the seCond Coming
Aiming to restore both depth and heritage to d&b, is Commix’s new
FabricLive mix proof that the second wave of deeper d&b artists have
fi nally come of age?
Seventies punk rock, ’80s electro, ’90s Detroit left loathing the formulaic hyper-speed
bold Visionaries
techno… every genre has its golden era and for mutation of their fi rst true love. Never lingering on one sound, it’s the mix’s
any discerning d&b fan those timeless halcyon richness of texture that will restore the faith of
days sit squarely in the ’95 to ’99 period. Yet whilst this lost musical Atlantis was lost d&b heads and surprise today’s open-
Just think back to the sweeping musicality of submerged in a rampaging sea of diluted rave minded techno fans. No longer fought from the
LTJ Bukem’s fi rst ‘Logicial Progression’ mix, the fodder, it hadn’t been eroded altogether. From trenches by a niche battalion, the battle for
dark cybernetic soul of Goldie’s ‘Timeless’ or the edges, second wave d&b producers like d&b’s heritage is now lead by a growing army
endlessly intricate sci-fi epics like Krust’s ‘True Calibre, Marcus Intalex and Commix have of front-line visionaries.
Stories’. Bringing uncompromised critical ploughed a deeper path underground and in From the prolifi c Calibre through current
acclaim, the era witnessed Björk raving at Commix’s FabricLive mix — out 9th February — pioneers like Lynx, Alix Perez and Breakage to
Metalheadz’s Sunday Sessions, Reprazent there is at last proof that these renegade forces even fresher names like Data, OAK and
seizing the Mercury Music Award whilst Radio are strong and many enough to reign supreme Spectrasoul, no less than 16 different
One even aired a weekly prime-time One In The again. production minds add their distinct vibes to
Jungle show. “When we got into drum & bass it was Commix’s journey — which begins on the
But — like most things in life — it was not to considered leftfi eld, abstract music that could aquatic samba-tinged deepness of their own
last. Gradually, beats got faster and faster, be listened to at home as easily as on the ‘Life We Live’.
basslines more delirious, drops more ridiculous dancefl oor,” remembers Guy Brewer, the more “If you start off with something that is going to
and before long a testosterone rave hunger for slender of the Cambridge duo. “The image smash the dancefl oor, all you can really do
instant teeth-gritted gratifi cation had replaced changed, but with our mix we just wanted to after that is layer more things on top that do a
that sacred desire for deeper musical content show that there has always been a group of us similar job,” explains Guy on their opener.
altogether. dedicated to keeping that side of d&b alive. All “We’re trying to recapture the lost art of
By the mid-noughties, even die-hard d&b of us thinking along the same lines but building and texturing a set which is what got
lovers felt divorced from their genre by default, bringing different fl avours to the table.” us into DJing to start with,” explains his
036
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DJ470.commix.indd 36 19/1/09 22:49:29
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