Tom 'Peverelist' Ford has been a keystone in the Bristol underground music scene for a number of years now. His Punch Drunk imprint has been integral in spreading the sounds emanating from Bristol worldwide and has seen releases from a number of the scene's most respected producers including RSD and Pinch as well as providing debut releases to upcoming local talent like Gemmy and Guido.

As well as championing the wealth of talent amongst producers in Bristol, he too has put out a steady stream of consistently innovative and forward thinking releases ever since his landmark debut 12" Erstwhile Rhythm / The Grind in 2006. Now, Peverelist is ready to drop his Jarvik Mindstate LP on Punch Drunk.

"I've been working on the Peverelist project for some time, putting out a few 12"s and some remixes and I wanted to put out something more substantial than a 12"," he explains. "Hopefully it will convey more about some of the ideas that have been influencing my music over the past two or so years more than a 12" could."

He remains cautious about the concept of an album though:

"Really it is a collection of stand alone tracks which have a common thread. The Peverelist project is ongoing and this collection should be seen as a snapshot in time. Album is a word that I hesitantly use out of necessity but I am uncomfortable with. It doesn't sit well with dance music and I am not sure that people still listen to 'albums' in the traditional manner anymore either."

Ford's concerns about the concept of dance music albums are understandable considering the stronghold that the 12" still maintains. As he recognises, "I hope people who don't buy vinyl might be interested in the CD, but the foremost format is vinyl. The music is for mixing."

However, over the last couple of years dubstep seems to have reinvigorated the idea of the dance music album as an integral part of a producer's progression and there have been a plethora of exciting albums released, which have the depth and scope to suggest that they will withstand the test of time. Despite Peverelist's protestations against the label of album, the Jarvik Mindstate LP will undoubtedly be added to this list.

The thread that ties together the tracks on the LP is symbolised by its title, Jarvik Mindstate. "One of the common threads for Peverelist has been the rapidly increasing blurred division between, and integration of, human life and technology," he explains. "The Jarvik heart was the first successful artificial heart valve, which I thought was an interesting manifestation of these ideas."

It is a suitably apt title for such a forward-thinking piece of music and the interplay between the human and the technological is definitely audible throughout the course of the LP. Peverelist's music manages to sound clinical and futuristic while also remaining emotive and strangely soulful.

His hypnotically percussive, sparse and spacious tracks are largely pared down to the fundamental elements of the drums and the bass while well placed flourishes of melody and atmospherics drift in and out, seemingly of their own accord, adding an otherworldly emotional pull.

"Peverelist tracks are drum and bass music," Ford explains. "It's an idea that has been around for decades. It's about building tracks with a very specific emphasis on the interaction and communication between the bassline and the drums. This is the essence of UK soundsystem music be it UK dub, jungle, garage or dubstep."

He is resistant to any categorisation more specific than that though: "It's very easy to get caught up in genre politics, when it is really immaterial. Most of these genre tags are leftovers from the 90s and are often used with no context so it really is meaningless."

Don't consider this an album. Don't consider this 'dubstep'. Just consider it a brilliant, challenging collection of music.

Jarvik Mindstate is out on Monday 30th November on Punch Drunk. Watch out for more from the Punch Drunk camp in the coming months too:

"There's plenty more Punch Drunk projects in the pipeline. I just launched a sister label called Punch Drunk presents Unearthed. The first release, out now, is Smith & Mighty - Bass is Maternal / U Dub. The idea behind this label is to revive the Bristol sound system anthems of yesteryear and bring attention to the links the current Bristol scene and the city's sound system heritage. More to come early 2010."

 

Words: Sam Collenette

 

 

• Peverelist
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• Punch Drunk

Related Links:

• Label Profile: Punch Drunk
• Punch Drunk's Bristol Dubstep Compilation
• Guido's New Punch Drunk Release
• Guido - Anidea LP
• Hyetal To Release Broadcast LP

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