Drum & bass legend S.P.Y was given the rare honor of bringing the amen break to the hallowed grounds of BBC Radio 1's Essential mix last month, a notable achievement considering that the genre is only rarely given an outing on the platform. Amidst a number of Hospital Records big shots and other notable names like DJ Hazard and Noisia, the Brazilian/Bristolian DJ and producer dropped some previously unreleased cuts, some of which have shown up on a 4-track release titled BRSTL Hardcore to be put forth by the OWSLA-affiliated NEST HQ on February 9." 'BRSTL Hardcore' and 'Warrior Dub' were part of my Essential Mix and it seems like a great opportunity to follow up on that by giving them away as part of the NEST," S.P.Y tells THUMP. Yeah. You heard right. For free. "It's not all about money," S.P.Y continues. "The drum and bass community is quite close knit and there is a big history of sharing tracks and supporting each other. I also saw this EP as a great way to make drum and bass accessible to people who may not otherwise be so aware of the sound.""To be honest, I approached my NEST release in a very similar way to how I approach all of my releases. I wanted this EP to showcase some of my personal favourite unreleased tracks that I regularly play out in my DJ sets," S.P.Y continues. We've got the premiere of "Mass Effect," a quintessential heater with a rolling bassline and dystopian aesthetics. Check it out:"I wrote 'Mass Effect' while killing time on a long train ride from London to Scotland," says S.P.Y. "It initially started out as a trap track that I was producing for a bit of fun, but when I tried it with a drum and bass beat it really worked. I finished working on the track in the studio and it has a great reaction when I play it out."S.P.Y's long-time affiliation with seminal drum & bass label Hospital Records, who have recently launched an office in Los Angeles, might cheat reference to a bigger stateside presence in the future. Well, maybe that's wishful thinking on our part: "I've been playing in LA since 2010 and there is always a great vibe there. The US in general has a really supportive drum & bass scene and every time I go back it has grown even stronger. I've had the opportunity to play at some wicked festivals and club nights in the US and I'm already thinking about my next tour. For now I'm based in the UK, but you never know what will happen in the future."S.P.Y is on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter
Hospital Records is on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter
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Hospital Records is on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter