EXAMPLE: So guys first off, hows 2009 been for blu mar ten?

Chris: Busy and focused. One of our best years yet

EXAMPLE: Your new album “Natural History” has been causing a bit of a stir. What was the idea behind your album? what sort of statement did you want to make?

Leo: Broadly, we decided a while back to limit ourselves to a strict 170bpm template, veering away from the genre hopping we used to do. This limitation is a freedom so I think we’ve done better music and made progress faster. The album is the first batch of results from this new path.

Chris: Even though we’ve been making d&b since 1995, and despite this being our fourth album, we’d never made a proper d&b album from the bottom-up, so we thought it was about time. We didn’t want to make something that sounded like much other d&b that’s around, we just wanted to make something we were proud of. We don’t really care if it does or doesn’t fit with what else is going on in the d&b community, we’re much more interested in appealing to a broader audience than that.

EXAMPLE: Did you expect the response that it’s had?

Chris: We didn’t really know what to expect, but the response has been fantastic. It shot up the charts in all the online stores and it’s just been listed as one of the best dance albums of 2009 on iTunes..So yes, we’re pretty happy with that. I think the fact that we’ve been around a long time and written more music than just d&b has really helped us reach different sets of people, especially in places like the US where d&b isn’t very popular at all.

EXAMPLE: Where do you stand on the vinyl or cd or serato debate?

Chris: Really don’t care. It’s completely irrelevant to us. Personally I only play vinyl, and still cut dubplates because that’s what I love, but then Leo plays CDs because that’s what he likes. But it really doesn’t matter. People who worry about it really need something better to get worked up over.

EXAMPLE: You asked for some interesting questions and nothing gets peoples attention more than a bit of controversy, How do you feel about the “Bishigate controversy” a few weeks ago?

Chris: Again, not really that bothered. The only problem I can see is a mismatch of expectation. i.e. If 500 people come to a club expecting to see one thing and you do something completely different then i think that’s a bit unfair. If people *knew* that you might be doing something different and had the choice about whether they want to pay to see it or not then I really don’t think there’s an issue. The reality is, (whether you like it or not), that outside of a few internet forums the vast majority of people who go out to clubs have no idea about this whole episode, and even if you told them they wouldn’t care. To most people, getting two records that sound more or less the same to run in time with each other is a complete non-event.
Personally I wouldn’t do it, but then I enjoy the whole chaotic process of mixing and performing, as opposed to objecting to it on some weird moral grounds.
Quite a few people started complaining about producers DJing and how they shouldn’t if they’re not very good, but this is one of the realities of our time. Piracy on the scale we have now is often justified on the grounds that producers should now make their money from performance as opposed to sales, and so we have people out on the road who, years ago, would have stayed in the studio making music which is what they’re best at. People often forget that there’s no actual link between sitting at a computer and making music, and getting up in front of a thousand people and smashing up a party – they’re completely different skills and just because you’re good at one there’s no reason at all that you should good at the other. So if you force people into a performance situation (which can be very nerve-wracking at times) things like this are going to crop up from time to time. It’s inevitable.
Solution? Support the producers by buying their music, then they won’t have to take gigs they don’t really want to do in order to make ends meet and the ‘good DJs’ can get on with doing what they do best.

EXAMPLE: How did Blu Mar Ten come about?

Chris: Leo & I met through a mate in 1995 and started putting tunes together. It worked really well and we had a release about 8 months after our first studio session. We sent some stuff to Bukem who liked what we were doing, and after we did a remix for Erykah Badu’s first single we got signed to Good Looking. I’d known Michael since around 1993 and when he moved to London he started sharing our studio and gradually became absorbed into Blu Mar Ten.

EXAMPLE: You branched out into other genres what made you want to spread your wings beyond drum and bass?

Leo: We always listened super widely and we still do. But listening widely and writing widely all the time aren’t necessarily the best paths. Hence the 170bpm comment earlier.

Chris: If you really like music and you enjoy making it you’re constantly looking for interesting new sounds and ways of working. Drum & bass isn’t so interesting that it can satisfy you completely so you need to branch out from time to time. I never really trust people who only listen to d&b…It just displays a bit of a lack of imagination. We pretty much never listen to d&b ourselves..there’s too much other interesting (and better) music out there.

EXAMPLE: Which labels and artists are doing it for you at this moment? also who can you see being the bright stars of 2010?

Chris: There are loads of bright stars out there right now. Newer names I’m enjoying at the moment are:

Stray
Randomer
San.dra
Circa
Mr Sizef & Unquote
Vaccine
Ulterior Motive
Kharm
Jean Doe

and a whole load more…

Here’s a couple of mixes where you can hear some of their stuff:
www.blumarten.com/home/drum-bass-mix-sep-2009
www.blumarten.com/home/exclusive-bmt-mix-kongkast

Leo: Well, I can do the non DnB stuff. Recently liking:

CFCF “Call Girl”
Bibio “Bones & Skulls”
Wild Beasts “Hooting & Howling”
Jon Hopkins “A Drifting Down”
El Perro Del Mar “Change Of Heart”
Washed Out “Feel It All Around”
Darkstar “Aidys Girl’s a Computer”

EXAMPLE: What was the first ever piece of music you bought and also the last?

Leo: Blondie “Heart Of Glass” / Clipz “Download (Original Sin Remix)”

Michael: David Essex “A Winter’s Tale” and Kelly Clarkson’s album “All I Ever Wanted”

Chris: ‘Iko Iko’ The Belle Stars / ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ OST

EXAMPLE: Now that your album is out and you’ve been touring whats next?

Chris: We have a remix we’ve done for Bop coming out on Hospital early next year together with other reworkings of his stuff from Lynx and Subwave.
There’ll be the final single from our album coming out sometime as well – we’re just sorting out some remixes at the moment but it should be great if it all comes together.
And we’ve already started work on the next album which will be out….at some point in the distant future.

EXAMPLE: When can the mancunian fans next catch blu mar ten?

Chris: When a Mancunian promoter books us!

Please note, the write-ups below are from the artists and their agents, so don’t hold us responsible for any bollocks contained therein.

Read on for the details

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Kharm

www.myspace.com/kharmmusic
www.soundcloud.com/kharm
www.kharm.co.uk

Kharm, real name David Gotts, grew up during the birth of dance music. The influence of artists such as LTJ Bukem, Everything but the girl, BT, Massive Attack, Lamb and Sasha & Digweed in the 90′s became a important part in developing his sound today. With forthcoming releases on Dispatch Recordings and support from artists such as Blu Mar Ten, Ant TC1, D-Bridge & Instra:mental, Loxy and Naibu, the future for Kharm looks bright.

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Circa

http://www.myspace.com/circatunes

Promised to send me a bio. Never did. Useless.
Think he’s from Derby in the UK.

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Stray

www.myspace.com/straydnb
www.soundcloud.com/straydnb

Stray is a young producer hailing from London, with an aim to break away from many of the bounds of the drum n bass genre and focus on the more musical side of production. With growing DJ support from the likes of Loxy, Sabre, Blu Mar Ten, ASC, June Miller and more, plus a debut release forthcoming on Kasra’s Critical Music, Stray is proper sick like

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Crisis

www.myspace.com/dnbcrisis

Originally hailing from the depths of Essex, Gary Crisis spent his formative musical years playing guitar in local bands – until the early 2000s when exposure to bass, breaks and beats began an obsession with electronic music.
The years since have seen the name Crisis appear on flyers at clubs across the UK & Europe, and more recently years of steady progress in the studio after moving to Cambridge in 2005 have begun to come to fruition. As a resident of Spoonfed, Crisis has appeared alongside some of the biggest names in Drum & Bass.
2008 saw his first release through Dubstep label DPR, reflecting a recent focus on versatility influenced by friends and local D&B duo Commix. This influence now extends to a love of techno, minimal and all things electronic.
Since finishing a degree in Audio & Music Technology this year with 1st Class Honours, and establishing himself in the field of acoustic engineering, he is set to continue his onslaught on all fronts – through ever more diverse productions and a fast, technical mixing style that moves all dancefloors in his path.

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High Speed Dubbing

www.myspace.com/highspeeddubbingnz
www.myspace.com/macrohsd
soundcloud.com/highspeeddubbing

Marc Tetzlaff aka High Speed Dubbing (HSD) began his journey as a DJ by turning up to house parties in the late 90′s not with a bag full of pre recorded self made mix tapes and taking over the stereo, naturally progressing at age 19 to DJ with turntables and began using Roland groove gear live in his sets, with an 808 & 303 in the mix.
Now a Dj for 10 years, Promoter, Producer, Student, Has been gaining support recently with heavy interest from Doc Scott for 31 records, as well as Shy FX & Timeless records for potential signings.
DJ’s supporting his tunes are Doc Scott, Asides, Blu Mar Ten, Bladerunner, and just recently has had his track AMC featured on mixes London Elektrictiy, Blu Mar Ten, and Asides – Eastsides sessions on bassdrive.

As a promoter HSD has been representing good music in New Zealand for many years with residencies on Nationwide radio station such as George Fm & Base Fm. The Future for HSD is looking vibrant with a new residency & a new radio show of the same name IN:MOTION ready to launch.

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Unquote & Mr Sizef

www.myspace.com/215176940

Promised to send me a bio. Never did. Useless.
They’re Russian, I can tell you that much

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Sunchase

www.sunchaseaudio.com
www.soundcloud.com/sunchase
www.twitter.com/sunchase

Eastern Europe used to conjure images of bleak, snow-bitten landscapes and vodka-drinking Cossacks wrapped up in the remains of a bear. Up until a few years ago, it would never be a place where you instantly assume a thriving drum & bass community exists but like the rest of the world, Eastern Europe has taken a bite and got itself hooked. With many of the UK’s big guns regularly flying out to tear up parties all over the Eastern half of the continent over the last couple of years, it was only a matter of time before the scene grew to compete on the world stage of drum & bass.

Hailing from Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, Alexander Pavlenko, aka Sunchase, has started to carve his name into the history of electronic music in the post Soviet Union country. “I first came across electronic music when my friend played me a Kraftwerk cassette – I just thought ‘what the hell is this?’ but knew I wanted to hear more. My father used to listen to Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Queen and Michael Jackson so I grew up around music but I wanted to experience the more electronic side,” Alexander explains.

Now 25, Alexander has pushed his interest in electronic music and been hard at work creating his unique sound for almost eight years, and according to Alexander, he has been developing his skills as he acquires new technology to work with. “I started really basic on the PlayStation game ‘Music’ but it helped me learn the composition of a tune. This led me to get Acid on my computer, which really helped my understanding of structure. I understand the program inside out and have made over half of my tunes with Acid. I did outgrow it recently so I now spend my time trying to get my head round Cubase,” he laughs.

Sunchase has obviously pressed the right buttons because with tracks signed to Revolution, ELP and Moving Shadow amongst others, it seems his production prowess hasn’t gone unnoticed. It was ‘Remember Me’ that really catapulted him to the ears of the D&B masses, and in particular Latvian singer Yana Kay’s haunting vocal caused the likes of Concord Dawn, Fresh, Pendulum and John B to take notice. Equally well received was Sunchase’s re-work of Adam Freeland’s ‘We Want Your Soul’, which on certain forums was gaining more praise than the remix from the Virus camp. “I downloaded the acapella and just wanted to chop it up. Normally I build the breakbeats first and everything falls into place after that but the acapella gave me the ideas for the rest of the track. I’m happy with it.”

So he should be! With Eastern Europe becoming linked with the techno / drum & bass fusion, Sunchase has done well to establish himself without compromising his sound. There are strains of techno just beneath the surface but Sunchase rolls out uncompromising techy stormers that take no prisoners. “I need to start constructing an album but there are a few things to discuss first. All of my music is dependant on my mood – some days I’ll make ambient tracks all day and then other days it will be really dark – the album will be a real mixture of moods,” says Alexander with a smile.

With collaborations lined up alongside Counterstrike, Masheen and Cyb Orc, Sunchase has his work cut out over the next few months. Top that with a few remixes here and there plus awareness of his DJ sets gaining momentum and the time will soon be right for Sunchase to cement his position as one of the leaders of the Eastern European scene. “There is still quite a way before D&B becomes really popular in the Ukraine. It doesn’t help when there are too many freaks here,” he laughs. “All these psy-trance people walking round in their strange clothes – it makes older people look at the youngsters in a different way. They think we are all on drugs.”

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So;Flow

www.myspace.com/soflowmusic
www.soundcloud.com/so-flow

So Flow has a very varied musical background, and it shows. Studying classical violin from a young age, this curiosity for creativity continued into his raving era. Shortly after, a set of turntables found their way into his life – and it was curtains from there. The jungle was all too alluring.
So Flow’s music is as diverse and imaginative as it is technical. With both a good understanding of the studio environment and a well tuned ear, attention to detail and originality shines through in his work time and time again.
When he’s not putting in the hard graft for his own materials, So Flow co-manages Vibration Records, has a monthly show on Bassdrive radio, (the Vibration Sessions), and is also active in teaching and contributing, ideas, articles and advice across several forums.

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Vaccine

http://www.myspace.com/vaccinedub

Orange County in Southern California is known for sunshine, beaches, surfers and, um, dubstep? Although the O.C.’s bucolic environs don’t normally conjure bass-bin rattling club tracks, a new producer is out to challenge regional and genre conventions.

This fresh face, whose first name is Christine (last name unknown), produces tracks as Vaccine, with several tunes, including “Wishful Thinking” and “Breathless,” having been released on forward-thinking UK imprint Hotflush Recordings.

A self-described Skinny Puppy and Portishead fan, Vaccine’s recordings blend jittery electronic elements with gothic ambient nuances and dubstep’s bass-led bottom end. While her mainly male dubstep cohorts’ songs lurch and stomp, Vaccine’s music drifts and shimmers via subtle melodies and echoed vocals. Her constructions aren’t necessarily main floor rave fodder, but rather, comedown music for a 6 a.m. all-back-to-mine.

That’s not to pigeonhole Vaccine as merely a gentile, feminine composer–her tracks can also unleash the demons. But at a time when dubstep’s expansion is marked by dancefloor technicians such as Skream, Benga, and Rusko, artists like Burial, Scuba, or Vaccine expand the music’s possibilities.

Words by xlr8r

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Remember, if you want to hear some of the great tracks from this new generation of producers, you can download our September Drum & Bass mix

Download here

Blu Mar Ten – Drum & Bass Mix Sep 2009 by blumarten

Tracklist:
D Bridge: Love’s Ugly Child
Kharm: Wolf Jacket
Circa: Ida
Blu Mar Ten: Above Words
Logistics: Murderation
Stray: Talking About Nothing
Sinistarr & Kiat: Black Diamonds
Tidal: So Sexy
Crisis: Twilight Bongos
Stray: Saturday
High Speed Dubbing: AMC
Blu Mar Ten: Overwhelm
Mr Sizef: Seven Tones of Romantic
Kharm: Meridian
Mr Sizef: Our Most Sincere Feeling
Sunchase: Varka
Blu Mar Ten: Grey Area
Blu Mar Ten: She Moves Through (ASC remix)
So;Flow: Long Way Over
Vaccine: Radiate (170 edit)
Blu Mar Ten: Last Dance

If you haven’t used a Soundcloud player before, you download the mix by clicking here, or on the button up there on the right. If you want to embed this on your Facebook, Myspace, Twitter or your own blog just click the button and choose the option you want, or click the ‘share / save’ button at the bottom of this post.

You can also leave a comment on the player by clicking the blue bar at the position you want to comment on. Give it a try.