Paul Blackout – Desolate Ways EPK 033

Desolate Ways is a four-track Australian hardcore techno / gabber (or whatever the kids call it these days) by Australian dark n bass artist Paulblackout — and yes, that’s the correct spelling. Many people use “Paul Blackout” but this is incorrect, as is evident on the cover artwork below.

Desolate Ways is a vinyl record released at the end of 2004. It came out on the now defunct French hardcore techno label Epileptik Productions — and let me tell you, the title track Desolate Ways has to be one of the best hardcore techno in my (admittedly modest) collection.

HARDCORE, GABBER AND SPEEDCORE

The standout quality about Desolate Ways is the superb title track. Quite simply, brilliant, dark and menacing — but not overdone. It’s fast (180bpm), pounding, analogue-sounding hardcore techno, with rolling beats and with that ominous analogue edge to it. Keep in mind that this was released a decade ago, from a guy who runs, lives and breathes a dark drum n bass record label, and yet it still stands up magnificently.

In all honesty, I could come up with words to describe how this track should make you feel — but they’d be mere words. The first time I heard this I thought it was a cool, nasty and somewhat fast kind of track. That was just the first 30 seconds of the intro. Then the main kick on this track began and I was floored.

Unfortunately, the Epileptik Productions label is now defunct so finding a legitimate online version of this track may prove challenging. So take my word for it when I say you can and totally should buy this record because. Last I checked, the Discogs page for this record was flogging it for less than $2.

IS IT SPEEDCORE?

The other memorable thing about Desolate Ways is that fact that it’s a fast record, but not unnecessarily or pretentiously so.

I’ve encountered this problem on various hardcore techno and gabber records I’ve acquired over the years. While I like fast and hard music, the problem with a lot of the speedcore I own is that it comes across as unnecessarily obnoxious.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that speedcore is legendary for its piss-taking qualities, surpassed in its lack of seriousness only by grindcore and breakcore.

What gets old pretty quickly is the way far too many artists engage in what is essentially a giant dick swinging contest. Just as with so many extreme heavy metallers, who vie to see who can play the fastest and the hardest, so too does this phenomenon exists among certain electronic artists making hardcore and speedcore. Who can crank up their software and drum programming to the limit of human endurance? Who cares if it’s any good?

Fortunately that feeling does is not present on the Desolate Ways record. Two of the tracks on Desolate Ways clock in at 220bpm — that’s speedcore territory in anyone’s book — and one comes close to 230bpm, yet it somehow all feels that it’s at the right tempo. Sure, it’s still extreme music by mainstream standards, but it’s not extreme music that’s trying to out-extreeme the extreme. It feels entirely right, it sounds excellent, and the result is an outstanding hardcore sound.

DESOLATE WAYS ARTWORK

I once had the pleasure of briefly meeting Paulblackout. This was at a gig in support of The DJ Producer. Apart from being a nice bloke, he asked me, after I mentioned I was a fan of Desolate Ways, if I owned the real vinyl pressing, which of course I did.

As you can see, the sleeve artwork is a creepy black and white negative-reversed photo on of what looks like a desolate (see what I did there?) country road; nearby is a post box or street number with the number 666.

It turns out that this is an actual photo, shot (if memory serves me correctly) on a back-road down here in the Australian state of Victoria. I don’t know if Paul took the photo himself, but the fact that this is a local piece of “artwork” I think is pretty cool.

The Desolate Ways sleeve artwork is in Melbourne, Australia, apparently.

It’s just a shame, as mentioned previously, that the French hardcore techno label that released this record, Epileptik Productions, is now defunct. Of course, Hardline Rekordingz, Paulblackout’s drum and bass music record label, is very much still around and releasing killer hard tunes. Check it out.

PAULBLACKOUT: DESOLATWE WAYS TRACK BPM TEMPOS

A1 Desolate Ways | 180bpm

A2 Baby Cloners Came From Outer Space | 230bpm

B1 Sui-Sonic | 220bpm

B2 Violent Behaviour | 220bpm

KSHEEPV006: Not the DJ Producer’s best work

I own at least half a dozen releases from Australian dark drum and bass label Killing Sheep Records. This record label has put out just over a dozen quality vinyl releases over the years, as well as a handful of CDs. Most of them have been excellent but I hate to say that this release — featuring a track apiece from The DJ Producer and a Greek producer called Throttler — are my least favourite of the crop.

The DJ Producer / Throttler ‎– Obituary / Validation

It's because I bought the test pressing, right? An 'official' version would have sounded much better.

KSHEEPV006, to use the vernacular, is the Killing Sheep Records release in my collection that gets played the least. This is despite the fact that it features the relatively very well known (among hardcore techno and gabber circles) DJ Producer. Both provide hard, dark drum and bass tacks almost verging on breakcore. They’re fast and heavy with plenty of sudden changes in tempo and feel. However, I felt they come across as being somewhat excessive, with too much noodling and self-indulgent programming. It seemed to be less about making standout music. It’s hard, dark, intense and in your face — but not memorable.

If these tracks were on a compilation or randomly appeared on my playlist then I’d be fine with that. I’d probably stop what I was doing to see who released this track, and then I’d probably forget who produce the tracks and get back to what I was fapping, sorry, I mean doing.

If this style of music is your cup of tea then I salute your for it. But personally, I don’t feel they are terribly strong tracks worthy of a release on vinyl records, especially considering the strength of the rest of the rest of the Killing Sheep Records discography. The name The DJ Producer is certainly an attractive craw card and hopefully there are truer fans than myself (I own at most four or so releases that feature DJ Producer material) who will appreciate it. However, this is a release that just doesn’t get me excited.

But as I said, if this is your cup of tea, then go for it. And while you’re at it, keep supporting Killing Sheep Records, even if they don’t seem be  releasing records any more.

KSHEEPV004: DJ Hidden’s famous crossbreed track

The DJ Hidden track Times Like These rates as one of the best drum and bass tracks in my collection. Or would it be fair to say it’s one of the best hardcore tracks?

Released in 2006 on Australian dark drum and bass label Killing Sheep Records (catalogue number KSHEEPV004), this record apparently represents, in the words of one commentator on its Discogs page, “A piece of crossbreed history!”

Not that comments on Discogs or YouTube or anywhere else for that matter tend to amount to much — but it’s clearly a drum and bass track that happens to be highly regarded.

The term “crossbreed” refers to the name given to the style of music pioneered by The Outside Agency, the Dutch drum and bass artist duo comprised (when performing solo) by DJ Hidden and Eye-D). Personally, I’m not a fan of hard-tech-three-core-nu-bass-plop-step or any of the other myriad of names dreamed up to describe recently released music. For the sake of simplicity, ‘crossbreed’ refers to electronic music that merges hardcore techno with drum n’ bass. This drum and bass track by DJ Hidden is definition of that style of electronic music.

DJ Hidden: Times Like These

For such a noisy and in-your-face track, Times Like These has a surprisingly ambient and quiet start. It starts with a few minutes of ‘light’ and slightly creepy ambience with some piano thrown in for good measure.

Before the fun starts it throws in the following processed and down-tuned vocal sample: “If we are to survive, a new balance must be found. In normal times, evil would be fought by good. But in times like these, it should be fought by another kind of evil.” That’s a line by none other than Dame Judi Dench from the sci-fi epic Chronicles of Riddick. She’s referring to Vin Diesel doing what Vin Diesel does best: kicking an awful lot of ass to the tune of a teeth-jarringly corny script and regular lack of good acting. Actually, if you can bring yourself to see beyond the cringe-inducing dialogue then you may find it’s actually an excellent space opera with a truly epic scope and sense ofd adventure. This may derive from the fact that (no idea if there’s any truth to the following story) Vin Diesel allegedly made the other members of the cast play Dungeons and Dragons with him (not sure which edition) in order to thoroughly get into the spirit of things. Plus, Necromongers make for pretty awesome villains.

Dark drum and bass

So there are two things I love about Times Like These. Firstly, I trainspotted a sample from a geeky science fiction film in an otherwise nasty and dark drum n bass track. Secondly, when I bought this record it was the first time I’d ever heard drum n’ bass music incorporating distorted, hardcore techno (gabber) beats. Not only had I never heard anything like it but when it came out in 2006 it predated the time when every man and his dog was producing and playing ‘bass music’ or dubstep or brostep or whatever it is the kids call it these days.

It’s an absolute ball-tearer of a track that merges intricate cut up breakbeats with stomping hardcore kicks. It’s the sort of music that’s designed specifically to be crazily jumped around to, preferably in a dark warehouse or basement next to a criminally loud sound rig.

The second track, Organic Dub, is by a Hungarian drum and bass artist call Numek. I’d call it a dark dub or nasty ambient, except that it happens to contain full-on breakcore-like beats over its dark choral atmosphere. It melds this with occasional screams and some excellent drum sequences.

Creepy atmosphere meets breakcore in this track and while the beats component of the equation do strike me as a little bit excessive and self-indulgent, it does have some superb moments. It’s an interesting track at the very least and the mere fact that it’s difficult to describe is to its credit.

Check out: DJ Hidden / Numek ‎– Times Like These / Organic Dub on Killing Sheep Records.

Go to the link to find out what it’s all about, legitimately buy both tracks, and support record labels that put out killer music.

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.