‘A bassline tune for old schoolers, B-boys and dancers’
Thus is described THAT wicked ‘Warehouse’ tune by Legion & Logam, now out there on the ep of the same name by American unit Legion & Logam on New Playaz. And what a rolling, multifaceted journey of an ep it is: those just discovering will be struck by the unique flow, the downright infectious nature of the beast… more than you perhaps bargained for!
Can you break down who’s Legion and Logam?
Hunter (part of Legion): Hmmm, an open invitation to speak about ourselves…you might get more than you bargained for asking that!
Lee (part of Legion): We’re just a couple of guys from the southeast United States that love Drum and Bass. Diamonds in the rough! Hunter and Logam live in Atlanta but I live in Denver, We all met in the south and were mostly inspired by the first wave of D&B in the late 90s and early 2000s here. I think that’s our common ground.
Many will of course know you from ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Blackout’ from the past and their unique style…
Hunter: As far as style behind ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Blackout’, well, we really wanted to do something different but equally ‘dance floor’. Not many other Americans were pushing minimal and ‘vocal anthem’-type songs.
Most stuff from domestic drum and bass artists is tech and neuro, We love all that for our sets but I think we found our niche doing something else.
When we teamed up with Logam for these songs we found our unique identity, which is important in today’s age of homogenous music.
Logam: I’d definitely describe our sound as a combination of minimal vibes and melody. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t hear something heavier or something completely different from us in the future.
Hunter and I both have experience with bands whether it be recording, performing, or both so I think naturally this has an influence on our sound as well and perhaps brings something fresh to the table.
What sort of places do you play live? This rolls out! What sort of venues?
Lee: We love to play music to all sorts of crowds. There is a difference in vibe for a festival and what we play there, we don’t necessarily play the same sets when it’s that versus a club night. We really we want to write all types of D&B that can be heard on the radio, at a festival, a club night in the states or a basement in Croydon.
We just are grateful if someone is there vibing to our music!
Logam: Yeah I agree: as long as people are getting down that’s what matters. Small clubs do provide that nice intimate vibe but large venues definitely give you that “rock star” feeling ha ha… but can also be a bit intimidating too!
Can you curate the much-loved ‘Warehouse’ for us? (press play, below)
Hunter: I think ‘Warehouse’ saw several permutations before we sent it off to Hype. It was a raw idea with a tight old school baseline that we had rolling and logam completely revamped it, maybe twice even. We wanted to do something that harked on a simpler time in D&B, kind of jump up-inspired but with our own minimal twist. Reminded me of early jump up warehouse parties in the States that got me into it.
A bassline tune for old schoolers, B-boys and dancers.
Logam: Yeah, If I recall correctly it started out as a bass line and a break that Legion had sent me but I was really inspired by that one line. I’m constantly impressed by their sound design skills. I tried a few different breaks and ideas on top and chopped the bass up, moved it around until the vibe was just right, added pads, fx, vocals and voila! ‘Warehouse’ was born.
There are a few versions of this one for sure. Don’t be surprised if you hear a VIP in the club one day!
The atmosphere in tunes such as ‘Red Letter’ from the ep is amazing, and I imagine you locked down in the studio creating this, so is that the case? Long deep night sessions recording?
Hunter: I definitely feel like sometimes we work harder, not smarter, as the saying goes in reverse! Sometimes the mix down on an epic track can make or break the emotional impact to the listener, or in some cases A&R.
We definitely spend a lot of time trying to pull that emotion from the track, be it with effects or compression distortion plus eq.
I feel like Thomas (Logam) really makes it look easy, where we sometimes make it look very hard.
Logam: Due to my work schedule just about all of my studio time consists of long deep night sessions so that’s definitely a yes for me.
I averagely finish at around 4AM.
We actually worked on ‘Red Letter’ both together and also separately in our own studios. Being in the same room allows us to bounce ideas off of each other in real time but sometimes being in our own spaces on our own time can be really beneficial too. I think most producers feel more comfortable in their own environments: there’s no stress to impress if that makes sense, ha ha. Thanks Hunter!
There’s a wicked ‘House’ vibe in parts, do you dig House/Techno, for eg?
Lee: We have a fairly holistic respect for all music, especially electronic. I feel like we are more inspired by House and Techno than we realize it.
Hunter: There is a really cool techno scene in both Atlanta and Denver; these guys at ‘Cardio’ in Atlanta were some of my first friends here. Their nights at Soundtable and elsewhere really inspired the vibes for ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Blackout’ no doubt.
Deep and moody darkroom vibes, but at 174.
Logam: I never realized how much influence it has had on me until Hunter pointed it out actually. He once described me as a “techno fueled” D&B producer which I found to be surprisingly true. I definitely like the ‘four on the floor’ feel and I was in to guys like Oakenfold and BT before I even knew about D&B.
What tune – any tune – is in your head right now?
Lee: One we are supporting at the moment is Frankee ‘Deep Down ft Caan, out now in Ram, just great lyrics and masterfully arranged.
Logam: I’m still stuck on Audio’s EP. ‘Ultron’!
Thanks for this, any shouts?
Hunter: Big shouts to DJ hype and Pascal for really pushing us as new artists in the game. they’ve done everything from distribute our label Sine Language and also feature our tracks on Playaz whenever we sent them through.
Logam: The support from the Playaz camp has always been there and it has always been greatly appreciated.
It’s an honor to release with them again and I feel these tunes are right at home. Big ups guys!