Liner Notes on 2021 – Part III (Anachronism – The Jungle/D&B Edition)

“Introducing intentional anachronisms as a device to help a contemporary audience to engage more readily with a period in the past and implementing modern production techniques to emulate the mystique and breakbeat science of a specific era is a tricky affair that occasionally might lead to the rabbit-hole of repetition and mediocrity”. The previous part

On The Outside, Looking In Vol. 2: Justice x Dissect

“I think things are cyclical and in the advent of digital, people crave the physical” “And I think record collectors will always be buying vinyl and building a collection of good music, then passing on that knowledge to others who might not collect yet, because it’s great and fun and a way of life!” This

On The Outside, Looking In Vol. 1: Sicknote x Soul Beat Runner

Most of the blog’s features are thematically based on informal conversations with my guests. Although I often include verbatim excerpts, it’s been a long time since I posted an actual interview. This is the first installment of a new category introduced to replace one of the blog’s oldest series “Jump The Q”, which has unceremoniously

Count To Ten: Cross-genre drum & bass remixes – part 2 (1997-99)

The second part of the blog’s mini-series covers the period 1997-99. What may have started timidly for artistic purposes or exclusive dj promotional use, by 1997 it became almost de rigueur for record labels to commission drum & bass versions for selected singles and various remix compilations. The niche underground genre infiltrated the mainstream and

Count To Ten: Cross-genre drum & bass remixes – part 1 (1995-96)

This is the first part of a mini-series focusing on cross-genre drum & bass remixes; from subtle re-interpretations to complete re-constructions. The burgeoning d&b popularity in the mid-90s attracted media attention and interest from independent, as well as major record labels, which commissioned d&b remixes for their artists across the music spectrum; from post-punk and

Tracks I Wish I’d Written (issue #8): Instra:mental – Photograph

“… the track had a very heavy nostalgic feeling to it, like you were looking at an old photo album with the faded film of childhood memories, simpler times. We are both massive fans of video and with ‘Photograph’ it’s like we envisioned it to be scene of a film …” – Damon Kirkham reflects

Count To Ten: Drum & Bass Illustrations and Record Sleeves

“… drawing a fine line between the sublime and the ordinary, the initial presentation criteria have been the aesthetic quality of the imagery, the nature of its production, the relationship to the music on the record and obviously my personal attachment …” Something completely different for the last post of 2016; instead of the music

Whatever happened to … Precious Material?

“… At Basement Records we also wanted the artists to sample as little as possible, to create pioneering and original material, hence the label title ‘Precious Material’. Some of the releases are produced in the studio and some are recorded live performances…”- Phil Wells reflects on the label’s ethos and purpose After a long hiatus,

Whatever happened to … Hidden Agenda?

This is the first installment (an updated version in terms of content and structure) of the blog’s “Whatever happened to …?” article series, inspired by the eponymous Hidden Agenda album, released on the Swiss label Straight Ahead in 2000. “They’re talented boys! Fusing old-skool jazz, with a touch of the Miles stylez. They deal with

Nymfo Jumps The Q

A mini-interview with 22 short questions (some personal, some tricky) looking for equally short answers, addressed to artists, producers, promoters, djs, friends and affiliates of the blog in general. Today Nymfo Jumps the Q Let’s get started: