| KASBAH
(DJ
& Producer)
|
 Kasbah
came looking for the electronic warehouse in 1990.
To celebrate this palindronic event he took the name Kasbah.
“I’d always liked the sound of the word, right from an early age,” he says.
As one half of 6k with the legendary Scots DJ/producer Phase 6 and laterally
solo, Kasbah maintains the pace of one release per year.
First was the electronic funk workout of the Titrilogy EP, which asked the
question: when does delay become the automaton? Acclaim was immediate and
widespread. Released on Twitch’s deeply music-centric Pi label, 6k were
pleased to have recognised Pure.
After a great deal of deliberation, spending some of the best electronic
ever created, number two in the Pure tag team Brainstorm unleashed the Bulb
EP with the full backing of the Subjective Sound Corps. Astonishingly, his
selection was near identical to Matrix. 6k let it go. “This shows the differences
in the markets,” Kasbah said.
The following release Sweet & Sour was on Detroit imprint Matrix, run by
Sean Deason; the internet provided the channel through which 6k would deal.
When distributors Submerge picked up the release they would describe it
as ‘intelligent trance’. With deep respect for the Underground Resistance,
6k did not question the classification.
Carefully Matrix released the classic Sculpturescape EP. To the ears of
its creators pure hardcore electro techno – although the imagery could take
the listener through any part or glen in the Highlands. So strong was the
feeling that at one point Kasbah and Phase 6 struggled to reduce the track
title “Fuck Off Cunts” to the less contentious “Fuk Yiz,” a seemingly futile
effort to contain themselves.
In two bizarre twists, Kasbah’s favourite movies of 1999 would be Pi and
The Matrix.
The final 6k EP was to come to them.
Walt Miller the Third of Philadelphia and his partner had spent two years
saving and were ready to put something out. This was a show of respect that
did not go unrealised and perhaps the best release went to Dose records.
Named the Mythology EP the serpent head of Medusa showing that the weight
of history is carried in the stories people tell.
Kasbah’s most recent release came with French-Germanic-Scots label Pull
Records. The Words of the Elders EP shows Kasbah reaching into his past
to pull back the certainty of knowledge and the wonder of the unknown, learned
as a child. Three tracks describe three aspects: Infiltration rocks the
sense for belonging, Dream of Life considers ourselves, others and how funky
we are, while Words of the Elders is solemn, reminding the listener of their
responsibility.
Other artists and players have made up a schedule separate from but interwoven
with the mainstream of releases by inclusion in various compilations like
Laurent Garnier’s Laboratoire Mix, Michael Wells and Robin Rimbraud’s Sounds
from the Electric Lounge, exclusive tracks for Pi and an appearance on the
CD of Edinburgh underground culture magazine ‘Underword’.
Recognition is widespread in Kasbah’s Edinburgh hometown, appearing on radio
and spinning the wheels of steel in residencies and guest spots throughout
the city and far to the north. Kasbah DJs with an ear for electronic funk
music that could belong anywhere, that is accessible and is above all progressive.
Kasbah cut his teeth as a live artist while still with 6k, playing Pure
the weekend before Jeff Mills, he has the reputation of being tight, honed
and focussed, delivering atmospherics that swirl and form with an incessant
grip that does not let go the funk. His live set is not to be missed.
Kasbah continues to record, DJ and play live: “I get better all the time,”
he says.
Kasbah’s work and style come as examples:· Waiting mix tape, 1999.· Mountain
HQ mix from 1992 andmix from 1995.· Live set The Venue, 1999. Kasbah can
be contacted in the following ways:· Web http://www.ednet.co.uk/~kasbah·
E-mail kasbah@usa.net· Phone +44 (0)131 453 1810· Surface 1, EH14 2RY, UK
Written by Pred MacLinty, 1999.
|
| KASBAH
Summary Discography: |
Releases
6k and solo:
Tunes (Label - Cat # ) Date/Country
"Titrology" (Pi Recordings - TB/Pi1202) 1995
Scotland
"Bulb" (Subjective - TB1212) 1995 Scotland
"Sweet and Sour" (Matrix - MR1013) 1996 USA
"Sculpturescape" (Matrix - MR1017) 1996 USA
"Mythology EP" (Dose - DOSEEP5399) 1997 USA
"Words of the Elders" (Pull - PLR001) 1999 Scotland |
Compilation
releases 6k and solo:
Compilation - "Track" (Label - Cat # ) Date
/ Country
Laboratoire Mix - "Tomorrow is the First Day ..."
(React React CD87/LP87) 1996 UK
Twelve Golden Grates - "Fatality", "Tighten" (Pi Recordings
TBPiCD005) 1997 UK
Sounds from The Electric Lounge - "Tight" (React React CD123)
1998 UK
Underword CD - "Words of the Elders" (Underword Underword CD)
1998 UK |
|
{extra
info here if required}
|
| {playing
pure on} |
|
|
|
