Released on Reinforced in 1994, Project A-KO was a short-lived alias by the legendary Marc Mac and Dego.

The alias itself is taken from an 80s Japanese parody anime film of the same name. You can see the full film on YouTube here.

The intro to Afterglow Pt. 1 & 2 is very similar to the work created under the Internal Affairs alias (alongside Goldie) – Way ahead of it’s time, it it features that classic apache break (done the way only the Reinforced crew could), deep strings and vocals to start proceedings.

It may seem odd to add pt. 1 and & 2 to a track title, but upon listening to the track, all becomes clear.

At around the 3.30 minute mark, the track breaks down and switches up completely. News strings and new breaks appear before an acid twinged bassline takes things a little darker around 5.30 minutes. A track of three parts really.

A tune well worth a fiver on it’s own. However this track is just a quarter of the story.

The vinyl features three other excellent tracks, two in a similar vein to Afterglow, with “In Time” being a little more dancefloor friendly

• Passion & Fire
• Surgically Removed 
• In Time

I’m convinced this release would sell at a much steeper price had it been recorded under the 4 Hero or Manix / Tek 9 names. But thankfully you can pick it up for about 4 or 5 quid on Discogs. A steal.

The post Project A-KO ‎– Afterglow Pt. 1 & 2 appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

I guess this one might not really class as a tune of the day as you can’t buy it unfortunately, but this track is absolute pure quality.

Thankfully nothing to do with 2Unlimited (although maybe that’s where the vocal sample came from) this is a classic dark stepper from 1993.

It’s pretty sinister at times with a lazy mentasm breakdown but the lush strings and pads shine through in several places. Despite sadly never seeing a proper release (only surfaced on plate), scant information and rumour has it that it was supposed to come out on Reinforced Records.

I’ve only ever heard it twice – once on a Fabio Dance Planet mix and then on a Doc Scott tape. I suspect it’s probably a Goldie or Manix tune but there’s also some big similarities with the Energy track that Goldie and A Guy Called Gerald did as the 2 G’$ on Juicebox (especially the drums). Maybe a collaboration…

Who knows. Either way it’s a storming tune and epitomises that deadly R Sound from back then – tough, futuristic music.

The post Reinforced Dubplate – “What Do Those Faces Tell You” appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

For show #001 I went for a little 4Hero and Goldie tribute. Going through the years from 1992 and the anthemic work of Manix, early Rufige, 4Hero and collaboration project ‘Internal Affairs’.

Be sure to check out Drumtrip Radio every Wednesday 8 – 9pm GMT on Mixlr with guests on rotation. Be sure to follow us to get alerts and updates!

Up next on Wednesday 9th April we have Dave M aka Brian Badonde taking the controls.

Tracklist
01. Manix – I Can’t Stand It – Reinforced
02. Manix – Hardcore Junglism (Exclusive Mix) – Reinforced
03. Rufige Cru – Menace – Reinforced
04. Sonz Of A Loop Da Loop Era – Peace & Loveism (4Hero Remix)
05. 4Hero – Journey From The Light – Reinforced
06. 4Hero – Students Of The Future – Reinforced
07. 2 Bad Mice – Mass Confusion (Rufige Kru Remix) – Moving Shadow
08. Internal Affairs – In My Soul – Reinforced
09. Nookie – Give A Little Love (Manix Remix) – Reinforced
10. Manix – One More Time – Reinforced
11. Internal Affairs – Hands To Heaven – Reinforced
12. Metalheads ‎- You And Me – The Beauty – The Beast – Synthetic
13. Rufige Kru – Fury – Moving Shadow
14. J Majik – Sunray (Rufige Cru Remix) – Infrared
15. Scarface – I Seen A Man Die (4 Hero NW2 Gangsta Move) – Virgin
16. Goldie – Jah – FFRR
17. Layla – Gotta Find Love (The Goldie Blue Room Vocal Mix) – Inferno
18. Tom & Jerry – Till The Morning – Tom & Jerry
19. Tom & Jerry – Maxi (Mun) Style (Nasty Jungle Remix) – Tom & Jerry
20. Nuyorican Soul – I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun (4 Hero Remix)

The post Law – Drumtrip Radio #001 [02/04/14] appeared first on Drumtrip - Hardcore / Oldskool Jungle Blog.

Download podcast / mix

Following Mark Broom’s live from Nitsa mix we now welcome an altogether different type of beat as drum n bass legends Reinforcedtake over with Manix(aka Marc Mac) at the helm. Marc Mac steps up to represent for the crew with a 1 hour Reinforced mixtape/podcast special featuring some great early plates from the likes of Nookie, Doc Scott, Rufige Cru, 4hero, Tom & Jerry and more plus two brand new Manix tracks exclusive to this EPM podcast.

Reinforced Records was established over 20 years ago and is THE blueprint label for Hardcore, Jungle and Drum & Bass. Many of the leading names throughout the D&B scene have had releases on Reinforced including Goldie, Nookie, Doc Scott, Grooverider, MIST, Randall, Photek and Paradox. The in-house production team of Marc Mac and Dego played a major part in the early release roster and they were responsible for many ground breaking pseudonyms such as Manix, 4hero, Tek9, Cold Mission and Tom & Jerry. The word legendary is often overused but when it comes to describing Reinforced’s influence on the world of drum n bass it is simply the only choice.

The new Manix album will be out in early 2011. Again with production from Marc Mac, the all new tracks have been produced with a true 1993 feel – a real throwback to a great era.

EPM Podcast 16 – Reinforced

Tracklist:
1. Your Love Is Over – Manix (unreleased)
2. T-Tree – Nookie
3. Mayday Mayday – Doc Scott
4. What Would We Do – Inta Warriors (Grooverider)
5. Heading To The Light – Manix
6. Deranged part II – Scott & Keith
7. Shinning In The Darkness – Nookie
8. A Patch Of Blue – Tom & Jerry
9. Menace – Rufige Cru
10. Papillon Love Song – Tom & Jerry
12. Journey From The light – 4hero
13. Here Comes The Drumz – Doc Scott
14. One More Time – Manix (unreleased)

All tracks used in the mix are digitally distributed by EPM Music www.epm-music.com . You can subscribe to all of EPM’s podcasts via iTunes.

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Q&A with Manix (aka Reinforced’s Marc Mac)

1. Please give us a quick walk through your selection. Why did you choose these tracks for the mix?
I think most labels would have what is considered to be their golden years and for me there was such a period at Reinforced and my selection homes in on that period. It’s all about the 150 BPM selection.

2. The new Manix album is due next year. What can we expect?
I wanted to mark our 20th year as a label with a special release so originally I was gonna do a 4 track EP but as I got into doing it the memories inspired a 12 track album. I dug out the Akia S950 sampler, my Atari ST1040 and a box of old breaks and focused on the real feel good factor, the 150BPM hardcore/rave sound of Reinforced and Manix. I also did two tracks inspired by the earlier Chicago house sound.

3. What are your plans with the more techno inspired Nu Era project?
ahh yeah I am half way through a Nu Era LP also, this will probably be out next year through my latest label “Third Planet Records”.

4. There is a fire in your house and you only have time to save one record. What do you choose and why?
Well naturally I would say Stevie’s Talking Book but that record is so easy to get hold of so I would probably save one of my old 45’s like “Sweet Mixture – House of Fun”, its a great soul track and not so easy to replace.

5. Your studio based project ‘Visioneers’ has been described as the sound of Hip Hop and Jazz in a head-on collision. How did the idea come about?
Yeah Visioneers is about my love and respect for the hip hop producers that introduced Jazz to me through sampling. I wanted to create a project that showed the link between Jazz, Funk and Hip Hop, but without any samples. No its not new ground but something I enjoy and wanted to do. I originally released limited edition 45s and they flew out the stores like hot cakes. I am recording a new Visioneers album now for BBE records, look out for new very Limited 45s real soon.

6. Who do you see as the new torch-bearers of drum n bass?
I have no idea… I am looking for them now for our next Enforcers picture disc.

7. What does the legacy of Reinforced mean to you?
It’s pretty much a BIG chunk of my life. The foundation, a community, friends, great memories, inspiration, pioneering and daring.

8. Is dubstep simply a mutant strain of drum n bass or have we moved beyond genre classifications?
Dubstep most definitely derived from Jungle/Drum & Bass but has also drawn on other influences like reggae in a similar way D&B is influenced. I have heard some nice things but I guess I haven’t fallen head over heels because I feel that it is a bit like a lot of modern D&B now where it lacks the Soul. Machines don’t have to be without Soul, Detroit Techno has proved this to us time and time again.

9. Do you have any desire to do a full live tour with future projects like you did with 4hero around ‘Two Pages’ in 1998?
The heart and mind wants too but I know how hard it is to tour these days without a major record label backing, but where this is a will… Maybe something we will investigate again after the next 4hero record.

10. Please give us your top 5 ‘All Time Producers’
This question is too hard and changes every day of the week but today it goes like this, and there has to be more than 5
Charles Stepney, Mizell Brothers, Mad Mike (UR), Nookie, Goldie, Doc Scott (91 – 95 era), Jay Dilla.

www.reinforcedrecords.co.uk

www.myspace.com/marc4hero

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