We’re hyped to have a techstep legend in the premiere spotlight today! Taken from his new EP for CNVX, The Dreamer sees DSCI4 boss Trace teaming up with Berlin duo Survey for a retro-future sci-fi roller; from the spacey pads of the intro through the crunchy breaks and modulated basslines, this is the soul of late 90s dark D&B brought up to the minute with 2020 production techniques, and it sounds glorious. Look for this coming August 14th on Bandcamp!
Trace’s return to Drum & Bass production over the last year has been most welcome. While his work as an A&R / label boss for both jungle-focussed imprint 117 and legendary techstep label DSCI4 has been thoroughly on point, his brand of no-nonsense rolling darkness has been thoroughly lacking from the scene until the surprising drop of the Zone EP last year. Clearly Trace is back on it with gusto, and this year we’ve got four new cuts courtesy of Kid Drama’s CNVX.
If ever it was possible for a release to sound both retro and futuristic, Trace’s productions here do. Stylistically they’re not dissimilar to his legendary output in the heyday of the late 90s techstep explosion, and they definitely hark back to that slightly forgotten sound…but at the same time the ethos of that material always drew on sci-fi for an ethereal, futuristic sonic palette, which definitely feels more than present here. Combine that with the razor sharp production available in 2019 and you’re back to the future in a big way.
For anyone sick of the ever-so-slightly-ADD hyperactivity of modern neurofunk, the Opaque EP is the perfect antithesis. Rolling breaks inject the funk, dark bass riffs give the tunes their weight, and the focus is very much a less-is-more aesthetic; groove and progression over endless variations and switchups. We don’t know what Trace has been listening to but maybe there’s a techno influence in the song writing creeping in here? Either way this is a delicious collection of techstep grooves, and a cracking take on a vintage sound. Hit up the CNVX Bandcamp to grab it straight from the source now…
Anyone unfamiliar with the early history of Jungle / D&B would do well to investigate the now legendary One In The Jungle show. Broadcast on Radio One from 1995 to 1997 and spanning three series, the show gave Jungle a platform on the station for the first time and paved the way for the music to move from its roots in the infamous London pirate radio scene onto more legitimate broadcasters.
Some of the episodes have been lost forever but many have been salvaged from old tape recordings and a partial archive is available to download from http://oneinthejungle.co.uk/. Better still, many of the episodes are now on Mixcloud, and a few of the best are embedded below. Check it out, relive the memories, and feast your ears on the rise of a scene.
Roni Size & MC Dynamite – 03.08.95
Moving Shadow Special – 09.08.96
Ed Rush & Trace – No U-Turn Experience – 07.02.97
Future Forces – 05.12.97