Inside Nokia Music

Living in Bristol has undoubtedly shaped the types of  music that I listen to.  Drum and Bass is (or was before Dubstep came alone) the most popular underground music in the city.

Being just down the road from London, many of the capitals top DJ’s and producers frequently pop down to Bristol to play gigs.  Now more than ever as there’s an abundance of promoters in this small city trying to get the latest stars of the underground to play at their nights.

Me being one of those promoters in this saturated market I can only promote the music, DJs and producers I believe in.

One of those producers is Heist, a Drum and Bass producer from Braintree who started his production career started just over five years ago.  Since then Heist has seen his tunes shock the Drum and Bass world with many of the top DJs carrying his tunes in their boxes.

As well as signing his releases to a number of big D’n’B labels he has also worked with Goldie on his productions. Engineering the hugely well-received LP ‘Malice in Wonderland’ for the Metalheadz boss together with anthem ‘Is This Real’, the success of which has seen them return to the studio to work on follow-up LP ‘Memoires Of An Afterlife’.

As well as working with a biggest name in the scene Heist has also started his own labels, Sumo Beats and Calypso in order to accommodate the ever-increasing volume of solo work; future plans alongside producers like Lomax, Taxman, Original Sin and Die lurk in the pipeline together with releases on Propaganda and Frontline, keeping the vinyl-buying public on their toes with an impressively expansive repertoire of production credits.

His production styles are varied across the D’n’B spectrum.  As well the the jump up dancefloor tunes many know him for Heist can also lend his talents to more chilled and techy styles which you’ll see released on labels like Fabio’s Creative Source and Goldie’s Metalheadz.

If you happen to live in the great and musical city of Bristol you can catch Heist on Saturday 3^rd April at Basement 45.

THE GIG

Late last year a friend of mine convinced me to see a band called Subsource. I was planning on staying in that night and catching up with some much needed sleep. But soon as she mentioned that they were a live dance band on a similar tip to The Prodigy and better than Pendulum, I quickly ditched any ideas of relaxation a got a Taxi down to the centre of Bristol.

This was a wise choice as I wasn’t disappointed. They were a high energy group of lads with some amazing and varied songs. A good mix of genres from Breakbeat, Hip Hop, Dubstep, Punk and DnB kept the mood fresh throughout their performance.

THE BAND
The Band consists of lead singer and Double Bass player – Stuart Henshall, Vocalist – Mutanda Kimba, Borg Ng on keys and percussion, Paul Frazer on guitar and keys and Neil Shervell on Drums. They all come from very different backgrounds both musically and geographically, which is probably why they have a sound which is a hybrid of all the bass heavy electronic music we all know and love.

THE IDES
Their new single The Ides out on Doomsday recordings on Feb 22nd February is
a good In-sight to how this band operates.

The glitchy, distorted, electronic noises at the start are reminiscent to the Prodigy’s more recent material. After a short intro it kicks into a rock style chorus, backed by a big breakbeat and more of those glichy noises.
The structure of this song has been designed for the dance-floor, as the songs edges out of the breakdown it changes to a Dubstep rhythm with a chorus wobble bassline. This all supported by soaring, lush pads and arpeggiated synths, both of which have warm analogue tones of 80’s synthesis.
The Ides, when you listen closely has a complex depth that shows off the skills of all the musicians involved. But it’s still a catchy dance-floor track that will wake you out of any tired state. It worked for me.

Here’s the video for their last single The Reason available now on the Nokia Music Store

Being the only true Drum & Bass head in the Nokia Content Team I guess I feel obliged to write about it. 

Drum & Bass is a dirty word in the eyes of mainstream-loving pop fans or cool indie kids, knowing only the diluted cross-over D&B acts like Pendulum.

 So here’s my take on the music that has kept me dancing and smiling for 15 years!

I first got in dance music when I was 12 years old.  A friend, Mitchell, used to play me loads of Jungle and Hardcore tapes recorded from raves such as Helter Skelter and Dreamscape.   I wasn’t instantly grabbed as my obsession at the time was with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.  Grunge was quite far away musically from the fast Amen Breakbeats and Techno sounds.  But after a while, it did grab me and it hasn’t let go since.

I started collecting flyers and tape packs from local events like Breakbeat Culture, Bristol Exposure and the legendary Ruffneck Ting where DJ Ron played to a packed out crowd at the Malcolm X Centre in St Pauls back in June 94, the summer when Jungle was at its peak.

 I’ve been going to raves now for many years and it’s only been in the last year that I’ve noticed how young the people around me are.  A new generation and D&B heads are always coming onto the scene, but these days the kids don’t even know what Jungle is (or was) and have never heard of DJ Ron!  The majority of people that danced around me in those raves back in the 20^th Century have grown up, got families, good jobs, all of which require an early bed time.  But I’m still here dancing and listening to this great music! 

With this new generation ravers comes a new wave of producers. Producers are the heart of any dance music scene. The innovators that refresh the music and shock peoples ears with brand new, never-heard-before sounds.

 The last 2 years has seen an influx of producers with exceptional talent.  Making proper music that will make you dance and shock out.  Not the diluted stuff angled towards those pop lovin’ kids or the ‘Mash Up’ tosh that Annie Mac plays on Radio 1.  This is the Drum and Bass music you need to listen to.

The YouTube vids below are a small insight to what’s being played in the underground club scene at the moment. Enjoy!

System – Near Miss

Original Sin – Therapy

Rockwell – Underpass

DJ Fresh – Fantasia

Netsky – Everyday

Noisia – Deception