Imagine you could collaborate with any artist from any period in time… Who would it be?
This is the question we’re asking Cern, Teknik and Menace to celebrate this week’s release on Renegade Hardware, Schemer/Traitor. They’ve come up with three cracking answers. But it seems they’re already living the dream.
All three of them, without any prompting, bribes or suspicious brown envelopes from Renegade Hardware whatsoever, tell us they’re already working exactly where they want to be.
“Releasing with Renegade Hardware has always been a dream of mine, ever since my first days of listening to drum & bass,” grins Cern. “My first purchases were Renegade Hardware records, the Quasimodo EP, Armageddon, tunes that brought a chill to your spine but in a good way. It’s fair to say this record is definitely one of my personal highlights in what you may call a career, as well as a huge privilege.”
Passionate words like that almost make our fantasy collabo question obsolete. Especially when you consider the way their current EP was created. Listen to both gritty, spine-shuddering rollers and it’s hard to believe they were created with over 11,000 miles between them.
“I had never worked this way before,” says New Zealand-based Menace who partnered with UK-dwelling Cern on Schemer. “Usually it’s both people in the studio at the same time. However I ended up enjoying working that way. It can be pretty easy to get distracted with the task at hand at times with two or more people, so it’s a pretty efficient way to go about it.”
The case of Teknik (also New Zealand based) and Cern’s Traitor, it was a similar scenario with the duo starting the track in person before completing together online.
“It seems to be becoming a tradition with our collaborations,” laughs Teknik. “It’s my third outing on Hardware, which has been a hugely influential label for me over the years. It’s great to be contributing to the catalogue.”
There they go with the Renegade Hardware big uppery again. It’s not hard to understand why, though. A veritable tech-Mecca for all steppers, Renegade’s 17 year influence, both as a label and as a promoter, has been a dominant force in shaping the drum & bass sound we know and love today. Their generosity isn’t to be sniffed at either…
We’ve got two pairs of tickets for their next event at their new home Cable on May 19 (featuring the likes of Ink, Loxy, Tech Itch, Cern, Skeptikal, Fierce, Keaton, Cold Fusion and Maztek) AND two vinyl copies of Schemer/Traitor.
WIN! To be in with a chance of winning two tickets and a vinyl, answer this ridiculously easy question: Which country do Menace and Teknik live in?
Said it was easy. Email comps@breakbeat.co.uk with the answer and contact details by May 7 and keep those fingers crossed.
Schemer/Traitor is available right here. Check out more Renegade Hardware releases here.
http://www.renegadehardware.co.uk/
Now back to our Work Experience question, and these are the trio’s dream collaborations….
Cern: Tool
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q6j2w_FWy4
“Amazingly tough question to answer, and I’m sure my answer would be different if you asked me next week but I think it would have to be Tool. Their unique sound, amazing versatility and hypnotising riffs will always remain a mystery to me. Seeing them live was definitely one of my favorite gigs of all time! Tool will always be one of the hugest influences for me musically, although it may be worlds apart from what I make. Sober was the first tune of theirs I heard. It just sounded so different to anything I had ever heard before. The production is amazing, the bassline always kills it and the video to go with it was unique in its own right. The whole Undertow album is still on my regular playlist, and I think it will be for a long time.”
Menace: The Stranglers
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-55d4XkfW8w&fmt=18
“I have been listening to this band since when my old man used to crank their records up when I was a kid. They’ve definitely been a big influence on me and I still listen to their first five or so albums on a very regular basis. These guys had a pretty notorious reputation, so I’m sure working alongside them would be entertaining in more ways than just musically. Apart from having a distinctive sound that’s right up my alley, I like the diversity this band got over the years: a lot of not-so-serious pieces, but some really well-written stuff as well. I think this song shows all of the trademarks of the band quite well: JJ Burnell’s killer basslines, Jett Black’s drum sound, Dave Greenfield’s crazy synths and keys and Hugh Cornwell’s bastard tone.”
Teknik: Konflict
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CCnXm-YEjE
“I’ve been inspired by Konflict’s music for years. These guys were so far ahead of their time it’s ridiculous and their contributions to dance music only seem more impressive when you know they made all those tunes using just an E-MU sampler, a small analog desk and a cheap compressor.
“Their sense of funk and progression coupled with such savage precision and engineering chops, to me, exemplifies what good dance music should be all about! Just mind-blowing stuff, really. I doubt it would be much of a collaboration to be honest; it would probably mostly involve me watching them putting something sick together while I frantically take notes with a screwface on.”
Look out for….
Cern: “I have a 12″ coming out in a few days on Horizons which I’m also pretty excited about. It includes a collab with Sabre which we did at 160bpm for a change, and it pays a tribute to some old school flavours. On the A side is the first tune I completed since I moved to London called Raven Row. I also have a handful of collaborations coming out on artist albums pretty soon including Survival & Silent Witness, Octane & DLR and Nymfo.”
Teknik: “Right now I’m working on a few remixes and collaborations as well as a whole stack of solo bits, possibly for an album project, in other words I’m keeping very busy! More info to come, so watch this space and all that.”
Menace: “So after the several earthquakes we have had in Christchurch, I haven’t really been too productive. However I have been back in the studio and I am pretty happy with some of the outcome. I have a colab with Borderline entitled Phantom which is just about to drop, this is released on Symptom Audio. In works at the moment are some solo pieces aswell as colabs with Dose, Teknik, Nymfo, Borderline & The Actuals.”