Eclectic Minds! A time for Drum&BassArena to stop hassling your favourite D&B DJs and dust off our contact books in other genres. Once we’ve found a suitable candidate we ring them, play gully basslines down the phone for two minutes… And if they’re still at the end of the line we know they’re good to chat drum & bass. This week we rang Maribou State. They passed the bassline test with flying colours.
“We were into drum & bass first of all really,” says Liam, one half of the duo. “It was back when everyone was getting decks and we were going round each other’s houses and having a mix. It was the social thing that got me into it and was a great resource for inspiration. I always kept checking Drum&BassArena to see what new releases were coming out.”
Like we said: they passed the D&B test with flying colours. And while their trademark sound is a deep, groovesome, organic house, they admit a lot of their inspiration and sonic palette actually comes from drum & bass.
“We do sample a lot of sounds from it,” Liam admits. “We’ve been playing with jungly elements and amen breaks too recently. I don’t know if we’d ever make a full on D&B track but never say never.”
Maribou State’s Scarlet Groove EP is out on Southern Fried next month. And you can catch them at SubSoul Sessions, Concrete, London on October 25. Get tickets here.
Now let’s see what their favourite D&B tunes are….
Camo & Krooked – Turn Up The Music
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzdLLIwvQSg
“I wasn’t a massive fan of Camo & Krooked but a friend played this to me and I fell in love with it. There’s something about the drum sounds and the way it builds up with these big fat vocals then drops out. It feels like a house track but done at 170. I never get tired of it.”
Logistics – Kaleidoscope
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-BEib4GIXI
“This was one of the very first D&B tunes I got into. It must be about eight years old but it never sounds dated to me. I love all the sounds he’s used and the way the track has a consistent groove that progresses without you realising. What more can I say? I love it!”
Instra:mental – Watching You
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AnyCPvYg9s
“This is more in-line with stuff I’m listening to at the moment, and I guess the tracks we make in a way. The syncopated drums and vocals are so well executed. It sounds like nothing else I’ve ever heard.”