Tag: Beskar

The Drum n Bass Huntr/s of Old Devizes Town

In true Royston Vasey style, unfortunately due to time and resources we don’t review international music as we did during lockdown, choosing to focus more on the original concept of local issues and talent, unless of course, we can find any vague link to someone around these parts; there’s a tenacious one with Beskar’s latest album of uplifting drum n bass…..

Proving the irony in Devizes singer Chrissy Chapman’s nom-de-plume, One Trick Pony, her stunning vocals feature on two tracks on the album, Liquid with Friends, released at the beginning of the month, and on a number of previous singles produced by Beskar. One of them is an astounding cover of Ella Fitzgerald’s Fever.

A chance opportunity for Chrissy, working as social media manager for 4NC¥ //DarkMode’s London headquarters during the pandemic, unveiled a hidden talent producing some spoken words for a Dust tune, which in turn led her to be introduced to Beskar, who since has enhanced many of his tracks with her prowess as a singer-songwriter. Now, under the pseudonym Huntr/s, Chrissy has fast climbed to recognition and popularity in drum and bass circles, though this doesn’t mean you’ll no longer see her acoustically perform on our local circuit too, I hope!

See? As the codger who was there for breakbeats slipping into acid house and creating a UK rave scene inspired equally from dub reggae as the less soulful German tekno, who danced through this progression, when hardcore fragmented into happy and dark, and celebrated what blew from it’s exhaust pipe, the “jungle” of drum n bass, and still coming up dancing, I find it slightly confuddling differentiating between the many subgenres drum n bass has separated into more recently. 

Take it as a senior moment, but I’m dubious about breakcore or dubstep, feel they’re heading in a direction I’m not looking to journey down. For me the split came at the end of the rave honeymoon, 1993. Andy C’s Origin Unknown caused heated debate, it was dark, directed away from the cheese on toast, carefree vibe of hi-hats and crashing piano breaks we were accustomed to. In just a few subsequent years I was waving A Guy Called Gerald’s Black Secret Technology CD around, but most of my mates waited for Goldie’s Timeless before accepting this new force, “intelligent” drum n bass.

It peaked at LTJ Bukem’s Logical Progression in 96, drum n bass no longer the jungle tumult you heard at raves, rather as the title suggested, here’s a style for the chill-out, for the after-party. And that’s where I left it, trundling off to the big beat sound of Jon Carter, The Chemical Brothers and Norman largin’ it. While what Beskar is laying down here is fresh and original, it makes no secret in nodding to its influences, to this peak of drum n bass, and for me, that works a treat.

The opening to Liquid with Friends is much like this, there’s the sparse drum n bass riffs of Photek, Hype et al, spacey ambient sounds of the Orb, KLF, and some uplifting vocals and piano breaks. There’s casual rap like Divine Bashim’s for William Orbit, there’s a spanning package offered here, flowing sweetly. The result is euphoric and enchanting throughout, but it’s the Huntr/s featured tracks, Home and Running which are the standouts, and I’m not just saying that, I’m backing it up with reasoning; because from cheesy hardcore to contemporary house, when any dance music genre breaks for some beautiful female vocals the soul is elevated.

Donna Summer proved that for Giorgio Moroder, Caron Wheeler did it for Soul II Soul in the late eighties, Rozalla took it to the rave, Heather Small did it for Mike Pickering, and a lounge style of house brought to the masses; dance music wouldn’t be what it is totally instrumental. Mickey Finn knew this with Urban Shakedown, and we did, we lived as one family, the vocal only enforced it into us! We were like, “damn that’s some powerful shit, we’d better live as one family now, or else!” I never did get any pocket money out of Mickey!

Beskar manages to amalgamate the lot without it becoming overcrowded there. Just as DJ Cam with the trip hop trend, funky jazz loops are allowed in. There’s a lot more going on with this album than breaks and beats, but it does this too with bells on. Silent River is one example to this experimental goodness, Inner City Life, the opening to Timeless meets Massive Attack, soulful vocals with layers of chill, and even subtle wailing guitars, akin Quincy Jones adding Slash to Micheal Jackson tunes, Beskar went there too; you magician! 

I’m taken back and in awe, our own Huntr/s’ contributions here embeds her voice to a history of female vocalists who uplifted the crowd, from Summer to Small, and that’s a high but deserved accolade for our Devizes girl!  

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Beskar’s Ella Fitzgerald Collaboration with Huntr/s

Scottish music producer Beskar made our song of the week feature in June with drum n bass doubleA The Prophecy, featuring Devizes vocalist Chrissy Chapman, aka Huntr/s, and they’ve returned today with another rolling tune on Grand Theft Audio, which even if you’re not into drum n bass you’ll recognise……

They’ve taken Ella Fitzgerald’s Fever to techstep heights, which is an interesting approach, if I’d suggested the more ambient subgenre “intelligent” drum n bass would I be showing my age?! At least this is contemporary and danceable, forget my blissful reminisces of the Logical Progressions of LTJ Bukem, for when Roni Size did break new foundations I was still at it, and this is equally as beguiling.

But if, as a hardcore junglist, you assume queen of jazz Ella Fitzgerald wasn’t bad e-nuff fo’ a drum n bass rework, you should take note, she escaped to Harlem from an abusive father and skipped school to run for the mafia, and serve as a police lookout at a local brothel. She went from orphanage to state reformatory, and it was only her voice which got her through, as the New York jazz clubs were dubious about her scruffy appearance. I’d wager that is more roughneck than you’ll ever be, blud!! Enjoy the tune, it’s a chicken dinner….

Link HERE

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Song of The Week: Beskar

Quick one from me, a belated song of the week, The Prophecy by Beskar featuring Huntr/s. A debut single on RAM Records from Scottish music producer Beskar, named after the Mandalorian steel from the Star Wars universe; if this is the way I love it! Gorgeously dreamy, reach for the stars, rolling drum n bass style with flavours of classics from yore such as LTJ Bukem, Guy Called Gerald and Goldie.…..

It comes as a double A with a track called Path I Can’t Follow, both of which features the vocals of Huntr/s, and therein is our local connection. This Huntress is Chrissy Chapman from Devizes, who you may have caught last weekend singing with Tom Harris at the Sustainable Fair in the Market Place, unless, like me the lazy sausage, you drifted up that bit too late!

Now I’ve heard both these euphoric tracks I’m even more gutted to have missed them; Chrissy, the vocals in drum n bass really maketh the ambience of the tune, otherwise it would be just a series of breaks and beats, and though said breaks and beats are sublimely aligned here, it is the icing on a deluxe cake!

Chrissy worked for a record label during 2021 run by the once frontman of Foreign Beggers, PAV4N. “This led to meeting artists and then doing a live stream charity event,” she told us, “some of them watched and put me in touch with Beskar.”

Mandalorian armour wouldn’t stop me from dancing to this! Well done, Huntress, keep shining the light, and Beskar too of course, tune!

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