droid + slug live @ REACH / ids:003

The clock is still ticking on this blog. By tomorrow Ill have to change platform and convert (with all that entails) over to Wordpress to keep this place alive. Despite the rapturous reception to the news that weareie might be retiring early, I've decided to keep it going, though it'll probably take me a while to get things rollin' again.

So we've decided to go out with a mix. We played for REACH there a couple of weeks back. We were supposed to be supporting El-B alongside Colz, but he had some, er.... 'documentation' problems and couldn't make it over, so Mick Pressure from Naked Lunch took his place at short notice - which was good, but made our selection seem a touch incongruous having prepared a rough set for El-B and seeing as Mick is leaning more and more towards the techno side of the-genre-formerly-known-as-dubstep.

Despite a distinct lack of teeming masses, Colz opened with a typically killer set and we followed up with a load of 2-step and pop garage. Now, Im not going to make any grand claims of having a huge amount of history with this music. As I've mentioned previously, my 2-step credentials are pretty appalling. When garage started to get going in the UK around 95, I was just getting into jungle. By the time I was interested in the late 90's there was still almost nowhere to buy the records in Dublin and I (along with Don Rosco) would pick up any garage white labels that came into Selectah, which made for extremely slim pickings. This was long before discogs/youtube/creditcard/ebay/steady income made it possible for one to hear the tunes for free and buy what you needed. I did do an afternoon dancehall radio show with Frank Jez Fridays on Power FM for about 6 months sometime around 2000 and he was resident in Dublin's only regular R+B/garage night at the Temple Theatre at the time, so he gave me a few hints on tunes etc... but TBH, I was still heavily into electronica and experimental (and old skool jungle) stuff at the time and most of my cash was going on dancehall tunes which had become my main area of consumption over the previous couple of years.

And that's my confession. I'm not a 2-stepper from long time. I was intrigued by the sound at the time (especially at the talk of all the links with jungle), but I couldn't get the records, couldn't afford them had they been available, and its only been in the last few years, mainly through being drawn back in through the dubstep/grime/garage scene that I've really had a chance to rectify that situation, educate myself and pick up some of the records that I'd known previously only as half-rumours whispered surreptitiously from the mouths of disgruntled junglists...

Below you'll find the set. It's a live recording with us playing for the first time in the basement of Reach so its a bit wobbly here and there, though overall its ok. Adrift in the sea of 'nuumness as we are, and as hinted at above, I'm enthralled by the panoply of jungle connections in 2-step so this selection has a bunch of jungle references/links which I've briefly outlined below. Simon from Irish dubstep contacted me just before this went live, so this set (dodgy mixing and all) has now also been immortalised as part of the Irish dubstep podcast series.

Big up Jay Safetyboy for the recording. Big down Naphta for his relentless (though admirably dedicated) attempts during rehearsal to get us to play a hip-house set instead. If you like this one there will hopefully be another live set in a similar style sometime around the end of May, assuming the gig goes well and the blog has been reanimated by then.

ids:003 - droid + slug live @ REACH 090410 (76mb.mp3)
ids:003 - droid + slug live @ REACH 090410 (76mb.zip)

1. Naphta - Jungle Republic (Ramadanman Remix) - Ruff Revival
2. O.T.Crew & Mc Skie - Soundklash (Champion Sound) White
3. DJ Quest & The Yungsta - Rumble - Pulse
4. Mr. Reds & Kalibre - Bring The Lights Down - 33 & 1/3
5. Lenny D Ice - Weareie (Caspa and Rusko remix) - Distinct'ive Breaks Records
6. Anthony Johnson & Charjan - Everyday Is A Gunshot - White
7. El b - Lyrical Tempo - Tempa
8. Underground Fusion - Police bad boy - White
9. 2 Bad Mice -Bombscare - Moving Shadow
10. KMA - Cape fear - Urban Beat
11. Headtop - The Don Dadda - White
12. Artful Dodger - Movin' too fast (Zed Bias Rmx) - Locked on
13. El b - Express - Tempa
14. Bini & Martini - Happiness (Xmen Remix) - Azuli Records
15. Steve Gurley - Walk on by VIP
16. El b - The Club - Tempa

1. Naphta - Jungle Republic (Ramadanman Remix) - Ruff Revival
2. O.T.Crew & Mc Skie - Soundklash (Champion Sound) White
3. DJ Quest & The Yungsta - Rumble - Pulse
4. Mr. Reds & Kalibre - Bring The Lights Down - 33 & 1/3
5. Lenny D Ice - Weareie (Caspa and Rusko remix) - Distinct'ive Breaks Records
6. Anthony Johnson & Charjan - Everyday Is A Gunshot - White

Eagle eared readers notice that this is the same selection as the mini-set I played at Colz's birthday thing a couple of months ago Frustratingly, this time I was considerably less tight in the mix... We started again with the forthcoming Ruff Revival Ramadanman remix of Jungle Republic which has all kinds of resonance with early 90's bleep and bass, and comes across more like The Scientist remixing Unique 3 than a contemporary production. The upcoming 12" also features a killer Ricky Force Remix of the same tune on the A side, which we're also very excited about. The 12" is due out next week, and both tunes can both be checked on the Ruff Revival soundcloud page.

I don't think I need to point out the obvious jungle/hardcore reference in the next tune, another bleep driven number that has more in common with Kicksquads original version than the jungle anthem that came along a few years later. We pass through the Quest and Yungsta with no obvious jungle link other than the reese style bass and break action (reminiscent of the Nu-breaks sound that was going on around the same time), though 'Bring the Lights down' has an obvious D+B parallel with Lemon D's 'Down with the Lites' on Hard Leaders.

Weareie... this is the Caspa/Rusko remix that came out in 2008, its the only Caspa/Rusko record we own and is actually quite good though its not the best 140ish tune that samples the famous vocal. The sprightly version of 'Everyday Is A Gunshot' that comes out of it must've been based on a clean vocal or a dubplate acapella. and particularly nerdy junglists will also notice that Mad Cobra's original version of RIP (as famously sampled by Remarc) is on the same riddim (Gunshot). There's a good bit in the middle of the weareie remix when someone turned the lights off in the DJ booth, and in a fit of befuddled panic and confusion I dropped the next tune in with the crossfader accidentally pushed to the middle...

7. El b - Lyrical Tempo - Tempa
8. Underground Fusion - Police bad boy - White
9. 2 Bad Mice -Bombscare - Moving Shadow
10. KMA - Cape fear - Urban Beat
11. Headtop - The Don Dadda - White

The first of 3 El-B tunes opens Slug's selection, with a neat mix that flows straight into one of those late 90's garage white label purchases; 'Sound of the police' featuring THAT oft sampled KRS vocal. A bit of praxis follows as Slug takes us into hardcore anthem territory with a surprisingly workable mix into bombscare, followed by a smooth transition into early garage classic 'Cape fear' (check out the hiss!). I had hoped to be able to get the jungle/Hardcore versions into the mix (the Tone Def one, not the Dollar one), but it was waaaay faster than I remembered. This section ends with a bit of menacing yet jaunty ragga breakbeat courtesy of 'Headtop' (sampled from 'third world cop' I think??) before we head into the pop garage zone.

12. Artful Dodger - Movin' too fast (Zed Bias Rmx) - Locked on
13. El b - Express - Tempa
14. Bini & Martini - Happiness (Xmen Remix) - Azuli Records
15. Steve Gurley - Walk on by VIP
16. El b - The Club - Tempa

The first tune here made it into the charts in 2000 or so, but I didn’t hear this remix until fairly recently. This one strolls the line between pop-cheesy and tuff - check out those pitched up drums! A bit out of key in the mix, I had to go for a fairly subtle fade in before finishing the mix with a slapstick spinback (I’m obviously a bit out of practice). Another fade in and cut, into El b this time with another absolutely wicked tune from the Tempa compilation, the offbeat snare made for a fiddly mix, but like everything on this LP its solid gold.

Anyone who knows their jungle will recognise the sample that dominates the next tune. The optimistic and housey 'happiness' bit is more than offset by the freaky background drones and weirdness and the ruff bassline... really loving all those changes of mood too, quite hardcore/early jungle in that respect. Straight into a bonafide classic from a jungle general and the grandmaster of UKG. Sure, the vocal is cheesy as hell, but the production is outstanding and there's a a fantastic smooth and spacious vibe to the whole track. Reminds me a little of some of his more contemplative jungle material.

So, we finish with 'The Club'... not really much you can say about this tune. Probably 2-step at its finest. That hypnotic melody, those liquid beats (how did he do it?), there's even a touch of jungle with that laughter sample which is thrown in now and then. Effortlessly rude and funky - a truly transcendent record...

So that it. Thanks to Barry and the REACH organisation for having us and to Simon for putting this on IDS. Enjoy. Hopefully this isn't the last you'll hear from us...