Tuesday 7 May 2013

THE DRUM AND BASS MASSIVE ATTAXX (ARTISTSERVER/SOUNDCLICK/CLOUD) PART 1

THE DRUM AND BASS MASSIVE ATTAXX (ARTISTSERVER/SOUNDCLICK/CLOUD)

REPREZENTIN' FO 2013

AN EXAMPLE OF A EXISTENTIAL DnB CLASSIC FROM '95



THE POISON
The Autmn of 2001 represented a peculiar time for dance/electronic music, and Drum and Bass in particular.   Squarepusher a - renown Drum and Bass/Jungle geek - released 'Red Hot Car' experimenting or staying relevant with the joneses by employing a high-end Garage bassline but with Drum and Bass breakbeats in the background. Garage listeners believed that Drum and Bass was dead and buried and that Garage was its successor (enter the So-Solid Crew who were on the front cover of SELECT/MIXMAG zines).  The Prodigy was no where to be found, and the Drum and Bass camp itself was running on empty with the perceived tunnel vision of hardstep/techstep underground sound.


THE FALL OF 2001

THE TREATMENT
When RADIO 1 DJ's did their weekly Dance chart countdown sometime during the fall of 2001 one of the surprising tracks in the top 40 was Andy C's BodyRock. This seemed to be what everyone was waiting for.  For the sell-out Drum and Bassheads at school they could boast that one of their tracks was in the RADIO 1 TOP 40 and that the genre was popular again. For the DJ Hype and the TruPlayaz ilk it was an excuse to stop being dark and innovative (read non-melodic), and infuse the pop sound that they truly felt the scene so desperately needed.  The sellout sound of the underground was becoming so contagious that even the unlikely rudeboys  such as Shy FX (Shake Your Body),  and Dillinja (Grimey), followed suit. Eventually this gave air to major label execs to perpetrate Totally Addicted to Bass by Puretone, and Sound of the Underground by Girls Aloud a year later.  



If we can't beat them be like em right?


The sellout was complete  Drum and Bass had come back but not the DnB we used to know. This was a parody to compete with the Garage heads, this was one for those jiggy with it massive. This wasn't the sound of the original invasion Drum and Bass heralded 10 years previous; the sounds of urgency, the cut up and do, do it yourself, Jamaican dub ragga cutty ranking cocktails. The raw, authentic, British, Nottinghill carnival, DnB in your face jams basically went out the window in favour of twangy club rollers and disco-ish Garage wannabe please be an anthem flavour. One almost wished for the days when Roni size was up against David Bowie as that at least had more rebel factor. 

All seemed lost in London England for the time, except....


A new dawn

SOME INDY ONLINE ARTISTS PRODUCERS OF PURE EXISTENTIAL DnB FROM 2001 - PRESENT:
1UNDREAD (2011)
AUX (2010)
BLACK REIGN RECORDINGS (2007)
DJ AZ (2006)
ELECTROMAGNETIC IMPULSES (2007)
EVERHAD (2001)
FOCALIZED (2010)
FRANKIE 303 (2011)
JAMES T /BLUESHIFT (2004)
KYLO (2007)
MR COCKTAIL 1 (2008)
NANAKIHOBS (2002)
RETURN TO MONO (2005)
SCREAMING FIELD (2010)
SPIRAL (2003)
SUBMATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM (2002)
WINTERMUT 3 (2009)
ZARBSONG (2008/2012)


THE REMEDY
Around the same time in 2001 something strange was happening on the independent internet music scene. New artists and fans were starting to emerge with the power and front to upload their own shit as they pleased. 

With the onslaught of MP3.COM, SOUNDCLICK, ELECTRONIC SCENE/ ARTISTSERVER, EPINIONS, DNBNATION, DNB ARENA to some extent and the like - the spirit of 93 - 96 Drum and Bass as it were lived on but this time through eyes and ears of the very fans and independent artists.  These online independent artists whose tracks I will dig up shortly weren't having none of the radioplay bullshit. Without intending to they carried the raw and authentic legacy of the golden years independently and without hope of crowd pleasing feedback or so. 

Hell, till this day some of these artists haven't even had a decent review their work deserves. 

Ultimately however these artists didn't give a shit.  Perhaps they mainly cared about the sound, their sound and interpretation of how the scene was and in their heart still is. They brought the facade of the good time sell out vibe down as far as internet distribution of mp3 was concerned.
Here, 12 years later I am digging up year by year the tracks that hark back to the core of Pure Drum and BASS. Bringing back the feeling you first felt when the wave of the massive attack that is DnB in yo face, the suburban base, slamming the vinyl and strictly underground first invaded Britain and lorded over the world at large.


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