Hark the bassbins of RSA...

RSA has been around for some time, and we saw dnb grow with the years. These days there are much sounds being pushed forward, but if you're not too familiar with the scene (yet) you might want to know a couple of names that are worth checking out. Whatever your style and taste might be, in this section we compiled a various selection of artists and/or labels that are or have been very important for the world of drum 'n bass, and who were a big inspiration to us anyway. Even the die hards might find some unknown names here which shouldn't be forgotten, so it's a read for all ya'll! To know more about those mentioned beneath, check the 'commercial drum 'n bass links' section to find some of their websites.

Names to watch out for in the jungle

4 Hero
Also known as Manix, Tek 9, and Tom & Jerry. Consisting out of two guys, Dego and Mark Mac, they made drum 'n bass with a whole theory of our earth, the roots of music, and universal mysteries behind it. With their album Two Pages they put an album together consisting of one part full of acoustic live drum 'n bass with strings and vocals, which is superb, focusing on the earth itself. The second part is one of the biggest electronic masterpieces I ever heard, focusing on extraterrestrial mysteries. Check also their EP Earth Pioneers and their former album Parallel Universe, if you can get it somewhere. Their new album released in 2002 was judged as a less one, since the drum 'n bass sound was quite absent.

Adam F
Another big name. Pumped his name into the stars in '96 with his track Circles and his album Colours in '97. F makes very variatin' dnb, from intelligent jazzy stuff to his typical raw noise. His Metalheadz release Metropolis was called out in '97 dnb track of the year, and after the success of Colours Adam Adam F hooked up with hiphop projects and moved to the States, but is now back doing new dnb business. Check the remix album many dnb producers made from his hiphop projects.

A Sides & Eastside Records
Founder of the Eastside records label, and the creator of many classic tunes which contain a strong contrast between tough jumpup and jazz fusion, which represents the sound for the label also.. In his project Sci-Clone he produces pure jazzstep with saxophonist Nathan Haines, and imo it's the most beautiful jazzstep ever made, and was released on the Metalheadz label (see Metalheadz in this section). Other A Sides classics are Rocksteady, Crazy (VIP), and Feeling Me.

Andy C & RAM records
Ever had heard anyone say that drum 'n bass is not rough enough? Turn a record from RAM records and the person is convinced. Put up by Andy C, RAM records is around here quite a long time. Very fast rough breaks and shattering noisebasses, gave RAM, which stands for Rapid Ass Movement, a big name these days. Trust me and go see Andy C, Shimon, or Moving fusion live. Your ears will be history. Andy C & Shimon have also made one of the biggest dnb hits ever in 2001, Bodyrock, which was a sort of newstyle dnb track, happy, ruff, and has been spun for ages. The name RAM Trilogy consists out of Andy C, Shimon, & Ant Miles.

Aphrodite & Urban takeover
Two of the biggest dnb bass DJ's, always a big party to see live. Maybe you remember hits like 'The bomber' and 'Calling out the people, and don't forget about 'Arsonist'. If you have no idea where I'm talking about, those were the oldskool days. Right now A & MF are booking high success with their label Urban takeover, a project of very phat and ruff hittin' dnb. Their sounds can be as flat as cheese, but stingy, very stingy. Aphrodite produced an album with almost only rewritten tracks of his former album, Aphrodite, which is still one of the dopest. Bet you can't sit still on tracks like 'Woman that rolls', 'Lava Flow', 'The Time The Place', and 'Style from the darkside'.

Bad Company )EIB(
One name in the world of techstep you never can go wrong with is Bad Company. Consisting out of 4 top notch producers, they made some serious revolution in the world of techstep dnb. Check out tracks like The Nine, Planet Dust, The Hornet and Nitrous. Albums not too miss from these lords are Inside the machine, Book Of The Bad and their new album Shot Down On Safari. They are also wicked to see live, and won't spare anything from your ears, believe me!

Black Sun Empire
Black Sun Empire and their label carrying the same name, is one of the few Dutch dnb producers who made it big abroad, by collaborating with the likes of Bad Company and Concord Dawn, and having artists on their label like Rawthang and Benji. The music they release is dark, hardcore tech dnb and isn't for the fainted, but classic stuff for the ruders.

Boymerang
And then there was Boymerang. Came fallin' right out of the sky with his album Balance of the force. Never heard of him before, but his qualities are immeasurable. For dance, for chillout, in '97 it was one of the biggest surprises. From that moment he went big and performed a lot, but now it's a bit quiet around him. His music is remarkable of the super spacey ambient tunes put under rough hardstep breaks, with a typical sound of urban nature. Tracks like 'The River', show how a constant beat with twisting sounds is build up to a climax that makes you pee, while 'You like it like that' shows rough psychopathic errorcore, in any case rough. Boymerang's cream, buy his album and never regret it.

Breakbeat Era
Besides Reprazent, the band from Roni Size, Die and Suv, they made another project called Breakbeat Era. Together with vocalist Leonie Laws they were one of the biggest dnb live acts ever. From jazz to funk to hard 'n techstep, it's amazing stuff, especially live they were incredible. Their album Ultra obscene is still a classic, if you see it obtaining it is highly recommended. It's unknown or they'll regroup some day (they fell apart because Roni Size had other projects going) but who knows...

Concord Dawn
It began with a tune with a vocoded guy singing we shouldn't cry in the morning light. Then we heard one of the most fucked up techstep sounds ever heard, and Concord Dawn began it's conquest. Now remixing and collaborating with many of the rougher dnb names like Black Sun Empire, Bulletproof, Friction and Optiv, Condord Dawn is already one of the most important techstep names of the new century. Recommended are tracks like The Sun (with Black Sun Empire), Bitchkiller, Morning Light, Horror Show, Ninja, and Succubus.

Calibre
With the term Liquid Funk being official, peepz are already softly stating that the king of liquid funk is Calibre. A good guess maybe, since the man has a very funky yet warm dnb sound, with jazz elements varying between acid and fusion, and it sounds incredibly good. For instance, look at tracks like Mystic, Fire & Water and Brother. Perfect chillout stuff.

Dillinja & Lemon D
Two of the most important names in dnb, always been. Dillinja has the most raw productions from hardstep by distorting his tracks in such a special way, only he knows how. His dnb is dark, ruff, and with a complete own style. Check tracks like Fluid, Threshold (released on Grooverider's Prototype label) and Thugs. Other names from him are Trinity, Cybotron and Capone, which name is responsible for tracks like The Growler and Tudor Rose, two big classics. His partner Lemon D makes very raw dnb like Dillinja makes, on the other hand he used to make very funky, sexy dnb with lots of subtle funk and jazz influences processed into it. Although it's now questioned or they both are not getting too repetitive and over the top, they still remain as a blueprint for dnb.

DJ SS
Also has always been there, and founder of Formation records and his sublabels. SS has a lot of pseudonyms, like 'Sound of the future' and 'MA2'. Under those names he made his biggest hits like 'The lighter' and 'Rollers music'. For now SS has many big artists under his label, like John B, Twisted Individual, Tekniq, Grasscutter, Mental power, and Blue Sonix. I can recommend the Jazz & Bass series, which is one of the most delightful forms of jazzstep ever produced. For the rest Formation makes music from the raw side, dark and groovy. Blow your ears up with Formation albums like Unified colours of drum 'n bass and The world of drum 'n bass.

Dom & Roland
One of the headline techstep producers of all time is Dom Angus aka Dom & Roland. he makes very rough industrial drum 'n bass which kicks as hell. He is hooked up with Moving Shadow now, and released his first solo album Industry in 1998. He also cooperated with most of all the techstep names on the scene. He is also one of the men behind 'The shadow', made with Rob Playford and Goldie. IOW he's a dnb god, and Roland is his sampler by the way.

Ed Rush & Optical
The most famous darkstep DJ's and producers at the moment. Together they put up Virus records, and their first album Wormhole brought a new standard for techstep. Modulated thumpin' basses and rough dry beats, real dark shit. Ed Rush was first on No U Turn and made name with the album Torque made with Nico, Trace, and Fierce. That record is different, with distorted breaks and vacuumcleanerbasses. Optical won't need an introduction also, especially since his participation on the Metalheadz series and on The Prototype Years album. E&O's album The Creeps from 2000 demonstrated their new Wormhole sound, ruffer, more complicated and more spaced out. Their latest album The original Doctor Shade comes back more to the wormwhole sound, and has a fresher look.

E-Z Rollers & Storm from the east kru
Alex Banks and Jay Hurren, two guys from Moving Shadow, also always been there, are the E-Z Rollers, and were for Moving Shadow the producers of intelligent jungle and jazzstep. Together with producers like Flytronix, PFM, Richie and Tekniq they formed the Storm from the east kru, and brought out two albums with the same name full of tracks who brought the likes of jazzstep and intelligent higher in the world. After the 2nd edition of Storm from the east and the E-Z Rollers debut 'Dimensions of sound', they specialized more in live jazzjungle, hardstep, and even techstep. Their widely known album Weekend world showed what they were capable of and tracks like 'Tough at the top' with the vocals of their vocalist Kelly are really cool. Their latest album Titles Of The Unexpected was a bit of a flop imo, but they're pushing out good and raw 12" work lately.

Ganja kru
Old skool die hard junglists with ganja, I love 'em. Consisting out of DJ Hype, Zinc, Pascal, and Rude Bwoy Monty, they have kicked dancefloors for many years. Fuck the millennium, word up. Take it from me that you can't sit still on classics like 'We must unite', 'Supersharpshoother', and 'No fear'. They were already busy DJing when I lay in the cradle, and it's easy to notice when you see them live. From rough dnb to intelligent, they can do it all.

Goldie
I guess you know this name, stemming also from the oldskool days (Rufige Kru). Goldie was the man that opened up the eyes of many people for the sounds of drum 'n bass, including mine. If you see the album Timeless somewhere in a store, and you haven't got it yet, buy it. Made together with 4 Hero, Rob Playford (boss of the Moving Shadow label) and Dillinja, the album contains too many classics to deny. Except for the classic 'Inner city life', the album contains more revolutionary classics like 'Saint Angel', 'Angel', and 'Kemistry'. Too bad Goldie had an argument with Rob Playford and his last album Saturnz Return, was except for some tracks, not that good. Better check his CD Incredible Sound Of Drum 'n Bass, because his DJ skills are still unbelievable.

Grooverider
One man who was there from the beginning and discovered the likes of Goldie, Roni Size, and many more, his name is Grooverider, the godfather of drum 'n bass. First a DJ, now also a top-producer. As owner of Prototype Records, he made his album The Prototype years one of the best sold dnb albums out there, where names like John B, Matrix (Optical's brother), Ed Rush and Boymerang were made famous. A year later Grooverider shocked the world again with Mysteries of funk, a funky spacey but rough dnb album made with Optical. Check tracks like 'Imagination' and 'Where's Jack the Ripper'. His new album is in the shops now also.

J Majik
Has also been around the dnb scene for ages, but lately his vinyl is flying out of the shops since his new style he creates is appealing and heard on dancefloor everywhere. His remix from the track 'Space Invaderz' is now already one of the most important dnb tunes ever. Majik used to make very experimental, trippy stuff for Metalheadz, but is now releasing on Dillinja's label Valve huge hits like 'The Lizard', 'Tell me', and 'Love is not a game' (check the Dillinja mix from this one!!). This type of tracks are just straight techstep, and shit, do they stick in your head... word.

Joker records
Joker records used to be one of my favorite jumpup labels. They could transform any cheesy song into a wicked hardstepper. Rock around the clock, Jackson Five's ABC, combined with rumbling breaks and tuff jumpup b-lines. Too bad they dropped the curtain. Consisted out of Bizzy B and Pugwash, who ran under the names of Dream Team, Dynamic Duo, Sub Zero, and many more. If you see it still on vinyl, buy it if you like urban jumpup styla dnb.

LTJ Bukem
If you're looking for intelligent easy but cool drum 'n bass, pick a record from the Good Looking label from LTJ Danny Bukem and you get always something you like. This man has brought out many albums who show the lighter but beautiful side of dnb. His album Logical Progression shot Good Looking immediately in the place of being one of the best dnb labels around. Bukem is a must to see live, just like MC Conrad and DRS and Blame. Many big producers work for Good Looking, like Chameleon, Peshay, Tayla, Doc Scott, PFM, Blu mar ten, Artemis, and many more. Bukem and Good Looking were there from the first days that dnb saw daylight, and you can hear that. It has grown out with many sublabels and except for the Logical Progression series they bring also the 'Earth' and 'Progression Sessions' series. Dope shit, wicked to chill on.

Mampi Swift
If you're looking for techstep that's on the sicker level, hold your eyes peeled out for mister Mampi Swift. If you've been to some proper techstep parties there's a big chance you'll know some of his mental works. Mashed up speedy breaks, cracked up hooverbasses and sick tingling sounds, dark and heavy as fuck. Track names recommended; 'Future mainframe', 'Delusions', and 'Trippin'.

Matrix and Metro recordings
Optical is on his way to the stars with Ed Rush, but Optical's brother Matrix also. I liked Matrix his sounds because of the simplistic and smooth sound he puts under a heavyweight dnb track. I bought in London a promo mix of Metro once and it sounded very different, a bit like Ed Rush but then weirder and a lil' less dark. Mr Rush and Optical are off course also represented on Metro, and a lot of other talented artists. Matrix himself also made a lot of cool shit, with Dom & Roland The Vandal, on The prototype years by Grooverider his track Mute, and a lot of 12"s.

Metalheadz
When jungle was emerging, Goldie put up his label Metalheadz, and with the first compiled album release in '95 (Platinum Breakz), it was already bound to become one of the future sounds of dnb. Metalheadz is responsible for the rise of artists like Dillinja, Peshay, Hidden Agenda, Ed Rush, Optical, Source Direct, J Majik, Digital, Sci-Clone (jazz fusion project from A Sides), Grooverider and Lemon D. I can continue this list, but with 4 Platinum Breakz releases and it's big list of classic vinyls, Metalheadz is one of the daddies of dnb today. Especially the Platinum Breakz albums 1 & 2 are legendary.

Peshay
One of the frontfighters on the side of jazzstep is Peshay, a bit of junglist knows that. He broke through in the scene years ago on Good Looking's all time classic album Logical Progression with his tracks Vocal Tune and Piano Tune. Since that time Peshay has been releasing tracks for several labels, like Metalheadz for instance. In 1999 he released his first solo album Miles from home, which is still one of the best jazzstep albums ever released. Just check out tracks on it like Vegas, Truly, and Retro. The style of jazz Peshay influences his tracks with is not really the usual acid jazz type o' stuff lots of jazzstep sounds like, but more the old kinda big band jazz used in the 40's till 60's. Right now Peshay is releasing lots of good 12" stuff like Nu Jack Swing, one of my favorites. Jazzstep lovers can't go wrong with this name.

Photek
One of the biggest drum n bass innovators. As headman from Science records, Photek is one of those producers that has his typical own style, some call it kungfu. The beat and bass works are rough, but very dry, with lots of other percussion and weird mind twisting sounds. Well known tracks from him were The seven samurai, UFO, Rings of Saturn, and his album Modus Operandi. Photek was and still is one of the front men in the progress of drum 'n bass, and under his new pseudo Special Forces he continues this quest. Music that makes you shiver.

Roni Size
In the time old skool ragga jungle was the main thing, Roni Size already made exceptional jungle like 'It's a jazz thing'. His time came in '97, when he formed the live drum 'n bass band Reprazent together with DJ Die and Suv, and they also launched their label Full Cycle. Everywhere the band played they rebuild the place. Their album New Forms is still one of my favorites. Tracks like 'Brown paper bag', 'Let's get it on', 'Share the fall', 'Beatbox', 'Hi-potent', and all other tracks make me still melt inside. After that Size, Die and Suv have their new project 'Breakbeat Era', which was also an unbelievable good act. Their new album In The Mode was not really a better album then New Forms, but still a dike. Size, Die and Suv rule.

Shy FX
Talking about oldschool. If you never heard the jungle roots track Original Nuttah with UK Apachi I advice you to stick your head a bit more in dnb if you want to take yourself serious as a junglist. Collaborating closely now with the likes of Dillinja, Future Cut and Roni Size, Shy FX has been responsible for some of the biggest dnb hits ever like 'Bambaata', the oldschool track 'Gangsta Kid pt I & II', and his new commercial hit 'Shake Your Body', for if you like RnB mixed with Dillinja and Latin. Another dnb god.

Smokers INC
One of the underground dnb labels that brings crisp jumpup/darkstep crossovers. Smokers INC has released lots of vinyl over the years with a typical dark jumpup style which will do alright on any dancefloor mostly. Artists under the label include Jack Shadow, Rude & Deadly, Ben Grimm & Smokey Joe. Jumpup lovers with also a taste for dark shit, should really check some stuff from their big collection out.

Sonic & Silver
At the dawn of the millennium suddenly Sonic & Silver appeared, and these days they've got a huge list of classic tunes on their name, combing trancy rising drops with loud, minimal dnb. It can be liquid funk, techstep, jumpup, but the formula remains typical. Also known as Accidental Heroes, some of their prime tunes are Boogie Nightz, Longboat, Rocket Launcher and I Feel Music.

Squarepusher
Some say that dnb is weird. That's bullshit, you only can say that dnb is weird when you heard Squarepusher. His music is hard to describe, but I can describe it as the most sick breakbeats, some jazz flavors, spooky dark funk 'n ambient, and the most crazy sounds you can imagine. I love it personally, in fact I think that his album Burningn 'n tree from '97 was technically the best album of the year. You can't even call it dnb really, but his music is mostly loved by junglists like me. Try it, you'll like it or not.

Technical itch
Mark Caro, aka Technical itch, has been one of the most twisted techstep producers for a long time now. I saw him live one time with Dom & Roland and Decoder, what possibly combination could you better have? Caro is hooked up with Moving Shadow still, but he has got his own label Tech Itch recordings now, also jampacked with kickin' dnb. He got many vinyls and some albums on his name, personally I recommend tracks like Dimensions, The Virus, Bring The Ruckus and Relic. If you see the CD version of the Moving Shadow album Blueprint somewhere (oldskool btw, '97), check out the mix CD by Rob Playford. Cream...

Teebee
A very financially smart guy, Teebee from Norway has been storming the dancefloors lately with a lot of catchy material. His habit of mixing RnB sounding tracks under tight commercial sounding dnb had put him right at the top now, since he collaborated with the likes of Missy Elliott (yea, fucking what?) for instance with the track 'You don't know', which is a fantastic tune. Other tracks which are save to check are 'April dawn', 'Spaceage', 'Let go', and his remix from E-Sassin's 'Wireframe' for some real stomping shit.

Total Science
If you ask me know what guys make the most mashing drum 'n bass about now, my answer is Total Science. A co-operation from Q-Project (Champion sound mah word) and another bloke, they're producing on various labels like Metalheadz. Track names not to miss from these geniuses; 'Squash', 'Bustin Loose', 'Format', and 'Jungle Jungle'. Ruff hardstep with oldskool elements, give these men a goldfish please.

Twisted Individual
Looking for real, real sick drum 'n bass? Have a look in the Formation records house and check this guy Twisted Individual. He's currently emerging bigtime at the moment on the production and DJ front, track names to remember are 'Sick bag', 'Crank shaft', 'Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin Or Your Money Back', 'Light years', and his 'Rollidge Remix' from SS. TI ranges between various styles, but it always sounds raw and twisted. An innovator on the dnb front.

Usual suspects
As two of the biggest names on the Renegade Hardware label, the Usual Suspects have been spinning all over the world. They're trademark? Loud, fucking loud dark catchy drum 'n bass. Believe me, on the production front are these guys capable of an incredible lot. Convince yourself buy checking out this type of tracks; 'Doorway', 'Killa bees', 'Shrapnel, 'Hole punch', and 'Bodycount'. The lefthand Keaton started many soloworks since 2003 btw.

Updated when some comes to mind. Suggestions? Mail us then.