Radio Frequency

COMMIX

Apt Pupil meets COMMIX

Words: Joga

The star of Cambridge drum & bass act Commix has risen dramatically in the past two years following the release of their debut album ‘Call To Mind’ on Metalheadz in October 2007. Such was Goldie’s faith in the duo, that the album was the first and only single-artist LP to be released on the seminal label in its 15 year history. You know when Goldie considers someone that good, they deserve to be taken seriously!

Commix rose to fame in dnb circles with a series of rolling liquid releases and remixes on high-profile labels such as Hospital, Liquid V and Creative Source. Representing half of the ‘Future Sound of Cambridge’ crew along with fellow up-and-comers Nu:Tone and Logistics, their rise represented the emergence of a number of young and talented producers into the notoriously difficult-to-break UK scene.

Since 2003-2004, the duo’s sound has moved away from the nu jazz of their early work and descended into considerably darker and more brooding territory, allowing them to take in influences from techno, soul, and house. On signing for Metalheadz in 2005, they released a string of critically acclaimed tunes including If I Should Fall and Urban Legend, and had three tracks (Tycoon, Cambridge Hardcore and Satellite Song) feature on different Headz albums, all of which were lapped up by the dnb-buying public.

By now Commix had become renowned for their ability to produce dancefloor-destroying drum & bass whilst retaining the soul and feeling of the sound that originally broke them. However, it was a limited-edition release on Headz- Electric/Talk To Frank (remastered)- along with the lead release from their debut album- Be True/Satellite Type 2- that truly announced Commix to the dnb mainstream, with both tracks getting heavy rotation from all of the scene’s big hitters. The ‘Call To Mind’ LP followed soon after, garnering acclaim from all corners of the dance music world for its mixture of hip-hop swagger (Change), techno-tinged glitchiness (Bellevue) and more mellow, reflective numbers (How You Gonna Feel, Japanese Electronics).

In terms of widespread appeal, things are set to get even better for Commix in 2009. February saw their name added to the incredible list of artists asked to do mixes for the Fabric brand, and the results of this (Fabriclive 44) are in the shops now. Later this year will see the release of the hotly anticipated ‘Recall To Mind’ album, featuring non-dnb remixes of the tracks from their debut LP from some of electronic music’s most respected names (and some of Commix’s favourite artists), including Burial, Carl Craig, and Instra:mental.

As the duo hit Leeds to play a huge gig at Metropolis, we sent Frequency’s very own Apt Pupil to catch up with them and find out what the future holds. Hear this interview exclusively below.

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