Stamina XL returns, this time with RAM Records at Mighty…
➤ CALYX & TEEBEE
https://www.facebook.com/CalyxTeeBee/
https://soundcloud.com/calyxteebee
To drum & bass fans the world over the names Calyx and TeeBee are synonymous with high quality, perfectly sculpted music. Just as Michelangelo discovered statues in blocks of stone, so Calyx and TeeBee discovered the essence of D&B locked away in studio equipment; always forward-thinking and packed with as much integrity as energy; their music has had an impact on the scene for over fifteen years.
While Calyx & TeeBee’s first collaborations emerged in 2004, their history and friendship dates back to 1998 when they were introduced as label-mates of the legendary Moving Shadow imprint. In the following years the two artists accumulated astounding solo back-catalogues of releases on a glittering array of D&B’s most respected labels.When Calyx and TeeBee finally decided it was time to work together in the studio, the first tracks they produced (‘Follow The Leader’ and ‘Cyclone’) were highly acclaimed by the music press. Both tracks featured on Calyx’s debut album ‘No Turning Back’ and were picked up by Rockstar who used them as the soundtrack for a global TV campaign advertising the colossal ‘Midnight Club’ computer games series.
Following this huge joint success Calyx and TeeBee produced one of the landmark releases of 2006: ‘The Quest’ released on TeeBee’s renowned Subtitles label. In the same year the pair also penned ‘The Shape Of Things To Come’ for Renegade Hardware’s 10 year anniversary album before deciding to embark on the long journey of producing a collaborative album.
Now officially a duet Calyx & TeeBee launched Momentum Music which marked its first release with their debut long player. The ‘Anatomy’ LP proved to be one of the most highly anticipated albums in D&B for years, gaining massive support from the scene’s big players and topping sales charts for months.’Anatomy’ was a game changer, and following its release Calyx & TeeBee decided to embark on non-stop tours across the globe, venturing into joint DJ sets featuring 6 decks and 2 mixers with both DJs in action simultaneously. Meanwhile the duo started to lay groundwork for their follow-up LP which would see them take five years to complete.
Fast forward to 2012 and Calyx & TeeBee are now set to unveil the kaleidoscopic array of new music that they have been building up in that time. Embracing the new possibilities that the bass music revolution has opened up, Calyx & TeeBee’s current musical perspective covers a range of styles and sounds that threaten to change the game once again.
Their sophomore album is set for release on Ram Records, arguably the biggest and most respected drum & bass label in the world and a leading light in the multi-genre bass music scene. Packed with half a decade of hard work and Calyx & TeeBee’s incredible musical and technical knowledge, it is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated follow-ups in D&B history and will prove the duo to be one of the most exciting acts in electronic music today.
➤ MEFJUS
https://www.facebook.com/mefjus
Hailing from a hotbed of talent, Austrian powerhouse Mefjus now boasts a worldwide reputation for a furiously tech trademark style that continues to breathe fire into the drum and bass genre.
With his place once firmly cemented as the ‘one to watch’ within diasporas of the drum and bass community, Mefjus came out swinging in 2012 with ‘Far Too Close / Distantia’ on Phace and Misanthrop’s Neodigital imprint. His rise to notoriety with a surgically precise yet skull shattering brand of neurofunk, a la 2013’s dance destroyer ‘Mythos’ with collaborator InsideInfo, has kept fans in a suspended state of frenzy ever since.
Signing to Critical Music in 2013, the futuristic super-producer continues to set the standard with a repertoire of turbulent soundscapes, flawless mix downs and heart-stopping DJ sets that secure Mefjus as one of the finest within the collective imagination of the drum and bass world.
With his debut album ‘Emulation’ released in November 2014 on Critical Music, the future’s looking bright for this extraordinary young producer
➤ DELTA HEAVY
https://www.facebook.com/deltaheavyuk
https://soundcloud.com/deltaheavy
Delta Heavy is one of the most exciting duos to hit dance floors across the globe. Over the years, they’ve steadily conquered the club-lands, from the UK to Ibiza, and have even dominated charts in the US.
Simon James and Ben Hall – met at Nottingham University in 2003 they zeroed in on the city’s drum & bass scene spearheaded by nights such as Detonate and clubs such as Stealth.
Si was the musical one with the background playing instruments while Ben was the one with a penchant for sound engineering and a background as a DJ. It proved the perfect combination. After graduating, they wound their way back to London where they both acquired computer software. “And,” recalls Si, “because both of us had the same interests in music, we thought we’d align our knowledge.”
After several years of hard graft, their debut release appeared on Viper’s acclaimed Acts Of Mad Men compilation in June 2009. They had a cut on the Harry Brown soundtrack, followed by the anthemic Abort in June 2010, which received widespread recognition from the underground as well as support from the mainstream. They signed to drum & bass mogul Andy C’s Ram, label home of Chase & Status and Sub Focus, establishing themselves as credible newcomers with Space Time/Take The Stairs. The former was nominated as Best Track at the 2010 Drum&BassArena Awards while earning Si and Ben nominations for Best Producer and Best Newcomer DJ.
They remixed Example, Avicii, Chase & Status ft. Tinie Tempah, Rita Ora and Nero, making Delta Heavy ones to seriously watch. Their next release, Overkill/Hold Me, confirmed their reputation as bass innovators, mixing extreme electronic noise with low-end frequencies while acknowledging the need for a commercial imperative. The video to Hold Me received over a million views in a little over a week and daytime radio plays from Sara Cox as well as specialist spins from Skream & Benga, Mistajam & Kissy Sell Out.
They spent the rest of 2011 DJing around the world, from Australia to USA and Canada, and releasing a splendid EP’s worth of music in 2012’s Down The Rabbit Hole.
They have released almost two dozen tracks since their inception but Delta Heavy don’t consider that particularly prolific.
“We’ve gone for quality over quantity,” says Si, citing as an example the year’s gap between the release of their Empire single and 2014’s brutally energising Apollo EP.
Of the many Delta Heavy releases, he nominates Space Time as a highlight, as well as Hold Me, Get By and Empire. He also rates highly their remix of Nero’s Must Be The Feeling, which has had nearly seven million views on YouTube, and over 100,000 downloads on SoundCloud. “It was so different to anything we’ve done, and it really struck a chord with people, especially in America,” remarks Si of the Nero refit.
Si reveals how Delta Heavy’s tracks begin as simulations of “grand soundscapes with an epic movie vibe”, their song intros “based on theatrical trailers for films”. The tune to End Of Days, for example, came from the score to Planet Of The Apes. “There’s a visual side to our sounds,” he adds. “We imagine what it would be like to provide music for that kind of context, so that we – and other people – can get it, by visualising it as opposed to it just being for the dancefloor. That gives it an added meaning, an extra something that separates it from the rest.”
He agrees that Delta Heavy are inspired by sci-fi for their song concepts and sonics.
“Our early stuff like Abort and Space Time was very much space-themed, about intergalactic travel and all the different aspects of space in that,” he says. “And then more recently with Apollo that has continued.”
Delta Heavy’s music lends itself to all manner of intriguing visualisations. End Of Days has been used on computer game Gran Turismo and their videos – notably the stop-motion and cartoon animation ones for Get By and Hold Me – have helped cement their appeal (the former was even nominated in the Best Budget Dance Video category of the Video Music Awards).
“That video [for Get By] seemed to go viral and had a million hits in two days,” marvels Ben. “That seemed to open us up to a wider audience.”
Ben – who has been DJing since he was 14, when he would pore over his decks in his Eton tails – agrees with Si about Delta Heavy’s music being appropriate for high-impact visualisation. “I always describe our stuff as melodramatic,” he says. “People respond to the grand, epic intros, and then when the track drops it has a lot more impact. What effect does it have? The crowd goes wild.”
Delta Heavy – influenced as much by UK drum & bass as the recent explosion of dance music in the US – have truly international appeal. In fact, they recently submitted a track for inclusion on a Rihanna album and have already played to 20,000-capacity crowds in the States. But Si and Ben’s dream is for Delta Heavy to eventually make the transition from purveyors of club bangers to architects of a more song-based sonic assault.
“That’s the dream for everyone, selling out the 02,” decides Ben. “We feel like we’ve taken the dancefloor tracks to the limit. The next step is to craft tunes that are more song-based.
Delta Heavy – their name taken from a 2001 tour by progressive house duo Sasha & Digweed, – are taking what Si correctly describes as “forward-thinking, impact-based electronic music with a twist” to the next level.
We’ve definitely been known as one of the heavier hitters of the game,” admits Si. “Now we’re going to expand on what we do. Our debut album will hopefully make that happen.”
Paul Lester
May 2014
➤ JAMAL & METHOD ONE
Stamina residents!
https://www.facebook.com/Jamaldnb.official
https://soundcloud.com/jamaldnb
https://www.facebook.com/method.one.music
https://soundcloud.com/method-one
▴▴▴▴▴▴▴▴ MIGHTY ▴▴▴▴▴▴▴▴
119 Utah St, San Francisco
9PM – 2AM 21+