Welcome to a series where we ask some of bass music’s finest to choose five tunes from any era and in any genre that have inspired them, influenced them, and maybe even changed their lives.
I remember always carrying my lino and tape deck to various locations to either practice or battle and this track used to put me right in the zone.
Hashim “Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)” (Cutting Records, 1983)
Along with some of the old classic electro tracks, this brings back fond memories of my b-boy days. I remember always carrying my lino and tape deck to various locations to either practice or battle and this track used to put me right in the zone—pure b-boy classic.
Gwen McCrae “All This Love That I’m Givin’” (Flame Records, 1979)
I never really used to listen to soul back in the day but I do remember crate digging around a fellow local DJ’s house and coming across this gem. There was something about it that had me hooked from the first listen, and once I found the perfect mix for it the track stayed with me. Still an all-time favorite of mine.
Ragga Twins “Hooligan 69” (Shut Up & Dance, 1991)
This track was probably responsible for getting me to jump from producing hip-hop (many moons ago) into something completely new. At the time, acid house/rave was huge but it didn’t do nothing for me—I just didn’t get it. A friend came round my house and said you’ve got to check this out. I heard the fusion of breaks/rave/ragga and I thought, “Shit!” I loaded up my Atari/Cubase and started experimenting with faster breaks, and the rest is history.
FBD Project “The Core” (Bang-In-Tunes, 1993)
1993 was the [era] of darkcore and this tune was a classic. I remember raving hard to this at the Lazerdrome in South London and it use to mess me up. [Laughs] It was and still is a serious tune.
Pascal “P-Funk Era” (Frontline Records, 1995)
Probably the track that people most remember me by and a track that brings back a lot of memories for me. I will never forget lying in bed listening to Fabio on the radio and him playing “Far Away” by Doc Scott. That track immediately inspired me to jump up, turn on my computer, and spend the next 90 minutes creating “P-Funk Era.” It seems to shock people that it only took that long but it is a very simple track created on pure vibes, as were most of my bigger tracks. It seemed that the longer I took on creating music back in the day the more they lost their vibes, soul and feel.
Probably the biggest memory of the track for me is being at AWOL (Ministry of Sound) and Randall playing a special mix I did for him. I will never forget seeing the girls in the crowd all singing the Mary J. Blige sample and the guys doing the KRS-One bit. In all my years in the D&B scene that memory stands above everything else.