HEAD’S UP: We can now reveal the full tracklist for Drum&BassArena Anthology 2!
20 years of D&B history tightly mixed across three CDs, whether you’re new to the scene or have decades of fond memories, this massive release will resonate with every bass-loving bone in your body.
After last week’s editorial teasers, we can finally show you the tracklist. Scroll below to take in its 60-track strong glory. Flavours come hard and heavy from every direction, and one particular cut we were keen to include was Wilkinson’s bodyslamming tear-up Moonwalker. Not only does it bang rather hard, but it comes with a story and observations that should inspire all budding producers.
Let’s remind ourselves just how good it is, first…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwdXh-LQWXU
“It was my first Ram release!” grins Wilkinson. “I’d signed to them in April 2010. That’s when they brought me in for a meeting based on demos they’d heard. Based on that meeting I really wanted to write something that Andy would really be into. The best rewind track I possibly could!”
In fact it was so heavy, Ram knew it would be perfect for Andy’s Nightlife 5 compilation…
“Yeah, Moonwalker was very dark compared to what I’d done before,” he admits. “I’m actually fonder of the liquid, softer sounds. I do love the reload tunes but they’re not what got me into this. I love complementing them with something completely different on the B-side. Something for the club, something for the iPod.”
Hence the inclusion of Samurai on the original release. An ideal complementary B-side to Moonwalker, where the A-side sizzled, Samurai glistened with an understated growl that grew and grew. The best bit about this story, however, is about the demos that got scored him a place at the meeting table and got him signed to Ram Records in the first place… They never got released. And they never will be!
“No, never,” nods Wilkinson, agreeing that they more than paid for themselves. “I do return to them to take ideas or certain sounds or samples but I’d never finish them. When you’re a producer you can’t kid yourself. You don’t just write a tune and suddenly it’s released. Who’s going to release it? Is it good enough? Back then, and even as recently as last year, I’d write 10 tunes and maybe one or two of them would be signed.”
“If you’re a new artist who makes a real banger you need to have it backed up. You can’t just have one tune. Or if the label don’t like the rest of your material, what are you going to do? There’s a lot of pressure from the label and yourself. I can see a lot of artists who’ve written one massive track and can’t seem to follow it up. That’s why I do a lot of different styles and explore a lot of different ideas.”
Swiftly becoming a consummate pro, Wilkinson’s track-to-release ratio is much healthier now. But it’s not without hours beyond hours of time invested in the studio. In the coming months we can expect more unexpected vibes. Including a twang or two of hip-hop! But that’s for a future blog feature.
To finish up, and bring things neatly back to our Anthology 2 release, we asked Wilkinson what it was about drum & bass that attracted him in the first place…
“For me it’s the one genre of music that draws from everything,” he explains. “When I came into it High Contrast was killing it with Return Of Forever and Pendulum were smashing it on a rocky vibe, Fresh was doing the big electronic stuff. So many vibes. There’s no other style where you can play a tune that samples a big funk track then play another which samples a classical piece of music and mixes it with a Virus synth. That’s what appealed to me about drum & bass, and I don’t think any other genre would satisfy me in such a way.”
Available November 4 (download) and November 5 (3xCD), Drum&BassArena Anthology 2 will feature all those vibes… And many more!
iTUNES PRE-ORDER (UK, US & Canada): http://smarturl.it/
Here’s the full tracklist:
CD 1: 2010-2013
(1) Chase & Status (Feat. Liam Bailey) – Blind Faith (Loadstar Remix)
(2) Nero – Guilt (Culture Shock Remix)
(3) Drumsound & Bassline Smith (feat. Tom Cane) – Through The Night
(4) Dimension – Children
(5) Sub Focus (feat. Alice Gold) – Out The Blue (Radio Edit)
(6) Technimatic – Turner Road
(7) Heavy1 – Xiphactinus (Lenzman Remix)
(8) Baby D – Let Me Be Your Fantasy (J Majik & Wickaman Remix)
(9) Wilkinson – Moonwalker
(10) TC – Tap Ho
(11) Harvest – Tape Pack
(12) DJ SS – Lighter (Bladerunner 2012 Remix)
(13) Serum – Look Sharp VIP
(14) Serial Killaz – Send Dem
(15) Athys & Duster – Barfight
(16) Noisia & Phace – Program
(17) Optiv & BTK (Feat. Ryme Tyme) – Ignition
(18) Rockwell – Tripwire
(19) A.M.C – Noise Of Thunder
(20) Coda – Shodan VIP
CD 2: 2004-2010
(1) Pendulum (Feat. DJ Fresh, Spyda & Tenor Fly) – Tarantula
(2) DJ Hazard & D Minds – Mr Happy
(3) Loadstar – Link To The Past
(4) Original Sin & Taxman – Penamana
(5) DC Breaks – Babylon
(6) Pendulum – Slam
(7) Bad Company – Bullet Time (Spor Remix)
(8) Ed Rush & Optical – Chubrub
(9) Logistics – Warehouse
(10) Artificial Intelligence – Uprising
(11) Q Project – Ask Not VIP
(12) Total Science – No 1 Sound (Ebony Dubsters Remix)
(13) DJ Zinc – Ska (Remix)
(14) Friction & K-Tee – Set It Off
(15) Icicle – Lost Hours VIP
(16) Alix Perez – Contradictions
(17) Netsky – I Refuse
(18) Alix Perez – Dubrock
(19) Sigma – All Blue
(20) S.P.Y – By Your Side (Logistics Remix)
CD3: 1993-2003
(1) Jo – R-Type
(2) Dopeskillz – 6 Million Ways
(3) Shimon & Andy C – Quest
(4) DJ SS – Black
(5) Rude Bwoy Monty – Warp Ten
(6) DJ Red – Enta Da Dragon
(7) MA2 – Hearing Is Believing (Remix)
(8) Foul Play – Being With You
(9) J Majik (Feat. Kathy Brown) – Love Is Not A Game
(10) High Contrast – Basement Track
(11) Un-Cut – Midnight (M.I.S.T VIP Remix)
(12) Ram Trilogy – Milky Way
(13) Future Cut – 20/20 (Future Cut Remix)
(14) Ed Rush & Optical – Sick Note
(15) Total Science – Squash
(16) Bad Company UK – Hornet
(17) Dillinja – Grimey
(18) Moving Fusion – The Beginning
(19) Bad Company UK – Nitrous
(20) Konflict – Messiah