SCAR are reminiscent of an out-of-control, driverless diesel train in a blockbuster film: full of power, full throttle, engineering drawn from the past few decades and bearing down on you right NOW. A sort of ‘new old skool’… more on that to come.
The culmination of Survival and Script, they’re a force which has the potential to cause not so much a small scar to the skin… but more a big wide dirty scar on the landscape, especially when you factor in a further alignment: Metalheadz.
SCAR! I love this ep for Headz, and how full of energy it is, it’s a powerhouse.
Thanks for your kind words. we are really pleased you are feeling the tracks and that the energy comes across in the music.
We’ve been writing together for the past 18 months or so but this particular EP started to shape up in the early part of this year.
‘Old Ground’ is a monster…
We wrote ‘Old Ground’ in December last year. We’d already been working together for about nine months and during that time we’d kind of honed our sound. We wanted to write D&B that was basically ‘new old skool’.
‘Old Ground’ started with a sample from an amateur sci-fi movie. We wanted to make a tune that was full of energy with lashing drums yet minimal at the same time. Hopefully we have achieved that.
There’s a very ‘Headz’ vibe to it in terms of the sound. Sounds like it all came together somehow…
As we were making it we definitely realised that it had a very Metalheadz vibe to it so we gave it to Ant just before the Metalheadz Christmas podcast last year and it was played and we were told that Goldie wanted to release it but were asked if we could provide a B side.
A few weeks later we sent off another three tunes to Metalheadz and it was decided that they would like to release all of the tunes and make it a four tracker. We’re thrilled that Metalheadz have given us a home for some of our music.
To put you right on the spot: how would you sum up Metalheadz?
Metalheadz is arguably THE iconic label in D&B. It represents everything that is good in this music. It’s by far the most forward-thinking label with some of the most talented producers who are always pushing to better themselves. Throughout its 20 year history it has always been held in the highest esteem. We were also lucky enough to have a track selected for release earlier this year on Platinum Breakz 4, ‘When’…
Back to the ep, tell us about ‘Ruby’…
‘Ruby’ was made because the we wanted to have something with an old Optical kind of vibe with some added emotion. We’re really pleased with the way it ended up.
… and the title?
It was called ‘Ruby’ because we simply shortened the name of one of the samples. No great story behind that one I’m afraid!
You mention Optical, who are your influences?
The usual mob! Goldie, Crystl, Photek, Peshay, Dillinja, Ed Rush & Optical, Total Science and so on. These guys hurt everyone. We are also influenced by a lot of ’80s synth music, hip hop and funk. Anything with a groove basically.
How are you guys feeling about D&B right now, the state of the music?
I know its really cliché because whenever this question is asked 99% of the time people will answer ‘yeah it’s really strong at the moment etc, etc…’ , but the reality is that it is ridiculously strong.
There are amazing producers out there who are really pushing boundaries again. There’s lots of healthy competition again which is a mirror image of how it was in the mid ’90s.
And the clubs are packed with all different types of people from all different backgrounds. The music fans are really knowledgeable thanks to the internet which has also helped the music go global.
What about the radio/broadcast front?
Regarding radio, there are great shows on Rinse FM that showcase D&B regularly… and Ministry did up until a few weeks ago. It would be great if D&B was given more air time on national stations but its down to the public to put pressure on these stations to act.
This ep reminds me why I love D&B in general: it’s that unmistakable vibe that hits you when you walk into a club and it’s in full effect. So where did you guys witness this year that was slamming??
Fabric is always great to play at. The sound is incredible and the crowd are always up for having a good boogie. Also the Dispatch nights at Plan B have been great. Unfortunately we couldn’t make Outlook, Dimensions or SunAndBass but the videos that were put online show how much people are loving the music. People just going nuts!
The cover’s really interesting, love the look, who devised the idea?
We came up with the idea for the artwork as we felt the whole EP had a bit of a 1970s tv series ‘space’ vibe.
We described to the artist exactly what we wanted and he came up trumps. We are very pleased with it and can’t wait to have the final copies in our hands.
What’s next on the SCAR agenda?
We have a few things about to be released over the next few weeks including this ep on Metalheadz Platinum. There’s also…
SCAR ‘Call To Arms VIP/Do You Love’ on Dispatch Dubplate Series 002 in November; SCAR Call It What You Want EP on Dispatch Recordings 086 in November; SCAR ‘Treading Water’ 31 Recordings Future Beats lp, due December.
There will also be a three track release on Metalheadz XX early 2015 and some other music on other labels that we will tell you about nearer the time.
Keep your eyes peeled for SCAR on the live front!
SCAR image by Chelone Wolf
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