Two drum and bass tracks from Barcode Recordings (that need improving)

A person is either passionate about the music they love or somewhat eccentric (or preferably both) if they argue that dark, heavy, underground and experimental music should be played at whatever speed the listener enjoys hearing it at the most. That is, assuming the listener has the technical capability to do this.For example, my 33rpm vinyl copy of the Stratosfear album by krautrock and electronic music pioneers Tangerine Dream always gets played at 45rpm. At the extreme end of the extreme scale, the Slayer track Angelof Death slowed down by 800 per cent transforms this speed / thrash / death metal classic into a terrifyingly slow descent into the bowels of the abyss.One could argue that an awesome song remains awesome no matter what speed it gets played at. Or, you could think of it as an early warning sign that the release being played is rather ordinary. Such was the case, I found, with this mystery dark drum n bass record that I acquired some years ago at a fair.

My copy of Stitches / Last Walk (bar05) by Psidream and Mechwarrior. You mean you couldn't tell from the Barcode Recordings cover art?   

This 12-inch vinyl record is 2004 release on the hard and dark drum and bass Barcode Recordings record label. A promotional copy in a plain sleeve with no other artwork other than “Bar Code promo” printed on one side, I established its identity on its catalogue number: bar05.Now I don’t claim to know the dark drum n bass scene inside out. However, I know what I like when it comes to this music — and this just ain’t it.bar05 features two collaborative drum and bass tracks by two drum and bass artists. The tracks are Stitches (side A) and Last Walk (side B) by two producers calling themselves Psidream and Mechwarrior. Stitches is a chilled out sort of track — there’s no other way to describe it — with a vaguely dubbed and ’70s chillaxed kind of vibe to it. If you’re into that laid back sound then this may be your cup of tea, but it’s not for me.Last Walk has more depth and is somewhat greyer (I wouldn’t go so far as to say darker) distorted bass lines to it. The broken beats are heavier and I will buy you a cookie if you can trainspot the sampled dialogue that goes “And what is the truth” or “And what is it”.Yet both in cases these tracks seem go on for too long. They are 7:10 and 6:28 minutes long respectively, and they seem to pretty much repeat the same damn thing again and again. I found it lacking in imagination and much too repetitive, even by the admittedly repetitive standards of this sort of electronic music.

Barcode Recordings

Barcode Recordings is a heavy drum n bass record label that clearly enjoys enough respect and admiration to be able remain in business. A quick glance at the names on the Barcode Recordings roster goes a long way to explaining why. Evol Intent, Current Value, Counterstrike and Raiden are just a few among many more.However, this release just doesn’t seem to have much imagination or capture any magic.Call me harsh. Call me ignorant. Call me whatever you like. Given how much it costs to press a vinyl record I am constantly amazed at how generic the tracks like the ones on bar05 end up on expensive physical media. I can fully see these tracks on a compilation, but the fact that they’re on a vinyl record has me shaking my head.Having said that, I strongly suspect that the rest of the Barcode Recordings catalogue is much stronger when you consider the previously mentioned artists.

Who buys vinyl records these days anyway? Not the people who bought this record I suspect.

KSHEEPV001: Dark drum n bass by DJ Hidden and Evol Intent

This post is about It Begins / Malice Afterthought, a dark dark drum n bass 12-inch vinyl record on Killing Sheep Records. Its catalogue number is KSHEEPV001 to use ‘traditional’ vinyl record nomenclature.

Before I get any further, though, I’d like to share some background on this record and why I’m posting about it…

First and foremost, apologies for the poor quality photos. I’m currently using my phone to snap photos because I was recently burgled.

Now then. I don’t rate myself as an expert, let alone someone who is reasonably knowledgeable when it comes to heavy drum n’ bass or similar dark electronic music. I bought this vinyl record five or six years ago from Noise-X-Change because I really liked its dark, brooding, menacing vibe.

As far as I can tell, Killing Sheep Records is a now-seemingly-retired Australian electronic music record label that specialised in dark and heavy drum n’ bass. It had its origins in Newcastle, NSW, operated for a large part out of Melbourne (please correct me if I’m wrong on this one), and while releasing some excellent dark and heavy drum n’ bass, was notorious for its tongue-in-cheek attitude. For example, I distinctly recall its founder operating a website that posted loads of emails (and the hillarious responses) from people trying to scam free records in return for “promotion”.

KSHEEPV001 was the label’s first ever vinyl record. Released in 2004 with full cover art, this 12-inch record contains two drum and bass tracks: It Begins by DJ Hidden, one half of the famous drum n bass duo that is The Outside Agency; and Malice Afterthought, a co-operative track by The Enemy (of Evol Intent fame) and Kid Kryptic, two more American drum and bass artists from the Unites States.

The B-side is what I rate as ‘ambient’ of the two tracks — in a sicko kind of way I mean.

It’s got a meandering, minimal but still kind of disconcerting synth and rapid-fire beat that gets my head nodding in no time, although it’s more than six minutes long and takes a while to get going. In fact, I much prefer the more minimal and haunting second half that leads out of Malice Afterthought. It’s got a cool and creepy vibe that’s less in your face, given that there’s a bit less going on.

Side A is where all the action is.

Side A would have to be the one with (dare I say), ‘dance floor’ appeal, for lack of a better term. It has a quiet, ambient intro that samples a line that goes “It begins” and some other dialogue. I will give you a cookie if you can tell me where this sample came from.

This is followed by what I reckon is the highlight on this record: some terrifyingly dark, deep, hard, distorted bass sounds. I honestly rated this brief sequence of noises as one of my favourite electronic intros of all time. I thought it was so good that I would often try and mix in just the intro when playing this record in my bedroom (all the while fantasizing that I was mixing drum and bass tracks to a packed warehouse full of freaks going bonkers, as bedroom DJs are inclined to do). It’s creepy as hell, just the way dark drum n bass should be, and it’s the part of a track you want to time so that it plays just when someone walks past and you seriously want them to notice.

The intro is followed by a balls-out, in your face expulsion of beats and distorted heavy bass. I imagine it’s nothing too out of the ordinary for heavy and dark drum n bass tracks, but I’m sure it would have no trouble causing sonic mayhem when played in a dark warehouse.

Check out KSHEEPV001 (and buy the damn track if you can) on the Killing Sheep Bandcamp page.

Killing Sheep Records

I own about half a dozen or so Killing Sheep Records vinyl records. While I feel there are better tracks on the label’s roster, this one rates right up there for me simply for the brilliant intro on DJ Hidden’s It Begins.

Yes, I'm a music nerd.

There are bass music record labels and then there are bass music record labels. Whatever that type of low-end, distorted, nasty electronic music means to you, this release contains one of the nastiest, darkest, best electronic music intros (let alone one of the best drum n bass intros) I’ve ever come across.

As an added note, the KSHEEPV001 vinyl record is now more than 10 years old. Many a young producer out there producing drum n bass, ‘bass music’ or pretty much any other form of dark, heavy, underground or subversive electronic music could learn a thing or two from this.