Ground Level Presents - PlayGround Album
5 years ago Ground Level was born with the vinyl release of Serious Wobble by Stylus Rex. 60 months down the line the Ground Level has evolved into a label covering a whole range of music with a broken beat and an underground feel. Rather than do the usual 'best of' style compilation to celebrate the occasion we're presenting a package of 13 brand new tracks and remixes.
From the album cover:
From London to NYC, via Vienna, Berlin, Nottingham, Texas, Brisbane, Perth, Denver, San Francisco and a small city in the centre of England called Derby, this compilation takes you on a global journey of broken beats and bass music.
Ground Level has been pushing it's musical vision since 2007, quickly growing from a local imprint to a global movement thanks to the internet and the ability to connect musicians and producers internationally with the click of a mouse. The artists on the label are spread far and wide across the world but all share a passion for bass heavy music and a talent for turning that passion into cuts that captivate the dancefloor.
The music on this collection showcases Ground Level's vision of releasing music with a broken beat and an underground feel. Breakbeat collides with Electro House, Baile Funk, Miami Bass, Prog, Moombahton, Bass Music, New Jungle, Old Jungle, Nu-Funk, Ghetto Bass and numerous other genres in our mixing pot of styles.
This record celebrates five years of our passion for beats, during which time Ground Level has grown from vinyl roots into digital culture. Welcome to a place we like to call our Playground.
Track by Track:
Rebel Sketchy starts things off and is let off the leash with Bass Invaders. Starting with a vocal and drum loop workout the track quickly launches into a technoid roller, blurring the boundaries between breaks and house before dropping into a huge bassline workout!
Sasha Khan’s remix of label founder Andy McAllister’s track Celebration features the vocal talents of MC Coppa. Originally a summer anthem Sasha keeps the party feel while rolling into a 140BPM nu-jungle monster with heavy bass aplenty, bringing the original bang up to date!
Following some huge remixes for the likes of XXXchange and Franci$co, Zap! Pow! Die! brings us some new music with bassline rocker Pussy. Chunky house beats combine with cheeky vocal snippets and a huge bassline that just keeps growing throughout! And when you think it’s over, it’s just really beginning with the breakdown and buildup to rule them all!
Joe C, who you'll be getting to know now from his last two awesome release on Ground Level, weighs in with Sound Off. With his trademark sound combing old and new elements and styles of the broken beat and bringing it bang up to date with some funky bass heavy vibes.
Fisso & Spark dropped their first EP on Ground Level earlier this year, with Radio One Support from Annie Nightingale, Freefall charted high in the Beatport breaks charts, then remained in the charts for 8 weeks! For this compilation they bring us Nasty Sound, a darkly melodic peaktime track with a cinematic edge. This track is taken from Fisso & Spark's debut album which is dropping on Ground Level in the winter.
Following some massive tracks on the Plump DJ’s label Grand Hotel Submo lives up to his name on his remix of Rebel Sketchy's last single 'I Need You', with a huge array of bottom end. Combine this with massive builds and broken tribal rhythms this track is a bass music monster!
Next up are Datadex, a name familiar with many for their re-edits that have been setting dancefloors alight for the last few years and played by breakbeat elite like Krafty Kuts and DJ Icey. For their debut release Datadex make a strong entrance with Sound Off, a low slung groover, full of clever edits, huge builds and fat beats.
Bezwun is better known as being one half of Beatsmack but is quickly carving a reputation for his solo work. This track rolls from breakbeat to ghetto funk and back with the mother of all filthy basslines and a huge dollop of funk.
Stylus Rex is present here, 50 releases since his track Serious Wobble started the label, with a rework of a track from his debut album Amplify called Rhythm Rocker. However this is no mere re-edit, Stylus Rex invites vocalist Fjokra to add a dynamic vocal, with rapped verses and a sung refrain, all backed by gargantuan amounts of bass, this takes the track into a new dimension.
Rebel Sketchy's recent single Up & Down gets re-imagined by DJ Hero, who keeps true to the form of the original then lets rip with a huge bass led energy halfway through.
Label founder Andy McAllister then hits us with Bass Box, a dark technoid hybrid of breaks and bass music featuring menacing synth lines backed up by a stripped back drum pattern, one for the late night crowd!
San Francisco'sToxic Rainbow, who last was seen on Ground Level with his remix of Dane O's Just Add Lazers back on GL025 makes his return with 'On The Horn'. Dreamy euphoric synths rise and fall to solid beats and clever edits, reminiscent of the label's first release Serious Wobble by Stylus Rex.
Closing things off Black & Blunt combine forces with MC Coppa and Sam Perry to bring us Wandering Strangers, a track that really sums up the compilation. With musical boundaries blurred between breaks, nu-jungle and dubstep the lyrics of the track deal with modern way of songwriting by collaborating with people you may never have met over the internet, like Wandering Strangers!
Selected DJ and Press Feedback:
“Big Remix, love it!!! (Submo Remix) - Peo De Pitte
“Heavy@@@@@@@@!!!!!! i wanna hear this in the club!!!!" - Drop The Lime
“Great Remix (Submo Remix)” - Micky Slim
“I like this ;-)” Meat Katie
“Great track, Submo making waves” - Hyper
“DJ Hero Remix is Excellent, Thanks” - Plump DJs
“Some great tunes in here!” - Mixmag
“Bass box is pretty cool, good work!” - Hexadecimal
“All Winners!” - Basement Freaks
“Stylus Rex and DJ Hero’s remix of Up & Down for me!” -
Leuce Rhythms
http://youtu.be/7iavq__PIXY
Ground Level PlayGround Promo Mix
This promo mix is a trip through the last 5 years with a selection of tracks from the vaults alongside some new tracks from the compilation:
1. Rebel Sketchy - Square Dance (Lo IQ? Remix) - GL036
2. Break the Box & Andy McAllister - If You Want It! - GL013
3. Joe C - Sound Off - GL053
4. Rebel Sketchy - Up & Down (DJ Hero Remix) - GL053
5. Andy McAllister feat MC Coppa - Celebration - GL022
6. Dane O - Just Add Lazers - GL025
7. The Analogeeks - Free Wheeling Machine - GL034
8. Beatsmack - Ruff EM Up - GL032
9. Domino - Dirty Mind (Rebel Sketchy Remix) - GL033
10. Zap! Pow! Die! - Pussy - GL053
11. Black & Blunt feat MC Coppa & Sam Perry - Wandering Strangers (Fisso & Spark Remix) - Forthcoming January 2013
12. Stylus Rex - Serious Wobble (Maelstrom Remix)
GL001
Andy McAllister - Bass Box (Original Mix) - Free Download
A track featuring on Ground Level's new compilation PlayGround, 128k MP3 for free download!
