‘#Back of the stack’, catching up with artists in the scene every 2 weeks reminiscing on some of their favourite tracks from back in the day. No real rules, just sharing some musical knowledge and reflecting on the past….
Back of the stack returns once again as we move swiftly into our 14th instalment of the series, for which we’re joined by a member of the ever growing collective of talented Mancunian producers. Response is name that was put firmly on the map when his debut release landed on Ingredients Records back in 2013 with ST Files, followed by a series of solo 12″s that went down an absolute storm in many a set at the time. Since then his sound has continued to develop and now, 4 years on from his debut release, Response has amassed quite a back catalogue with a string of releases on labels such as Function Records, V Recordings, Commercial Suicide & Fresh 86 to name a few. Here’s what Response selected when we caught up with him….
Family of Intelligence – Stop Pushing – Kemet records (1994)
Nailed on classic jungle from the Kemet stable. This tune has all I need, great breaks, massive subs, pads/strings and a vocal message courtesy of Linval Thompson that your boss needs to fuck off! Kemet never seem to get the recognition they deserved and around this time they were putting out tune after tune….
Exocet – Demon Seed – Dirty Mac (1997)
First heard in a sweaty basement in Manchester being played I think by Kemistry and Storm. A tune that always has and always will resonate with me. Whilst the core elements are drum and bass the arrangement stands out for me. The tune is in no rush, it has no disconcerting drop, it just builds and builds into a very enjoyable 7 or so minutes.
The Sentinel – Toulépleu – Basement (1996)
Photek was on a different planet when it came to making music. He could do it all… I could have picked a number of his tunes but this one always comes to my mind. A perfect example of atmospheric drum and bass but that’s really irrelevant as this transcends any pigeonhole you want to put it in. If you took the drums and bass out of this tune, it would still be running.
