Logos, a true master of atmosphere and space, is more often than not found turning his hand to experimental grime works as part of influential collective Boxed but here, has joined forces with Sam Binga, Fracture and Rider Shafique to turn in a ‘Space Jam’ of entirely different proportions.
Enlisted to provide his own, 'devil mix' inspired take on the trio’s sub-heavy dancehall roller ‘She Want It Ruff’, he navigates around the complexities of remixing at higher tempos and delivers a warped, swooping mix that taps into the same mysterious world he explored on excellent debut LP, ‘Cold Mission’.
With the release of Binga, Fracture and Shafique’s ‘FDGD’ EP earlier today (September 29th), which also features further alternative dancehall cuts ‘Back It Up’ and ‘Bubble’, we managed to grab a few words with the Logos on the art of remixing, dancehall and working at higher tempos..
What are your thoughts on remixing in general?
Do you enjoy it as much as working on original material? I think most producers would say they ultimately prefer working on original material. But remixing is an art in itself and it is nice to be able to concentrate on the arrangement and vibe more than the engineering aspect, perhaps.
How did you approach working on this with regards to the tempo? It's different to what you'd usually work at – did it make it more of a challenge?
I've done some other remix work at 160/170 recently so it didn't feel too difficult – in fact because the tempo works so nicely at half-time it lends itself to beatless treatments as well.
How significant do you think the concept of the Devil Mix is?
Very. As Arthur Russell said:
"I always thought that music with no drums is successive to music with drums. New music with no drums is like this future where they don't have drums any more. In outer space you can't take your drums – you take your mind."
What made you want to get involved at working with Sam Binga, Fracture and Rider Shafique?
I've known DJ Fracture for a long time – I spent a good few years in and around drum and bass – and have always followed his work, so it was a natural link-up and I was really happy to do the remix.
What are your thoughts on bashment – is it something you've experimented much with before?
Not really – for example my angle on vocals has tended to be exclusively through the lens of grime. But it was great to work with the source material and Rider Shafique's voice in particular.
Can you see yourself getting involved with working on more material at 170bpm?
I actually used to make a lot of drum and bass and still collaborate with someone on 170 material from time to time – whether or not any of that ever sees the light of day, I don't know. Perhaps.
Check it out below.
Words: Tomas Fraser
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