Drum & bass duo Amoss may be relatively new to production, but have made themselves comfortable in the scene with their forward-thinking, sinister style of music.

With Alix Perez's 1984 still ringing in our ears, D-Bridge & Instra:mental's new Autonomic label launch and A Wandering Journal, the brilliant new album by Sabre due out late in March, there is a new degree of admiration emerging for the deeper side of business, and James and Andy are keen to cash in.

The pair have used their exclusive Kmag mix to demonstrate exactly what they feel is important in the changing face of the scene.

"We're definitely not trying to achieve anything formulaic," explained Andy, 20, "we wanted to use the mix to show people what we've got on the go at moment without overdosing them with our material.

"We don't see the point in over indulgence and this was the perfect opportunity to deliver what we think of as an hour of quality drum & bass.

"The sound is pretty moody, deep and techy with a strong focus on the percussive elements," he added.

As the mix progresses, clear evidence of hip-hop and techno influences become apparent. It sounds like a perfect blend of Rockwell's Noir EP and Noisia's energetic Fabriclive 40, showcasing exactly what the duo produce, mix and play out.

"We're majorly inspired by electronica and house," said Andy, "but our synthesis definitely comes from the techno side of things.

"The intro track by Cliffhanga is one of the largest tunes we've hear in a long while," he enthused. "When I first heard it my jaw dropped to the floor, if you don't already know about him, get to know.

"Of our music present on the mix, it's all about track five, Glurg Monster. It's hugely inspired by a track called Minor Nine by Leon Switch & Kryptic Minds, when I first got in to drum & bass I was pretty much obsessed with their sound.

"Don't let the title fool you, we weren't messing about with this one, but the name Glurg Monster just stuck and we've had massive support for it so far."

Andy and James focus heavily on intricate drum patterns, and despite being relatively new to production and adopting a fresh approach to their music, their style has been moulded around a whole host of inspirational figures.

"Amon Tobin may not be a drum & bass producer, but he's had a huge influence on our style," Andy admitted. "The whole Foley Room album was breathtaking for me and made me really think about how I could incorporate similar sounds into our production.

"Another vastly inspirational track is Sinistarr's My Thoughts Exactly, we pretty much play it at every given opportunity. It's also a great example of where minimal, snappy percussion can still become a major dancefloor roller, which is a really important part of what we do."

The Hereford based duo are certainly not struggling for recognition, and having had their tune Lost In Tokyo played on last year's Hospital Democast, they are booked to play alongside the Touched By Recordings crew at this year's Heat Rave in Cornwall.

"We know that our style is still evolving," said Andy, "but if you look at where we were this time last year, we've come a long way in a short space of time. Within the past few months we've begun to realize what we're about musically and we're just rolling with it.

"There's a lot more to come from us," he added, "we're just glad people are feeling the tunes we're making and that's hugely inspirational within itself."

The pair have clearly made remarkable progress of late, and at 19 and 20 respectively, time is hardly a hindrance. Their hectic release schedule sees that everything is in place to take their success to the next level.

"We've got the Alignment EP coming on Touched By Records and we're really looking forward to that," Andy said. "Plus we've got Take a Side coming on Buried Audio and Transversion is being released on a various artists LP on Hustle Audio.

"We've also got collaborations forthcoming with the likes of Araik & Thorne, Joe Syntax, Expect, AMC, Sinistarr and DP3, so I guess you could say we're keeping pretty busy," he laughed.

With a list as impressive as that, Amoss have plenty to look forward to in forthcoming months, and after 2009 propelled them into the industry's ever widening spotlight, there can be no doubting their potential.

As a massively experimental side of the scene takes shape around them, Amoss have wasted no time in making themselves at home. Be sure to check out the mix, and keep an ear out for them in the near future.

Words: James O'Connell

 

Download Amoss' guest mix

 

Tracklist

1. Cliffhanga - Final Assault (dub)
2. Flame - Second Power (dub)
3. DBR - Fighting the Storm (Broken Audio)
4. Data & Dynamic - Mask of Sanity (dub)
5. Amoss - Glurg Monster (dub)
6. DLR - Elsewhere (dub)
7. Expect -Baud (Hustle Audio)
8. Linden - Letting Go (dub)
9. June Miller & Rolling Mafia - Shimizu (Buried Audio dub)
10. DP3 - Delta Ops (dub)
11. Amoss - Take a Side (Buried Audio dub)
12. DLR & Octane - Back in the Grind (Dispatch dub)
13. Amoss - Autosequence (dub)
14. Amoss - Create, More, Unknown (dub)
15. Subterra & Dekko - Bonsai Run (Invisible dub)
16. Pessimist - Ganesha (dub)
17. Gemini - Down (Breed 12 Inches dub)
18. Amoss & Expect - Fate (dub)
19. Kano & Flame - Raygun (Blackseeds)
20. Data - Tapeworm (Horizons dub)
21. Amoss - Driftspells (dub)
22. Amoss - Transversion (Hustle Audio dub)

• Amoss

Related Links:

• Amoss Reveal 2012 Plans
• Introducing: Cyclone Recordings
• Andy C To Speak At Oxford University
• Hustle Audio Present Definitions LP
• Monster Beats Competition

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