Lynx seems equally mystifi ed as to why the musical particularly prevalent, although Lynx says this wasn’t “Having said that, I DJed in Nottingham the other day
territory that he and Kemo are working in should be intentional. and those kind of tracks went down really well, but
so little-explored. “I do like some of the techno that I hear,” he shrugs, that’s maybe because I was playing an earlier set, at a
“I guess there were a few hip-hop/d&b tracks around “but I wouldn’t say I really know all that much about time of the night when people are more open to that
1996, when people like Mickey Finn were releasing it, and if my stuff reminds people of it then that’s kind of drum & bass.”
tunes that had rap-acappella samples, but yeah, it really just a coincidence. It’s not a direct infl uence. To
seems like it’s never really been a big thing since be honest, I’m probably more infl uenced by early-’90s Lynx should soon fi nd himself getting bumped up the
those days. Which, y’know, is a bit odd considering UK rave music — The Prodigy, Altern-8, SL2, that kinda line-up if plans for him and Kemo to take ‘The Raw
that drum & bass has always had kind of a hip-hop thing. Truth’ out for a thorough roadtesting come off.
element to it.” “I’m defi nitely into that whole idea of minimalism, “Taking it live is defi nitely something we’re interested
though. It was when I started making my tracks more in doing,” says Lynx, “and me and Kemo have played
LESS IS MORE minimal, stripping them right back to their bare with that set-up out in clubs a few times — but basi-
With drum & bass and hip-hop as its foundations, bones, that things really started to work for me and cally, it’s all down to promoters and demand, really.
‘The Raw Truth’ also manages to take in elements of my music started getting more recognition. And that Mostly, the promoters and clubbers seem to be happy
soul, broken beat, dubstep and 21st-century techno. minimalism is, I think, why my stuff works with Kemo’s with the usual DJs-alongside-a-few-MCs set-up.”
The tight bleeps and trippy textures of minimal are vocals — they need that space to be able to breathe
properly.” And that could, perhaps, be viewed as a sign of the
It’s also Lynx’s willingness to pursue a less-is-more wider problems befalling drum & bass. The scene
policy that’s led to him being hailed by many jaded keeps rolling along as it has done for years now:
older junglists as the saviour of a genre that’s awash comfortable, in a rut and running dangerously low on
with disposable tracks built around noisy, instant- ideas. It needs an injection of new artists with fresh
gratifi cation bass drops. When broached on the mat- perspectives, and it needs to halt the defection of un-
ter, however, Lynx remains carefully and democrati- appreciated talent (drum & bass is currently suffering
cally neutral. a severe brain-drain at the hands of dubstep).
“I have heard those criticisms of some modern d&b, For all that to happen, the scene needs to once again
but to be honest, I’m actually kind of out of the loop fi re imaginations in the way it did when the likes
when it comes to what you’d probably term ‘club drum of Photek, Bukem, Goldie and Shy FX fi rst dazzled a
& bass’. But that club stuff, with all the huge drops generation with their rhythm wizardry, and it needs
and so on, that’s probably what I’d want to hear if I to regain some dignity after years of gorging itself on
was 18-years-old and going out to clubs. My stuff, and the synthetic cheese of Pendulum, Clipz, et al. Looks
my tracks with Kemo, I suppose they're aimed at a like ‘The Raw Truth’ couldn’t have arrived at a more
slightly older crowd. opportune time.
Kemo
Lynx
www.djmag.com
087
DJ474.lynx&kemo.indd 87 14/5/09 11:34:27
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