late 90s tech-step

[dave]

cool thread. this is definitely a place for complete music nerds, huh.

some good albums of late 90s tech step are:
doc scott - mixmag breakbeat experiments
jonny l - sawtooth & magnetic
and of course torque and some of the others mentioned.

this was the period which got me into d&b, so its always weird reading how much that era sucked according to those who were around the years before.

t-t-t-e-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-k-n-n-n-n-n-o-o-o-o-l-l-l-l-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-y-y-y-y-y-y

best timestretch ever!

hahaha

 

[SIZZLE]

Prototype Years comp.

big co-sign, I played the shit out of that CD. All about Locust and Silver Blade (dillinja sampling vangelis blade runner).

I actually was listening to some of this stuff recently and its still good. Probably due for revival soon. I think wormhole is probably late, Torque, Prototype Years, SOUR's CD comp (forget title). All really great.

 

[ToRMeNT]

WOW.. 9 pages of late 90's techstep dnb talk on dissensus, and not even one mention of Chrome / POSITION CHROME? Hmm.. might have to fix that.

Or maybe all the suggestions made already from said era just enforces how much the music was UK centric, but some of the more experimental, overt industrial techstep came outside of all that , hence Position Chrome, the German techstep reply of that time. The early shit was great, industrial noise / hip-hop and then the techstep dnb onslaught, quality initial vision, considering the first Chrome release was a Techno Animal record. I always thought that the only label of that dnb era doing things on the same level as No U Turn was Position Chrome, pushing extremes & upping the ante of said extremes that crossed over into early breakcore dnb-related sounds from Alec Empire, & breakcore labels like Praxis & Sub/Version Recs, which also hasn't been mentioned here as well. *For any late 90's techstep fans that haven't checked out the first releases on Sub/Version from '97/'98, go to it. I think alot of ground was covered there in the first couple Sub/Version releases that you're currently hearing now, if you're listening to current hard dnb, or specific breakcore dnb related sounds. Sub/Version is still releasing tunes, after a lengthy down period, which is cool. Some of my fave early techstep from that era could be found there in the Sub/Version catalogue. Quick mention of dutch label RUFF-TECH as well for upping the dark & heavy factor from '99 on.

Still the best examples of early Position Chrome tunes thrown down in retrospective mixes that i've heard are these two blends. Check em out if you haven't already. Tracks from mainly from '97/'98.

Lorcscyric Mixing Position Chrome
http://nsf.dnb-music.com/sounds/Lorcscyric_mixing_Position_Chrome_M.mp3

01. current value _ creative robot
02. problem child _ agressive
03. panacea _ reality
04. problem child _ nuclear device
05. panacea _ jaccobs ladder
06. disorder _ system check
07. disorder _ when disorder strikes
08. panacea _ anti-funk
09. panacea _ chrome13
10. heinrich at hart _ secret (panacea rmx)
11. panacea _ Strombringer
12. current value _ bassriot
13. panacea _ machine master pt.1
14. disorder _ killerhertz
15. panacea _ the day after
16. panacea _ power of darkness
17. panacea _ evil seed


Dj Sickhead mixing Position Chrome
http://nsf.dnb-music.com/sounds/sickhead_mixin_position_chrome.mp3



Otherwise, yeah, huuuge Source Direct fan here. They've probably influenced me more than any dnb of that time. Also the No U Turn sub label Saigon was alright, the Incoming comp. they did. Renegade Hardware was a blast, pre- Bad Company Future Forces Inc. i loved. DROPPIN SCIENCE as well.. that was some good shit. Hardleaders had some interesting and pivotal bits, showcasing the first Ice Minus tunes, early Decoder, etc. Ray Keith/Dark Soldier - Dark Soldier on Dread Recordings <<<< chune!

Phantom Audio anyone? Digital & Spirit. Spirit was soo underrated. seriously, great dj imo. Phanton Audio tunes from '98/'99 on. Another mention worthy of some research.

 

[craner]

This still sounds fucking good, doesn't it?

As do this and this.

 

[craner]

But Panacea? I don't think so.

 

[UFO over easy]

and this.

i love the flip side to that one

mechanically slinky

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

This still sounds fucking good, doesn't it?

yes.

[As do this and this.

yes & hell yes. I reckon Boymerang was the only outsider junglist besides Plug to really get it. the whole Boymerang LP (which includes both tracks from the Prototype 12") is fantastic. unlike most stuff at the time which was either/or he manages to go from stark, slamming techstep into rolling ambient jungle without missing a beat. in the particular the last track, "Lazarus" - which is nowhere to be found on youtube etc - is a beautiful number, like one of those amazing tracks that Photek stopped making ca. '96 or so when he got all serious...

 

[Ach!]

Ed Rush's 'Technology', Boymerang on the remix.

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[padraig (u.s.)]

also craner you & luka are utterly, utterly mad for trying to argue against the greatness of jump-up. at least jump-up meaning Ganja Kru & Formation & all this, not Aphrodite.

ben ufo had a really comment which I guess was deleted (?) about that being the whole point - the greatness of knocking up a Wu-Tang sample with some R&B chorus, chopped breaks, g-funk synths & all this - really it's madness, I mean how can you argue against the hip hop samples in "Guncheck", even Tribe of Issachar - "Junglist", like the epitomy of '96 jump-up...

it's crazy anyway jungle was always a b-boy thing I mean, I don't understand how you can just draw a line & say at this point DJ Hype wasn't cheesy & then he was...I mean Danny Breaks for crissakes...even Elementz of Noize had one great 12" before it all went to shit...

 

[UFO over easy]

ben ufo had a really comment which I guess was deleted (?) about that being the whole point - the greatness of knocking up a Wu-Tang sample with some R&B chorus, chopped breaks, g-funk synths & all this

yeah i didn't like the way i expressed it but that's basically it, I love that. its like what craner said before about stuff seeming like it had 10 ideas a minute, that's what i think that amounts to really. chuck that in, see if it sounds good against that, and turn it into something new in the process

 

[baboon2004]

I reckon Boymerang was the only outsider junglist besides Plug to really get it. the whole Boymerang LP (which includes both tracks from the Prototype 12") is fantastic. unlike most stuff at the time which was either/or he manages to go from stark, slamming techstep into rolling ambient jungle without missing a beat. in the particular the last track, "Lazarus" - which is nowhere to be found on youtube etc - is a beautiful number, like one of those amazing tracks that Photek stopped making ca. '96 or so when he got all serious...

Wow, totally forgot about the existence of this album, having listened to it innumerable times back in the day. Dissensus needs more Graham Sutton/Bark Psychosis love.

 

[Ach!]

DJs certainly had dubplates of Babylon by Autumn 94 - I love how important it has become in this discussion! Not sure that I completely agree that jungle peaked in 94; 95 was full of treasures too, as evidenced in the Jungle Auteurs thread.

I'm not that much of a fan of it, but wasn't all that post-96 jump-up stuff what all the early grime guys were all over?

 

[zhao]

But Panacea? I don't think so.

you are very much mistaken, craner.

panacea was fucking amazing in those early years, and there were no equals far as that sound is concerned.

 

[tyranny]

The really stripped down robotic dnb which 'killed' the scene. I've been listening to Wormhole by Ed Rush and Optical and basically want more

The Usual Suspects - Killer Bees (angry stabby stripped down thing with huge tense buzzing synths)

Dom & Roland - Killer Bullet (warhead ripoff with angrier sound design)

Stakka and Skynet - Clockwork LP

Ram Trilogy - Molten Beats LP

Origin Unknown - Sound in Motion LP

DJ Hype's Mixmag Live mix - poisonous minimal dark stuff

Andy C's mix on the Breezeblock in 99

Ed Rush and Optical's essential mix

Absolute Zero - The Code

V/A - Armageddon LP - Renegade Hardware

Anything by Decoder & Substance from around 99 onwards




That should get you started and most of these are very easy to find online or in mixes since there's a generation of dnb heads who alarmingly consider them to be "classics" - i even saw someone refer to this period as "The Golden Era" the other day!...


No U Turn, Tech Itch, Pre- 99 Hard Leaders, Emotif etc would all be a little too early for what you seem to be actually looking for - the tunes and albums above are really the sound of what happened when it all went briefly wrong and the tempos soarded while the beats got dumbed down, but trust me when i say that as a young raver jumping around in a sweaty club with my top off that they were more than adequate for the purposes to which they were put!

 

[tyranny]

you are very much mistaken, craner.

panacea was fucking amazing in those early years, and there were no equals far as that sound is concerned.

Panacea had some wicked tunes - i think the thread starter is looking for strtipped down robotic "neurofunk" as simon reynolds called it - to the bemusement of many people in the scene today, because he never quite defined what he meant by the term - threads still pop up over on dogsonacid about "neurofunk" followed by shrill arguments as to what it is or isn't - lately it's just been accepted that anything loud and sterile and clinical with big techy basslines is "neuro" though

 

[tyranny]

Kemistry and Storm's "DJ KICKS" compilation isn't a bad place to start either, come to think of it...

And i'm a speng for leaving out Jonny L - i think i must have forgotten him because i still liked him when the drugs wore off

 

[craner]

 

[craner]

 

[dave]

you are very much mistaken, craner.

panacea was fucking amazing in those early years, and there were no equals far as that sound is concerned.

exactly. panacea's r.e.s.p.e.c.t. remix is probably the most over the top late 90s tech-step track... stupidly angry bass. fanfares. glass smashing breaks. madness!

 

[craner]

It's just heavy metal weight-pumping crap, admit it.