The fourth release from promising imprint 'Gobstopper' sees label-boss Mr Mitch return to studio duties with 'The Last Stand / Yeah Yeah', a two-track offering that reaffirms Mitch's standing as one of grime's most inventive and exploratory producers.
'The Last Stand' begins triumphantly, almost as though it were providing the backdrop for a face off in a Clint Eastwood western, before kicking into life with plenty of skippy bass and a flurry of snares. Replicating the more traditional grime format, it retains Mitch's dynamic feel and should hold its own both on the dance floor and with emcees. 'Yeah Yeah' on the other hand, is a far edgier track. Tribal drum patterns echo that of funky pioneer and Butterz label mate Champion but as with everything Mitch puts together, grimy elements are prevalent throughout.
Exploring different sides to grime's character has become a key element of Mitch's work over the past 18 months and his latest effort offers up yet another surprise. Essentially, we are seeing the joint evolution of both sound and artist, a combination that bodes well for both Gobstopper and the bass music scene as a whole. Definitely one to keep an eye on in 2012.
The Last Stand / Yeah Yeah will be available for purchase from March 2nd via all good digital outlets.
The third of the Uncle Albert x Sonic Router collaborative mix pieces sees J Beatz take to the decks to offer up a full hour of 140 goodness. Expect plenty of grime, a few UK Garage joints and even Lily Allen.
Epworth, the driving force behind Nottingham's 'MIMM' clothing and record label, is set to release his debut vinyl offering via Dutch imprint 'Tube 10' on January 30th. Having been earmarked as one of the city's brightest prospects for a number of years, 'Inside' verges on the brilliant. Carefully crafted and technically faultless, it's a confident effort that joins the dots between dubstep and garage to form the perfect future bass record. Also worth noting is its eerie, at times sinister feel, a facet fast becoming a unique feature of Epworth's work.
'Inside' is a genuinely excellent release and one that grows with each listen, (I've actually struggled to stop playing it this weekend), and vinyl fans will be pleased to know it'll be available as a limited edition purple 10'.
The forthcoming second installment of Butterz' residency at South London's 'Cable' on March 24th (incidentally the label's second birthday) has all the ingredients to surpass the resounding success of the first. Renowned for their high standards, quiet efficiency and steely determination, last August's debut party alongside Terror Danjah's 'Hardrive' imprint was a rare chance for the Butterz stable to acknowledge and celebrate their achievements with those in whom they place the most value; their fans. As Terror Danjah touches upon in an excellent short documentary piece on the label by Dutch filmmaker Wout Westen, it is perhaps this, combined with Elijah's 'Open Source' concept that encourages fans and fellow producers alike to actively get involved with the music, that sets them apart from their competitors so profoundly. However, such is the volatility of the grime scene as a whole, their efforts are often better received by those operating outside grime's confines. Despite this, the Butterz ethos has remained consistent throughout, keeping fans in the loop whilst unearthing producers of tomorrow simultaneously. Grime's answer to Barcelona? Probably.
With this in mind, Butterz' second birthday is all the more poignant and should offer another opportunity for the label to enjoy their successes. The biggest draw on the night will arguably be JME, whose single '96 Fuckries' entered the UK Top 40 this week without any major promotion, giving grime its first credible hit since 'Pow 2011' charted at number 38 last year. A massive achievement, it is hoped it will restore faith in grime as a whole, although it should also be seen as a reward for JME's near-decade of loyal and charismatic service.
The night will also see another Butterz debut in the form of Ruby Lee Ryder, whose vocals played a major part in the success of both Terror Danjah's 'Full Attention' and Champion's 'Sensitivity', two of last autumn's biggest dance floor success stories. She will join Terror Danjah to perform live on the night alongside more familiar faces in Swindle, Royal T, Champion, D.O.K and of course Elijah and Skilliam. 'We R Bass' label boss and all round selecta general Marcus Nasty will also be on hand to join in the celebrations too.
- Terror Danjah is currently in the process of recording a new album for Hyperdub.
- The artwork for Champion's next release, 'Crazy', alongside Princess Nyah has dropped on http://www.formularecords.com/ and will be out soon with a joint remix from Terror Danjah and D.O.K.
- Swindle's new single, 'Ignition', featuring Footsie is due out on January 20th. 'Unlimited', his collaboration with Silkie, is scheduled to be out next month via Butterz.
- Royal T's next single, 'Inside the Ride' / 'Cool Down', will be available on Rinse Recordings.
- Marcus Nasty has established his new imprint, 'We R Bass'.
- D.O.K is currently working on recording his debut album.
Uncle Albert caught up with Teddy Music for Sonic Router ahead of his forthcoming compilation release on January 30th. Find out his thoughts on the current scene, the successful return of Eskimo Dance and where he's headed in 2012.
Over the past 12 months, the 'Digital Pirate Material' blog has pushed all things bass and to celebrate a year of discoveries, have released a comprehensive 18-track compilation featuring tracks from the likes of Spooky, Lil Silva and Mista Men plus many more unearthed along the way. It's release also marks the blog's first step in its efforts to establish itself as a digital label and serves as an excellent advert for potential forthcoming releases. Although a great idea in itself, it is the thinking behind the compilation that is perhaps most exciting and for that reason alone, deserves all the support it can get. Good work!
Our friends over at 'Yeti in the Basment' are to team up with the 'ENK' collective for a second time this coming Friday (20th Jan) for another party of monstrous proportions. Funky pioneer and RKS head honcho Roska is set to headline at Brighton's 'Life' club and will be joined on the night by Hundred2One boss Shox, Enk's Phenix & LZ, Dubloke, Nasty FM's Lianna and Flatline. The best bit? It's £3 before midnight.
After a year of 're-branding' in 2011, DJ Naughty is hoping to make his mark on the Funky scene in 2012. Championed by Roska and his RKS imprint, he's set to welcome in the year with the release of the 'Bass in Your Face' EP on January 16th. Bass-heavy and impact driven, Naughty hopes the release will set the tone for an exciting 12 months:
"Last year was relatively quiet for me, I was in the background working on a lot of projects for 2012 to be honest. I did get a lot of guest slots on the BBC though and bookings wise, I started to crossover from the urban scene to the more trendy, 'Shoreditch' scene. I did quite a lot of underground remix work too, but mainly for independent artists. I guess last year was a case of me rebranding myself more than anything else and thankfully this year, all that work is falling in to place."
Despite acknowledging his parents decision to introduce him to both the guitar and the piano as a child, Naughty credits listening to EZ on pirate radio as the defining factor in his decision to pursue music:
"I've always been into music - my parents sent me to piano and guitar lessons when I was about 7 but it was when I got to 11 and discovered pirate radio that really made me want to deejay. EZ on 'Freak FM' was the one. Knowing how to play instruments really helped me though and it was natural to start producing with that musical base already there. I started on Cubasic, not even Cubase (laughs) - I used to make really simple beats and got in to the swing of it from there. It wasn't until I started working at 'Planet Phat Records' that I really started to understand things fully though - a guy who did the mastering there showed me Logic when their studio was empty one night. I started off just playing on the keys and he'd do the arrangements for tunes but I started to do more and more and that was it really."
As a producer, Naughty considers his sound to be 'diverse' but admits he does have some sort of formula for determining how his music will sound:
"My sound is very diverse - I've got a formula to an extent but more so with my vocal tunes. They're all very melodic and full of jazzy chords and I always try and make my tunes free of that typical, poppy sound - I really like that Stevie Wonder sorta vibe. My instrumentals are a bit different; they always need really hard sub bass and hard kicks and snares that you can actually feel when you hear them on a system. My style is very simple but effective when you think about it - it's impact based but I never want it to sound cluttered. It's straight to the point."
With the 'Bass In Your Face' EP due to be released on Roska's RKS label, Naughty explains that the pair have been sharing tracks, ideas and feedback for the last 5 years:
"It's a friendship thing really - we had a mutual friend, DJ Pioneer and he first introduced me to Roska back in 2007. We got talking and started to swap ideas and beats and we were always asking each other for feedback and opinions. He noticed that I wasn't really releasing tunes because I was making so many without really thinking about what needed putting out. He'd tell me when he heard a particular track he thought would do well and decided to start releasing for me; he was the first to really give me that avenue to push my music. I gave him two tracks initially, one being 'Quicktime' that Roska remixed to form the EP - that tune was the one that really brought me into the scene. When people heard that, it was beating up clubs all the time and I knew I was on to a winner. I told him I had another track that I thought could do well not long after called 'Goosebumps' and that had a similar impact. Since those first couple of releases, we've worked pretty closely and it's turned out pretty well."
Naughty concedes that his latest release came about purely coincidentally but is aptly titled:
"It was a coincidental thing really. Roska rang me up and said 'Naughty, have you got anything you wanna release?' and I'd just finished 3 tracks in 3 days at the time. I sent them over and he was proper feeling them, so we decided it should be a release. I actually made a 4th track just afterwards and we both agreed it should be included as the bonus track - I called it 'Naughty' coz i couldn't think of anything else! As for the EP title, 'Bass in Your Face' is exactly what it is."
Despite Funky's notable decline in years preceding 2011, the emergence of producers like Naughty, Champion and Lil Silva has breathed fresh life into the sound:
"This year should be a good year. I would say that people need to carry on producing because now people are coming into the spotlight and working hard, they're giving the scene stability. Everyone's a lot more organised and in contact too - everyone knows what's going on and we all keep each other in the loop, there's a real support base there. Before, we never saw the bigger picture - we were just making music with closed minds. We all saw it as 'our scene' and that made it hard for anybody else to come into it. The difference now is despite still being friends, we see and encourage new ideas."
With such a positive outlook, its hard not to predict good things for Naughty over the coming months:
"I want to keep on releasing, that's the main thing. i've actually got my next one arranged to be released in the spring with Champion so that should be one to look out for. I'm looking forward to releasing through my own label, 'Firepower Music', in the summer too - I'll be putting out a track called 'Afrocentric' that got 7 reloads on the first night I played it out so I'll be looking for that to do well. I'm currently scouting young producers at the minute for the label as well so we'll see how things go."
In the first of our collaborations in 2012, Uncle Albert has previewed Faze Miyake's excellent forthcoming EP release the 'Second Six' for our friends over at Sonic Router.
Some of 2011's biggest independent success stories championed both variety and consistency in their releases, a move that Spooky is replicating to good effect thus far as he begins 2012 with the second release in quick succession on new imprint, 'Ghost House'. Following up debut outing 'Rusty Bell' is the 'Allstars' EP, a 4-track offering consisting of tracks from Spooky, Teeza, Moony and Deset, all of whom released intriguing work in 2011.
Deset released the 'Virus' EP on Mr Mitch's 'Gobstopper' imprint last summer, an EP that I personally thought was one of the most underrated of the entire year and his track 'Crisis' bears some similarities; alarm bells ring out before the track explodes into life with a crescendo of shuddering bass lines guaranteed to shake most dance floors. The second track of the EP, Moony's 'Music 4 U' is an excellent, jungle / garage crossover with a gloriously subtle bass line; as ever, a nostalgic reminder of times (and tunes) gone by. Teeza's 'Rise of the Gremlinz' is also included and in a break from tradition, is a far more sinister affair than 2011 smash 'Bounce'. Nevertheless, its equally effective and a series of ominous church bell samples complete with a bass line not too dissimilar from Digital Mystikz' track 'Neverland', gives it all the direction it needs. Tying everything together is Spooky's 'I Scream', a punchy, reload-friendly offering that screams 'Spooky' as soon as the the bass kicks at 55 seconds.
All in all, the 'Allstars' EP represents yet another solid, well-rounded outing from the Ghost House camp and the inclusion of Moony, Teeza and Deset is an encouraging sign. Long may the good work continue.
Tracklist:
Spooky - I Scream
Deset - Crisis
Teeza - Rise of the Gremlinz
Moony - Music 4 U
The 'Allstars' EP will be available via all the usual online outlets from January 30th and previews via Soundcloud will be available shortly.
Welcoming in 2012 on Uncle Albert are long-time friends and collaborators Fresh 2 Def (F2D) clothing after launching their new collection this week. Fully independent and with a growing reputation that's seen even Soulja Boy pictured in an F2D jacket, exciting new developments can be expected over the coming months.
