Jackmaster is at the heart of the Numbers dynasty – the Scottish label that has brought us classic cuts from SBTRKT, Jamie XX, Deadboy and Mosca. Even with their rapid release rate there’s an idiosyncratic sound to the label, a technicolour blend of UK garage, bass heaviness and pop immediacy that few other labels seem to be able to match. Jackmaster’s sets embody the spirit of the label – frantic blends of hip-hop, electro, Miami bass, and anything else that’ll leave an earworm with you for the next six months. Little wonder that Fabric commissioned his supreme party starting abilities for a mix cd last year. The last time we saw him, he transformed a hungover Sunday afternoon Notting Hill crowd into a full on block party - sample the mix below for a taster.
As one of the founders of Hessle Audio, along with Pangaea and Ramandanman, Ben UFO has stood at the forefront of bleeding-edge bass music for the last half decade. With their uniformly stark sleeves, the trio have overseen a peerless run of records - Joe's "Claptrap", Objekt's "Cactus", Ramadanman's "Blimey" - twitching, restless missives from a cold electronic netherworld. While his co-founders have been birthing new sounds Ben has taken a curatorial role, with a superb ear and sense of narrative taking his dj sets to a level above. A mysterious shadowy force for good - like Batman if you replace saving Gotham City from evil with playing quality techno.
Electric Minds with Jackmaster and Ben UFO at Wapping Studio Spaces, E1W 2BB. Saturday 10 November. For tickets and more information go here.
Image used with permission.
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