Friday, April 24, 2020

Rudewhy for years (that's why they call it a continuum, folks! pt 203048372)

Not just a titular nod to A Guy Called Gerald (with inflation effect on "28 Gun Bad Boy" - now up to 42, or is it 32 as the label of the record actually says?), but also earlier-still bleep-era samples from Unique 3 (right?)

This tuff tune via Rudewhy's triffic Speed Garage Top 100 thread at Dissensus, where this track stands at #15. As you go higher up the chart, he starts writing some nice commentaries on some of the selections - how he found a certain record, the quest for elusive tunes, what it sounds like, strange collisions of influences.

In this list are some Nuum-nodding tunes I'd never come across, joining the company of well-known refixes like the "Hurt You So" remake "Oh Boy' by Fabulous Baker Boys, the "Truly One" garage update by Strictly Dubz IV ("Small Step") et al

This one nods not just in the sample from "Euphony (Just 4 U London)" but with the name - Bodysnatch / Bodysnatchers, haha

Omni Trio love shown

"Whatcha Gonna Do" / Da Intalex reflections

"Long Dark Tunnel / Valley of the Shadow" echoes in this one.

Rudewhy's focus is very much on speed garridge, not UK garage (so very little in the tasteful and deep-deep-deeper zone) and the selection cuts off before the 2step sound takes over. So it's a sweep across a sound-strand that lasts a bare year, maybe two years top (although bassline oop North carries on doing the Double 99>DJ Narrows line and 4-to-4loor tunes pop up here and there on the London scene even after the overall sound-of-the-pirates has switched to the less banging, bump 'n' flexy 2step, with R&B flava battling it out with house vybe for control.

I downloaded all the tracks, plus a few other Dissensian suggestions, and played them as one huge bloc. It took me two and a half days! (Had to keep taking a break - after about 4 hours of this heavily scenius-not-genius, functional floor-filler in a single session, onset of diminishing returns as it all became a bit of a blur!)

It's crammed with slammige - but what surprised me was that nearly all of the selection were unknown to me. That doubtless reflects me being in NYC at that time, where only a smatter of speed garage 12 inches dribbled over to record stores, because there was zero scene for it in the USA. The junglists hated speed garridge and only later on did some of them come around to 2step; NYC house bods were not having it AT ALL. I did get my mitts on some good tunes on vinyl import, but mostly my access was through CD compilations. Tape-wise, I have hardly any speed garage 1997 ones, whereas later I have a shitload of the 2step era pirate tapes. (Gonna be digitizing and sharing to the commonwealth those soon actually).

It was a moment of generic-but-good churnage and monster over-supply.... mercenary opportunists jumped on it but still came up with the goods.... Scenius principles rule i.e. "positive unoriginality" syndrome aka depersonalizing alignment to the state of art.

All of it - first-division, second-division, third-div - imbued with the magic of that Moment.

Still, it's interesting how rarely the Rudewy selection overlaps with what would generally be considered the canon of that year-plus - and almost never coincides with my own quirky faves.

Below is a messy list mixing up obvious anthems and personal peccadilloes. Almost entirely excluding 2step, except for a few edge cases. Approximate descending order, toppermost at the start....

Gant -- "Sound Bwoy Burial (187 Lockdown Dancehall Mix)"/All Night Long"

New Horizon, “Find the Path”

Lady Penelope & Abstrac, "Deeper (Part 2)

Giselle Jackson, "Love Commandments (Loop Da Loop vocal mix)

KMA, "Cape Fear"

New Horizons --"Slamdown" off Scrap Iron Dubs No. 1 EP