TopTune.co.uk

Do us favour and whack on the Bump & Flex Mix?

The man began and has since returned to his house roots, ignoring the lure of dubstep and the rest. Surprising as his production skills would surely have been more than capable of adapting. However there was no one more prominent in the UKG scene at its height, from the late 90′s Grant Nelson created Bump & Flex and Bump & Flex created a sound as distinguished as any other. Artful Dodger, Mis-teeq and Gabrielle were the main recipients and his re-working of James Brown’s ‘Funk On Ah Roll’ is an all time Toptune Fav.
The Rhythm Construction Co, Livin Large and 24Hour Experience are three earlier aliases’ that were responsible for the emergence of the garage house within the UKG community.
Grant teamed up with Norris ‘The Boss’ Windross as Pseudo and NnG showing his versatility in working with the biggest DJ and MC’s of the time to produce monster hits. The re-appearance of the same big names Mike Millrain, Jeremy Sylvester and Clay & Deller either in collaboration or on one of his many labels under the Nice N Ripe umbrella

He seems a man more comfortable working under a name other than his own.
To finish though a quick mention for the aptly titled ‘Step to Me’ by Grant Nelson and another trip down memory lane.

If this entry seems a little all over the place that’s down to trying to fit every piece of relevant information about the great man into reasonable sized entry.

To celebrate Mr Nelson’s work take 50% off anything he’s been near plus 50% off every house release in respect of his first love and driving influence.

Part Ten (May 2011) Grant Nelson >

Jeremy Sylvester is Mr Alias, the man is a musical chameleon capable not only of turning his hand to whatever sound is currently battering the underground scene but also leading the charge in terms of quality and innovation. Jeremy used various guises to help differentiate the fazes and styles of his career, his numbers were increased further as he teamed up with many other artists. At Toptune we love Mr S for his bumpy garage house style under the Sly and Strickly Dubz releases but everyone will know and love him for something different.

We celebrate him by offering an exclusive 50% off all his productions this month so check out the link below for something for everyone on this month hero.

Part Nine (January 2011) Jeremy Sylvester >

Grove Chronicles, Steven Judd aka Noodles and Lewis Beadle aka EL-B, are a UKG institution. They used a multitude of influences to create a unique and hugely distinctive sound that is still influencing new music now, most notably dubstep. Both Noodles and EL-B went on to achieve success in their own rights but it is for this collaboration that we recognise them. The distinctive nature of their sound was further emphasised with the creation Dat Pressure Records and the self titles Groove Chronicles.

Take 50% off everything the two of them have ever touched throughout the month of January via the link below.

Part Nine (January 2011) Groove Chronicles >

Ramsey met future DJ partner Fen, through a friend in a local phone shop, so urban legend has it. Ramsey then invited Fen on to Freek FM and the rest is history. During their early development the dynamic duo knocked around with MJ Cole and he featured on a few early productions when they operated under the RAF / Rafmatt guise. They also regularly offered remixes options on the same release and have a clearly influenced sound.

When going ‘back to back’ was all the rage nobody did it better than these two, whilst other DJ’s would come together for the odd night here or there these two honed their double act and they were as slick live as they were in the studio.

The two became synonymous with the huge club nights of the late 90′s and early 00′s such as La Cosa Nostra, Sun City and Numb Nums. The duo set up their own label, Bug Records, which they used to release nearly all their own productions and their remixes featured on all the other major labels of the day.

To celebrate the legendary RAF we offering an exclusive 50% discount on all their productions throughout the month of December, please click on the link below. Strictly whilst stocks last.

Part Eight (December 2010) Ramsey & Fen >

It doesn’t come any bigger than these two monsters of the UKG scene.

Todd Edwards is the US producer whose style of chopped up synthesized vocals on a garage house beat has been a feature of the scene for 15 years. Championed by EZ his sound stood on its own amongst the other sub genre’s within UKG although more recently you can spot the influence in the work of DJ Faz and GE amongst others. Todd’s work features predominantly on the iconic i! Records label. His work is heavily influenced by his Christianity and many of his records have a celebratory feel. EZ gets him over to the UK as often as he can and we love him here at toptune

Matt Jam is best known as one half of Tuff Jam although he has collaborated successfully with Scott Tonic and DJ Face (Gavin Mills) and is a successful producer, DJ and record label owner (Solo Recordings) in his own right.
Matt Lamont is also regularly on Kiss 100 and has put his name to numerous compilation cd’s. Under the Jam & Face alias their remixes helped launch Mis-teeq into the big time. One of the most respected men on the scene he continues to pioneer, the promotion of the Russian producer Artifact is a fine example.

To celebrate their achievements this month we have 50% off all vinyl that either artist features on, enjoy!!

Part Seven (November 2010) Todd Edwards >

Part Seven (November 2010) Matt ‘Jam’ Lamont >

Mr Ray Hurley, Mr Steve Gurley…

What can we say, he seems to have operated in somewhat of a bubble and few people outside of the Garage scene will know much about him. Ray Hurley is a dj, producer and record label owner which is nothing special, his biggest impact on the scene coincided with the scene’s most successful period, nothing unique. However we at toptune feel he is both special and unique. Ray is very much his own man, he doesnt hide behind alias’ or groups, Dub Monsters aside. He knows what he likes and he sticks to it. The productions and sets have dropped off but his work definitely stands the test of time and he still smashes it in the flesh. Anyone who was at Back to 95 earlier in the year will be able to testify to this.

Steve Gurley, similar to Ray in that he has never pushed himself to the forefront of the scene, has been almost exclusively production / remix focused. His name is synonymous with some of the biggest 2 step vocal Garage records ever, mainly on the hugely influential Public Demand label with some of the most soulful artists, Robbie Craig, Victor Romeo etc. Steve Gurley kicked his career off in Drum & Bass but as it mainstream popularity grew he sought out something fresh and came across UKG around it’s generally agreed upon formation in the early 90′s. He has since evolved again and is now producing garage house. Shine On, Shine On, Shine On!!!

Throughout the month we celebrate the ‘People’s DJ’ and ‘Mr Remix’ by offering an exclusive 50% discount on their work. Please click on the link below.

Part Six (October 2010) Ray Hurley >

Part Six (October 2010) Steve Gurley >