Ответ: DRUM'N'BASS
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AllMusic Biography
by Sean Cooper
Bristol-based duo Technical Itch make leading-edge progressive drum'n'bass,
incorporating the moodier elements of jump-up and techstep with a nod toward
drum-twisting junglists such as Dom & Roland and the Penny Black label.
Although Technical Itch's Darren Beale and Mark Caro (the latter originally
of Birmingham) have deepest roots in the late-'80s hardcore breakbeat scene,
their material both apart and together has tended toward the darkside,
combining dense, unsetting atmospherics with complex, bruising drum patterns
and deep subbass groans. The pair's most-used recording moniker derives (as
does their home-run label) from their Bristol-based Tech Itch recording
studio, but Caro and Beale have also recorded as Kutta (for Rough Tone),
Decoder (for Tech Itch, Back2Basics, and Ruffneck Ting), T.I.C. (for
Back2Basics), and Alpha Proxima (for Au Toi). The pair's earliest tracks
came toward the peak end of the U.K. hardcore scene; both Beale and Caro were
noted DJs, with Beale's recorded work as Orca adding to his notoriety.
Introduced by a mutual friend, they released their first record together as
Plasmic Life on Bizzy B's Brain Records, and by the early '90s were moving
away from the conventions of hardcore, following breakbeat into the less
static realms of darkside and hardstep jungle. Still only a part-time
collaboration, the pair's partnership deepened after Omni Trio's Rob Haigh
heard a Tech Itch track on Kenny Ken's Kiss FM show, leading to their
signing with Haigh's home-base Moving Shadow in 1996. The pair produced a
number of singles as Technical Itch for the label that same year, with
scores of tracks as Decoder and T.I.C. continuing to appear on their own
and other labels, marking the pair as one of the more prolific (and
increasingly influential) of the new crop. Though a Decoder full-length was
first out of the gate in late 1998, Tech Itch's Diagnostics followed in 1999
on Moving Shadow.
Technical Itch - Penetration Records [2001-2007]
TIP001 Borgmind / Brace [12"]
TIP002 Telekinetic / Halion [12"]
TIP003 The Fear / Release Me [12"]
TIP004 The Rukus / Nitron [12"]
TIP005 The Ring / Think [12"]
TIP006 Destiny / Contaminate [12"]
TIP007 The Rukus (D. Kay Remix) / Telekinetic (Black Sun Empire Remix) [12"]
TIP008 Destroy / Altivex [12"]
TIP009 Turn Me Out / Don't Go [12"]
TIP010 Pressure Drop / Shadow Demon [12"]
TIP011 Soldiers / The Green [12"]
TIP012 Soldiers VIP / Pressure Drop (Kryptic Minds Remix) [12"]
TIP013 Life of Sin / Dream Strike [12"]
TIP014 The Hand (Dungeon Master Mix) / Take The Stone [12"]
TIP015 Soldiers (D-Bridge Remix) / The Green (Mason Remix) [12"]
TIP016 Hex / Inner Journey [12"]
TIP017 The Rukus (Kryptic Minds & Leon Switch Remix) / Replicator [12"]
TIP018 Life Of Sin (Limewax Remix) / Judge [12"]
TIP019 Haunted / Wraith [promo 12"]
TIP020 Raised By Evil / Demon [12"]
TIPO21 Retribution / Anscients [12"]
TIP022 Retribution(Audio Remix) / Hex (Gein Remix) [12"]
TIP023 Cold Blood / Alone [12"]
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Technical Itch
As the 90s have progressed, Mark Caro has established the Technical Itch
name as a formidable global force on the drum & bass map. His involvement
in the scene stemmed from his hardcore roots, initially placing his first
productions through the Ibiza and Brian labels, before setting up Technical
Itch Recordings in 1995. Shortly after the label was launched, an encounter
with Darren Beale of Decoder infamy saw a meeting of two twisted minds -
their studio partnership was born and Mark moved from Birmingham down to
Bristol. It was also at this time that Mark signed an artist deal with
Moving Shadow, hence the shortening of the label’s name to Tech Itch
Recordings, and with a better distribution deal in place for his own imprint,
it was from this point that the Tech Itch sound really began taking off.
Prior to this year, Mark had introduced his sound to the Moving Shadow
massive by way of four singles. Firstly with the smooth grooves of “Can’t You
See” / “Contents Of Thought”, and then with the more abrasive styling of
“The Dreamer” / “Ruff n’ Tuff”. The incendiary sounds that have become firmly
associated with the Technical Itch name then came further to the fore as “The
Virus” / “Watch Out” and “Stronghold” / “Hidden Sound” were let loose. Along
with his various remixes, coupled with the consistent catalogue of bruising
drum & bass soundscapes that the Tech Itch label was unleashing, Mark’s
reputation was propelled into the upper echelons of drum & bass production.
In the light of the previous prolific years, 1998 was a quiet one for both
Mark and the Tech Itch label. But by no means was he resting on his laurels
for, in between travelling the globe, the latter half of last year was spent
tucked away in the studio writing and recording new material for his debut
artist album on Moving Shadow, “Diagnostics”.
The return of Technical Itch to Moving Shadow was heralded by the release of
the “Trysyinate” / “Scope” single and although not included on “Diagnostics”,
gave a good indication of how the Tech Itch sound has been shaping up over
the past year in preparation for the album. “Since I’ve been DJing a lot more,
I’ve been writing more tunes that are dancefloor orientated,” explains Mark.
“I started off writing the album thinking that I’d do the dancefloor tunes
first, and then go back and do some more experimental album tracks, but it got
to the point where I had such a good batch of floor tunes I thought I’d make
it more of a DJ friendly album.”
The intricate detail, alien atmosphere and raw power that has always
characterised Mark’s productions is clearly still apparent, and can be
witnessed to the maximum on “Trysyinate”. However, “Scope”, whilst still
spitting venom, displayed a less frantic and more rolling approach to the
beats - lending itself a wider dancefloor appeal. This direction can be heard
more fully on the album and, when compared to some older Technical Itch tracks,
the progression - perhaps not so much in style or sound but final execution -
can really be heard.
So apart from a more dancefloor friendly approach to the album, what else can
we expect from “Diagnostics”? “It’s very techno-y,” begins Mark - a man whose
manner and sober personality betrays the kind of music he makes. “There’s a
lot of techno influence in there, basically because I love techno sounds.
There’s also a slow track [the twisted breaks groove of “1310”] but that’s just
about the only thing that is different, everything else is pure drum & bass.
It’s not in any way watered down or commercial. It’s just pure beats. There’s
no singing... or any other musicians in fact... it’s just totally me. I haven’t
done anything with anyone else which is one thing I wanted to do, and I’m quite
proud of being able to do that.”
The Technical Itch sound is an uncompromising audio experience, but in the light
of the recent ‘backlash’ against full-on darkness and scary schizat, and the all
encompassing injection of the phunk, did Mark feel that this shift in the scene
had affected his production? “A little bit,” he concedes, “but I just do what I
do. I’ve always been into the dark, aggressive, deep and technical sounds. It’s
what I like doing and it’s what I’m known for, but since I’ve been DJing more,
I have made things a bit more simple - still quite intricate, but a bit more
rolling and with more of a groove rather than just beats all over the place.”
This more rolling style can be heard in tracks like “Era” - with its twisted yet
musical sounds and catchy riffing, driving beats; “1730” - with its raw, stripped
steppas approach; and “Roswell” - with its crisp drums and clinical groove. The
more full-on, aggressive flava that is associated with Tech Itch still comes
across on tracks like “Focused” - with its frantically chopped breaks and
grinding fucked-out bass, and “Darkhalf”, where a disturbing dialogue introduces
the b-movie FX, churning bassline and jamming beats.
One of the most interesting and memorable tracks is “Reborn” which rolls out
full blown 303 acid riffs over solid hardcore beats and, quite frankly, sounds
like nothing else out there on the drum & bass scene. There’s also quite an
ironic twist here as well, for in plundering a style of sound that first appeared
in dance music during the 80s, thanks to the emergence of some of Roland’s most
celebrated hardware; Mark, in the track Technical Itch, pays homage to a late 90s
software package that has enabled him to write this track without any of the
original kit that the sounds that characterise this tune were sourced. That
package is of course Rebirth and, as I found out, the rapid advances in music
technology are very important to Mark’s production process.
“Since PCs and Macs have come along, there’s so much new software you can get
for them, they’re not just sequencers anymore - it’s complete sound manipulation.
You almost don’t need a sampler. For example, “Reborn” was done totally in the
computer. I didn’t even use the sampler, and if you’ve got a powerful enough
machine and a good soundcard, you don’t even need a mixing desk. You can do
everything in the computer.”
But with the leaps and bounds that are being made in music technology, does
Mark think that the production game is just getting too easy? “I don’t think
it’s making it any easier because you still have to be quite technically
minded to do it,” he suggests. “It’s just opening up more avenues. At the end
of the day, it’s what’s in your head that matters, but you can do a lot more
stuff.”
As you would imagine with someone so obsessed with technology, the internet
also plays a large role in Mark’s everyday life and besides the obvious musical
and business advantages, he also sees it as a very important development for
society on a global scale. “It’s bringing people closer together, as you can
talk to someone on the other side of the world instantly for the price of a local
rate call. I also get a lot of software from the net and you can work with
someone on the other side of the world if you like because you can send sound
files via E-mail.”
So now with the Shadow album in the bag, Mark can turn his attention to other
projects, in particular his own Tech Itch label. There’s a new twelve out
featuring his “Deception” and Decoder’s “Headlock”, which will be followed by a
collaboration between Technical Itch and Dieselboy. The US jock is no stranger
to the label having co-written the second ever Tech Itch Recordings release with
Mark, and it’s that track that gets a remix here in the shape of “Scythe ‘99”,
while a fresh cut enTechnical Itchd “Atlantic State” takes the A-side and also
has a video to accompany it. “Videos are something we want to do more of,”
states Mark. “Some guys in the US are doing the video for “Atlantic State”, but
there are also some guys in Bristol who might be doing some stuff for us in the
future. It’s definitely the way forward - what with DVD and stuff like that.”
There’s also the Biostacis project which sees Mark in the studio with Served
Chilled’s Bart. After their Audio Couture debut, expect to hear more from this
duo, including a single on Tech Itch. A label compilation is also in the
pipeline for later this year with a whole host of original tracks from the Tech
Itch team and a few star remix turns, plus there’s the rumour of a collaboration
with Dom & Roland in the offing - serious!
So, with a handful of new Shadow singles, the “Diagnostics” LP, remixes for
Fuze and Palm Pictures and the return of the Tech Itch label, things are looking
on the up and up for Mark Caro. All die-hard fans of his style will find in
“Diagnostics” all that they expect from the master of the darkside and more,
while with the further refined approach that he has taken, he will no doubt prick
up a few more ears to his sound.
WORDS: Richard Arnell
PICTURE: Courtney Hamilton
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