It’s February 2011: The Arab Spring is kicking off in the middle east, NASA’s Discovery shuttle enjoys its final launch, Chase & Status hit number five in the UK mainstream charts with Blind Faith and Shogun Audio increased our pulse rate with this monster: Icicle – Dreadnaught!
Heavy 808s to make the place shake: still rolling, still heavyweight, still an instant reloader in the dance, we called Mr Freeze up on a reflective context flex…
The whole idea was to make a pure bassline roller. Nothing cool or weird or strange about it; just the elementary essence of drum & bass.
<<<Rewind
“I guess it’s one of my most successful tunes so far. It was part of the big melting pot I had brewing for my first album and it really helped me make a mark.
For me Stewart is the ultimate drum & bass MC, especially for that rolling sound, so when people heard the track and reacted to it, it was to his vocals that really gave it character more than my beats.
The whole idea was to make a pure bassline roller. Nothing cool or weird or strange about it; just the elementary essence of drum & bass.
The most important thing for me, though, is SP’s vocal. Stewart was working with various producers at the time – people like Break – but he’d never had the opportunity to put out a proper release like this. For me Stewart is the ultimate drum & bass MC, especially for that rolling sound, so when people heard the track and reacted to it, it was to his vocals that really gave it character more than my beats. He brought the tune together. The production was me exploring the essence of D&B, but his vocal is the essence of D&B.
Production-wise it took me a while to perfect those elements and really boil it down to the essentials. Actually there aren’t many old tunes of mine that I can still really enjoy, but I’d stripped this back and simplified it enough for me to still enjoy it now.
You know there might be a new remix coming out one day… But I can’t say any more than that at the moment!
Do I still play it now? Of course. I’ve heard from many of the bigger DJs and mentors that you’ve always got to play your hits – that’s how you build your brand. Generally I play the VIP I made not long after the original. You know there might be a new remix coming out one day… But I can’t say any more than that at the moment!”
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