I’m watching you Wozowski.

Another request this time from my other half who actually asked me to put it on her iPod. But listening back to it I thought it was more than worthy of a re-upping here as well.

Basement Records was one of the original labels that got me into D&B. Running from the very beginning of rave back in 1989, Basement always had a broken beats integrated into their sound which is what drew me to them. They gave Peshay his first big break, along with Photek in his ‘The Sentinel’ guise and Source Direct under the ‘Intensity’ alias. As a label their influence on the early Breakbeat Hardcore and D&B scene can still be felt today even though they almost stopped completely around 1996.

Interestingly they have resurfaced with a dubstep and grime release called the Nu Basement EP. A lot of this set come from their digital re-releases and if you are interested in picking up some of these you can find them as the Classics Series here for download.

Back to the Basement – 1hr of Basement Records classics

Peshay – Endless Thoughts
The Sentinel – Pulse of Life
Ruff with the Smooth – Twisted Girl
The Architex – Blueprint
The Sentinel – Genesis
Peshay – Futurama
Jack N Phil – I Like It
The Sentinel – Awakening
Roger Johnson – Walk of Life
Roger Johnson – Drum N The Bass
Roger Johnson – One By One
Intensity – Intensity
The Sentinel – Heavy Vibes
Intensity – Forbidden Medicine

Closing out the over view of 31 Records this mix goes to show what a varied scope of sounds Doc Scott has covered since the days of the Rollers EPs. The later releases cover all sorts from Liquid, Dub, Tech, Hard, Atmospheric through to Minimal.

Whilst 31 Records has never had the pulling power of Moving Shadow or Metalheadz there can be no doubt that Scotties label has done a huge amount in shaping the sound of D&B. If you want to hear where Doc Scott thinks D&B is going in the future you could do a lot worse than checking out his Soundcloud Page where the man himself puts up all his mixes.

Massive respect to 31 Records and the Doc Scott for the years of truly original and ground breaking music.

31 Seconds: Part 3 – The final hour of 31 Records in the mix

Staks 2 – Sight Unseen
Mutt – Incredible
Visionary – She Makes Me Feel
Visionary – After Hours
Zero Tolerance – Damascus
Stranja – Red Desert
Calibre – Intro
Commix – Trojan
Total Science – Come On Baby
The Insiders – Back & Fourth
Spectral – Buried
DC & Kubiks – Pull Your Body
Commix – You’ll See
Doc Scott – Tokyo Dusk
S.P.Y. & Mosus – My World
Nasty Habits – Shadow Boxing (Blu Mar Ten Unofficial 2006 Remix)

Doc Scott’s 31 Records is a seminal label in D&B. It has released so many classics down the years with tunes like Shadow Boxing, Liquid Fingers, Mechanics and Deadline all becoming synonymous with defining their various genres. 31 is also the label that launched Pendulum onto the world with the almighty Vault, a track that has had more rewinds than you’ve had hot dinners.

When 31 Records first hit the scene I bought everything they put out. With artists like Dom & Roland, MIST, Optical, Digital, Nasty Habits and Klute on board it was pretty much impossible to pass up on a release. I unfortunately missed out on a lot of the later output on the label until A Bunch Of Cuts opened up its MP3 store and laid down the entire back catalogue of 31. I couldn’t resist, I had to down the credit card and start filling in all the holes in my collection.

This mix is the first in a 3 part series covering the early days of 31 Records. Part 2 & 3 will cover the middle and later part of the labels history. What you get in this mix are the choons that made 31 Records a must have label for every self respecting D&B DJ. Tracks like Chilling Out, Prototyped, Technology, The End Part I and Part II, Liquid Fingers, Deadline and of course Shadow Boxing stamped 31 Records as one of THE premier labels in the mid to late 90′s.

Even though these tracks cross all sorts of genres they all have a distinctive 31 sound. A futuristic and technological edginess that always made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and the dance floor go mental. This one goes out to Doc Scott and his merry men for leaving a legacy 99% of labels can only dream of creating.

31 Seconds Part 1 – 1hr of 31 Records early masterpieces

Deep Blue – Immersion
Optical – The End Part I
Octave One – Chillin’ Out (Deleted Mix)
Dom & Roland – Mechanics
Octave One – Chillin’ Out ’94
Nasty Habits – Liquid Fingers (Goldie Remix)
Fortran – The End Part II
Dom & Roland – Prisms
MIST – Dreamworld
Klute – Song Seller
Klute – Dawn of Reason
Nasty Habits – Shadow Boxing
Nasty Habits – Prototyped
Digital – Deadline
Octave One – Technology
Total Science – Get It On

Another old mix from the vaults, this time from 2005. 

Commercial Suicide is Klute’s label (if you didn’t already know) and hence something special. Klute’s production is always of a ridiculously high quality, and he brings this ear for quality to his label’s output too. With artists such as AI, Break, Ill Skills, Silent Witness, Bullet Proof and the mighty Amit on his books you just know that almost every Commercial Suicide release is going to be worth buying on sight.

At the time when this mix came out there was some contention about whether doing an all label mix was ‘good for the label’, with some saying that people wouldn’t buy the tracks if they could just download them for free in a mix such as this. However Klute, being the old punk that he is, weighed into the debate to say that he basically didn’t give a fuck.

Seeing as he was so kind as to back me up on this can I just say that if you like what you hear in this mix then do go and buy the latest stuff and even the older albums that are still available. I don’t cover half the great music that has been released on the label in this mix and it is only by supporting them that they can stay afloat to keep providing us with more great music in the future.

Commercially Suicidal – 2hrs or Commercial Suicide Recordings

Klute – Now Always Forever (Calibre RMX)
AI – Soul Good
Klute – Galaxian
Klute – Ether
Klute – Now Always Forever
Klute – Oshima
Klute & Marcus Intalex – Make a Stand
Klute – Crosby
Klute – Saviour
AI – Switched On
Klute – Lost Connection
Ill Skills & Bullet Proof – Shadowplay
Klute – Hell Hath no Fury
Klute – Traffico
Klute – Tacky
Klute – Take a Breath
Klute – Time for a Change
Amit – Sound Warrior
Klute – Silently
Amit – Roots
Silent Witness & Break – Flipped Out
Klute – Learning Curve
Amit – Village Folk
Klute – Ferrox
Ill Skills & Bullet Proof – Hardwired
DJ Trace & Tactile – Body Move
Klute – Junk
Klute – Jam the Box
Amit – Re-Order
Silent Witness & Break – Trippy
Amit – MK Ultra

One of the labels I have invested the most time & money into down the years is True Playaz. DJs Hype, Pascal & Zinc between them amassed a huge amount of THE best Jump Up tunes between 1995 to 2002. Whether united as the Ganja Kru, or producing under their separate identities, the Tru Playaz label always represented firing beats, funky riffs, hip-hop samples and always mashed together with a phat Jump Up bass line.

Their massive output over this time is amazing considering how high they kept the quality of the music. Albums like Still Smoking, Real Vibes and Playaz4Real offered great value because they always contained way more hits than misses on them, and the string of great EPs on True Playaz is too long to list here.

I think Jump Up today has lost it a bit. Making the as track loud and noisy as possible seems more important that making it funky, and the fun and the good vibe seems to be lacking. But during the golden age of Jump Up, this label really did live up to it’s name and was a True Playa.

2hrs of Jump Up classics from the True masters

DJ Zinc – The Source
DJ Hype – True Playa’z Anthem
DJ Zinc – Super Sharp Shooter (Short & Sharp Version)
DJ Zinc – Fugees or Not
Ganja Kru – Magic
Ganja Kru – Plague That Never Ends
Ganja Kru – Forbidden Fruit
DJ Nut Nut – The Finest
Ganja Kru – Science
DJ Hype – Closer To God
DJ Hype – Only One Life (Ganja Kru Remix)
DJ Hype – Musically Dope (Ganja Kru Remix)
Freestyles – Come Back
Pascal – P-Funk 2000
Freestyle – God Intendend
Ganja Kru – You Belong To Me
Pascal – Rollplay
DJ Red – Everything Has Changed (Remix)
Pascal – Keep It Real
Fellowship – Dark Flower Remedy
DJ Zinc – Casino Royal
DJ Hype – Help Me
DJ Hype – Dead A’s
DJ Zinc – Reach Out (Remix)
DJ Zinc – Ska
DJ Zinc – Pitcher
The Outfit – Cleancut
DJ Zinc – Freenote