Since we last caught up with Bristol producer Conducta, he's been hard at work preparing himself for The Blast's Winter Carnival at Motion in Bristol on Jan. 27, which will also play host to Giggs, Stefflon Don, DJ Maximum and more. To get us all warmed up, we tapped the producer up for a mix of pure, unadulterated, 24 karat UK garage. Everything is here for the die-hard garage-heads: wobbly bass, snappy drums and silky R&B vocals.
If you were (or still are) a fan of that classic late-nineties/early 2000s UKG, this will sit perfectly with you. Still, his love of an equally golden era of hip-hop and R&B seeps into the mix as seen in the focus on vocal tracks over instrumentals (though there are still plenty of those). Impressively, the mix strikes a balance between the infectious and entrancing vocals of good garage and the saccharine vocals of the sickly sweet kind. There's also a good dose of MCing to help too.
But don't think this is a nostalgia-drenched retreading of the past—Conducta's true strength is his ability to balance the past masters he reveres with the sounds pulsing out of UK club culture in 2017 ("I don't just want to regurgitate," he told The Guardian last year). As we look forward to 2017 and the carnage that awaits, at least UK garage is in safe hands. Take in the mix below and make sure you grab your ticket to The Blast's Winter Carnival at Motion in Bristol on January 27.
Tell us a bit about your selections in this mix.
I always approach mixes like a energetic house party. I went for a couple of my own dubs, then I chose my favourite tunes spanning across UKG and beyond.
What was the one track you absolutely had to include?
DJ Naughty's "Trouble's Back". Whenever I play this, I just end up doing some next tribal skank! [Laughs]
Any tracks that narrowly missed the cut?
Loads did, to be honest, but I had to save a few for the show on Friday.
What's the first single or album you ever bought?
The first physical single CD I can remember was Pharrell & Gwen Stefani's "Can I Have It Like That". It cost £2.99, or something. The first album/mixtape was DJ Semtex's The Grimewave, which I got on a playground in year 8.
What's the last physical record you bought?
K2 Family's "Bouncing Flow". There's still quite a few old tunes that I can't find on vinyl.
What do you want to see happen musically over the next 12 months?
For more UK originated genres to flourish and show the world how great our music is.
What trend or scene absolutely needs to die right now?
Arsenal Fan TV! Giving us good arsenal fans a bad name.
Tracklist:
Conducta & Notion - Felt This way VIP vs AJ Tracey - Naila
Spooky - My Desire (Refix)
Cadenza ft Jorja Smith & Dre Island - People (Conducta Remix)
Nu Birth - Anytime
Gabrielle - Sunshine (Wookie Remix)
Mosca - Bax
MJ Cole ft AJ Tracey - The Rumble
DJ Naughty - Trouble's Back
B Skippy - My Pad
Conducta & Deadbeat - Hurt Me
MJ Cole - Ruff Like Me
Scott Garcia - Waiting
Emalkay ft Rod Azlan - Flesh N Bone
Mr C & DJM - It's You
Conducta - 138 Dead
Elf Kid - Golden Boy
Conducta ft Lifford - Still You (Remix ft Coco)
