Collective Intelligence
Volume 1
Force Recordings
Since its humble inception, a few years back, the Stateside Collective has become a household name in Florida’s own electronic music scene. This crew, consisting of about ten artists, DJs, and an MC, is notorious for bringing a sound, that of jungle/drum n’ bass, to Tampa, an area musically known for its diva-oriented, “pop” breakbeat sound. Slowly coming to light, Stateside Collective has thrown dozens of parties, events, and has held down residencies at the now defunct Edge, the Rubb, Masquerade, and many others.
Even now, the Stateside Collective has reached a new level – “Force Recordings.” This is Stateside’s own imprint, designed to give its DJ’s and artists a chance to express themselves a little differently – creating the songs themselves. This CD, Collective Intelligence Volume 1 , is the result of this experiment.
The tracks on this disc are all-encompassing of the “Stateside Sound.” Bamboo and Cles One’s “Orion” is a darker, minimal jungle track, while Orlando’s superstar AK1200 comes through with “Catagory4” – complete with old-school synth stabs. Bamboo’s Matrix-influenced “Dreams” is a neo-classic jungle track, instantly recognizable, and the “Armed Remix” by Seperate Entity retains the essence of darkness and light – a beautiful piano melody interspliced with a hard, rolling sub-bass line, zap guns, and a rough beat. Other notable tracks include J-Ryder and BMP’s cut up amen break that is “Cliffhanger,” South Florida’s Mr.Mendez dirty techstep in “Wrong,” and the more dark, atmospheric sound of A Seperate Entity, with “Conclusion.”
This disc is expertly mixed by DJ Bamboo, showing that he’s just as competent as a DJ as he is a producer. All mixes are flawless, and his scratching style fits in extremely well with the music. Collective Intelligence , although being far from the most prolific jungle I’ve heard, is a great disc through and through, and pushes the envelope of domestic jungle just a little bit farther. Support your local (or not so local) scene – pick this up, you won’t be disappointed.
http://www.forcerecordings.com; 813-839-4529
