Marcus Intalex - 21 LP [Soul:R]
Make A Raise (feat. S.P.Y. & Ras Tweed)
Strangeways (feat. Zed Bias)
Climbing Up The Walls (feat Lynx & Danny Fierce)
TB Or Not TB?
From The Ashes
Hot Hands
Celestial Navigation (feat S.P.Y.)
Regrets (feat Riya)
Wacky Races
Paulista (feat. S.P.Y.)
Dusk
Make Way (feat DRS)
Drum and Bass, unlike many other forms of electronic/dance music out there leaves very few stones unturned. It is incredibly versatile and therefore conducive towards many different influences manifesting themselves within the basic template of 170bpm beats and breaks. Everything from the most laid back jazz through to brutal thrash metal sounds have been manipulated into innovative variants of this much loved but loosely defined genre. As a result, the music that we now refer to as drum and bass has evolved heavily since the early days of rave and hardcore where the boundaries were significantly blurred, and jungle which had a very structured range of influences. Similarly modern drum and bass has continued to develop since the phrase was coined over 15 years ago.
It is the most recent of these manifestations that offered the most scope for diversity, hence its longevity in comparison to its predecessors. It is no coincidence that many producers in the ‘scene’ have very broad musical horizons and as a result incorporate a wide variety of different sounds and influences into their musical output. It can be supposed that this is how many producers develop individual sounds that are almost instantly recognisable to those with their ear to the ground. As certain producers developed and refined certain ‘sounds’ so began the creation of broad sub-genres. Even though the breadth of soundscapes in D’n’B is vast, it is almost impossible for followers not to pigeon hole similar sounding types of music that have a great deal of common denominators. So as drum and bass developed throughout the later part of the ‘90’s there was a distinct split between jump up, tech step and the softer, more musical sound of Bukem et al. Each of these sounds reached saturation point around the turn of the millennium and when the sound of liquid drum and bass came to prominence in the early ‘00’s there were a number of various sub genres that could be identified and ring fenced.
It’s worth at this point reflecting on where this music came from. Raves, the desire to make people move, dance, in essence to draw out of people a primal urge that has inspired and united humanity for thousands of years. It may be slightly ignorant to think of the driving 4/4 beat of a house tune and the more fragmented break beats that are found in drum and bass music as historically two of the most influential tools of this trade, but ‘Dance music’ as we know it today is essentially that, music with the sole intention of making people dance. It may be arguable that this founding and fundamental principle has contributed to the detriment of certain variants of our beloved art form. In that endless search to keep people ‘moving’, innovation of the sound was, and in some cases still is, overwhelmed by the regurgitation of tried and tested formulas that once stirred up frenzy on the dance-floor. There is clearly a fine line to tread between making music that is original but which achieves an objective that is inherent in the very creation of drum and bass.
So is it simply a case of splitting today’s drum and bass landscape into two categories - music that is innovative and music that is not? Well to a certain extent yes but that’s not to say that the former is exclusively non dance-floor friendly and the latter the very opposite. There are, as with all things creative, huge grey areas that one must make their own choices about based on a number of deeply personal and highly subjective factors. There is no clear cut divide but there is certainly a spectrum to which there are extremes and moderations alike. It is therefore always refreshing and somewhat rare when an artist manages to draw all of their personal influences into the music they make, whilst pushing the sound forward and at the same time creating something that makes people want to dance. When it does happen there is often a general consensus of positive opinion that can lead to the artist getting swept away from their roots under a wave of hype and commercialism. Fortunately for drum and bass lovers, Marcus Intalex has managed to achieve the former without succumbing to the latter for a number of years. Since his first releases over 15 years ago, drum and bass has experienced three waves of mainstream success, the latest of which is still ongoing. But Intalex has stayed true to his craft and through his solo efforts and various collaborative projects has managed to carve a niche that few others have been able to maintain for as long. This dedication to his own musical ethos, has ensured that his style is one of the most instantly recognisable in not only drum and bass, but electronic music as a whole.
It may be surprising to some that it is only now, in 2011, that we are treated to Marcus’ debut album. ‘21’ is a culmination of over two decades of involvement in the British underground music scene that started with a passion stirred up by the musical hotbed that is his home town of Manchester in the golden years of the Hacienda nightclub and its legendary hosts Factory records. The ethos upheld by that label is one that Intalex seems to have taken with him throughout his music career. Independence, originality and a strong sense of identity. One of the most refreshing attributes that Marcus brings to the table is that of not making music for music's sake. The reason we have not seen an Intalex album until now is simply because he hasn't felt in the right place to write one. Many producers would have buckled under label pressure to produce an album under the illusion of ‘artist development’. This may be a slightly cynical view to take but all too often in the music business, artists riding on a wave of success driven by popular opinion (regardless of whether it is justified or not) feel like it is the right time to make an album because they have hit upon a winning formula. They feel that there is a demand to be taken advantage of and this sometimes leads to forced creativity and an end product that ultimately does not leave the indelible mark on music history one might have hoped to make when setting out. The fact that Intalex has taken his time to develop, not only as an artist but as an ambassador for the scene through his label management and A&R skills, has obviously paid its dues. This record is one that feels like it has delivered far more tunes with a long shelf life than most artists achieve in two or three albums, sometimes even a whole career!
The album itself is a broad cross-section of the Marcus Intalex sound that drum and bass fans the world over will have come to know and love. By sound what I really mean is sound pallet. The majority of the LP is at 170 bpm but there are a few slower tempos dotted throughout which blur the boundaries between techno and dubstep. It’s the strong techno influence running through many of the tunes – a defining Intalex idiosyncrasy - that gives this album its defining characteristic. Some tracks are more conducive to the dance floor than others, but the two step beat is prominent throughout enough of the tracks to make this record a firm favourite with DJ's and ravers alike. The extreme bounce that Marcus seems to craft so succinctly is evident in tracks like ‘Hot Hands’, ‘Paulista’ and ‘Make a Raise’ Featuring current hot property SPY and Ras Tweed. There are a number of other collaborative efforts on offer. The dreamy synth led ‘celestial navigation’, again featuring SPY is a personal highlight as is the Radiohead cover ‘Climbing up the Walls’ featuring Lynx with Danny Fierce on vocals. On ‘Regrets’ featuring the vocal talents of Riya we are treated to a more laid back, half step variant of Marcus’ take on D&B, peppered with 808 hits, this track adds a further dimension to the album and gives it the depth and variety that will no doubt ensure its ability to stand the test of time.
In short this album comfortably delivers everything that was hoped of it and more. Not only is it a well balanced showcase of one producers vision of contemporary underground dance music but it has also been engineered to perfection and sets the bar for all future drum and bass albums as well as the producers who will create them.
It is the most recent of these manifestations that offered the most scope for diversity, hence its longevity in comparison to its predecessors. It is no coincidence that many producers in the ‘scene’ have very broad musical horizons and as a result incorporate a wide variety of different sounds and influences into their musical output. It can be supposed that this is how many producers develop individual sounds that are almost instantly recognisable to those with their ear to the ground. As certain producers developed and refined certain ‘sounds’ so began the creation of broad sub-genres. Even though the breadth of soundscapes in D’n’B is vast, it is almost impossible for followers not to pigeon hole similar sounding types of music that have a great deal of common denominators. So as drum and bass developed throughout the later part of the ‘90’s there was a distinct split between jump up, tech step and the softer, more musical sound of Bukem et al. Each of these sounds reached saturation point around the turn of the millennium and when the sound of liquid drum and bass came to prominence in the early ‘00’s there were a number of various sub genres that could be identified and ring fenced.
It’s worth at this point reflecting on where this music came from. Raves, the desire to make people move, dance, in essence to draw out of people a primal urge that has inspired and united humanity for thousands of years. It may be slightly ignorant to think of the driving 4/4 beat of a house tune and the more fragmented break beats that are found in drum and bass music as historically two of the most influential tools of this trade, but ‘Dance music’ as we know it today is essentially that, music with the sole intention of making people dance. It may be arguable that this founding and fundamental principle has contributed to the detriment of certain variants of our beloved art form. In that endless search to keep people ‘moving’, innovation of the sound was, and in some cases still is, overwhelmed by the regurgitation of tried and tested formulas that once stirred up frenzy on the dance-floor. There is clearly a fine line to tread between making music that is original but which achieves an objective that is inherent in the very creation of drum and bass.
So is it simply a case of splitting today’s drum and bass landscape into two categories - music that is innovative and music that is not? Well to a certain extent yes but that’s not to say that the former is exclusively non dance-floor friendly and the latter the very opposite. There are, as with all things creative, huge grey areas that one must make their own choices about based on a number of deeply personal and highly subjective factors. There is no clear cut divide but there is certainly a spectrum to which there are extremes and moderations alike. It is therefore always refreshing and somewhat rare when an artist manages to draw all of their personal influences into the music they make, whilst pushing the sound forward and at the same time creating something that makes people want to dance. When it does happen there is often a general consensus of positive opinion that can lead to the artist getting swept away from their roots under a wave of hype and commercialism. Fortunately for drum and bass lovers, Marcus Intalex has managed to achieve the former without succumbing to the latter for a number of years. Since his first releases over 15 years ago, drum and bass has experienced three waves of mainstream success, the latest of which is still ongoing. But Intalex has stayed true to his craft and through his solo efforts and various collaborative projects has managed to carve a niche that few others have been able to maintain for as long. This dedication to his own musical ethos, has ensured that his style is one of the most instantly recognisable in not only drum and bass, but electronic music as a whole.
It may be surprising to some that it is only now, in 2011, that we are treated to Marcus’ debut album. ‘21’ is a culmination of over two decades of involvement in the British underground music scene that started with a passion stirred up by the musical hotbed that is his home town of Manchester in the golden years of the Hacienda nightclub and its legendary hosts Factory records. The ethos upheld by that label is one that Intalex seems to have taken with him throughout his music career. Independence, originality and a strong sense of identity. One of the most refreshing attributes that Marcus brings to the table is that of not making music for music's sake. The reason we have not seen an Intalex album until now is simply because he hasn't felt in the right place to write one. Many producers would have buckled under label pressure to produce an album under the illusion of ‘artist development’. This may be a slightly cynical view to take but all too often in the music business, artists riding on a wave of success driven by popular opinion (regardless of whether it is justified or not) feel like it is the right time to make an album because they have hit upon a winning formula. They feel that there is a demand to be taken advantage of and this sometimes leads to forced creativity and an end product that ultimately does not leave the indelible mark on music history one might have hoped to make when setting out. The fact that Intalex has taken his time to develop, not only as an artist but as an ambassador for the scene through his label management and A&R skills, has obviously paid its dues. This record is one that feels like it has delivered far more tunes with a long shelf life than most artists achieve in two or three albums, sometimes even a whole career!
The album itself is a broad cross-section of the Marcus Intalex sound that drum and bass fans the world over will have come to know and love. By sound what I really mean is sound pallet. The majority of the LP is at 170 bpm but there are a few slower tempos dotted throughout which blur the boundaries between techno and dubstep. It’s the strong techno influence running through many of the tunes – a defining Intalex idiosyncrasy - that gives this album its defining characteristic. Some tracks are more conducive to the dance floor than others, but the two step beat is prominent throughout enough of the tracks to make this record a firm favourite with DJ's and ravers alike. The extreme bounce that Marcus seems to craft so succinctly is evident in tracks like ‘Hot Hands’, ‘Paulista’ and ‘Make a Raise’ Featuring current hot property SPY and Ras Tweed. There are a number of other collaborative efforts on offer. The dreamy synth led ‘celestial navigation’, again featuring SPY is a personal highlight as is the Radiohead cover ‘Climbing up the Walls’ featuring Lynx with Danny Fierce on vocals. On ‘Regrets’ featuring the vocal talents of Riya we are treated to a more laid back, half step variant of Marcus’ take on D&B, peppered with 808 hits, this track adds a further dimension to the album and gives it the depth and variety that will no doubt ensure its ability to stand the test of time.
In short this album comfortably delivers everything that was hoped of it and more. Not only is it a well balanced showcase of one producers vision of contemporary underground dance music but it has also been engineered to perfection and sets the bar for all future drum and bass albums as well as the producers who will create them.
EDJ Rating:
Out Now
Words: Tom Root
