Sabre | Noisia | Alix | Icicle | Rockwell | Ulterior Motive | Maxwell Golden

Hailing from North London, 27 year old DJ turned Producer Sabre has slowly been risen through the ranks of the global electronic music fraternity, securing as he goes a reputation as a twisted yet soulful thinker, bringing a grittier sound to the deeper spectrum of the drum and bass and experimental electronica.

After having spent his earliest years in the Seychelles, Sabre moved to the UK in 1989. Reaching his early teens, he found a passion for Hip-Hop and turntablism, and equipped himself as a bedroom DJ. The subsequent vinyl addiction was cemented by the arrival of Jungle Era, and overwhelmed by the richness of the music, Sabre started to purchase the occasional release, and eventually switched focus away from Hip-Hop entirely in the late 90s with the arrival of more futuristic, industrial sounding drum and bass, from artists like Future Forces, Photek, Teebee and DJ Trace.

By the millennium, pirate and internet radio stations such as UK Rumble and Rude FM had began supporting the young DJ, and with hopeful ambitions emerging on a career in music, the inevitable experimentation with music production had begun, with artists of the day such as Jonny L, Ed Rush & Optical and Kemal all providing a blueprint to work to. But parallel to modern techstep influences came the borrowed 'sampling ethic' of the Hip-Hop greats such as Premier, Diamond D, RZA and DJ Muggs.

A course in music technology followed and now armed with a firm grasp of studio technique; the first releases came in 2002 under the guise of the collaborative 'Intimidation Collective' project, a two man, self-driven enterprise selling white label music from car boots straight to the shops. The profile was growing at grass roots level in the underground, and now approaching 2004, small and mid sized labels started picking up on the 'techy/soulful' mix of dancefloor drum and bass being produced by the newcomer. The first throws at starting a brand within music came the year after with the launch of London Zu, the now retired drum and bass clubnight formerly held at London's La Scala venue.

In the years since those first opportunities, Sabre’s grown to emerge as a global DJ with residencies across Europe, and secured releases and remix work for labels including Metalheadz, Renegade Hardware, Critical and Shogun. Spanning many styles, this initially dancefloor-orientated catalog has since evolved itself towards a more minimal and experimental outlook, resulting in 2007 with a commission from Capitol films to contribute toward the film score for the Tony Kaye feature 'Black water Transit'. The view looking to the future is spread across the musical and multimedia spectrum.

A prolific trio influential across the spectrum of millennium electronica; Noisia aka Thijs, Nik & Martijn are amongst the most notable artists in electronic music today. Regularly imitated but rarely emulated, this dutch crew are best known for their highly technical, unique brand of industrial, techno infused Drum and Bass, but have always demonstrated an irritatingly enviable ability to turn their hands to many styles.

Following an invitation from the crew to come perform in their hometown of Groningen, Sabre joined Noisia in their studio to collaborate on what would eventually become 'Quarters'. A Chance encounter with Icicle at the airport meant the 4 cook kitchen became 5, and a solid weekend of studio time was setup.

'Quarters' was amongst the first tracks to be written for "A Wandering Journal" and its tribal quality served as one of the primary beacons around which the albums identity was sculpted. It serves as a dark prelude of what's to come; rich in tension in its peak, hugely hypnotic in its troughs...

Check out Noisia at:
www.myspace.com/denoisia

A long-time friend and collaborator, Alix Perez is one of the UK’s shining lights, emerging in the last few years as a diverse, thinking-mans musician; displaying an incredible sense of soul through an array of production styles and genres.

Currently recruited to DJ Friction's Shogun Audio and fresh following the completion of his own debut LP project, the young Belgian is beginning to unleash his own take on the ever evolving experimental angles within drum and bass, an ethic that's certainly true of 'Javelin', the first of his two collaborations to feature on 'A Wandering Journal'.

Perhaps the most sinister track on the album, 'Javelin' is best described as creepy, unsettling bass workout layered with sparse percussion and hammer horror cinematics. In direct contrast comes 'Have it your way', the second collaboration with Perez on the album which is a sultry, mellow, down tempo number. Rich in influences from UK Garage and dub-techno...

Check out Alix Perez at:
www.myspace.com/alixperez

Dutchman Jeroen Snik, AKA Icicle, and his hugely distinctive style of production have been causing waves for a few years now, and using his secured place in the Shogun Audio rostrum he's projected himself to the centre of the genre, making music that succeeds in being subtle and brutal simultaneously.

Originally from Eindhoven, this recent migrant to London has had Sabre's support since the early days, with his tracks making a huge impact on the DJ's playlist for many years now. In this, their third collaboration together, the two joined forces with another dutch outfit, Noisia, thanks to a chance encounter.

The result was 'Quarters', a fusion between Sabre's experimental style of arrangement, Icicle's mastery of all things low frequency and Noisia's precision with sound design...

Check out Icicle at:
www.myspace.com/iciclednb

Originally hailing from Cardiff, Rockwell's trademark palette of sounds and adventurous drum programming have earnt him the support of the Drum and Bass scene's most esteemed members, and a slot in the forthcoming release schedule of many of its most prominent labels.

A long time resident at Cardiff's Aperture club night, Rockwell attended university in Bristol before arriving in North London. In the 6 short years since his initial exposure to Drum and Bass, Rockwell has made swift progress in securing a reputation for thought provoking, textural music that embraces the roots of jungle, digital futurism, and detailed experimentation with careful balance. It's a pleasure to welcome him onboard to provide the club mix of the albums title track, 'A Wandering Journal'. The reworking sees the haunting, unsettling nature of the original composition evolved into crunchier dancefloor excursion, punctuated by flurries of detailed percussion and subtle ambience; all bedded above a corridor of weighty bass and crisp, tight breakbeats...

Check out Rockwell at:
www.myspace.com/rockwelldnb

Arguably 2009's most exciting discovery, JD & Morphex aka Ulterior Motive have been patiently honing their craft over the last decade, slowly calibrating their skills, laying in wait till they perfected their sound.

The result has been a flawless stream of early releases all embodying a highly authetic revival of the mid 90s techstep style. The shared love of artists of artists from that era such as Kemal, Ed Rush & Optical, Jonny L, Photek & Teebee served as an ideal platform to collaborate with Sabre, and the fruits of this labour; a track entitled 'Barefoot' features on the LP Sampler.

A familiar mix of styles favoured by both artists, Barefoot is the essential tribute to the coveted '98' sound. Characterised by its robotic, almost speech like bassline, the track takes the core canvas and elaborates with moments of techno inspired, bleepy synthesis to maximise its bleak, industrial underbelly...

Check out Ulterior Motive at:
www.myspace.com/theulteriormotive

A renowned slam poetry champion, Maxwell Golden is a writer & performer in Hip Hop Theatre and Freestyle. He was an Emerging Artist in Residence at the Southbank Centre and is currently an associate artist at The Albany, Deptford and The Merlin, Frome and part of the writer's hub at Soho Theatre.

First meeting as budding producers during high school days, Maxwell and Sabre have collaborated on numerous projects over the years including a white label DIY record company that featured the very first releases from either artist. In their first work to feature Maxwell's lyrical talents, the pair have created 'Levelling out', a descriptive reportage of the encounters faced in this tale's plotline.

Set over a 'sci-fi meets krunk' backbeat, Maxwell's distinct lyrical tone describes and intricately details the factors at work in the story's setting, the dank, unwelcoming wilds of the African wilderness. Maxwell has also lent his theatrical skills to project, voicing the interludes as the main character portrayed in the narrative.

Check out Maxwell Golden at:
www.myspace.com/maxwellpalmergolden