Yes, it really has been 15 years since Drumsound & Bassline Smith signalled the beginning of the Technique Recordings odyssey with the Future Tech / Target Practice release. Since then, the drum and bass sound has spread its tendrils from the dark corners of the underground into the limelight of mainstream appreciation. And Technique has been at the forefront of that evolution all the way. So, here’s an LP to show the world exactly what a decade and a half among the top tier of D&B labels sounds like.5
Label heads Drumsound & Bassline Smith take pole position, dropping straight into the drama of the Friction- supported Spring Heel Jack. Then comes another of Technique’s most recognisable acts, Tantrum Desire with the low-down funk of Shuffle, followed by another Friction-favourite from the bossmen with Sputnik. The big names keep coming throughout the album, as Crissy Criss supplies the VIP of his monumental Create the Future and the mighty Digital goes dubbed-out with a remix of Phantasm. Plus Drumsound & Bassline Smith’s alter-ego 2DB pass through with the highly-grimey Terrahawk and L Plus delivers two precision-engineered killers in the form of Red Planet and Going Down.
Flipping the script, Technique new boys Document One strike from two angles with the laid-back Jazz Club and the dirty dancefloor uppercut of Body Like Wow. TREi takes us to the big room with Here & Now, and the ever-individual MaxNRG shows off his ability to combine energy with melody on Far Frontiers of Space. Erb N Dub and Skope recruit Mr Dirty Smirks, MC SMK himself, to bring some typically hard bars to Pull it Back. Kronology does what it says on the tin with some Razor Sharp technoid-jungle vibes. And Aussie badman Spectrem brings some hands-in-the-air euphoria with Say Goodbye and then roughen things up with The Future. Infrasonik keep the temperature rising with Bricks Breaking, before the closing Tantrum Desire onslaught of Human Mind. And finally, Drumsound & Bassline Smith step back up for a lap of honour with a mix of all the tracks from the LP.
From the veteran headliners to the breakthrough talent, from the filthy rave-wreckers to the stadium-sized anthems, this album demonstrates the versatility and innovation that has kept Technique Recordings’ status for all this time. So, better get set, another fifteen years at the top of the game starts right now.
Tracklisting
1. Drumsound & Bassline Smith – Spring Heel Jack
2. Tantrum Desire – Shuffle
3. Drumsound & Bassline Smith – Sputnik
4. Document One – Jazz Club
5. L Plus – Red Planet
6. TREi – Here & Now
7. Erb N Dub & Skope ft. SMK – Pull It Back
8. 2DB – Terrahawk
9. Document One – Body Like Wow
10. Digital – Phantasm (Remix)
11. Spectrem – Say Goodbye
12. Crissy Criss – Create the Future VIP
13. MaxNRG – Far Frontiers of Space
14. L Plus – Going Down
15. Kronology – Razor Sharp
16. Spectrem – The Future
17. Infrasonik – Bricks Breaking
18. Tantrum Desire – Human Mind
19. Various Artists – Continuous Mix by Drumsound & Bassline Smith
