What Price Will You Pay vol 1 - Mixed by Klute

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  • Tom Withers AKA Klute has been in the drum'n'bass game for over 8 years and in that time he's had releases on seminal drum'n'bass labels like Metalheadz, 31 Records and Certificate 18 in which the latter had released his first two LPs Casual Bodies and Fear Of People. In 2001 Klute set up Commercial Suicide records to have full control over his own releases as well as an output for new releases from like-minded producers and new talent emerging in the scene. What Price Will You Pay is the first in a series of mix CDs from the label showcasing new tunes and new artists all at a budget price - much like London Elektricity's Hospital Records Hospital Mix series. Break's (fitting name for a drum'n'bass producer) Positive/Negative starts off the mix opening up with long, drawn out synth lines as if they were lifted from a sci-fi flick before churning out some hard rolling beats and massive basslines with hints of traditional jungle breaks used throughout. Hive & Tejada's Air Raid continues on a similar beat and makes use of sirens and subtle keyboard melodies. What We Give by Calibre goes on a slightly more vocal path featuring a female vocal sample that gets chopped up throughout the track and sits atop a heavily percussive break. Roots by Amit takes the listener on a half tempo drum'n'bass tune with heavy dub/dancehall influences audible throughout the track. Klute then brings the tempo back to 170 bpms with The Sands by Silent Witness. Primarily a breakbeat label, Sound Of Habib has invited Klute to remix Invincible's Mean Streets sending it into drum'n'bass territory while keeping the wicked synth hook from the original and adding in Klute style drum breaks. Klute then follows this up with another one of his own remixes - Rock by the Invaders. Amit returns with Snake Pit keeping it at drum'n'bass tempo and going on a highly percussive tip with plenty of rimshots, cow bells and church bells going off. Klute's Growl continues on this percussive theme and brings out a sickeningly evil bass line before the mix closes off with Zero Tolerance's Big Boss. The inside cover sees Klute explain the technical side of the mix including the equipment used (2 decks and a mixer) and how it was performed live - something I hold Grand Central's Mark Rae responsible for when he did the same on the Ordered From The Catalogue CD release from three years ago. Klute's beatmatching is (insert swear word here) tight, even if slight nudges in the mixing can be heard during changeovers but I think most are just over this whole "done live" thing and would rather a mix of good tracks. Overall, What Price Will You Pay showcases the latest in hard techy rollers - perfect for those who like their drum'n'bass on the tough side. What I found is that with the exception of a few tracks (namely Roots by Amit) the beats sound the same on every single tune with slight variations to be heard at random intervals.
RA