The Past, Present, & Future of Bristol: Producers You Should Know

While the UK as a whole has been instrumental in progressing and innovating many dance music styles, it feels Bristol has nurtured numerous talents th

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Complex Original

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While the UK as a whole has been instrumental in progressing and innovating many dance music styles, it feels Bristol has nurtured numerous talents that helped elevate whatever style they chose to work within. A city that's the most populous in South West England, it's been seen as a bustling center of culture, with many different kinds of people calling the town home. Sitting about 120 milles west of London, DJs and producers in Bristol started making their own scenes, with many seeing the city as being the true birthplace of the "trip-hop" scene, as well as helping bring up genres like drum & bass, dubstep, and many newer forms of bass music. With a rich history that spans three decades, we took some time out to pinpoint Bristolians who've made early impacts, continue to push the scene forward, and those who will be look towards to push the sounds along in the future. Here's to you, Bristol.

Massive Attack

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The progression of Bristol's dance music scene might not have been possible if it wasn't for Massive Attack. Formed in 1988 out of the ashes of the Wild Bunch (a crew that included Tricky and Nellee Hooper, and influenced artists like Portishead's Geoff Barrow), Massive Attack found a way to channel their love of hip-hop, soul music, reggae, and anything else into a pure British sound. What came out of the other end was one of the most influential albums of all time, 1991's Blue Lines, which contains a song that's legitimately one of the greatest songs of all time, "Unfinished Sympathy." They followed it up with the equally-brilliant Protection in 1994, and helped usher in not only the "Bristol scene," but the trip-hop craze. Al of this happened before the four million copy-selling Mezzanine dropped in 1997, featuring the amazing single "Teardrop." While their output hasn't been nearly as frequent over the last few years, there is talk of another Massive Attack album, and we have a feeling that the true masters of the Bristol scene and sound will continure to mesmerize fans of quality music everywhere.

Portishead

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Portishead could be one of the most important bands to ever come out of Bristol, the United Kingdom, or the world in general. Blending the sounds of hip-hop, jazz, soul, electronic music, and so much more, their debut album, Dummy, was well-deserving of the 1995 Mercury Music Prize, and helped define the "trip-hop" sound of the 1990s. Dummy painted depressed, somber tones so elegantly, soundtracking despair and dread in timeless cinema. They've technically been together since 1991, but have only released three well-received albums, primarily because they'd rather wait than drop duds. That's very big of them, and makes their LPs well worth the wait.

Tricky

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While Tricky was a part of the media's massive three-headed trip-hop monster (alongside Portishead and Massive Attack), he called his music "hip-hop blues." And the name fit. He had equal parts of the blues and the influence of hip-hop running throughout his material, but siphoned it through his own twisted mental, that was born from growing up in the estates, the death of his mother, and much more. While he started out as that "Tricky Kid" MC with Massive Attack (being featured on their first two albums), Tricky then channeled all of this into some of the most dense, leftfield beats and soundscapes ever heard, linking him with everyone from Bjork to The RZA during his travels. And while his sound has evolved, the soul he etches into his material has always shone through.

Roni Size / Reprazent

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For a time, the drum & bass scene didn't get any bigger in a mainstream sense than the heights Roni Size and the Reprazent collective took it. Constructing forward-thinking tracks with breakneck speeds, they had a way of making the double bass bounce on these drum & bass drums. Roni Size, alongside Bristol mates DJ Die, DJ Krust, and DJ Suv, brought the futuristic drum & bass vibes, gave them soul (with vocalists Onallee and Dynamite MC) and showcased that you could make SONGS out of this urban sound, netting a Mercury Music Prize for their critically-acclaimed debut album, New Forms. While that might be the magnum opus that they can't recreate (although Roni's tried), each of the crews members has solidified their place in the dnb scene, still continuing to focus on progression not only dnb, but the dance music scene in general.

Joker

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Joker, has been blowing minds with his colorful synth melodies and heavy basslines since 2007, when he dropped the Kapzise EP. 2008 was his big eyar, though, as his video-game and grime inspired take on dubstep demonstrating yet another interesting direction that the genre could go as it moved away from its Croydon roots. On 2011's debut album The Vision, Joker showed the scope of his, er, vision, collaborating with vocalists like Jessie Ware and Silas, while he was most recently found collabing with Swindle as 040. Long may his purple reign continue.

Julio Bashmore

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Julio Bashmore makes house music, but the influence of Bristol's love of all things bassy surely rubbed off. His first release on Dirtybird in 2009 and subsequent on Ten Thousand Yen, PMR, and similarly excellent labels were all built around the sort of rich bass that needs to be heard in a club to really appreciate. In 2011, Bashmore released "Battle For Middle You," a track the raised his profile far beyond the underground, just as "Au Seve" would bring him onto radio and festivals in 2012. Now working on his debut album for his own label Broadwalk Records, Julio Bashmore is taking his time and doing things the right way.

Pinch

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Pinch is a legend, an intergral figure in dubstep's history, and a leading light in Bristol as founder of Tectonic Recordings and the man behind the incredible Subloaded and Dubloaded nights. Pinch has released music by the likes of DMZ, Skream, Addison Groove, Joker, Roska on his own label, and his seen his own tracks released on most of the key dubstep and experimental electronic labels. Never one to stay still, and always one to incorporate sounds from outside dubstep into his music, Pinch has recently been collaborating with Mumdance and will no doubt continue to innovate and explore for many years to come.

My Nu Leng

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My Nu Leng, the duo of Jammo and Tommy, have their own distinct style, blending house, techno, and dubstep influences into murky, vibey, dancefloor crushing beasts. Whether working with Fox, and MC, on "Masterplan," collabing with Taiki NUlight for releases on Black Butter, or remixing Jillionaire, it seems like My Nu Leng can do anything, and do it well. If you're not familiar with their catalog, check out "The Grid," just make sure you turn your speakers up.

Addison Groove

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For a while, Addison Groove was rattling subwoofers with dubstep sounds as Headhunter, who netted himself an album on Tempa during the late 2000s dubstep craze. In 2010, seemingly out of nowhere, Addison Groove unleashed "Footcrab," a darker homage to Chicago's juke sound, and hasn't look at the dubstep scene since. It was a wise decision (and an ace tune), considering that the bass music scene in the UK was starting to take off. Since then, Addison's helped craft sounds that blend a love for the juke and footwork sounds with 808 thumps and anything else he feels will work in the mix. His hard work has lead to collaborations with fellow Bristol dweller DJ Die (of Reprazent fame), Chicago footwork pioneer DJ Rashad (including an acid bit on Rashad's Double Cup album), and tunes signed to 50 Weapons, Tectonic, and Hessle Audio. If you're looking to see where bass music is going, you'd be doing yourself a huge favor by following Addison's lead.

Kahn & Neek

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A Kahn & Neek grime and dubstep set is a thing of rough-cut, low-end filled fury, but there's a lot more to them, seperately as producers, together as dub and reggae sound system project Gorgon Sound, or as part of the experimental Young Echo collective. From grimy anthems like "Badman City" to jungle war dubs to mellow Cassie remixes, Kahn & Neek respect the music's roots while keeping things fresh and current.

TC

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For a while, TC was scene as a producer who created dancefloor-damaging drum & bass in the vein of Dillinja's sound (to the point where he had a number of singles signed to Dillinja and Lemon D's Valve family of imprints in the early 2000s), he evolved into an artist who, when he figured out his own voice, took it further and farther than many before him. His 2007-released debut album Evolution spawned a series of hits, including "Deep," "Drink," "Rockstar," and "Where's My Money." He's ridden that wave of success (which included loads of radio play on BBC Radio 1 and Kiss FM) to his own imprint, Don't Play, and even having Skrillex's OWSLA label release an EP of his in 2013. He's taken on the sounds of trap and other forms of bass music, and continues to enjoy himself while murdering soundsystems.

Jakes

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While Jakes is now known as one of the UK-based producers still churning out gnarly dubstep rhythms, he actually got his start as a drum & bass MC, adding his memorable vocals to Technical Itch tracks like "The Risin'." When he got bit by the production bug, he didn't look back at the dnb scene (although he has graced a number of tunes as a vocalist for fellow Bristol-based producer TC). Jakes went on to form H.E.N.C.H. Recordings in 2007, bringing the mind-bending sound of dubstep to the forefront. It's an imprint that helped highlight producers like Chasing Shadows (now known as KillSonik), Lost, Komonazmuk, MRK-1, and Mensah over the last seven years. While Jakes' output has slowed a bit, he's still crafting bangers, and we have a feeling that an album from him shouldn't be that far off in the future.

Peverelist

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Peverelist has been a fixture in Bristol's dubstep scene since the mid-2000s, taking his job of managing Rooted Records and using his knowledge to form Punch Drunk, a label that started out as catering to the producers of the Bristol dubstep scene. His work as a producer was heralded early, helping push the "second wave" of the UK dubstep scene, which saw way more experimentation and attention to detail (was well as influences from genres like techno) into the mix, helping usher in artists like Kowton and Appleblim during this phase. He's affiliated with Livity Sound, Hessle Audio, and other forward-thinking imprints, and if you're truly looking to see where Bristol's scene is heading, you'd need to check out what Pev's signing, spinning, or creating.

Appleblim

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After finding acclaim on the experimental edges of dubstep in the mid-2000s, specifically with the Skull Disco label he founded with Shackleton, Appleblim has been in perpetual constant motion, creating music that defies easy categorisation. Whether its house, techno, dubstep, funky, garage... whatever, Appleblim will either be making it or putting it out on his Apple Pips label. His latest project is a collaboration with Alec Storey as ALSO—look out for their EP on R&S Records, out November 25.

Vessel

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If there's one thing Tri Angle Records are good at, it's hitting us with sounds and styles that we've never heard before. Vessel's new album for Tri Angle, Punsih Honey, is completely uncalssifiable and—if given time—utterly engrossing. "Red Sex" is one of the most immediately accessilbe tracks, (insofar as any of it is "accessible"), a messy rush of clanking drums and distorted melodies.

Vessel is also part of the Young Echo collective along with Kahn, Neek, Jabu, Rider Shafique and lots more. You should check out their website (they might have the best flyers in the game) here: youngecho.co.uk.

Hodge

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Hodge makes ruff, tuff dancefloor music, dark and bassy house and techno, but like so many Bristol-based producers, his influences come from far and wide. Like most good dance music, his tracks are best experienced in a dark club with a heavy soundsystem, but if you're looking for a more summery, sunny vibe, h'es also one third of house act Outboxx. Get familiar.

OH91

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OH91 doesn't give a fuck about genres, he's just making awesome music. When we first caught on, he was putting out bright and bouncy house tunes, but lately he seems to have been on more of a grime wave. We're not mad. Check his mix for the Astral Plane to see where his heads at, and make sure you catch the unreleased tune with Spyro in there.

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