Mastering Engineer - Saif Bari
Music by
Zack Hersh soundcloud.com/zackhersh
Remixes by
Zain Wolf soundcloud.com/zainwolfza
K A G E soundcloud.com/kage_music
Message North soundcloud.com/messagenorth
GLTY soundcloud.com/gltymusic
Artwork by
Thomas Wahle
Mastered by Saif Bari
Listen to The Untouchable on Spotify. Spiderhound · Single · 2020 · 1 songs.
Link to all streaming/download here: https://fanlink.to/theuntouchable
Mastered by Saif Bari
Artwork by Tracy Chawan (tracychehwan.com)
Launching onto the scene in 2015 with his Jah EP on Subtitles, Friction’s Shogun Audio was quick to snag a ride for a number of exclusive releases in the years that followed. Since then his music has attracted substantial attention. Not just due to his creative talent, but because each track he dreams up is a unique un-referenced body of work, often spanning a wide variety of influences and consistently pushing the perimeter of Bass.
The Shaker EP on Unchained is both a ‘banging’ and sophisticated melting pot of Footwork, Rave and Drum’n’Bass. When asked what he felt about the project, he explained he was incredibly happy to be returning to his original sound.
Whilst the title track is the EP’s warehouse four-to-the-floor Molotov, it is yet punctured with enough syncopated rhythms, vocal funk and menacing sonics for it to be a proper piece of mutant art. “Weasel”, like The Shaker, adheres to the school of explosive, but heads into tasteful tribal territory. “The Walk” then veers off script with luscious jazz, melody and intelligent meanderings of fragmented juke.
Whilst all three tracks stand as a cohesive whole on their own, to spice the dish, China’s Radiax offers up another of his energising rollers with his remix of The Walk.
Re-igniting his original pioneering sound, we welcome Was A Be to the Unchained family.
Skankandbass Premiere:
https://unchainedasia.com/news/was-a-be-interview/
Was A Be | Interview
Fabio Forcella, aka Was A Be, has garnered respect from all corners of the Drum and Bass community for both his originality as well as the raw energy of his dance floor tracks. At the same time to be able to release music that sits just as much at home in an early 90s warehouse rave as it does in a tastemakers toolkit for 2020 contemporary Bass stands as testament to his talent.
Rohan G Finger, of DJ Mag Spain and Low Syndicate, caught up with Was A Be in the lead up to his forthcoming EP on Unchained Recordings.
Rohan: At first I would like to say that I’m glad to see one of my favourite producers working with one of my favourite labels. It’s a big pleasure for me interviewing you for Unchained!
Was A Be: Thanks Rohan! I really appreciate that! Happy to chat with you.
Rohan: The first time I heard about Was A Be was five years ago when you released the awesome ‘Jah EP’ on Teebee’s Subtitles, but when did you start the project? Did you have any music projects going before that?
Was A Be: The project started around 2011, I’m feeling old, as a DJ duo just for fun, then we started writing our own music in 2014. I used to play bass guitar during high school and Uni, and still play it sometimes, just not in a band anymore.
Rohan: Your music has a truly personal sound, what would you say are your main influences?
Was A Be: I use to listen to a lot of music, inside and outside of electronic. I’ve always had a thing for bands like Rancid, The Clash, Bad Brains, Fugazi, The Strokes, Descendents, old Green Day, Muse and stuff like that. I realise that my musical tastes do not coincide so much with the music I write.
Rohan: In 2018 Ivan left Was A Be. What things have changed since you started as a duo up to now working alone?
Was A Be: There are positive and negatives. Certainly deciding on 100% on all aspects of a project is a stimulating challenge. On the other hand when you have doubts or even when you get stuck on an idea, there is no one who can help you but yourself.
Rohan: Since 2015, you’ve reached some amazing milestones as producer, releasing music on labels such as Subtitles, Shogun Audio or Critical, and DJing across many countries. What would you say is one of the top highlights for you over the years?
Was A Be: Hard choice man, honestly the most special thing for me has been meeting, and collaborating with, many people who, over the years, I consider to be true friends. People who, even if I were to stop write/playing music, I would definitely continue to hang out with.
Rohan: Nowadays, Italy is one of the countries that are setting trends in Drum & Bass. You, next to people like HLZ, Dabs, Invadhertz, Synth Ethics, among many others, and labels such as The Dreamers, Delta9, or Beat Machine Records, have been responsible for placing Italy on the map. Why do you think has this has happened in the last decade?
Was A Be: I’m very happy with how things have gone in recent years for the Italian DnB scene. I think there has been a some great schooling for Italy thanks to cities like Milan, Turin and Rome that in the early 2000s witnessed tours of some of the best international artists, educating us all.
Rohan: Let’s talk about the present. This month you will release your first EP on Unchained. What can you tell us about ‘The Shaker’ EP?
Was A Be: This new EP is “back to the roots” for me. In the last few releases I have spanned and experimented with different facets of drum and bass. However, in this EP I return to the sounds that characterized Was A Be’s first releases. Each track is different, passing from the Footwork of “The Walk” to the Halftime of “Weasel” to arrive at the somewhat indefinite style of the title track.
Rohan: In regards to composition process, are there any differences, creatively, from previous releases?
Was A Be: This is the first EP where I have not been able to test the tracks in the clubs during arties as I composed them, leading me to be a little more paranoid about the final result. However, in the end I think I ended up with a good result.
Rohan: Going into technical details, which DAW do you use for producing? Any kind of essential plug-in or hardware in your studio? Anything new for this EP?
Was A Be: I’m on Ableton Live and I have never learned to use any other DAWs to be honest. I use Massive, Serum and DIVA for basses, pads, synths. I must admit that I am quite obsessed with Tremolator by SoundToys.
Rohan: With the existing situation as it is there isn’t much clarity about the future for many artists. What can you tell us about your projects for the next year?
Was A Be: Nothing planned at the moment but I have a good amount of new music to send out. I’d want to wait for this release and see what will happen to be honest.
Rohan: In regards to gigs, what countries have you not been to yet, that you would like to play at?
Was A Be: I’d love to play in China, for real, and also Australia & New Zealand.. not only for the gigs but also because they are countries that I haven’t visited yet and I would very much like to see.
Music by OOTW (soundcloud.com/OutOfTheWire)
Art by Matthew Smith (instagram.com/therealmueseum)
Mastering by Saif Bari (fixedmastering.com)
Mastered by Mastering Engineer Saif Bari
Mastered by Mastering Engineer Saif Bari
https://fuxwithit.com/2020/10/09/premiere-sharrol-kelby-annex/
A protege of the one and only true bass music sensei and audio wizard Ill.Gates, Alec Smith, also known by Sharrol Kelby, aims to take the kings to the kingdom he acquired through the Producer Dojo and carve out his own audible legacy of greatness. Sitting on the more energetic side of left-field bass, his music focuses on experimental sound design that flexes sound systems in ways they didn’t know possible and stretches the limbs of listeners to their full capabilities. He’s found great success with releases like his remix of Terror Reid’s ‘Say No Mo‘, and a saucy original in the form of ‘S.L.A.N.G.‘ Now, he’s continued to put on full display a complex, distinct style, full of character and originality. With the world truly being his oyster, ‘Annex’, out on The Gradient Perspective, is his latest pearl, and we’ve had the great pleasure of premiering it for you right here on FUXWITHIT.
From the very opening, ‘Annex’ makes you fully aware you’re about to take a deep dive into the mind of this extremely talented audio curator. With sound design focusing on grainy, gritty, and immensely full-bodied undulations, this track is a true treat on the ears, and a natural rush for the body. Eliciting peak inquisitiveness, you hear a sci-fi tale play out between your headphones, and you’re the actor interpreting the script in real-time. Sporting an otherworldly amount of bounce and excitement in the drops, even the most fatigued of bodies will get up and groove. Ever wondered what a “running from the yeti in the Himalayan mountains” type beat would sound like? Look no further. We’ve gone past simply “gas” levels, Sharrol Kelby has achieved pure diesel. Check out ‘Annex’ in all its glory for yourself below!
-Alex Bell
Track mastered by Saif Bari
Mastered by Mastering Engineer Saif Bari
Check out the video for “Gravity Womb” below:
Otherr arrives on Mozyk.net with his brand new album, Floating Stones. He has expertly woven an intriguing sonic tale, captivating in it’s simplicity, yet of a depth that begs a return to it’s passages many times to discover all of the hidden chambers that are immediately concealed. A story designed to enchant and reward the avid listener with morsels of sonic lore that offers an in depth look into the world that Otherr has created.
Right from the onset of Suspended you know you are in for a lavish aural experience as you are greeted with warm enveloping synths and swirling vocal chants, almost dizzying, and reminiscent of a dark ritual. Continuing to build a beautiful tension until dropping into the more percussive driven Offering with it’s perfectly delayed intro, cyber-industrial beats and floating gated voice manipulations.
As the title track Floating Stones begins, it brings a particular EBM overtone, yet utilized in such way as to confer a feeling of “techno-tribalism”, and continuing on with the hyper-processed vocal chant aesthetic, which is quite prevalent throughout the entire release. Agnostic Swarm features some very unique sound design that warms you up for the industrial Amen drop that eventually rises out of the sea of voice stabs and pulsing bass. The journey continues to the little interlude of Light Switch, arp bass running away under chopped voices until reaching the more low end focused Sibyl.
Sibyl harkens back to an early/mid 90’s jungle vibe, gritty and raw, but processed in a modern package with a touch of 303 thrown in for good measure. A lovely precursor for Deimos, bringing the sound back to it’s sci-fi industrial roots; lovely spatial details meets and an almost haunted urban feeling that you can’t quite place. Gravity Womb introduces a more delicate side of Otherr; idm structures blurring with fragile melodies and cybernetic edits, yet still keeping a raw edge.
Rounding the final stretch, Disowned enters the airwaves with 3D textures and subtle moving spaces. Pushing the vibe deep into more IDM territory, the detailed sound design really shines through with pleasant attention to details and and immersive sound stage. Picking you up and dropping you off at Amen, the final stop. An emotional cool down to the intensity of the preceding experience, elegant washes of noise over peaceful pulses of bass and melody that almost makes you forget the dark and immersive experience you just went through to get to this point. Almost.
Ear Candy 2020 (https://earcandyarchives.tumblr.com/post/632539140521705472/artist-otherr-release-floating-stones-label)
Overall Comments:
Otherr has spared no detail in this deeply immersive, future tribal cyber-industrial opus. Floating Stones is an exploration of a peculiar sonic playground somewhere on a distant alien world. One constructed of very detailed sound design, rich and unusual processing meeting with driving, science fiction beats and lush cinematic textures to form an otherr-worldly mind melting aural excursion.
Music by
DRANQ soundcloud.com/dranq
Featuring
DUSTY OHMS soundcloud.com/dustyohms
Remixes by
TITLE soundcloud.com/titlemusic87
BOATS soundcloud.com/boatsmusic
MANA soundcloud.com/manamagic
Mastering by Mastering Engineer Saif Bari
Artwork by Thomas Wahle
Mastered by Mastering Engineer Saif Bari
Art by Jesse Edelman
Listen to What You Want on Spotify. Spiderhound · Single · 2020 · 1 songs.