Automatic and C1rca present
ED RUSH
OPTICAL
Virus Recordings UK
The CHAMELEON album tour
Ed Rush is one of the current leaders of the new school drum and bass. One of the originators to bring back the dark sounds of drum and bass and push it to new levels, Ed Rush continues to make waves with each new release.
Born in west London, Ed Rush originally started out into Hip Hop and electro but eventually found the growing underground rave scene. Fascinated by the breaks in the hardcore sounds at the time, Ed Rush convinced his neighbor, Nico Sykes, to let him produce tracks with him.
Eventually they released "Bludclot Artattack" in 1993 - a journey into the darkcore sounds. While most releases at the time had a certain momentum and feel, the track was like no other, and marked the shift of hardcore's split into drum and bass.
Ed Rush eventually released follow-ups nearly two years later, this time with DJ Trace, on "The Mutant" in 1995. "Guncheck" soon followed, another track developed in a recognizable Ed Rush style - gangsta attitude, and crunchy basslines.
Ed Rush soon found himself on the cusp of prominence, as his releases in 1996 on the Techsteppin' compilation, the Skylab EP on the Metalheadz label, and "Killimanjaro" on the Prototype label all helped to define the genres' direction towards techstep, a two-step style of drum and bass. He subsequently released more tracks on various labels, and his popularity as an artist grew, as did his sound as a producer. His work with Prototype saw him team with Fierce and Optical in releasing one of the all time classics of drum and bass "Cutslo (Lokuste Mix) / Alien Girl".
The greatest collaboration was ahead of him though, when he teamed up with
Optical. They created their own label,
Virus, and their first release was "Medicine/Punchbag," Their eventual LP, "Wormhole" in 1998, was released to critical and underground success, and is regarded as a genre classic, as the sounds from that album again redefined the direction drum and bass was headed, and solidified their status as the forerunners of the new sound of drum and bass.
After a slew of other releases, Ed Rush and Optical released another genre-defining LP, "The Creeps". This was again met with critical and commercial success, as the album helped them to win Knowledge drum and bass award for producers of the year for 2001.
Hot on the the heels of that release they proved emphatically that they had way more tricks up their sleevbes, releasing the absolutely massive dancefloor smash "Kerbkrawler".
More singles followed and Virus recordings flourished with a slew of other artists such as Matrix, Baron, and the Upbeats.
Continuing on, 2003 saw the release of the "Amazing Doctor Shade" Lp, again to critical and underground success.
2006 saw the release of their latest LP, "Chameleon" featuring collaborations with Matrix, Rymetyme, Darrison and Louis Smith.
TUESDAY
JANUARY 23
with Automatic presents residents:
PSIDREAM B2B PACIFIC
DJ SODA
MYSTER.E MC
Tickets $23 at Beatstreet, Boomtown, Remix, Vinyl, and Zulu
THE PLAZA
881 GRANVILLE ST.