Alboy's Best of 2011: #4
2012-04-12 by The Mighty AlboyScottie B – “I’m Ill”
This is from 2008, but Scottie B is from waaaay back. This track is a BMore version on Lil Wayne’s a milli, from Scottie’s Mr International EP and it’s proper lairy.
There’s a great interview on auralstates about how they started out coming up with the BMore club sound, and how they were influenced by the UK hip house and rave scene in the early 90’s. They both worked in record stores in Baltimore and would get UK stuff on import:
SB- Anyway the records from the UK were coming. They were hip house, and we were playing the instrumentals. Eventually we started making records just like the instrumentals. Those were the tablets for what we ended up doing. We mostly used different samples, but they used the Lynn Collins too. They relied on sampling notes from famous records, and we sampled words from hip-hop records. Instead of making the track a minute long and then crazy, which is what they started doing, we made the whole three or four minutes work for what we needed.
SC- It’s exactly the same way hip hop started, when you take into consideration we were playing the breaks of these imported records. It was only hot for about 20 seconds, but that drum pattern in that particular break is what started the whole thing. It was all about the drums. These UK records would start with drums, and that would be hot to us. Then is would get into the rave part, which was the shit that didn’t work for us. All those hoover synths.
SB- In fact, we used to take Hoovers and Spray Cans and only play the drums in the beginning.
So that’s the beats sorted…
As for the rhymes, apart from the big bass thump, Miami Bass influenced downbeat thing, I don’t really get the whole dirty south thing. But then I found out about Sizzurp (or “that Purple Drank”) and it kind of made a bit more sense:
Sizzurp original formula:
Promethazine w/Codeine syrup
Any fruit flavored soda
A jolly rancher
Put it all in a styrofoam cup and enjoy
Reckon that would you drawl and want to listen to some slowed-down bass-heavy shit!
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Alboy's Best of 2011: #6
2012-03-27 by The Mighty AlboyAddison Groove – footcrab
Ok- so back to 2010 (even late 2009) for this release, but being as I dont get out too often these days, it didnt reach me until 2011.
Tony Williams- aka Headhunter and Addison Groove- making a massive contribution to the “post-dubstep” ouevre by taking on the influence of Chicago Juke to create this massive snapping killer tune about crabs that like to nip your toes, and make you dance like this:
Beautiful 808 drums, chic samples and layering make this tune simultaneously a deep, soulful groove and a hyped, pounding, jump-up hype anthem.
My second slab of vinyl of the year…
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Alboy's Best of 2011: #8
2012-03-22 by The Mighty AlboyRamadanman- “work them”
So these are the best tunes that I didnt post in 2011. I think pretty much everyone else posted this one (probably in 2010 when it came out), but just for completeness and in case you missed it- a nice bit of “post dub step” goodness from Ramadanman (excellent name!) aka Pearson Sound aka David Kennedy.
Having been for me- as well as every other 30yo+ was-there-back-in-the-day-and-everything-was-better-then commentator- generally (with a few exceptions) dubstep is an undeniably deep, but otherwise poe-faced and joyless genre. 2011 was the year that dubstep- or post dubstep or whatever- thanks to labels like Swamp 81 and Hessle Audio started to become fun, and even fun-ky.
I’ll bang up a couple of others that fall in this category.
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Curious Hardcore
2011-07-20 by The Double K
Haute Control – Dream Series
A couple of tracks here from the rare-as-rocking-horse “Future Stylin’ E.P.” from 1993 (only 24 people have a copy on Discogs, 113 want it, including me, and Hard To Find Records haven’t had a copy in since 2001).
Dream Series is an odd track, it’s hardcore but not quite as we know it… The combination of crisp breakbeats and heavy bass with really quirky samples and synths reminds me very much of the Wagon Christ sound. I have no idea who Haute Control are (this rare 12” is their only release), but the production quality on the EP is really very high throughout and I’d be surprised if this is the only release from whoever made it. You never know, it might even be one of Luke Vibert’s many pseudonyms.
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The Sound Of The Future in 1993
2011-07-20 by The Double K
Haute Control – Future Stylin’
Future Stylin’ (as you might guess) is the opening track from the “Future Stylin’ E.P.” and is much more straight up hardcore than Dream Series, probably picked for the A-side as it would more instantly appeal to DJs. The opening bars of mellow piano soon give in to the high-pitched synth hook and a wicked breakbeat that varies beautifully throughout the track.
The super-crisp and intricately crafted beats mark this out as a cut above a lot of the generic hardcore that came out around the time. Quality.
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Bassline like it's 1993 [1]
2011-02-02 by The Double KSkanna – Nightstalker
Nightstalker is taken from Skanna’s well-named The Future EP on the awesome Whitehouse Records. I say well-named because the sounds of the forward-thinking hardcore you find on there wouldn’t be amiss on much later records. In fact the bleeps on here really remind me of the hook in DJ Mujava’s Township Funk that devastated dancefloors just a couple of years ago.
But anyway, these postings are mainly about the BASS, which in this track is a huge, warm and deep Reese-style bassline. The Reese bassline originated in the track Just Want Another Chance by Reese (aka Kevin Saunderson), but was later used on a plethora of jungle tracks due to it being absolutely killer… far too good not to use over and over again!
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Bassline like it's 1993 [2]
2011-02-02 by The Double KLegal Offence – Burnin’ Up (Piano Mix)
Next up in our duo of 1993 bass-heavy tracks is this gem on Deep 7 Records. It’s much more of a straightforward hardcore banger than Night Stalker, and the intro includes a lot of ravey stabs that might make it sound dated to some ears. OK, OK, granted it does sound a little dated, but just wait for it: when the bassline drops (the first time is at about 1.12 in), it is absolutely MASSIVE!
I also like how this “Piano Mix” has no pianos in it at all.
As someone once said… “Watch yer bassbins, I’m tellin’ ya!”
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And Just Because...
2010-05-17 by The Double K...we haven’t had any PURE RUFFNESS like this on here for absolutely aaaaaaaaages…
Edcase – Untitled (Ed’s Venture EP Side A)
From an obscure 1993 white label, this is a Darkside tune from those amazing few months that saw the evolution of hardcore into jungle proper, when no two tunes sounded the same and literally anything went. The tune kicks off with some crazy chopped breakbeats that gradually fall into an almost military-style 4/4 march and stomp right along until 1.38 when the MONSTER bass drops and darkness descends with spooky melody and creeping insect beats. The atmosphere builds and there is more HUGE scary bass at 2.40, the choppy pots-and-pans breaks marching through the whole while.
What strikes me listening to this now is the sheer amount of stuff that goes on in the (too short!) four-and-a-bit minutes: the massive variety of breakbeats, bassdrops, noises and patterns – so many ideas thrown in to the mix that it just makes for totally exciting listening. These days each separate element would be worked up into a repetitive six-minute DJ tool, but back then they just threw it all in to the tune without dwelling on any one element too much.
I just fucking love this stuff… so much going on, so fresh, so totally ruff. Amazing.
Outdoor parties (2)
2010-02-15 by The Mighty AlboyBlow- “The Cutter”
Another one from 1991- ‘scuse the crackles, but this one got played a lot!
Rolling breaks and loads of bass, but definitely not a one trick pony. It’s got a number of sections and progressions, and a depth that makes it age pretty gracefully- like some old ravers i know…
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Breakbeats and Pianos
2009-10-05 by The Double KUnity – Unity (Future Sound Of London Mix)
I recently downloaded the original version of this track over at Work It To The Bone – a real blast from the past ‘91 uplifting house track that I hadn’t heard for ages. Highly recommended – go and grab it now.
But then I remembered this absolutely awesome ‘92 “remix” by the Future Sound Of London, which preserves pretty much nothing at all of the original (there are a few vocal snippets used, and I guess it could be the same pianos too but speeded up so much here that I can’t tell for sure) and instead combines beautiful sampled melodies, monster breaks and massive pianos in a noticeably not-very-typical-FSOL way.
I’ve been racking my brain trying to think of the jungle tune that uses the same sampled melody from the opening of this tune (the original melody is from Fozbee & Cooz – Free Your Mind). I’m sure I had it in an LTJ Bukem mix years ago and should know what it is, but I just can’t place it.
In fact the more I think about it perhaps this is actually the tune I’m thinking of and Bukem just played it very fast in the mix. Help me out folks if you can – do you know any other tunes that sample the opening melody here?
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