Diaskeaust - “Latitude By Observation (Tipper's Ordinance Survey Mix)”
Electric Kingdom: Episode One
1999
Nu Skool Breaks / Nu-Electro
Diaskeaust, a name I do not know how to pronounce, is a moniker that was briefly used by Dave Tipper, or just Tipper, a guy from Wimbledon, London who produces lots of different kinds of electronic music and is a hell of a DJ, too. Tipper's done drum n bass, he's done downtempo, ambient, and trip hop, and he's also pioneered glitch hop. And he's a sound design expert, too, who's composed his music for surround sound, which has landed some of his stuff on very popular TV programs like CSI:NY, Nip/Tuck, and Criminal Minds. But what Tipper's probably most known for is his work in the world of nu skool breaks. An undated article by Balz Biellman for lunarmagazine.com has more:
Anyone who follows new school breaks knows the name Tipper, and if you listen to his music, you'll understand why. Tipper's unique production style is as distinct as a fingerprint. Blending unequivocal sub-bass tones and mechanical rhythms with precision engineering, his music leaves you with an acrid taste of metal and steel combined with the exhilarating sensations of a Formula One race.
In '98, as Diaskeaust, Tipper's "Latitude by Observation" appeared on his co-founded Fuel label's 8 Track compilation. Fuel, a niche record company, specialized in releasing nu skool breaks tunes that were made to be listened to through a car's soundsystem. And the following year, Tipper's "Ordinance Survey Mix" of "Latitude by Observation" appeared on a comp called Electric Kingdom: Episode One.
The thing about this song is it's a real melange of different styles of electronic music. One, it's obviously breakbeat, but there's a huge dose of car audio bass in this, too, which derives itself from the Miami bass movement, and that partially derives itself from electro. Plus, the wicked sub-bass tones come from drum n bass and the overall acidity derives itself from acid house, which originated in Chicago, but took London warehouses by storm in 1988 and '89 with the Summer of Love, too. So, when they say Tipper's unique, his mixing of genres that enable him to create something entirely new is partially why.
The meatiest parts of this song feel like the soundtrack to an early aughts Scion TV ad or something. The hard-bouncing electro drum rhythms and the zappy sound effects both suggest a futuristic, robotic kind of feel, and I think Scion vehicles have kinda been marketed in that way, no? Like, I'm picturing a jet-black boxy compact car sitting in a brightly lit, fully white showroom on a slowly rotating white platform. Fully autonomous long-armed power tools navigate their way around the vehicle in order to help primp and tune it up, and the final ad product includes jump cuts galore. And this song is playing with all of that going on, of course.
Hire me, turn-of-the-millennium-minded admakers!