- The urban samurai in the Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog says, "Me and him, we're from different ancient tribes. And now, we're both almost extinct. Sometimes, you gotta stick with the ancient ways. The old-school ways. I know you understand me." Ireland's new Ancient Ways label aims to release "timeless and relevant" music—not an unusual mission statement for a drum & bass label, except for the fine print. No digital release, and no represses of the vinyl. A scant 200 copies were pressed of Ancient Ways 001. This notion of music as both fleeting and inscribed on a physical copy is indeed ancient. The label heads clearly know their audience is small. What's relevant is relative. But it's refreshing that the music here makes the strongest argument.
Canadian artists are behind both sides of Ancient Ways 001, drawing from the artful valleys of Metalheadz in 1996 to distinct effect. Cartridge's "Another Way" weaves what sounds like three or four different breakbeats into a starry-eyed string intro that could have soundtracked a late '80s film about a kid whose alien buddy teaches him the power of believing. Two minutes in, the strings drop out and leave a breathlessly shifting tangle of drums that push us into the future, as pictured more than a decade ago. Two more minutes and the image is troubled by bits of stolen guitar, ominous keys and a heaving bassline. We're brought to a neat close two minutes later, with the return of those strings. Only one minute seems to have passed. This is pre-millennial music, but Cartridge's effortless drums have the utopian flair of earlier DJ Crystl, a cosmic b-boy if there ever was one.
Gremlinz and Stranjah, meanwhile, address the dirty realities of Predator in the jungle. "Bluez VIP" is a forceful amen roller that finds the sweet spot between reliable DJ tool and perfectly replayable for everyone else. The duo skillfully intercut the wall of sound with cascading mentasms and "killa bee" stabs from Rufige Kru's hard drive. And a clanging Tighten Up break mid-breakdown—just because. Aside from a woman whispering Mandarin, the palette sounds thoroughly outdated. The compelling question isn't why, but why not?
TracklistA Cartridge - Another Way
B Gremlinz & Stranjah - Blues VIP