to hear odd choices for a club, as well as manipulating familiar tracks into harsh abrasions and wrongspeed weirdness.

That’s why it’s really good to see that his DJ Kicks mix is a danceable and energetic selection of bouncy house and techno, though one that retains the off-kilter strangeness and machinefed profundity of his production style. It’s great to get a chance to hear what an artist as otherworldly and unfathomable as Actress likes to play for a throbbing dancef loor – and as you might expect, his selection includes tracks by producers who have a markedly ‘outsider’ perspective on club music.

So the dusty mechanics of Beneath’s broken, dubbed out techno sit next to the modular, old-new boogie house sound of Moon B. Splicing in music by some of the longtime stalwarts of underground house and futureobsessive Detroit techno – Chez Damier, Ron Trent, John Beltran and Reel By Real – Actress has created an absorbing and expertly picked session of underground club music from early 90s basement tracks to the cutting edge of 2015. GTDC

TSUNGA ‘MARIS PIPER’ / ‘B MORE DOG’ ( B lack Acr e )

Old skool hardcore reload business here from a fresh new Brummie talent; file next to Special Request and Tessela (before he took things really crazy). Both tracks have a big, bold, tactile breaks and loads of energy. Everything sounds perfectly placed and vividly crafted, whether its the chattering, sighing, voices and rolling rhythms of ‘Maris Piper’ or the pitchshifting stabs and skittering snare rolls of ‘B More Dog’.again in an unmistakeably 2015 style of UK techno, is laden with hydraulic snare rolls and throbs with production line efficiency and robotic swagger. SP

DEADBOY ‘WHITE MAGICK’ (Local Action

The most substantial thing yet from Deadboy uses the rhythmic momentum of 2-step, grime and dancehall to provide a foundation for chiming glitter-melodies and pupildilating atmosphere. ‘Inner Palace’ hits hard with its added neck-tingle of imploring, faery vocals; ‘White Moon Garden’ deploys the same tropes in a paradise of chattering birdcalls and synth wonder, while ‘Sad Sniper’s carefully placed grime drums spar with more of those profound-sounding chimed notes.

White Magick is another evolution; powerful music, taking UK club music into an outer realm. GTDC

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PATRICE SCOTT ‘EUPHONIUM’ (S istrum)

T

his longtime Detroit DJ marks nearly a decade of production work with his debut album on his own label. Scott’s production work emerged naturally out of the DJ’s fixation on the borders of house and techno, where he found the same vein of depth, tension and feeling that has inspired the likes of Omar-S and Levon Vincent, and Sistrum’s impressive artist roster too, which includes Specter, XDB and Marco Zenker. A large moment for the dancef loor is ‘Distr5th’, where impactive yet melodic stabs instil a rigidity into your chest; on ‘Hysteria’, whining loops waft through the beat uneasily, as the arpeggios and percussion try to steady things out; ‘They Walk the Earth’ drops molten metal bass into a paranoid grid of off beat notes and f littering percussion.

Purest, deepest underground quality throughout. GTDC

DAFFY X UNKEY ‘HUSTLIN’ EP (Dur kl e D i sco) Durkle Disco regulars Daffy and Unkey link up for one of the sickest pieces of tear out grime we’ve heard all year. Lead track ‘Hustlin’ uses a pitched-down Rick Ross vocal at the core of a ferocious bassline, vicious subs and ear-shattering hi-hat claps.

Newcomer Glacci and purple-tinged label-mates Arkane Soul provide their own unique twists on remix duties. The punchy ‘Night Terrors’ and menacing ‘Come to Bury You’ complete an EP ready to destroy the dance floor. JI

SPECTRASOUL ‘THE MISTRESS’

GLENN ASTRO ‘THROWBACK’

( Shog un Au d i o )

(Ta r t e l e t )

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pectrasoul are among the leaders of a rich and diverse underground movement that continues to thrive away from the mainstream glare cast on much of drum & bass. The followup to 2012’s excellent debut album ‘Delay No More’ finds the duo exploring the limits of the deep, soulful and powerful groove-laden sound that’s their trademark. What’s immediately apparent with this album is the breadth and diversity of their sound. More than half the tracks are a step away from the usual D&B template - either half-time or outside the genre completely (look out for Kutichi ft. Joshua Idehen), but they still maintain a depth and groove that will please both the dancef loor and bedroom listener. Then, there are the more tear-out offerings such as ‘Blindside’ and ‘Sasquatch,’ that although are overtly rave-driven offer enough soul and melody to enjoy well away from a sweaty club. If you’re a fan of this duo’s work, start getting excited about this album; it’s even better than you expect. JI

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ith an already healthy back catalogue of releases on labels including WotNot Music, Box Aus Holz, and his own Money $ex Records, Glenn Astro steps up to release his debut album, joining long term collaborator Max Graef in doing so on Tartelet Records. Aptly titled ‘Throwback’, the record has a distinctly vintage feel, so much so that it could almost have been written at any time over the past three decades. Infused with the sounds of Rhodes, strings, and dusty, swinging percussion grooves, we are taken on a journey of jazz-funk-soul-inspired jams. Astro boldly mixes genres and tempos throughout, ranging from Dilla-esque hip-hop chops all the way to straight up house offerings.

The overall package feels effortless in evoking a wide range of emotions, confirming Glenn Astro as an artist most definitely on the rise. GW

DARQ E FREAKER ‘CHOPPING NECKS’ FT. DAI BURGER (Ri n s e )

In yet another example of how a transatlantic grime/hip-hop link can work well, Danny Brown collaborator Darq E Freaker comes through with a track teetering on the right side of hype. The familiar yet predictably great beat is sugared like honey by NY’s fierce Dai Burger. Like Minaj, her blasting flow is rhythmically slippery, then tight, and her lyrics are as harshly feminine and witty too. Darq E Freaker’s EP, coming out later this year, is something to look forward to. EM

THE ARENA

05 06 15 WE'RE BRINGING ALL KINDS OF ENTERTAINMENT TO THE ARENA. 2 STAGES OF MUSIC WITH BEARDED KIT TEN AND THE POLICE RAVE UNIT MAKING THEIR SEEDY SONICS RETURN AF TER L AST YEARS SHENANIGANS WITH FUN, GAMES AND SERIOUS SILLINESS INCLUDING SPECTACUL AR FAIRGROUND RIDES AND SOME SPECIAL SURPRISES. EXPECT INTERNATIONAL DJ TALENT ACROSS ALL 6 SPACES WITH HIGH END PRODUCTION SOUND AND PYROTECHNICS. THIS IS THE START OF YOUR SUMMER!

THE ARENA WITH SPECIAL GUESTS POLICE RAVE UNIT AND THE INIMITABLEBEARDED KIT TEN PLUS FAIRGROUND RIDES AND LIVE ENTERTAINERS

THERE IS ALSO THE ADDITION OF 2 NEW ROOMS TO THE RAINBOW THE BL ACKBOX AND THE AR CH WHICH WE ARE USING FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THE AR CH

THE BL ACKBOX

THE WAREHOUSE

THE GARDEN

THE RAINBOW WAREHOUSE & ARENA, BIRMINGHAM

Summer Season

JURASSIC 5 SBTRKT NOISIA BEENIE MAN RUN THE JEWELS DUSKY Alix Perez B2B Ivy Lab Ben UFO Big Narstie Black Sun Empire THE MADLIB CARNIVAL: Brookes Brothers (DJ SET), Buraka Som Sistema (Live) Butterz LIVE Calibre B2B Marcus Intalex B2B DBridge Cause & Affect FT. CONGO DUBZ Critical& TENOR Sound FLY Culture Shock Dillinja DJ EZ DJ Haus LOEFAH DAVID RODIGAN DJ EZ MOUNT KIMBIE DJ SET DJ Hype Fabio PROTOJE & THE INDIGGNATION ONEMAN BADBADNOTGOOD Dubphizix & Strategy’s Fake Blood Well Good Do Hazard YUNG LEAN ARAABMUZIK THE BUG DJ HYPE DBRIDGE KODE 9 Ed Rush & Optical Hessle Audio Elijah & Skilliam ZED BIAS ICICLE ENTROPY LIVE DUB PHIZIX Hoya:Hoya & STRATEGY SANGO Emperor B2B Upbeats Huxley MR CARMACK TODDLA T NEWHAM GENERALS STORMZY P MONEY + 3 0 0 M O R E Erol Alkan B2B Icicle (Live) Daniel Avery Illum Sphere (4 hour Set) Luke Vibert

WILEY BOY BETTER KNOW

MADLIB

PETE ROCK, J ROCC, MOODYMANN

SHY FX

FLATBUSH ZOMBIES RENEGADE HARDWARE 20 CONGO NATTY

THE BEATNUTS GOLDIE

DIGITAL MYSTIKZ CUTTY RANKS KATE TEMPEST

Jack Beats J.Phlip Kasra B2B Foreign Concept Krystal Klear Legowelt (DJ Set) LTJ Bukem DJ Marky (3 hour Set) Matrix & Futurebound Maztek Mefjus B2B Ed Rush Monki & Friends Moxie Mumdance Newham Generals Pangaea Pearson Sound Phace Playaz Renegade Hardware Soul:ution Spectrasoul S.P.Y Surgeon TC Tom Shorterz And More TBA

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