#alignment records

[sayhellotoeverymusic-blog]

[urbanessence-blog-blog]

Five Essentials: Pattern

Set to release a sparkling new single on Alignment's new project Realign, Manchester-based Pattern might be an unfamiliar name to most but 'Draft's intricate, Jungle-infused crystal clarity is a glowing debut by anyone's standards.

Paired with a brooding Techno remix from fellow-Mancunians AnD, REALIGN001 makes for an exciting debut for both artist and label. We caught up with Jim who gives us his Five Essentials: five tracks that have most influenced his life and approach to music.

Photek - 'Rings Around Saturn'

The first time I heard it on Logical Progression in my early teens I knew the track as "Pharoah". I later found out more about Photek and his impact on electronic music. About 5 years ago I picked it up on 12" in a second hand record shop in Tokyo. I love the way he has flipped Pharoah Sander's "Astral Travelling". I love the drums on this track, the way they have been EQ'd and all the subtle switching programming. Goosebumps.

Rhythm & Sound w/ Bobbo Shanti - 'Poor People Must Work' (Carl Craig Remix)

I first heard this the week it was released on the Eastern Bloc speakers in our old setup on Oldham Street. From the moment the needle hit the groove I was hooked. All the sounds in this track are perfect for me. The FX, the hypnotic stabbing bassline, the progression. Also the stuttered vocal sends me a bit crazy. The whole remix has been done with a vibe that is unmistakably Carl Craig. Also worth checking... "Just Another Day" EP.

Breakage - 'Lead Me On'

A man who pretty much managed to release some of the best D&B and Jungle music ever written (in my opinion). From 2001 to 2009 every single tune he wrote made me realise that this is the exact vibe that makes me want to move my feet, shout and rave. Love the vocal, the space-echo style tape delay kills me every time. The apache break is programmed perfectly. The eerie vocal catches you off guard on the second drop. The bass shakes your bones. Breakage is a true don.

Kenny Dope Unreleased Project - 'Get On Down'

This tune reminds me of everything I like about Hip Hop. The Minnie Ripperton "Inside My Love" sample looped and tweaked to perfection. The Method Man vocal samples. The boom bap beats are right up my street too. All it needs now is Mr Thing cutting over the top.

A Tribe Called Quest Ft. Leaders Of The New School & Busta Rhymes - 'Scenario'

The beats have been lifted from Jimi Hendrix's "Little Miss Lover" and the bass loop from Brother Jack McDuff's "Oblighetto". Perfect in every way. So much energy, every verse incredible. Busta Rhymes nails it at the end - "Powerful impact... BOOM! from the cannon!" Tribe have the best loops, fact.

Pattern - 'Draft' / 'Draft' (AnD Remix) is out on May 13th. Grab yours from the official Alignment store.

Words: Jack Smith

[Pattern press shot courtesy of GB Multimedia]

[urbanessence-blog-blog]

Preview: AnD - 002 / 0202 / 0222

Fresh out of the Manchester hotpot of forward-thinking talent, AnD are coming in with some seriously desolate beats in 2013.

Having recently remixed Pattern's 'Draft' on Alignment Record's new sister imprint ReAlign, the duo are ready to let loose the second in their limited edition white label series, a trio of tracks cryptically-titled '002', '0202', and '0222'. Industrial techno at its blistering finest - sparse, unforgiving, and charmingly rugged - I wouldn't be surprised if these sell like hot-cakes just like AnD001. Keep 'em peeled.

Words: Jack Smith

[diwanescu]

[bambinoccino]

Ruffhouse - Pellet

an absolute classic

[szolfezs]

Interview with... Ruffhouse

Bristol-based (but not all Bristolian – our bad) trio Ruffhouse have been making drum and bass-shaped waves for the better part of a year now, however they’ve been working individually for considerably longer.  Made up of Ingredients protégé Pessimist, and Vega and Cooper whose individual creations are shot through with heavy rhythms and blasts of light, as a team they bring forward serious depth and a flair for bold percussion.  Ruffhouse as a collaboration have been producing some of the most interesting sounds out there in the deep, darker realms of DnB. We chatted to them about working together, the creative process, Bristol, raving from a young age and gain some insights into what drives them. Hi guys, how are you all? Been busy?  Yeah good thanks. Been very busy as of late, we can't say we aren’t enjoying it though. Just been getting things prepared for our first two releases on Alignment and Ingredients.  Bit of a stupid question that, given that you've got two massive releases out in the same month - how did you come to work on both Ingredients and Alignment at the same time?  It was by chance in some ways, we suppose. We were handing our first batch of tunes out to various labels and Matt from Alignment was interested in signing Pellet & Classified.  With Ingredients, Clive (DJ Psylence, head of Ing:) gave us a call one day and proposed an exclusive deal with Ingredients which for a number of reasons we felt would help us progress as producers. Firstly we felt that they are a professionally run music label with an impressive roster of artist that have already released on there.  Secondly, the exclusive signing meant that Ingredients was willing to invest time and commitment into us as a collective, which we felt could only help with the development of Ruffhouse. Lastly and more importantly, Ingredients encourages us to experiment freely with our music. Ingredients was the one to bring through Skeptical, Dub Phizix and other big names which have gone onto huge success, not by luck but because Clive obviously has a good eye for spotting budding artists, just proper A&R. To sum up it’s been a mutually beneficial move.  We've been waiting on Classified for a while, it's nice to see it getting a release! How and why did you guys hook up with Alignment for Pellet / Classified?  Pellet and Classified were the first two tunes we wrote together as Ruffhouse, so when we handed them to Mat he was really excited about them. We wanted to write two tunes that would go down really well on the dancefloor and we think this release does the job.  How did you all come to work together? We aren’t all Bristolian. it's only Pessimist who was born there. Vega is originally from Glasgow but has lived all over and moved to Bristol with Cooper who is originally from Worcester (West Midlands) around four and a half years ago. Vega and Cooper live together whilst Pessimist only lives a mile away, so we see each other all the time.

We met Pessimist at an Abstractions event which Vega runs and became good friends from there. We soon realised we shared a similar passion for music, in particular drum and bass. We were DJing a lot together at the time and then started experimenting in the studio.  What do each of you bring to Ruffhouse? Vega – I think through clubbing a lot since I was 16/17 I know what works on the dancefloor. Through this I think my sense of arrangement in tracks and sounds that work comes naturally. I’ve learnt a lot though at the same time from both Pessimist and Coop about music production and engineering since knowing them which I feed off. Cooper – having been writing music through bands or production since a young age I feel comfortable in the studio, which I think is definitely something that helps when we get together in the studio. I’m also constantly on the look-out for samples be it in films, music whatever and I always try to bring these to the sessions to integrate into the tracks. Pessimist – I think I just bring the style of my solo work to combine with Coop and Vega’s taste. I guess the fact I’ve been releasing tunes a bit now has helped with signing tracks and knowing how that whole side of the industry works. I’ve been writing music for a long while now too, which really helps. It’s refreshing writing music with other people now, a new approach and new ideas make it interesting. What are your main influences and inspirations? What took you to drum and bass and got you hooked? We all got into it at different times but all got hooked in our teens. Going to raves when we were younger was what made us want to become involved in the music. Although we all have an eclectic taste in music, Drum & Bass seems to serve a purpose that nothing else does. In regards to influences there’s a wide range, but some of the techno we’ve been hearing lately; those vibes are really working well with our minimal and sometimes half-time backdrops. Anything Lo-fi seems to inspire us too. We like the idea of crunchy, dusty and low passed sounds which adds great character rather than an over compressed, over clean mixdown. That’s probably the hip-hop influence coming into play there too.

Is Bristol still the UK's Bass music promised land? Pessimist, from a Bristolian perspective, how's the musical landscape changed there over the past few years?  Pessimist - Bristol’s always going to be pioneering when it comes to music, it’s definitely down to the history of the city and the mixture of cultures within it. In terms of Drum & Bass it seems to have died down a little bit the past year or two, that’s not to say it won’t blow up again soon, there’s definitely still some good nights to go to.  The Bass/Future Garage/Post-Dubstep - whatever you want to call it – thing is huge here. The events are packed out plus loads of the guys making it are based here. The music scene as a whole is really healthy, I notice it lots when I go looking round shops, there’s walls plastered with posters, every type of music you can imagine and venues you’ve never heard of. To sum up…yeah it’s alright! If you could choose anywhere else in the world to make music, where would you go? If I could make music anywhere else it would be Berlin, Detroit or Weston-Super-Mare during the T4 on the beach weekender. What are your schedules looking like - any live shows coming up? Any more forthcoming releases in the pipeline we should know about? As you know we have our debut 12” coming out on Alignment Records which is Pellet / Classified on Monday 15th October. The following week we have our debut 12” for Ingredients which is The Foot / Bypass which will be released on a limited clear vinyl with only 300 being pressed. After that there will be another single with Ingredients… more details to follow on that though.

Our next gig will be Friday 30th November at Abstractions, Bristol. We have a few more gigs in the new year too. Keep an eye on the Ruffhouse facebook page, we’ll keep everyone updated with upcoming gigs on there: www.facebook.com/ruffhouse001  Finally, we want get three favourite tracks from each of you - why are they so good? Pessimist Donald Byrd – Think Twice - This and ‘You & Music’ have been favourites for ages now. I love all the cover versions of Think Twice too, especially the Dilla’s. What does it for me in this track is the switch up and key change, you’ll know what I mean when you listen to it. Erykah Badu – Other Side of the Game– Such an emotional track, this one really does give me Goosebumps, even at 7am on the bus to work half asleep. The vocal track is perfect and the backing vocals especially towards the end of the track tip it off. Massive Attack – Teardrop – This has always been a favourite, I think I get a bit nostalgic when listening to this album. To be honest the album is consistently amazing, it was hard to choose one track. Cooper Source Direct- Technical Warfare -- First of all, it's the track that pretty much got me into drum and bass in the first place. It’s just darkness done properly, so sinister. So moody. Those strings are just pure evil it just doesn't come better for me. Tommy Four Seven – G. Again, just another example of darkness done how it's supposed to be. The intro is so moody, and then the track just builds and grows into an absolute monster. Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses. This one’s on a completely different vibe, but for me it's the best 80's track ever. Always get drawn for on a heavy session probably a couple of times at least. it's all about the 6:28 version.  Vega Leftfield – Release The Pressure I remember borrowing this album (Leftism) from a friend’s older brother when I was younger and instantly falling in love with it, especially the opening tune Release the Pressure. I had never really heard anything that ambient and atmospheric up until that point, so it really gripped me. The vocals by Earl Sixteen still send shivers down my spine today. PFM & Conrad – The Western This was probably the first Drum and Bass tune that really got me into the genre. At the time when I heard this I never even knew it was called Drum and Bass. The thing I liked about this tune that caught my attention was the uplifting epic feel to it. MC Conrad has such a presence in the tune and the vocals he uses in the track are very meaningful and deep. I then found out what the tune was called and bought it in Times Square in New York on a school trip and remember playing it on repeat for about 2 weeks. Amazing tune! True Faith – Take Me Away Okay, this tune just epitomises dance music to me. The beat, Piano riff, Vocal, everything about it is wicked. Would love to have heard this out at an illegal rave back in the day if I had been old enough. It’s one of those tunes when you put it on its going to get everyone up dancing. One for the ravers.

check the original article here and much more on Redeye Records.

[szolfezs]

Next up as an early xmas present we have an absolute scorcher from Billion feat MC Sense & Codebreaker MC and one of this years top producer/ remixers Skeptical.  

  “Defence” is the jewel in the crown of new skool collective Billion’s discography.  Codebreaker and Sense lay down conscious kung fu precision lyrics over Billion’s shuffle and crash beat.  All built on top of a deadly sub bassline with schizophrenic mentasms cutting through the dance floor. 

“We Defend!” Currently one of Drum & Bass’ most revered sons, Skeptical turns “Defence” onto it’s head with his signature sonic artillery and evasive musical manoeuvres.  Having now finely tuned the art of a vocal club smasher, Skeptical unleashes his deadliest remix to date.