Guest Mix: Bassi and Flexout are making waves again
Stripping back hidden layers of the unknown, Flexout Audio are the leading pioneer of deep throbbing minimal-flavoured tracks, ones that routinely pepper DJ sets of various styles along with heavily influencing the direction of the production landscape. While Drum & Bass is the primary passion, there's always an unexpected turn right around the corner - from the very first release consisting of a heavy dubstep tune, to the constant stream of experimental sub-heavy explorations, and even the broken beat flavourings of half-time, this is a label that never stops pushing the envelope in every way imaginable. Rendering a compilation of various artists that are taking nearly everyone by surprise, Flexout Audio returns to the Waves Series with 'WAVES 2'.
“I started Waves back in 2016 when I was getting sent loads of sick halftime wonky Hip-Hop beats from Monty. I wanted to create a platform under the Flexout brand to showcase this new style of music emerging from the Drum & Bass scene, and for the following three years, we released 15 EPs via Waves.”
/ Bassi on the Waves project
Playfully dubbed the “new wave of UKG appropriation” by Thys, there has been a sudden resurgence of UKG and Jungle across the world - from straightforward reimaginings of older stylings to those pursuing a hybrid or experimental approach using various facets of the genre's roots and combining that with modern methodologies. The consensus so far seems to be that as long as it's good, then it's a worthy addition to the genre.
This most recent batch is a crowning achievement too, with a whole slew of Drum & Bass producers diving in and exploring their own unique takes on the sounds of UKG. “I noticed that a lot of Drum & Bass producers were making tunes at 135 BPM,” explains Bassi, “ and essentially, they were making UKG but it sounded modern and fresh. It really reminded me of the movement we championed back in 2016, and so it felt natural to bring back Waves to showcase this new wave of music.”
“It was important for us to retain that classic sound whilst incorporating our own stamp and creating something we both felt was new and fresh. I was excited for the challenge of the project, it was a really interesting concept to get Drum & Bass producers to step out of their comfort zone. And the tracks quickly came in, and it grew into a full album. I didn’t want to be influenced by the other guys’ tunes, and also didn’t want to create an obvious Amoss-style track at 130bpm. I had a session booked with Haden (Revan)and we talked about ideas, where we might take our tracks, and decided to work on one together to see where it might lead.”
/ Amoss on 'Slews' with Revan
The eye-opening experimentalism and unusual play between all the different sounds have opened up a whole new horizon for Bassi. ““I'm really happy with the way the album has turned out. It's been really fun seeing what artists have come up with when asking them to write something specifically for this project. It’s also given me a glimpse into their hard drives and opened up conversations about some of the beats that they've been sitting on that they never thought they would release or find a home for. So we are on the hunt for more music that fits this new direction, whether that's UKG, dubstep, or something experimental that doesn't quite fit in with Flexout's sound and vision. The plan is to develop the Waves series and turn it into a sister label for Flexout so that we can carry on pushing this music.”
“For myself, it’s always nice to showcase what I can do outside of D&B as I’ve always made a bit of everything. Bassi had spoken with us about putting something together for 'Waves 2', and it had been a few months since I'd made anything at that tempo. The stars aligned, we got weird, and jammed on the Novation Summit - came up with a chord progression and added some bass. There was also a good 30 minutes before making the track where we sat down and went through classic garage tracks we grew up on or liked elements from. That was the main influence generally, digging into a handful of tracks from a different era to start sketching.”
/ Revan on 'Slews' with Amoss
In this spirit, Bassi has delivered an underground-inspired Influences mix to showcase the inspiration behind Waves and its future. Recorded off the cuff in a jam session amongst friends, it highlights the foundation of organic growth that lies at the core of both Flexout and Waves; the specific shade of teal that adorns many of their covers, the densely layered atmospheres present in so many tunes, down to the wide range of rhythms across its discography - it all reveals the understated theme of letting the music spread out and breathe.
'WAVES 2' is out now on all streaming platforms!