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| 1 :: Artful Dodger
- 'Outrageous'
from 'It's All About the Stragglers'
(FFRR)
2000 |
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| The most recognizable name in UK Garage is Artful Dodger. The duo of Mark Hill and Pete Devereux from Southampton, England make up Artful Dodger. Definately the biggest commercial success to come from the UK Garage underground. Artful Dodger introduced the world to Craig David a 17 year old (at the time) unknown R&B singer who rose to fame in 1999 when 'Re-rewind' reached number an incredible number 2 in the UK music charts, spending nine weeks in the Top 10. Known for their ultra slick production and polished garage sound heavy on the R&B flavor. 'Outrageous' is a beautiful tune. A gorgeous stereo fill comes in soon after a short intro build. Cut up vocals by Lynn Eden provide the majority of the melody along with two layers of keys and a panning sped up rap. Very very nice. |
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| 2 :: Dem 2
- 'Destiny'
(Locked On / XL)
1997 |
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| This is classic UK Garage. 'Destiny' was released at the very end of 1997. Considered one of the most influential early UK Garage records along with Dreem Teem's remix of 'My Desire' by Amira. Both tunes would become a template for UK Garage's beat patterns, starting the major scene shift from the 4/4 kicks of Speed Garage to UK Garage's two step studer. By the end of 1998 the majority of producers had switched from Speed Garage to UK Garage. Dean Boylan and Spencer Edwards (Dem 2) also had a major influence on the use of drastically chopped/pitched/flipped vocals, often used to create an entirely new vocal melody. This extremist vocal editing was used to success in the earlier Todd Edwards MARVELOUS Speed Garage tune 'Shut the Door'. Personally, Todd Edwards tune is the penultimate for me. Dem 2 used Lonyo a respected but unknown R&B singer for this tracks vocal mutation. Lonyo went on to see further success in UK Garage with his hit 'Summer of Love' and the more recent 'Garage Girls' which is another striking tune. |
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| 3 :: Gabrielle
- 'Sunshine (Wookie Main Mix)'
(Go Beat)
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| The first two singles from Gabrielle's latest full length 'Rise': 'Sunshine' and 'Rise', were remixed by Wookie and Artful Dodger respectively and quickly sold 10,000 copies in vinyl alone. This prompted Gabrielle to release an 18 track 'Rise Underground' album with more new remixes by Zed Bias, Stanton Warriors, and M-Dubs among others. Jason Chue(bacca) / Wookie has become one of the leaders of the UK Garage scene along with Dodger and MJ Cole, all of whom have distinguishable "sounds". Jason notes renowned R&B producer (and Neptunes mentor) Teddy Riley as a major influence along with Soul II Soul's Jazzy B whose 'Back II Life' received the Wookie remix treatment. Jazzy B thought the remix was "interesting" to say the least. |
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| 4 :: Amar feat. MC Rankin
- 'Sometimes It Snows In April (Dreemhouse Dub)'
(Blanco Y Negro / NEG129T / UK)
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| Sheila Chandra is the only Indian singer to see commercial success in the UK, and she previously collaborated with Talvin Singh in his first album, 'Anokha'. This Timmi Magic (1/3 of The Dreem Teem) remix features the official Dreem Teem MC… MC Rankin. The Dreem Teem are widely respected for their production abilities as well as their contributions to building the scene through 'Dreem Teem Presents…' their weekly Radio One broadcast. Like so many of the UK Garage producers Dreem Teem made the transition from Drum and Bass producers to Garage. It's interesting to go back after all these years and listen to those cuts now after hearing all their UK Garage releases. Their Drum and Bass releases were definitely on the 'Jump Up' roller tip. Back then they were considered quality tunes, and they still are, though they lacked the depth found in the Dreem Teem garage tunes. The mastery of production is also much more evident, in the number of layers, use of vocals, and the amount of soul. |
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| 5 :: Architechs feat. Nana
- 'Body Groove'
(Go Beat)
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| When the Architechs pulled the acapella from Brandy & Monica's 'The Boy Is Mine' in the summer of 1998 they sold over 40,000 copies of the bootleg and gained international attention… thus beginning the onslaught of Garage/R&B bootlegs. The Architechs: Tr?owe and City had been producing R&B separating for years until 'The Boy is Mine' rework which featured a then unknown K-Warren. After the success of the release and other R&B flavored garage they felt they could be more successful outside the struggling British R&B scene and in the Garage scene. As K-Warren left to pursue a solo career, Tre and City hooked up with one of City's previous collaborators Nana. Selling an astounding 250,000 copies 'Body Groove' is bouncy fun funk complete with Ragga vocals. They recently released another successful tune more soulful tune called 'Show Me the Money' again with Nana on the vocals. The Architechs will be releasing a full length later this year on Go Beat. |
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| 6 :: Pink
- 'There You Go (Sovereign Remix)'
(All Good/UK Arista)
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| Producing garage tunes since 1999, Sovereign burst on the scene with his remixes of Mya's 'Case Of The Ex' and the even more popular white label remix of Pink's 'There You Go'. Arista liked the unauthorized remix so much they released it on Pink's UK single… He received no financial compensation from the label (or lawsuit), but certainly made up for it in recognition and respect. Sovereign plans on focusing more on original works and releasing a full length sometime in the future. Sovereign's remix of 'There You Go' features bouncing baseline, fx, and often the used R&B string scales. What a ride! |
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| 7 :: Sia
- 'Little Man (X Men Works)'
(Long Lost Brother (S003))
2001 |
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| At the beginning of 1999 Wookie was still an R&B producer. Long time friend and UK Garage producer Johnny J suggested they collaborate on some tunes, giving birth to the X Men. Sticking mainly to remix work the duo saw significant success with the majority of their releases such as: Sweet Female Attitude's '8 Days a Week' and the impressive bootleg of Whitney Houston's 'It's Not Right' which sold many bootlegged copies since it was an unauthorized release. In December 2000 the duo parted ways and Wookie became an even more recognizable name in the UK Garage scene. Johnny J continues under the X Men moniker and still occasionally collaborates with Jason. Johnny J cites Timbaland, Jermain Dupri, MJ Cole, and Teddy Riley as influences, among others. In 'Little Man' old school keys combine with Wookie's trademark big, warbling, rolling bass and the outstanding slinky vocals of Sia an respected Australian songstress.
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