Bedrock: Etching A Landmark in Progressive Music
Since it's launch in 1999, Bedrock Records has constantly pushed the boundaries of progressive house, showcasing some of the finest material from some of the scene's leading artists, producers and DJs, whilst at the same time nurturing and developing new and upcoming talent, helping in the scene's development over the years. Now almost five years on, the label reaches it's 50th landmark release and to celebrate has commissioned four brand new and exclusive remixes of some of the classic releases from the past few years, giving several of the scene's more recent artists a chance to interpret some of the best releases in the catalogue. These mixes will each be released separately across four individual and collectable one-sided 12" vinyls, available from December 15th 2003.
First up, straight on the back of his outstanding 'Invasion' artist EP for the label, 'Yunus Guvenen' provides an outstanding landscape of a reinterpretation of the first ever release on Bedrock, the eponymous 'Heaven Scent'. This is where it all began, John Digweed & Nick Muir's genre defining first production for the Bedrock label, here thrown into 2003 with all the class production handling of a remixer very much on form.
This is followed up with another early classic, in the form of 'Pushin Too Hard' by Saints & Sinners. The duo of Yoogie Van Bellen and Wilfried Belz originally did this '2003 Mix' as a bootleg rehash, but this was seen by Bedrock as a chance not to be missed. The original 12" received huge support with a little help from Futureshock's chunky remix that crossed over to a massive audience. With this new mix, Saints & Sinners turn their attention back to one of the biggest highlights in their production career, injecting a funky acidic feel into what was already a stellar house track.
On the topic of stellar house tracks, one would have to mention Tijuana's 'Groove Is In The Air'. A huge smash for the label with it's remixes from Moonface and FC Kahuna, and another early release that has helped to shape and define the label's sound and direction. The remix of this track comes from 'The Low End Specialists', who return to the label after their remix of Steve Lawler's 'Andante', and add their trademark big low end sounds to the track, with a smooth and consistent hook complimenting all the subtle intricacies of the original version.
And last but by no means least, another bootleg turned official release, as Bedrock's most recent production 'Emerald' gets reinterpreted by Chicago's 'Grayarea'. Remaining faithful to the scale and impact of the original, their remix adds a deep breaking hook and low end sounds, and in trademark fashion take a no nonsense and unashamed approach to create a full on breakbeat epic in the making, making it the perfect mix to join the others on this landmark release.
For those who have followed the label since it's inception, these mixes will bring nostalgic memories back to the mind, whilst at the same time introducing newcomers to the Bedrock sound to some of the great tracks that have shaped and defined the brand over the years, whilst providing a template for the future of the label at the same time.
Watch out for reviews of each vinyl plus a special contest and more coverage of this landmark event in the next few weeks here on Progressive-Sounds.
