‘#BackOfTheStack’, 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 with our 15th instalment for which we are joined by up and coming duo Ill Truth. As you may have seen on on In Reach already, the boys have come up with a stomper of a debut release on Break’s Symmetry label (Review) and they have got a lot more releases planned for the rest of 2017. We caught up with them for a quick Q&A about their forthcoming E.P
In our previous Q&A you mentioned that Break had asked you to send over any tunes that were not signed in a view of signing something for Symmetry, so does this EP’s production span over a long period of time or a period of months?
- The tracks were fairly fresh in terms of projects we still have on the works, all less than 6 months old.
The track ‘In Your Soul’ is such a good musical and vibey tune, was it written with Charli Brix’s vocal in mind?
- ‘In Your Soul’ wasn’t written with Charli Brix in mind, but we had been wanting to work with her for some time! The original version of the track has a really questionable Whitney Houston vocal (I think it was one of the biggest selling records of all time), so it was something we couldnt use for the release; but it did give us the chance to approach Charli Brix with the track.
The EP is diverse and features a few flavours of DNB, what style do you guys naturally lean towards when producing and then DJing?
- We dont have a set style really. We make what we like or are inspired by that particular week, the same goes for our DJ sets as well. Although we tend to make more darker drum & bass, our sets could be determined by the crowd/night and also could depend on what tracks we have picked up that week.
Now onto their 3 picks!
Rob Data & Kemal – Star Trails
What’s not to love! Dynamic, funky bassline and some incredible arrangement skills. The whole track is simple in its construction but is pulled off so well. Way a head of its time and stands up to tracks being made today despite beaing around 20 years old.
Dillinja – Thugs
There are a million Dillinja tunes that could have been picked. This one however always gets us. Its probably because nobody plays it anymore so its always one that sends you back in time. The bass line is just so raw and tearing but is kind of juxaposed to the little stab after it. The water pouring sample as well just completes it too. Banger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjg3GfiWkog
Marcus Intalex – Stark
With his recent passing affecting most of the drum & bass scene right now it seems only right that we highlight how incredible this man was! Stark is a track that has stuck with us for some time. The build draws you in through layers constantly adding up to form the basis of the drop. The bass has its own personality in the way it bounces and moves over time. It was hard to only pick one song from Marcus as he has so many timeless songs, big up and rest in peace Marcus x
