#techstepper

[culturedub]

Element – Freedom ft Nazamba / Xpander – Une nouvelle release venue tout droit d’Osaka mêlant Dub Poetry, Steppa et Tech-Stepper ! = https://culturedub.com/blog/element-freedom-ft-nazamba-xpander/ = #dub #steppa #stepper #bass #tech #techstepper #dubinternational #internationaldub #dubuk #ukdub #vinyl #12inch #chronique #review #culturedub #dubjaponais #japanDub #dubpoetry #dubpoet #soundsystem @riddim_chango_records @nazamba1 @element_yard_tenement @1ta_bimone @obfsoundsystem @culturedub https://www.instagram.com/p/CVh80djpuV2/?utm_medium=tumblr

[randomvarious]

Hyrdo - “The Zone” Techsteppin - A Journey Into Experimental Drum & Bass 1996 Drum and Bass / Techstep

A headrush is something you might feel after having done a bit of ecstasy and if you were to pronounce that term in a British accent, you'd get "Ed Rush," which is the name of a drum and bass legend and pioneer from London. A creative name for sure, Ed Rush's career began in the pirate radio days of the early 90s, cranking out jungle and hardcore breakbeat tunes for ravers. But as the novelty of those genres began to wear off, he became part of the movement that would become drum and bass. While jungle and hardcore breakbeat were visceral and hedonistic whips upside the head, drum and bass tended to be more cerebral, experimental, and slower. It allowed artists to explore uses of drum breaks like never before as the music moved from primal pleasure to intellectual stimulation; and the drug of choice turned from ecstasy to ganja.

Drum and Bass has a multitude of subgenres and one of them is techstep, a type of dnb with themes of darkness, industrial abrasiveness, and science fiction. Ed Rush is viewed as a pioneer of this style and his work as a techstepper was showcased on a 1996 compilation on Emotif Recordings called Techsteppin - A Journey Into Experimental Drum & Bass. Techstep was exciting music at the time because of just how uncharted its territory was (add to the fact that it also sounded like it was exploring space, which in itself is a vast expanse of uncharted territory), and Ed Rush was on its forefront.

Ed Rush only used the name Hydro once. It was for a 1996 12-inch on Emotif called The Zone / Tha' Bomb Shit. Both tracks also appeared on the Techsteppin compilation.

"The Zone" has a lot of empty space to it. It's very direct with its bitingly sharp and isolated percussive breaks and warm basslines. It doesn't overwhelm with stacked breaks, but is instead a relatively smooth, experimental journey. Anchored with a pumping and tinny, see-sawing metallic rhythm, Ed Rush offsets with mellow, ringing keyboard tones and some elephantine trumpet blows. As the track proceeds, he pumps in his bass, while dropping in jolts of a short, bounding drum break.

This particular approach to drum and bass would define much of the genre for years to come, and for that reason alone, Ed Rush should be considered as an artist that's indispensable to dnb's history. But it didn't end there for him. Not very long after this song, he would link up with Optical and the pair would release more groundbreaking, mindblowing music.

Stay the fuck inside you freaks.

[djkrpt-blog]

Went down the Emotif rabbit hole today - listening back over their 4-5 years worth of tunes I discovered a bunch I hadn’t heard before including this - the B side to a very early release (1995!) - this proto-techstepper has all the right stuff and you’ll understand why when you realize it’s Nico Sykes behind the boards - swipe over for a real transition of genres - EMF004 #dailydnb #dnb #drumnbass #drumandbass #jungle #techstep #jumpup #rollers #neurofunk #liquidfunk #dnbdj #dnbproducer #dnbarchive #historyofdnb #dnbnation #dnbfamily #deependance #brokemyheart #emotifrecordings #1995 #nico https://www.instagram.com/p/B68b0JHi7Q7/?igshid=1naxcyb9b5py5