Manchester bass pioneers North Base are set to drop an early Christmas present for electronic music heads with ‘The Album’ due for release for FREE on the 20/12/13.
No mean feat when you consider they’ve spent the year rocking crowds at Creamfields, Hideout, Outlook and Parklife to name but a handful. Playing at Fabric this weekend in the thick of a line-up including DnB veterans Andy C and Goldie as well as Bristol duo Loadstar for the RAM Xmas Party, they’re sure to be dropping one or two grenades off The Album.
The long-serving team of virtuosos that make up the North Base collective have already garnered massive support from heavyweights like MistaJam, Chase and Status, Redlight and Breech and they’re about to catapult into 2014 with this mix of bass, breaks and shameless energy.
The album eases in with their own take on Benga’s ‘Smile’. A weighty bassline tucked-in behind Charlie Demo’s hypnotic vocals and a feather-light melody. Similar in influence is ‘Colour8’ – a 140 track with a dubstep feel, a flying kick, a smashing snare and warm and easy bass tones bring it in and out of the cerebral sphere. It’s a track that will undoubtedly feature heavily in the 2014 festival season.
‘Get Higher’ is where it gets ravey with a classic piano loop and break and a super-hype vocal cut guaranteed to get any party shaking. It feeds well into ‘Baxter’ which builds nicely with a classic garage aura complete with organ loops and vocal cuts dropping into rave breaks and synths. ‘Turn U On’ also keeps the rave flag flying high. Both versions of the track work well but the 140 bpm mix feels the most authentic with manic piano chords and sweeping pads and vocals at a sup’d up tempo.
Versatility is the strength of this collection of genre-smashing bass music and ‘Jammin’ drops in an unexpected reggaeton/soca beat/Dem Bow/jungle blend with a surprise sample for added nostalgia. Despite the array of influences, Jammin is pulled off with aplomb. Its ability to turn a set on its head has already seen this hyped mood-swinger draw plenty of air-time.
Outlander’s ‘The Vamp (North Base Problem Child Remix)’ is a relentless, high-octane jungle-throwback and another remix, of SL2’s 90’s rave classic ‘DJs Take Control’, is just as lively. ‘Back in Business’ and ‘Technological Advances’ are a pair of DnB bangers that take me back to my uni days and house parties in Hyde Park, Leeds. Pure jump-up energy and attitude with serene breakdowns and neck-breakin’ drops make for a more up-tempo finale to the album.
Track of the album goes to ‘Hot Chocolate’ but there’s quality throughout. A smooth-talking piano classic, Hot Chocolate is already heavily supported by the likes of Skream and Benga. It’s a floor-filling, reach-for-the-sky, set-staple for UK Bass DJs and encapsulates these alchemists’ ability to cook up floor-orientated hot cakes. Their remix of ‘LAX-LDN’ is bound to be grabbing a whole heap of attention as well – and rightly so.
After two years in the making, the end product is a busy album that explores the limits and smashes the boundaries of bass music. North Base are no rookies and it’s this experience which has allowed them to blend elements from the forefront of the UK’s underground music scenes of the last four decades. From rave, breaks, jungle and drum and bass, house, techno, garage, dubstep and 140, this unique trip through British music culture is pure synergy at work. The key sounds expertly extracted from music as old as me but delivered – like all truths – in a manner that’s as relevant now as it was way back in the dawn of the rave scene or in an old-skool jungle mash-up. It’s an exhausting journey jam-packed with sounds engineered for where music belongs – the clubs, raves and festivals being filled the world over.
From start to finish this album will have you hooked and in an hour packs more variety than most radio stations manage in a week without losing its way en route. ‘Something for everyone?’ More like ‘everything for anyone’ this free offering is pure generosity. You’d only be letting yourself down if you didn’t get this cracker downloaded and unloading by the time you’re carving the turkey at Christmas dinner. Well, maybe wait ‘til after dinner.
North Base have been smashing it for time now so it seems an odd thing to say but if they continue to release material like this and deliver shows like they have been doing, they’re surely going to be massive in 2014 – and beyond.
