When Machinedrum reinvented himself in 2011 with footwork as his muse, it sent seismic waves through bass music. By then footwork was the sound du jour, but Travis Stewart stood out by blending it with the pastoral textures of Boards Of Canada, the heart-in-mouth thrill of jungle, and his own polished aesthetic. We liked Room(s) so much that we gave it 5/5 rating. Needless to say the pressure was on for this year's follow-up, the excellent Vapor City, a concept record about an imaginary city and his first album for Ninja Tune.
Critical acclaim aside, Machinedrum's impact is evident in his RA podcast—one look at the tracklist and you'll see there's a whole legion of producers mashing up jungle, footwork and drum & bass into a thrilling fast-paced amalgam behind him (along with some tasty unreleased material of his own). Fracture, Om Unit, Tessela and Ital Tek are among the ranks bringing renewed attention to the tempo.
Machinedrum - Rise N Fall Machinedrum - The Palace Machinedrum - Show Ur Love Future Sound of London - Ill Flower (Machinedrum Remix) Machinedrum - Knowfuture Skeptical - Eyes Down Om Unit - Deep Sea Pyramid System - Sound Man Tek 9 - Spring Rob & Goldie - Shadow Dwarde - Algid Tessela - Hackney Parrot (Sam Binga Crackney Parrot Refix) Ital Tek - BB Jon Convex - With You (Kid Drama's Autonomic Mix) Instra:mental & dBridge - White Snares Naibu - Just Like You (Fracture's Astrophonica Remix) AMIT - Human Warfare (Machinedrum Remix) FIS - Love Drama Stress (Machinedrum Edit) Machinedrum - Overtime
01. Blu Mar Ten - She Moves Through (ASC Remix) [FREE]
02. Muted - Robin [Manifesto Music]
03. Blue Motion - Only Words (Triad Remix) [Influenza Media]
04. ASC and Synkro - Borderline [Auxiliary]
05. Instra:Mental - End Credits [Non Plus]
06. Synkro - Open Arms [Exit]
07. Two Thirds and Bad Apple featuring Veela - Sense Of Being [Med School]
08. Sunchase - Keyring [Drone Audio]
09. ASC and Synkro - Sacred Moments [Auxiliary]
10. Synth Sense - Soulstice [Deep Soul Music]
11. Synkro and Indigo - Reflection [Exit]
12. Marcus Intalex - Climbing Up The Walls [SOUL:R]
13. Magnetic Man - Perfect Stranger (dBridge Remix) [FREE]
14. Stickman - Pressure [Med School]
15. Bop - Enjoy The Moment [Med School]
16. Crimean - Open Letter [FREE]
17. Flower and Mr Sizef - Autumn [Intelligent]
18. ASC - The Ubiquity Incident [Non Plus]
19. Borealis - Not Of This Reality (Crimean Remix) [FREE]
20. ASC - Prometheus [Samurai Red Seal]
21. Chris Coda - Heading North [SOUL:R]
22. Synkro - Departure [Med School]
23. Indivision N4M3 and Tiiu - Other Clouds [FREE]
24. Synkro - Progression [Exit]
25. Aquasky - Dezires [Moving Shadow]
26. Omni Trio - Nu Birth Of Cool (Rouge Unit Remix) [Moving Shadow]
27. Omni Trio - Renegade Snares (Foul Play VIP Mix) [Moving Shadow]
28. Seba - Soul 2000 [Good Looking]
29. Tayla - Resolution [Good Looking]
30. Lynx Bashiyra and Malibu - Star [Blackout Music]
31. Goldie - Inner City Life (4 Hero Remix) [FFRR]
32. Photek - Modus Operandi [Science]
33. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - We Live In Brooklyn, Baby [Polydor]
To celebrate his Fabric mix CD, Goldie’s also contributed an old school session to FACT’s mix series, featuring a number of early Rufige Kru productions. According to his management, “he got into the studio and found some old records, and got inspired to do an all ’90s mix. It’s all pre-94 hardcore/jungle. 75% of the tunes are his”.
Euphony (Just For You London Kuff Mix) - Bodysnatch Let’s Get Together - Satin Storm LFO - LFO Energy Flash - Joey Beltram Voodoo Ray - A Guy Called Gerald Krisp Biscuit - Rufige Kru In My Soul - Internal Affairs Killa Muffin - Rufige Kru Find A Way - Internal Affairs Menace - Rufige Kru You Held My Hand (Mark Mac & Goldie Remix) - Manix & Rufige Kru Del De Go Go - Tek 9 & Rufige Kru Shinin’ Down On Me - Internal Affairs Rollin Like Scottie - Rufige Kru & Agzilla De Ice Rage - Doc Scott I Think I’m Going Out Of My Head - Satin Storm
"Brand new heat right here. Way back in May, Goldie's epochal Metalheadz label and the collective known as A Bunch of Cuts - comprising Exit, Soul:r, Signature, Commercial Suicide, 31 Records, Bassbin and Revolve:r - went toe to toe. This is Goldie and Marcus Intalex, live, untouched, unaltered and unadulterated for 90 minutes from that night. A heavyweight, bruising roll-out."
Zul (Subvert HQ, Singapore) has been DJing and promoting parties in the Lion City since the 1990s, performing along side the likes of dBridge, DJ Friction, Joe Syntax, Stamina MC, John B, A-Sides, Pendulum, Cyantific, Sonic, London Elektricity as well as Logistics and Hospital Records' Chris Goss. Gigs-wise, its gone from Hong Kong (he spent time with the White Label crew in 2001), Jakarta to London (playing at the legendary Hospitality parties in Shoreditch, UK) with bits of radio (MediaCorp Radio's Lush 99.5FM Clubscape sessions, to be exact) and a release on Take Off Records squeezed in between.
When not busy with his day job as a journalist in Singapore, Zul also keeps it cutting edge away from the dance floor with the Subvert Sessions Podcast (download via subverthq.blogspot.sg), blending together leftfield and idiosyncratic beats of the 170bpm variety.
