Goldie's essential underground – Alex Reece, Roy Davis Jr, Leviticus, Zero B
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Version 0 of 1. Alex Reece – Pulp Fiction (1995) Pulp Fiction marked the birth of 2-step for drum’n’bass for me and many others. This was a huge game-changer, and I never could have imagined just how big it was going to be. The intricacy of the space, the production, the punch of that snare and the infamous b-line was instantly recognisable to anyone in that era. It’s been remixed since, and still gets drawn out in sets by me and a lot of other artists with any kind of good taste. This is a masterpiece, and while there’s a sense of imitation that goes on in a lot of modern d’n’b and dance music (and I do think it’s harder and harder to be original, as most of it’s been done – just look at our film industry), this track still sticks out as a unique work of art. It’s the kind of track I feel proud not only to have been able to release [on MetalHeadz], but one that I’m proud to be able to call drum’n’bass. I can be easily pleased! Roy Davis Jr ft Peven Everett – Gabriel (1996) Roy Davis Jr is all that’s good about what garage music is, and especially where it came from: I think he’s a true and very early instigator of the sound we know as garage, and this track was instrumental in allowing the sound to develop and stem off from its roots in house music. I remember this one dropped (by way of a re-release at least) on XL Recordings, a label whose influence I have always respected. Above searching for chart success or aiming for the more popular-music-buying fans, it’s a label that’s done well by keeping true to its roots, and this track is a shining example. I still hear house and garage artists and DJs play this to crowds – and who can blame them? It’s an absolute classic, and one that’s loved by all. I’m yet to meet anyone who’s ever said a bad word about this tune. Leviticus – Burial (1994) A track that was embraced as much by the external community as it was by the jungle/d’n’b community, this is a track that sound-boys and kids outside our scene loved before, during and after its success. It’s a forever classic, and while heavily sample-based, there was something undeniable about how the groove worked with the killer drums and deep, heavy sub: this is a track that helped put bass-heavy jungle music on the worldwide map. Under the Leviticus production guise of Jumping Jack Frost, this one was a monster. Everyone was playing it back in the day, the crowds couldn’t quite get enough of it. It’s big, it’s bad and it’s still heavy. Zero B – Lock Up (1992) I was always a raver (and still am) and this was a big one for me, hence its inclusion on the Masterpiece compilation I did last year. Rugged, slightly loose-cut drums and smooth bass notes were the order of the day, while the big break-down switch that almost lands out of nowhere and could seem ill-placed, but works wonderfully, makes it one of those tunes that pits the rough against the smooth and does it all effortlessly. The bassline on this one is killer, and it’s another one of those riffs you can’t bloody get out of your head, no matter how hard you try. A shining light of the rave era, and another one that laid the foundations for what we call bass music in 2015. Joy Orbison – Hyph Mngo (2009) A more modern killer 2-step track, andone that shows exactly what the UK’s artists are so consistently good at. This blew me away when I first heard it, and it’s all in the hook. I’d not really heard of Joy Orbison until this tune came along, but he’s an artist I’ve kept a keen eye on since. Talented guy. He created a classic. |