On Friday, August 24, the AGN7 Audio crew is dropping a new two-tracker from Root for the Villain, a name that you might not be aware of. If you are drum & bass with a tinge of juke, you should be all about this. The single ("Got This" with Jimmy Hoffa b/w "Special Guest") finds intriguing ways to well in that bouncy 160 BPM range while still keeping things rough for the dancehall.
To prep for this mix, and ultimately to get you into his zone, RFTV cooked up a promo mix featuring material from this single, Chimpo, Sully, Dexta, J:Kenzo, and others. Stream that below, and cop the release when it drops on Friday.
2017 was an interesting time for drum & bass. It felt like my passion for the jazzier, breakbeat-infused side of things was reignited. Not only did I spent most of the jamming out to Earl Grey's Headwinds album, but it was also the 20th anniversary of Roni Size / Reprazent's Mercury Prize-winning debut album, New Forms. It was also the year I got introduced to Ornette Hawkins, who has a new EP, The Other Side of What, dropping on AGN7 Audio on Friday, January 19.
One question a number of people had was "um, who the hell is Ornette Hawkins?" They've been around for a bit; a track on a Subtle Audio compilation here, a feature on a Rude Operator single there. This EP would be the real testament to their intricate blending of drum & bass and jazz. Before the holidays, we got a chance to speak with the D.C.-based duo to try and get some answers. Press play on the clips from The Other Side of What and learn something.
For those who are new to Ornette Hawkins, please introduce yourselves to the people.
That's an interesting question. I'm not even sure we know anymore. What we can tell you for certain is that we currently live in DC and are a collective of improvisational musicians trying to bring together the spontaneity of jazz and drum & bass sensibilities.
How do two jazz musicians from the D.C. area get immersed in the drum & bass scene and sound?
Well, drum & bass can be a natural extension of jazz, if you let it. We’ve been following its evolution since the early '90s. When it's done right, it retains the same complexities. It's been done before. We just want to take the fusion a step further.
For me, it’s hard to tell what’s live and what’s synthetic on a track like “Raw Sun.” How does crafting an Ornette Hawkins tune work?
We typically start out by rehearsing an idea with a few musicians until it becomes fleshed out. Then we record the live performances. Once it gets into the machine we take some liberties with the arrangement, though there are those performances that demand we keep them largely intact. Drum & Bass mixing techniques are obviously an important part of the sound, as well.
Most of the sounds you hear are live players, though we like to create moments that remind the listener that it’s much more than just live performance.
Are there any direct inspirations to the Ornette Hawkins sound, both in drum & bass and in general?
If we’re being perfectly honest, psychedelia. We want to push the boundaries of the perception of what is possible. Free flowing streams of consciousness in the studio help us see the music from a different perspective. Not too much, though, or you can’t work a compressor.
Talk to us about your upcoming EP, The Other Side of What. We’d seen your name on a pair of releases over the last few years; how long had you been working on this release?
This is a fairly new collaboration. Our first tune, "Jazz Police," was released relatively quickly on Subtle Audio after we made it. The Other Side of What is a collection of some of the more jazz-forward work we’ve produced since then. We also had the opportunity to collaborate with studio-mates Rude Operator, on a cut off their recent EP on 31 Recordings ("Witchdoctor"). It’s probably been a few years—maybe even a decade—since the first ideas for these tracks were initially conceptualized, but it takes time to bring a project like this to full fruition.
What significance does the title hold to the tracks on the release and/or your aesthetic in general?
“The Other Side of What” references a conversation between Alice and the caterpillar in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice finds herself in a situation where nothing makes sense and it causes her to question her own identity. Part of figuring out what "The Other Side Of What" is is figuring out which side is which. You can only do that through experimentation. That's what we're trying to do.
A track like “Legend” feels like something I’ve wanted to hear all my life. The drums are funky and hectic, with some amazing horn work. Are you guys planning on recreating these tunes in a live setting? Is it hard to do that? I feel like drumming a tune like this live would be a serious workout.
We have a 100% live recording of “Raw Sun” that we’re giving away as part of the release. The drumming is incredibly demanding. You can hear Matt Tebo working in lots of phrases directly from the recording, so it's definitely possible. We like giving our players the freedom to improvise because they are capable of taking whatever material we give them and elevating it. Of course, there's a definite appeal to seeing it live, and we’re working to make that happen. There are certain things that we put in our tunes that are impossible to do live—at least to do them honestly—but what you get in exchange is the intensity that fuels creativity in the live setting.
Who’s idea was it to get so blunted on reality with that Submorphics and T.R.A.C. remix of “Raw Sun”? That feels like the hip-hop that really got me open back in the ‘90s!
Our friends at AGN7 Audio came up with the idea to reach out to Submorphics, who was keen on the idea of a remix. He happened to be with T.R.A.C. and the two of them reinterpreted “Raw Sun” in a way that’s so appropriate for the EP. Golden-era hip-hop is another intersection point between newer, technology-based forms of music and jazz. It fits perfectly with the aesthetic of the EP and also goes well with our favorite hip-hop. They did a brilliant job!
Are there plans for more Ornette Hawkins releases or, dare I say, an album?
We definitely want to keep it open by exploring different sounds and textures. You can hear some of what we’ve been up to on the accompanying mix. We do have some plans in the works for future releases, but you’ll have to wait and see…
What are you two getting into when you aren’t getting super jazzy and technical with the drum & bass?
Everyone in Ornette Hawkins has a number of other musical projects they’re working on. All of us live and breathe music, everything else is just a distraction.
2016 has been an intriguing year for drum & bass. Bad Companymade a comeback, TeeBee and Optical have looked back at their glorious back catalogs, and producers like Detboi have helped light a fire under Goldie and the Metalheadz imprint. That said, there's still a void in the genre; not too many producers are taking charge and truly bridging the gap between the cerebral drum & bass pressure we grew up with in the mid-to-late '90s with today's sound aesthetic...until now.
Enter AGN7, a duo made up of SPKTRM and Ronin Selecta. Heads should be up on SPKTRM; he's one of the few stateside producers who truly updated the old school sound and style many grew to love, and his 2012 album Android Dreams on Project 51 was truly his opus. Ronin Selecta's put in this time as well, working as a producer and a force behind the decks, tearing it down for worldwide dnb radio institution BassDrive with a similar understanding of the scene as SPKTRM does.
These are the AGN7s of change. Calling their aesthetic "adventurous," AGN7 says they are "devoted to exploring the
myriad
corners of where the music could go, but hasn’t yet." With their debut single on AGN7 Audio, that definitely seems to be the case.
"Mantra" is one of those pressure cookers, with the drums kicking in super early (and super hypnotic), establishing a calm with some ethereal vocals and chilled breakbeat edit work before a monster of a gutpunch in the way of sub bass and even harder drums kicks in. On the flipside, "Vignette" gets more militant with a drumfunk exercise in precision cuts. A lethal collection that steps to the left of what people expect from their regular dnb diet, which is a huge plus.
AGN7 says that each release will be different than the last, which is a blessing for those who don't want to touch an imprint for the same "sound." Giving listeners something they can embrace because they know they'll be challenged? I'm all for that.
This single is set to drop via AGN7 Audio in October. Preview both sides down below.
