“to everyone who has dreamt but never acted; wished but never tried. no long ting rudeboy: what are you waiting for? if you want something done: do it yourself. not later. now. do it. grasp it. make it…happen.”
Dusk and Blackdown bring the Keysound posse to WHQ for the first time, after a sprinkling of individual appearances from some of its members (Sully, Mumdance, Wen, Murlo).
After a series of successful label showcases at London’s Fabric, Dusk and Blackdown’s Keysound Recordings needed a home of its own. Keysound Sessions has been operating out of Peckham’s Rye Wax and Stoke Newington’s Waiting Room. A solitary outing in Bristol hinted at broader horizons. 2016 sees Outpost bring Keysound Sessions to Newcastle.
Dusk + Blackdown
Label heads Dusk and Blackdown launched Keysound Recordings initially as a home for their own productions. A run of singles paved the way for debut album Margins Music, an A-Z of London’s sonic landscape featuring vocal performances from prominent grime MCs Trim and Durrty Goodz. 10 years later, and with a Rinse FM residency under their belt, the label has gone from strength to strength, responsible for releases from Walton, Kahn and Neek, Metalheadz’ new signing Detboi, Wen, Mumdance and Logos, Sully, Murlo and many more.
They’ll bring their trademark no compromise mix of “dark-but-not-dubstep, rolling-but-not-garage, grimey-but-not-grime.” If you’ve caught one of their sets at Fabric or Rye Wax in London, or were there for Tectonic vs. Keysound at Outlook 2014, you’ll know that their first visit to Newcastle and WHQ is an absolute no-brainer!
Sully
Making a return to WHQ after a heavy set for Lively Up vs. Pirate Material, Sully’s initial outings on Keysound and further afield homed in on a gritty, burnished UK garage sound, while debut album Carrier also looked to grime and Chicago footwork for inspiration.
Recently, however, the BPMs have risen and his releases have referenced mid ’90s jungle. A double pack on Keysound in 2014 has been followed up with singles for Hsüan Records and, most recently, Astrophonica, featuring absolute gem ‘Hours, Miles & Still…’ Also in the pipeline is the inaugural release on Rua Sound. Trust us when we say he needs little introduction – those who know, know! We can’t wait to see what he brings to the table for his return to the Northeast.
Logos
Logos’ first excursion on Keysound came in the form of his razor-sharp take on eski minimalistix – the game-changing Kowloon EP. A collaborative effort with Mumdance was to follow (Genesis EP) and his debut album, Cold Mission, was released on the label in 2013 – a masterpiece.
Logos is also known for his role in London’s instrumental grime night/label Boxed, which he runs alongside Mr. Mitch, Slackk and Oil Gang. He has a productive relationship with Mumdance, a partnership which yielded last year’s Proto LP on Tectonic. They also run label/night Different Circles, which has explored ‘weightless’ club sounds on releases from themselves as well as Rabit, Strict Face, Inkke, Darko and Murlo.