On his just-released compilation album Re:Vamped (March 8—my birthday, no less!), Shack revisits some of the classic tunes and sounds of the past several years—mashing them up, remixing them, slicing them, blending them, and spitting them out into pure dancefloor rapture. Injected into this madness are some new tracks – including breakbeat juggernaut “The Law of Life”.

JR: So Shack, tell us, when did the idea for Re:Vamped come about?
EF: The idea to actually release the tracks came about around August of of last year. They were all originally intended just for use in my own DJ sets, but then I realised that there would be a good chance of being able to get licenses for a lot of the tracks I’d used, so we set about doing that … and man, it was a mission! We got there in the end though, even though some of the more ’snooty’ dubstep and techno labels weren’t willing to play ball.

JR: Is it any accident that much of this record is getting back to your breakbeat roots? Is it a fair assumption to say your roots are in breakbeat??
EF: I think that’s what people’s perception is yes. My own personal roots pre-date releasing or making any music really, and the first things I put out were techno 12″s and rock/rap crossover tracks with an extra helping of industrial yowwwlllll. But yes, I think most people know me more for my breaks productions than anything, and it just happens that a big chunk of this album is beats-orientated, as that was the stuff I felt was lacking from my own sets.

JR: While we’re discussing genre, you’ve had a lot to say about this matter on your Beatport blog, do you find that others are embracing your anti-genre position as you travel the globe?
EF: I honestly don’t think it matters that much to people on the ground — if the dancefloor’s moving and people are happy with the night and the sounds, then the job is done … it’s only when you delve into the darker corners of the internet on a Monday morning that you hear whispers of discontent from the self-appointed taste police and I’m done being bothered with all that.

JR: What are your impressions of where the US scene is at right now?
EF: It’s a tricky one to answer really given I don’t spend all that much time out there (I hope that will change after this album’s been released), but the opportunities to come out & play in cities other than San Francisco have been very thin on the ground over the past few years. I think it’s always going to be tricky in the US … there’s no cohesive national radio, each city has it’s own identity, the over 21 drinking rules are stupidly repressive and without serious tour support behind you to do what the likes of Crystal Method have done over the years, it’s very hard to make an impact. That being said, it’s been really inspiring to see what Bassnectar has been doing out there using his own unique vision of how to connect with people, and to an extent that’s been a lead I’ve been following in the last few months in establishing my own way of doing things, and the project has grown exponentially during that time!

JR: Was 2009 your first experience playing at Burning Man? What was that like?
EF: It was my first time, yes, and it’s a struggle to put it into words, even after months away from the Playa. I’m certainly not a religious person, but there was a spiritual element to Burning Man which really floored me & whilst I’m not 100% sure I’ll be able to go back this year, it’s very hard to imagine not being there again. The DJ sets out there were a lot of fun and full of spine-tingling energy, but they were only a small part of the experience for me.

JR: About three years ago, we were chatting pre-show at Mighty (SF) about how to stand out as a producer. You mentioned that you receive countless demos and that aspiring producers really must understand how high the quality has to be. Do you have any advice on how aspiring producers (such as myself)—even those of us with some limited success on other labels—can take their game to the next level?
EF:It’s evolution not revolution for 99.9% of people. I think people’s expectations as producers tend to be unduly high and this usually means that people are unwilling to really listen to critical opinion on their music. The fact is that even a relatively successful release will only give you a slight bump in your profile, and if you’re not ready to follow it up with more material at regular intervals, you will find yourself sliding back each time you make a little progress, so it’s important that you are very organized and you follow up and follow through with any positives that come from your work. Use the networks heavily and creatively:  Twitter, Facebook, iLike, LastFM, Blogs, MySpace, E-Mail databases all have roles to play, so make sure your time is well spent and be prepared for a long hard slog with a LOT more hard work than most people imagine!

JR: The first time i heard “Mad as Hell” by Vandal was at Opulent Temple at Burning Man 2005 – Lee Coombs dropped it on an unsuspecting Saturday night crowd and completely changed the universe at that moment. As an example from this album – how on earth did Hatiras, JELO, and Stanton Warriors enter the equation on M.A.D? The result is amazing.
EF: Well when I was messing around with some ideas for new tracks & mashups for the album, I tended to have 30 or 40 tracks loaded up in Ableton in the same key as one another and just started experimenting with taking basslines form here, leads from there and big breakdowns from here … the basic principal was that ‘There are No Rules’ and no copyright (seeing as none of it was going to be released), and the result was a very liberating & fresh approach to the source material. If I ever did another one of these albums (which I may well do) i think it would be hard to be able to think quite as liberally as I could on this one, given that I’d be thinking about licensing restrictions & suchlike.

JR: Congratulations on all the success of your label U&A. What does the future hold?
EF:More of the same really. Developing the label as a brand a little more with some dedicated label nights, bringing through some of the younger artists I’ve been working with and giving them the best possible platform for the world to hear their music, and also looking forward at ever more creative ways of releasing music and communicating with people.

We would like to thank Shack for stopping by to answer some of our questions… and seriously people, do not waste time – pick yourself up a copy of this record on Beatport right away. Even by Elite Force-standards – this album is the fucking b.o.m.b. GO NOW!!

Album Review:

March 8 2010 sees Elite Force, one of Dance Music’s most admired artists, unshackle his brand new album, Re:Vamped, a jaw-dropping mix of bespoke refixes and re-edits that will redefine the art form.

Right from the word go, when Simon ‘Shack’ Shackleton created Elite Force the moniker became synonymous not only with gilt-edged class but also with the ability to deliver guaranteed club carnage time and time again. Straddling styles and riding roughshod across genre lines, both as a DJ and producer, Elite Force has carved an enviable reputation as an innovator, never staying still creatively long enough to be pigeon holed or trapped in a single scene.

The strength of his own musical output led to a series of critically lauded remixes for the likes of Miles Dyson, UNKLE, Groove Armada,Crystal Method Dylan Rhymes and Grandmaster Flash, that continue to cement his reputation as an aural trailblazer with a distinctive take on music. Already famed within DJ circles for his on-point re-edits that have drawn heavy praise from the likes of Fatboy Slim, James Zabiela, Laurent Garnier and Sasha, Elite Force has moved on from the simple restructuring of tunes to fit his set, viewing the tracks sent to him as raw material to be reshaped, retuned, chopped and reborn as something new, something fresh.

As sHack puts it himself: “I decided to embark on a whole new extension of the re-edit idea looking at creating a number of brand new tracks out of components taken from older tunes… proper mash-ups. Some were born out of simple live jams that evolved into finely tuned studio creations, whilst others were ground-up rebuilds where I was effectively writing new pieces of music using samples from other tracks. There was no fixed way of working and no sacred cows that went un-plundered.”

The result of this new approach is Re:Vamped a seamless excursion through Elite Force’s unique record bag taking in artists as diverse as Danielle Papini, Hugg & Pepp, Classixx and Bassbin Twins. Kicking off with the pounding kicks of Final Whistle sHack takes to the task with relish fusing French funksters Popof and Delon & Daclan with Lee Coombs & Dylan Rhymes before slipping into the euphoric energy of Red Lights & Lasers. Barbar Blaze’s bouncing b-line takes no prisoners as Palmer Brown’s searing a capella from Blaze’s ‘Do You Remember House?’ takes the track into the realms of uncharted mayhem, Harness The Nonsense sees sHack doing just that, entering heads down territory for a run of superlative cuts reassembling recent clubbing history into a whole that effortlessly transcends the sum of its parts. Dissecting elements of Propellerheads, Blatta & Inesha, Wolfgang Gartner and Meat Katie and assimilating them into a world of fierce subs, cavernous beats and incessant leads, before stitching them back together with consummate ease, Re:Vamped is brought to a heavyweight close with a re-reading of Bar9’s Shaolin Style that underlines Elite Force’s musical vision faultlessly.

In all twenty-eight mash-ups have made their way into Elite Force’s sets since the project’s inception, 16 of which appear on Pre-vamped. Several of those that didn’t make the mix have become part of the ‘Pre:Vamped’ project, a series of monthly free downloads that are set to become available across a massive network of online blogs & mailing lists. Keep checking http://soundcloud.com/elite-force for more information.

http://www.eliteforcemusic.com
http://soundcloud.com/elite-force

FULL RE:VAMPED TRACKLISTING:

1. Intro
2. The Final Whistle (Elite Force, Popof, Delon & Dalcan, Lee Coombs, Dylan Rhymes)
3. Red Lights & Lasers (Elite Force, Redlight, Meat Katie, Toob)
4. Barbar Blaze (Elite Force, Blaze, Hugg & Pepp)
5. Harness The Nonsense (Elite Force, Daniele Papini, Tim Green, Harnessnoise)
6. Reclaim Control (Elite Force, Calvertron)
7. Annihilate (Elite Force, 6Blocc)
8. The Law Of Life (Elite Force)
9. Rhythm Rocks The Blue (Elite Force, Stanton Warriors, Bassbin Twins, Dopamine)
10. M.A.D. (Elite Force, Hatiras, JELO, Stanton Warriors)
11. Cali Sk8r (Elite Force, Propellerheads)
12. Bring The Panic (Elite Force, Blatta & Inesha, Hijack, Rogue Element, Meat Katie)
13. Divine Act (Elite Force, Classixx, Wolfgang Gartner, Meat Katie, Roland Clarke)
14. Scrammed (Elite Force, Plump DJs)
15. Calypso (Elite Force, Datsik, Excision)
16. Shaolin Style (Elite Force, Bar9)

I first heard the name Dylan Rhymes when I discovered Whole9Yards – the UK record label that would forever change my taste in electronic music. It started with Dark Globe, then I discovered Meat Katie and Elite Force. I knew Lee Coombs from Fingerlickin’… but this was the beginning of my love-affair with all things tech-funk.

The record store I frequented the most in LA at the time was on Melrose Avenue… one of the shop DJs knew I was into breaks and ordered me all kinds of great stuff from the UK. After moving from LA to Chicago and Gramophone Records being my new home for music – it didn’t take long for the shop to know all Lot49 music would be purchased (at $12 per 12″) by yours truly.

Almost as quickly as I had discovered this music, I made my first visit to San Francisco – where a talented young DJ named shOOey was playing Salty at a small bar in the Mission. I knew at that moment that this town “got it”… not less than 4 hours later I would hear Melyss play my all-time favorite Rhymes track Party People at an underground Opel event. This was May of 2005. It was decided: we had to move to San Francisco.

It is fitting that we feature Dylan Rhymes this week – the 8th anniversary of Opel is this weekend. I know SF has become as special of a place to Marvin as it has to me, so I decided to ask him a little about his experiences in the city on the bay:

JR: When did you first hear about breaks being popular in San Francisco?
DR: Before my first trip, which seems an age ago now, I had heard there was a big party scene in SF. For such a relatively small city I was amazed at how many people were in to the whole underground culture. Luckily having always worked with Opel promotions there I wasn’t DJing to a one genre crowd. They were very accepting of all styles of dance music which was great for me as I play a lot of different music.

JR: What is the most special about visiting and/or playing in San Francisco for you?
DR: I love going to SF because it is one of the most welcoming places I have ever been to. There is a great spirit amongst the people that live there and I have made some amazing friends. The shows are always fantastic but you gotta prepare for the after party onslaught

JR: Can you share with us a memorable moment from your gigs at Opel over the past several years?
DR: One of many special moments I can remember was playing @ Mezzanine with my Label partner Meat Katie. Prior to the party there was a fashion show of all local talented designers and manufacturers. It blew my mind the work and effort that went in to this production and how well it went. It was only my 2nd or 3rd time in SF and this experience cemented the fact that it would be my number 1 destination to play.

JR: What is it like playing at Opulent Temple at Burning Man?
DR: It is an experience which I find hard to describe as every time I think about it I conjure up different moods and memories. You have to go to Burning Man to fully comprehend and appreciate the hedonism of it all. I guess the easiest way I can describe playing there is to imagine thousands of people in front of you that are having the best time of their life and you are responsible. At the risk of sounding like a Trance DJ, I would say EUPHORIC…if that’s allowed?

JR: What is different about playing in SF compared to other cities around the world?
DR: The main differences are the crowd is very open to different styles and they are out to party. It’s a very simple process for the Bay Area people……they go out…..they get down……they enjoy themselves! SIMPLE!

I would like to thank Marvin for participating in this years “Take Five” (we did a five question interview with Syd Gris last year prior to the Opel 7 year anniversary). His music has been an inspiration to me and I am thrilled we could feature an amazing mix of his this week on Jungo Road.

A little more about our friend Marvin…

Dance music has been the biggest part of Rhyme’s life from a young age. Inspired by early hip hop and electro a la Kraftwerk and Doug E. Fresh, Marvin purchased his first set of decks at 15 and caught the bug in a bad way. Rhythm Design Studios in Uxbridge became the birthplace of Outsiders, Drake and Beaver’s much-lauded project for Junior Boy’s Own Chicago influenced Jus Trax label. Friend, DJ and London mainstay Clive Henry then joined the team and the trio became Peace Division, a project that gained props from every corner of dance music without exception.

Since then he has cemented his reputation as one of the leaders of the breakbeat and tech house scenes through his output through Kingsize Records, Meat Katie’s Whole9Yards and Lot49 labels and his own Blue Black imprint. Besides original work, Beaver has also remixed the likes of Deep Dish, Infusion, Dave Gahan, BT, Overseer, Unkle and Puretone while he has collaborated with Meat Katie, Christian J, Force Mass Motion (as Silencer) and Anthony J Gorry (on his 2004 album, Dead Famous).

Catch Dylan Rhymes in the US over the next month or so starting this Saturday February 27th at Mighty (SF) for the Opel 8 Year Anniversary, March 6th in Tucson, AZ at The Rock, and then March 16th & 18th at SXSW as part of Lot49’s Texas invasion!

More about Dylan Rhymes on his site, Lot49, MySpace, SoundCloud, and Twitter.

Booking: Click to reveal email

Stream the mix and support the musicians by purchasing the tracks and hearing them played live! You can also download this full podcast mix above.

1. Dylan Rhymes + Meat Katie – ONLY YOU (Haggstrom remix)
2. Etienne De Crecy – Move
3. Zoo Brazil – FANCY (Popof remix)
4. Andreas Henneberg, Simon2 – BOLINGO GRINGO
5. Dylan Rhymes + Meat Katie – ONLY YOU (Echo Vacio Remix)
6. Reset Robot – v3
7. Thomas Schumacher – HEAT IT UP
8. G.e.R.M. – GLITTERBALL (Dylan Rhymes re-shift)
9. Odissi – DIRTY SECRETS
10. Cirez D – On Off + Depeche Mode – PEACE (Accapella)

A few words before we delve into the obligatory biography… those who are fans of breakbeat and tech-funk have no need for a formal introduction of Elite Force – and for those who are new to the genre, there is no better artist to better sum it up for you than this week’s Jungo Road podcast mixed by Elite Force.

I always noticed Elite Force’s tracks and remixes on b-sides of 12″ I was buying – and then in 2006 it finally hit me: this is hands down my favorite producer in dance music. And three years later that has not changed. Whether it is under his name or a plethora of cheeky monikers he has used to put his imprint on the scene, for over a decade Elite Force (aka Shack) has been the pioneer, innovator, and master of tech-funk.

Simon Shackleton’s Elite Force project began way back in 1996, debuting on his own newly founded Fused and Bruised label with a series of peerless 12″ and remixes. After a successful five years, he put Fused and Bruised on the back burner to concentrate on production work. Following several years with Whole9Yards and Moonshine, he became a mainstay recording artist for Adrift Recordings (formally known as Kingsize Records) before moving on to set up his own hugely successful U&A Recordings imprint.

Often credited for being a linchpin in the development of the tech-funk genre (an amalgamation of breaks, house, techno and electro), he has released a series of highly successful singles in the past few years. He received broad support from DJs and musicians across the board, including the likes of James Zabiela, Sasha, Crystal Method, Laurent Garnier and Fatboy Slim to name but five. In 2008, he released a semi-retrospective double album’s worth of remixes and re-workings of a 12-year back catalog, with over 25 mixes coming from such luminaries as Miles Dyson, Rogue Element, Deepgroove, Dylan Rhymes and Calvertron.

In addition to these solo singles, Meat Katie has been a regular collaborator with Elite Force. It’s a creative relationship that began in 2003 with the massive-selling “Toba”, continues with a series of singles under the “Meat Katie & Elite Force” banner, and comes to fruition in 2009 with the launch of their new joint project Dustbowl.

As a remixer, Elite Force has always been in huge demand, with re-workings for the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Crystal Method, Jungle Brothers, Stereo MCs, UNKLE, Infusion, Rennie Pilgrem, Shiloh and Dylan Rhymes all contributing to his reputation as one of the most creative and effective remixers around.

Elite Force’s music has also been the soundtrack to many a movie, with a huge list of impressive A-list credits to his name, including the likes of The Matrix, Charlie’s Angels, Arlington Road, Mortal Kombat, Crow, The Bone Collector, The Jackyll, and Spiderman 2. His music has appeared on a wide array of TV shows, from CSI to Top Gear, from Football Focus to LA Doctors. He’s also soundtracked a number of computer games including no fewer than 5 FIFA games, several of the Wipeout series, The Matrix and Motorstorm 1. He is currently writing some bespoke music for forthcoming games for Ferrari and Motorstorm2.

On the decks, Elite Force has been a prime mover since 1990 when he cut his teeth playing huge student nights and self-promoted acid house nights in the South West of England, before moving up to ….London…. and ultimately gravitating towards his tech-funk style, with which he now has a full diary of global bookings. He has become known as one of the top tech-nicians on a circuit that has included massive shows in Belarus, Hungary, Australia, Italy, USA, Czech Republic, India, Turkey, Spain, Japan, Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and China, amongst others, as well as numerous festival slots including Glastonbury, Coachella, Bloom, Wickerman and the Glade. This year will be Elite Force’s debut performance at Burning Man.

He was also responsible for the hugely influential Strongarm Sessions webcasts which became something of an institution since their inception back in 2001, receiving as they did around 20,000 downloads per show, but now put on the back burner to concentrate on other projects, such as his own blog Tech Funk Manifesto and his other musical projects such as Dustbowl.

You can catch Elite Force in the USA this month June 19th at Shorty’s Martini Bar in Baltimore, MD; June 20th at Mission Rock in San Francisco, and June 22nd at Monday Social in Los Angeles.

More info on his MySpace
Booking: Click to reveal email

Stream the mix here or download the podcast above; then click on the links below to purchase!

1. The Loops of Fury – Flick A Switch (Hijack Mix) [U&A Recordings]
2. Hatiras – Scream Train [Hatrax]
3. Uberzone – I No You [Gizmonik]
4. Maelstrom – The Jungle Jacker [Expressillion]
5. Remaniax & Marc Benjamin – Blazin’ (Haggstrom mix) [Audiodamage Records]
6. Wehbba – The Bunker [Lo Kik]
7. Mike Hulme – 100mg [U&A Recordings]
8. The Loops of Fury – Flick A Switch (Original) [U&A Recordings]

‘Roll Player’ is pure class top to bottom, my favorite on the EP. I just love the syncopated percussive sounds and bassline groove – exactly the kind of stuff I am digging right now. Rather than relying on lead-lines that hit you over the head, this highly suggestive track has some  serious style.

The Specimen A remix reminds me of why I fell in love with Lot49 back In 2004 – and absolute blinder of a remix. The first minute does not prepare you for the breakbeat onslaught that ensues. This is the kind of remix that will have the masses begging for more. Thoroughly engaging and expertly produced, and that’s all before the spawn of Satan lead-line kicks in. Forget everything I said about lead-lines in the original review above, this is how it’s done right Here. Can you say epic? Sick remix. Specimen A will be remembered for this one. My God… unreal.

‘Long Acre’ brings us back to earth momentarily. Ahh – back to the minimal tech shit that MK has been blessing us with on the Dustbowl project and now this one with Dylan Rhymes. This techno groover invites you into the washing machine before it begins to fuck with your head two minutes in. An unmistakable hook, the slicing syncopated synth, complimented by groove-perfect drums, takes you on a journey. Great compliment to ‘Roll Player’ – ‘Long Acre’ is a classic techy winner of a track.

Mike Hulme’s take on ‘Long Acre’ is a bit deeper and bit darker – I love what he did with the lead-line… cutting it up for it to compliment his darker bass and added synths. With a clean-hat riding on top of the filthy synths this track has fresh and original sound to it. Looking forward to testing this on the dancefloor. Really like the way this one evolves.

Marvin’s re-edit is a real treat. Beefed up drums and psychedelic flange with the lead-line mostly in place makes this the remix of choice for me on ‘Long Acre’. Tremendous package all around.

(avail exclusively on beatport)

I suppose one of the perks of having your own blog is to ramble on about irrelevant nonsense (which this article is the perfect opportunity to do). Meat Katie, for my money, is really the king of tech-funk. There is a triumvirate, I’d say, but at the top of the heap is the godfather – Meat Katie. His name taken from an old British porno, MK has always had a unique style that cannot be described as house, breaks, or techno – rather the bastard child of all three. MK records were always full of force and style – and always on the dark side, which I loved. Aside from my brief sojourn into funky breaks, I was a huge fan of the “Whole9Yards sound” from the start. W9Y is MK’s much beloved former label, put to rest – and resurrected in the form of Lot49. Now five years old already, Lot49 has become the premier tech-funk label in the world and a staple in DJ crates spanning multiple genres.

I first met Meat Katie at LA’s best kept secret – Monday Social – back when it was at Las Palmas. Each subsequent time we have crossed paths he has been humble, geniune, funny, crass (always), and just plain cool – rare (believe me) in this DJ scene we all frequent. Evidence of MK’s status is that I found myself dancing next to BT at Monday Social that night – and the dancefloor at Las Palmas was about 10 square feet. Since then, I have gone on to see MK thoroughly punish dancefloors at multiple shows in San Francisco – none more memorable than Love Fest 2007. It is all the more thrilling that MK (and Lot49 label-mates) will be making that journey down Jungo Road this coming summer to Black Rock City. *editors note: they will most certainly be taking Route 447 and not Jungo Road en route to Burning Man – but it sounded better to say it that way.

Be sure to check out Meat Katie’s scorching 90 minute set from the Opel 7 Year Anniversary party – streaming below, download link above, and podcast available on iTunes (search: Jungo Road). Special thanks to Zach Moore and the Gough Street Sessions podcast for a copy of this un-interrupted mix. Be sure to check out Zach’s podcast for additional sets from the Opel 7 Year party and enough additional free music to make your head spin.

<————– slightly edited label logo (I prefer this one)

Stream the Meat Katie mix right here. You can also download the podcast at the start of the post or by subscribing.

Here are some of Jungo Road’s favorite tracks by Meat Katie available from Amazon. You can click to listen, purchase and support Meat Katie.

Electronic music in the US is very much an urban expression, in that, each city has it’s own particular style. San Francisco is no exception. One can almost distinguish So.Cal deep house from No.Cal deep house. What is unique about San Francisco, and not many US cities can claim this, is that it has a very healthy breaks scene. Perhaps it is the artistic and expressive history of the city which has set the stage for this particular style of music to succeed. The breaks are nothing new, however, and yet it seems many US clubs are not ready to promote anything other than four-on-the-floor.

Enter Syd Gris – legendary San Francisco promoter and founder of Opel Productions. From his humble beginnings as a DJ and part-time party promoter, Syd has always been a man with a mission. His parties always encompass a greater sense of community and responsibility – very much consistent with the philosophy and prevailing attitudes of the cities (SF and Black Rock). Over the past 7 years, Opel has grown to become one of the biggest crews in San Francisco. Between Opel and Opulent Temple (Syd’s Burning Man camp – incidentally the largest sound camp at Burning Man), Syd has booked the biggest DJs in the world – but none more consistently than tech-funk heros like Meat Katie, Dylan Rhymes, Lee Coombs, and Elite Force.

With Opel’s 7 year anniversary (a party too big for one night! see below…) on the horizon, it seemed fitting that Jungo Road features one of Opel’s newer DJs: Dex Stakker. I also used this opportunity to launch a new series on Jungo Road – “Take 5″. Five questions posed to accomplished and influential people in the breaks/tech-funk community. We begin this series with Dr. Syd Gris…

Take 5 with Syd Gris

1. What has made the breaks and tech-funk scene so successful in San Francisco?

I see it as a symbiotic relationship between the well established SF underground crews simply liking that sound as promoters and dj’s and so bringing it out to their parties.  The parties are sweet, and the ball starts rolling and it becomes self perpetuating.  I think because the 3 of us (myself as Opel, Seismic, and An-Ten-ae) are dj’s, we know what we like musically, and have trust that we know what the SF crowd will be up for.  We have an idea of a particular sound we want to push and expand here and so we take the steps to make it happen.

2. Will breaks and tech-funk remain a sub-genre that most promoters in the US won’t touch with a ten-foot pole?

They won’t?  That’s odd to me, especially as in the tech funk realm the whole point is it’s a range of house, electro, breaks and techno, so it’s got much more broad appeal that let’s say just straight ahead funky breaks.

3. When and who were the DJs/Producers that interested you in this sound?

No surprise there.  I bought the first Lot 49 release – ‘All I Need’ by Meat Katie, w/ one side a remix by Dylan Rhymes, and the other by Lee Coombs.  Off that track alone, and how sick it was, I booked Meat Katie to play a Opel Halloween party in 2005, and have since broadened the roster I like to bring out to be a bunch of the guys on that continuum such as Lee Coombs, Dylan Rhymes, Elite Force, Rogue Element, Vandal, Blende, + other guys that might be associated with breaks but do much more such as Adam Freeland, Stanton Warriors, Rennie Pilgrem, Hyper, Hybrid, etc.

4. What does the future hold for Opel Productions?

I like the talent cycle we’re on and we love doing what we do with special events such as our anniversary parties, LoveFest, Halloween, NYE, street fairs, etc. so we’ll likely keep that up.  Plus, our sister playa community the Opulent Temple will be looking to expand our production outside of just doing Burning Man, and that holds all kinds of exciting potential.

5. What is your most memorable moment over the years with Opel?

Simply impossible to say.  We’ve been blessed with more awesome memories than I could sort through, and we look forward to more.

We thank Syd Gris for taking the time to share with us his insight into the scene and some history on Opel!

Opel 7 Year Anniversary
Part One: April 25, 2009 featuring Meat Katie & Dylan Rhymes (with full local support)
@ Mission Rock 817 Terry Francois St. San Francisco
Part Two: May 1st, 2009 featuring Stanton Warriors (with full local support)
@ Mezzanine 444 Jessie St. San Francisco

for more information visit www.opelproductions.com

‘Tipton’ gets things going right away with a chunky Meat Katie beat and in comes a brilliantly sequenced synth that teaches Plato’s Retreat what it really means to swing. The bass grooves so nicely that the track could go on for 15 minutes without anyone on the dance floor realizing – my favorite Dustbowl release to date. Top notch techno.

‘St.Petersburg’ takes it into deeper territory, all the while keeping the unbelievable groove that has characterized the Dustbowl releases. This is jackin’ techno at it’s finest – yes, from two breakbeat pioneers! Absolutely infectious, ‘St. Petersburg’ is pure dancefloor crack.

‘Ain’t No Grave’ bridges the electro and techno stylings of the EP. With a twisted electro stab reminiscent of the duo’s ‘Nutron’ several years ago, and an equally twisted vocal sample – which sounds like it was lifted from a 7″ found in a dusty Alabama plantation from the 1930’s – this track is easily the most ambitious of the package. Trademark Elite Force lead-lines take the track straight into peak-time territory. And if EF is at the controls, Meat Katie is definitely driving the ship on this one – as the beat has MK’s brutal trademark bump. Wicked release.

Tech-Funk maestro’s Meat Katie and Elite Force have somehow managed to find time in their busy “Dustbowl” schedule to create what is perhaps the most stand-out breaks track of the past year. No exaggeration. Just when you thought the whole world had gone electro, long-time breaks stalwarts MK and EF deliver HUGE on this twisted breakbeat juggernaut. If this track is not in your crate, go buy it now!

Guaranteed to drive breaks fans insane, and no doubt win over some house-heads, Dark & Deep pummels the dance floor with about as big of a break as they come. Pulsating bass and syncopated, rolling synths keep the track moving with as infectious a groove as you could imagine. A fitting, equally twisted, breakdown only takes this track further into the mental asylum. You know when you’ve found the perfect warm-up tune? This ain’t it.

Hyperion turns in the perfect companion mix for the package. Hyperion exploded onto the scene last year with huge releases on U&A and are thus called upon to remix such a huge track. They are more than up for the occasion with this 4×4, blinding, jackhammer of a track. Loaded with filtered synths and a rising bassline that builds energy like a freight train, Hyperion’s mix will punish any dance floor, regardless of genre.