steve gurley/foul play - c or d?, rfi.

also could someone give me some aliases/tracks for gurley's garage productions?

Classic, sure, but Gurley wasn't the only genius in Foul Play - as the utter brilliance of "Being With U" and most of the Suspected album (all recorded after he parted ways with the group) proves. In terms of beat programming they were probably peerless. Of their own work, search particularly: "Open Your Mind (Remix)", "Being With U", "Total Control" and "The Stepper". I never checked out the comeback material from 99-00 under the name "Foul Play Productions" and I'm not sure that I want to - it would undoubtedly spoil the dream.

While Steve went under the name Rogue Unit for subsequent jungle productions (although search his remix of Secret Motion's "Lose Her" under his own name), I think he tends to use his own name for garage productions and remixes. Search: his remixes of Lenny Fontana's "Spirit of the Sun", United Groove Collective's "Glad You Came To Me", Operator & Baffled's "Things Are Never", Antonio's "Hyperfunk", Basement Jaxx's "Red Alert", Zed Bias's "Neighbourhood".

Interestingly, Steve's contribution to garage is basically the opposite to Foul Play's position in jungle: basically he was (along with Dem 2) the first producer to presage the encroaching darkness. The glowing, radioactive bassline and slippery beats in "Spirit of the Sun" sound totally prophetic now, paving the way for the likes of Zed Bias, Wookie etc. He hasn't done that much, but he's one of those figures that more popular artists always rave about (IIRC, Zed Bias claimed that he was shaking with nervousness and excitement when they finally met).

Oh yeah, I almost forgot: his remix of Valerie M's "Tingles 2000" - not as good as the Artful Dodger's career-best, but very close to it.

The Foul Play album sucked. Another coffee table crossover attempt. Last time I listened to it, I thought Christ, did I really once think anal paradiddling microbreaks were interesting? But the 12 inches rocked.

Ben - which Foul Play album are you referring to? 'Cos 90% of Suspected struck me as decidedly anti-coffee-table.

Suspected. It's just bland. He sucked all the life out of the original tunes. The cool thing about jungle was never just the bass and the beats, it was all the mashed-up samples too. But the album mix of Open Your Mind is just this tedious ambient intro and then five minutes of look-at-my-drum-programming. Five years ago that kind of sounded radical, but now... sped-up breakbeats don't have enough shock of the new to stand on their own. And let's face it, stuff like The Stepper was never all that great in the first place. And then you have your pseudo trip-hop filler...

It just doesn't do it for me, I'm afraid ;)

"it was all the mashed up samples too" - this is like saying the best thing about UK Garage is the MCs. They are often very good, but they're hardly essential to making a good UK Garage track, and easily get in the way too. I could never accept that the bass/beat interplay isn't the heart of jungle, and the interplay on much of Suspected would shatter most coffee tables (if I recall there was only one quasi-trip hop track, though yeah it is pretty weak).

Yeah. Classic, blabla. The greatest of hardcore heroes though? I don't think so (although I can't come up with an alternative at the moment). I remember the first couple of times hearing 'Open Your Mind' thinking it was basically...wel...shite. Probably wasn't the remix version we now consider the real version. But yeah 'Total Control' and 'Being With U' are certified classics. I skipped Suspected because it contained too much tracks I already had on compilations.

Clearly naming the greatest hardcore heroes = rockist move. It's all rhizomatic, man.

i luv the steve gurley remix of the the united grooves collective (is thast right?) 'glad u came to me'

"this is like saying the best thing about UK Garage is the MCs."

No, it isn't. It's saying that fixating on bass and beats only is a dead end. You need a little flavor on top. Jungle turned into techno with more complex beats, and that's why no one cares about it anymore. Take the vocalists and the MCs out of garage, and it'll be irrelevant too.

Give me bass, beats, mashed-up samples and MCs.

Where is this "more complex beats" contemporary jungle you speak of? For it does not exist on the dancefloors.

Oh right - more complex beats than techno. Sorry.

Re: MCs and vocalists in UK Garage - I totally agree with you, but then I only ever mentioned MCs. It's a choice to have an MC, or vocalist, or both, and a track won't suffer from having one but not the other. If UK Garage went fully instrumental of course it would ultimately be crap, and both MCing and vocals point to why UK Garage works best in song form. It's the songful nature of UK Garage which is important, not which type of vocal is used.

Likewise, I think mixed up samples are a great component of jungle but a non-compulsory one. Admittedly if we were talking about hardcore specifically I'd totally agree with you (why else is Hyper-On Experience's "Lords of the Null-Lines" perhaps the greatest track of the era?) but once you get to jungle circa 94-96 sampling just isn't that crucial. In fact, particularly during 95-96, it was the more minimal, more stripped down, more beat/bass focused stuff that was almost always superior (see DJ Hype and the Ganja Kru, Full Cycle artists, Andy C - basically any hardstep really). Sampling still occured to a small extent in any track of course, but no more than is present on Suspected anyway, and often a great deal less.

What stuffed up jungle post, say, '97? Yes, the move towards techno, but not because it resulted in a phase-out of sampling so much as because it disallowed development within a track (ultimately resulting in usually mindnumbing one-bar loops) and radically simplified the relationship between the breakbeat and the bassline.

STEVE GURLEY DISCOGRAPHY


FOUL PLAY

Foul Play – Vol 1: The Alchemist/Ragatere/Ricochet/Feel The Vibe
Oblivion OR001
("written & produced by: Steve Gurley & 2 High")

Foul Play – Vol 2: Ricochet (No Stoppin The Remix)/Feel The Vibe (Again)/Survival/Dubbing You
Oblivion OR002

4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse – Drowning In Her/We Are The Future
Tone Def TD013

4 Horsemen Of The Apocalypse – Drowning In Her (4 Horsemen mix)/We Are The Future (Darren Jay mix) 10”
Tone Def TD018

Foul Play Productions - Finest Illusion/Screwface
Section 5 SECTION4

Foul Play - Vol 3: Open Your Mind/Murder Most Foul/Survival Remix/Dub In U Remix
Moving Shadow SHADOW29

Foul Play – Vol 3 remixes 1: Open Your Mind (Tango remix)/Open Your Mind (Foul Play remix) 10”
Moving Shadow SHADOW29R

Foul Play – Vol 3 remixes 2: Open Your Mind (Nookie remix)/Finest Illusion (Legal mix) 10”
Moving Shadow SHADOW29R2

Hyper-On-Experience – Lord Of The Null-Lines (Foul Play remix)
Moving Shadow SHADOW30R1

Hyper-On-Experience – Lord Of The Null-Lines (Foul Play remix 2)
Moving Shadow SHADOW30R2

Omni Trio – Feel Better (Foul Play remix) (b/w Step Off (Gold Blend remix))
Moving Shadow SHADOW32R

Omni Trio – Renegade Snares (Foul Play remix) (b/w Feel Good (Original mix)) 10”
Moving Shadow SHADOW36R

Omni Trio – Rolling Heights (Foul Play remix) (b/w NuGrooves ’94 (Deep Blue remix)) 10”
Moving Shadow SHADOW44R

E-Z Rollers – Believe (Foul Play remix) (b/w Rolled Into 1 (Droppin’ Science remix))
Moving Shadow SHADOW48R

Foul Play Vol 4: Being With You/Music Is The Key
Moving Shadow SHADOW49

Foul Play – Vol 4 remixes 1: Being With You (Foul Play remix)/Music Is The Key (Omni Trio remix)
Moving Shadow SHADOW49R1

Foul Play – Vol 4 remixes 2: Being With You (E-Z Rollers remix)/Beats Track
Moving Shadow SHADOW 49R2



ROGUE UNIT

Rogue Unit – Rogue Unit Jam
on Dig The New Breed Vol 1 EP
Labello Blanco NLB9

Rogue Unit – Dance Of The Sarooes/Dance Of The Sarooes (Dark mix)/Rogue Unit Jam (Mickey Finn remix)
Labello Blanco NLB11

S/O/R (Shades Of Rhythm) - Peace Sign (Rogue Unit remix) (b/w 3 other mixes)
Labello Blanco NLB12

Rogue Unit – Luv Dub/Dance Of The Sarooes (Nookie remix)
Labello Blanco NLB13

State Of Mind – A State Of Mind (Rogue Unit remix) (b/w one other mix)
Labello Blanco NLB15

Prizna feat The Demolition Man – Fire (Rogue Unit remix) (b/w 2 other mixes)
Labello Blanco NLB18

Ray Keith & Nookie meets Steve Gurley – Express 95 (Steve Gurley remix) (b/w Express 95 (Ray Keith & Nookie remix)
Labello Blanco NLB20

Rogue Unit – Marianna, Carley(???)/Horn Section
Labello Blanco NLB22

Secret Motion – Lose Her (Steve Gurley mix) (b/w Cloud 9 mix)
Labello Blanco NLB27

Rogue Unit – Jazz Steppin’/Secret Motion
Labello Blanco NLB28

Princess – Say I’m Your Number One (remixed & reproduced by Steve Gurley for Rogue Unit productions)
on JUNGLE MASSIVE COLLECTIVE 3 CD
Labello Blanco/PWL 1995

FX – The FX Of A Sound – The FX Of A Sound (Steve Gurley remix) 10”
Tone Def TD021DJ

Steve Gurley – Sensual Sacrifice
Label/cat# ???





UK GARAGE


Robbie Craig – Lessons In Love (Steve Gurley mix)
Public Demand PPDT25

Lenny Fontana – Spirit Of The Sun (Steve Gurley mix)
Public Demand PPDT31

Victor Romeo – Inside You (Steve Gurley mix)
Public Demand PPDT32

Nu Klass A Collective – The Rhythm (Steve Gurley mix)
Public Demand PPDT34

Zed Bias & DJ Principal - All Nite Jam (Steve Gurley mix)
Public Demand PPDT38

M&S feat Jay Ella Ruth - Keep On (Steve Gurley mix)
Public Demand

Operator & Baffled – Things Are Never (Steve Gurley mix)
Locked On LOX109T

Basement Jaxx – Red Alert (Steve Gurley remix)

Antonio – Hyperfunk (Steve Gurley remix)

Valerie M – Tingles 2000 (Steve Gurley remix)

Zed Bias – Neighbourhood (Steve Gurley remix)

Breakbeat Era – Bullitproof (Steve Gurley remix)


Some Girls – Troublesome (Steve Gurley mix)

Kartik – The Way We Freak (Steve Gurley Rub-a-Dub mix)

Leee Johns – Your Mind Your Body Your Soul (Steve Gurley mix)
Locked On

United Grooves Collective – So Glad U Came To Me (Steve Gurley mix)
Public Demand PPDT45

SAS – Keep On Reachin’ (Steve Gurley mix)
4 Liberty SAS002

Precious – It’s Gonna Be My Way (Steve Gurley mix)
MYWAY 001

Remi – Talk About It (Steve Gurley mixes – vocal & dub)
Passion For Music PFM 008

Tuff Productions feat Destry – Top Of The World (Steve Gurley mix)
Pure Silk PSV 011

Alpha Omega feat Kathy Battistessa - Rhythm Takes Control (Steve Gurley mix)
Unit 5 UNIT 2011

First You Say Yes - First You Say Yes (Steve Gurley mix)
RAS 001


---Steve Gurley-related? (some incl Gurley mixes):

Allstars – Walk On By/Killin’ Me

Allstars – Tear The Roof Off/No Diggedy

Allstars – What About Us (Vocal & Crazy Dub)

Allstars – Boom Tune – Bling! Ting

I picked up Suspected & it had a bonus 3" cd - anyone know where I could find the tracklisting? (google has been v.unforthcoming)

foul play were fab, i loved them and gurley's remixes of neighbourhood and basement jaxx's red alert were major landmarks in ukg... they're the records that helped me turn friends of mine who previously said they hated garage on to it, so something has to be said for them on that count alone... the hardcore hero thing, though, i dunno, i have a bit of a problem with that concept as it strikes me as being a bit canonical - i'm with tim here... however, if we have to get all nu-Leavisite about it, then he'd be right up there!
Dave

ha! I really ought to update this discog - it's even missing a couple of faves ("Wishing On A Star" and "Losing My Mind")

think link when you google foul play dubbing you. i've only heard the first 2 eps. plan on living w/those for a few months, but i might need to check out the gurley garage-y stuff. what about gurley's influence on dubstep? (perhaps not the place for such a question)

"third link" obv.

if steve gurley had an influence on dubstep i can only imagine it'd be much better

i wouldn't know myself cause i mostly don't 'get' dubstep (more like napstep!), but that martin dude said that somewhere. his last pitchfork thing was cool. that post 2-step pre grime environment. you don't want to hear the 'early dubstep' comp hes making?

but nevermind this is about the glory that is foul play.

"if steve gurley had an influence on dubstep i can only imagine it'd be much better "

Ha ha, well I think it's pretty obviously there on early Horsepower, all the Ghost Records releases etc. Back when Dubplate was calling this sound yardcore and nu-dark swing and it still sounded like an exciting Jamaica-focused twist on 2-step (21st century skank! etc.)

having said that I got into a fight on dissensus recently because people were saying "yeah, El-B was great, really presaged current dubstep" and I started spluttering in a Vahid-rockist kinda way.

Wot's Steve doing now anyways?

i think he might be doing dnb again, but don't quote me on that

yeah here's a tune from 2003: http://www.discogs.com/release/360450

(i am sure it's probably [sadly] neo-jump up cack, but whatevs.)

strongo in forty years time can we do a show where we wear green suits and sit in a small room either agreeing pompously or arguing sententiously about urgent and key issues such as which Steve Gurley production was the bestest?

(also steve totally should have jumped on board the r&g er gravy train)

it will be called beat/off-beat

sidenote: how badly do we all want this?

"14 members want this"

yes! exactly! those outfits are even better than the ones I had in mind!

We've had a huge hassle tracking down Steve Gurley for The Roots of Dubstep comp - even in 2000 he was a recluse - but we found him last week thanks to a connection he made producing ... house. Given Source Direct went off to do prog house and Grant Nelson went into 'funky' (house), is house where all original 'nuum producers end up?

Fine reminder that 'Being With U' is one of the most beautiful works of the modern age. That steamy cavalier intro. That bassline. Those crickets. That animal cry...

I found and then lost the original "Being With U" on MP3 years ago. I've only got the Van Kleef remix, although I'm pretty sure it's fairly similar.

Martin who are Source Direct now recording as?

get the original and the remix here!