True chameleons of Drum and Bass, Total Science, consistently adapt to the environment around them, which goes a long way to explain their illustrious career that has spanned over 20 years, 400 tracks and records on the most iconic labels of our time. Seriously, the list reads almost as a Which Guide to the best Drum and Bass labels of all time, think Metalheadz, Critical, 31 Records, Hospital, Clear Skyz, Good Looking Records (need I go on?)

While one release can be the epitome of liquid funk with soaring melodies and luscious beats at home on any of the great melodic labels of past and present; the next can be a spirit crushing heavyweight rubbing shoulders with the elite in deep, dark dnb.

Their latest release sees the relaunch of their own CIA imprint with Various Artists Classified V1 EP and features new material from liquid don Calibre & Metalheadz alumnus Mako, a characteristic soulful number from the boys themselves, and the blissful Walk the Same Lines, starring the soft, inviting vocals of Riya which, combined with the intricate drum work and THAT PIANO, is something truly special.

The working relationship with Riya has been a fruitful one over the years and this latest offering is no exception. As testament to that, the other Total Science offering on show contrasts the smooth perfectly with Chroma’s ruthless remix of Whoonga, featuring long term collaborator S.P.Y.  It’s more of a refresh that smoothens out some of the roughness but certainly doesn’t belittle the hard-hitting nature of the original.

We caught up with Total Science to hear from where they garner their unique inspiration in their Five Essentials. Surprisingly, British sitcoms seem to have played a big part!

Dam Funk – I Wanna Thank You For Stepping Into My Life
We are massive fans of DaM Funk and stumbled across this video one day while on a music hunt. As soon as we heard the loop we knew we had to make a track with it and so was born “Piano Funk” which we made with S.P.Y and Riya. It’s such a beautiful piece of music which needs to be heard so hit play and float away.

At the Studio with Pharrell Williams
We love watching the creative process at work and this videos captures just that. Pharrell is jamming and on a vibe doing his own creating but then struggles to find the hook melody . In comes Chad with his guitar and within seconds he’s nailed it, goose bump time. Usually with us, Quiff will come in with a mallet to shut me the fuck up!

Erick Sermon – Rhythm Roulette
Being big fans of EPMD back in the day we were instantly drawn to this video of Erick Sermon in the studio. Rhythm Roulette by mass appeal is a great series & a great way to watch how producers work, Basically He’s blind folded In a record store & picks three records to find samples to make a beat. Then takes them away to his lab and see’s what he can do, this is one of our favourites, to see the excitement & thrill he’s getting piecing it together when i finally starts coming together after producing for so many years is very inspiring & familiar.

Peep Show – Super Hans’ insight to the Music Industry
We could do all 5 comedy sketches, the Office, the Fast Show etc are always on our list to view to keep us smiling but we thought we’d better do some music related stuff 😉 so we picked two: Peep Show is brilliant so many classic moments but Super Hans tells you all you need to know about the record industry in this short clip! maybe its why we have never had a chart topping hit.

Alan Partridge – Michael: The Geordie Moments
We love the whole Alan Partridge series by Steve Cogan but Geordie hotel assistant Michael is one  of our favourites this montage of his best bit gets watched rather a lot, Randy McKnob!

Classified Vol.1 is out now on CIA.

Comments