“You have to be hungry as a musician. You have to experiment, you have to develop, you have to move forward, but you have to be hungry. That is how it is supposed to be. I won’t say that I haven’t
been successful but I will say that I want to be better than this.” Goth-Trad to Big Up Magazine, 2008 And better he has become. New Epoch, Goth-Trad’s debut album for the DEEP MEDi Musik imprint
due out in February 2012, is the result of over a decade of pushing forward from the man Kode9 calls “a one-man army mutating the UK hardcore continuum in Japan.”
Takeaki Maruyama aka Goth-Trad is a spearhead among producers worldwide who have taken the sounds of the UK underground and mutated them into new forms – or, in this case, into New Epoch.
However, for Maruyama-san it’s never been about trying to replicate the UK sound as he acknowledged in a 2008 interview, “Looking at good Dubstep producers, I don’t think they are trying to make Dubstep. They are already looking beyond this, and trying to make something new. They are thinking on another level. That’s the fun part!” And fun is something he knows all about.
Emerging from a vibrant underground Japanese electronic scene, Maruyama-san has developed into one of the most outstanding artists of his generation. His unique “fun” style involves freely playing
samplers, keyboards and even self-made instruments – this approach brought him the nickname “the Sound Originator.” His sound comprises a broad palette of influences from Abstract Electronica to
Noise, from Dub and Reggae to Jungle, from Rave and Grime to Punk, and almost every form of music somehow is absorbed into his black hole-like approach, emerging from a trans-warp conduit on the
other side as something uniquely Goth-Trad. Maruyama-san has simply always been experimenting and developing his own sound palette. This truly unique, abstract approach has earned him a place at the forefront of dance music in Tokyo – quite a feat in of itself since Tokyo has one of the most complex and engaging scenes for electronic music in the world. With a strong back catalogue of albums and touring beneath his belt the buzz for his music has slowly spread further and further around the world, New Epoch is certain to bring the bass mutations of this Tokyoite even further. Maruyama-san first started producing music in 1998 and by 2001, he was ready for a breakthrough. It came when he formed the band Rebel Familia with the much-respected Dub Reggae bass player Takeshi ‘Heavy’ Akimoto of Dry & Heavy, a legendary Japanese act. By 2003, he had released his first solo album Goth Trad 1, which led to his debut European tour the same year and an opening slot for respected indie rock act The Mars Volta the following year. Maruyama-san says of this period, “Before Dubstep I was making experimental beats or almost kind of ambient.” His second album The Inverted Perspective in 2005 shifted the focus to the live improvisational style that he continues to develop and refine to this day. Looking back, he describes the record as “almost a noise experiment.” This was swiftly followed by a third album Mad Ravers Dance Floor, which was his first move towards the kind of dance music he makes today. He recalled what inspired him at the moment in an interview with Knowledge magazine - "When I found Grime music I heard Morgue by Wiley. It's very deep and like down-tempo Hip-Hop but has more bass. Maybe we could call that Dubstep but back then it was called Grime. The first image was 'deep'. The music totally fit some vision in my head. I felt something from that music." Mad Ravers Dance Floor opened European ears to his sound even more – especially when the Grime-inspired single Back to Chill was picked up by UK label Skud beats, catching the attention of the expanding bass music scene in the UK. By the end of 2006 Goth-Trad also started own night in Japan named after the single and he embarked on his fourth European tour that provided a pivotal breakthrough moment in his career thanks to a timely meeting at the London club FWD>> with
Dubstep pioneer Mala from Digital Mystikz. Mala signed the single Cut End / Flags to his own DEEP MEDi Musik imprint and subsequently those cuts garnered noise from a strong core of supporters
including artists like The Bug, Kode 9, Coki, Skream and Mary Ann Hobbs. A new era had started for Maruyama-san: after four European tours, three solo albums and countless other work he was embraced by the growing bass music scene as a force to be reckoned with. In due course this led to continued engagements for his music. By 2007 he played the legendary DMZ event for the first time and was the opening DJ for Skream, Kode9 and The Bug on Japanese dates. Not one to stop moving, he also continued his work with the band Rebel Familia, releasing an album that featured collaborations with Punky Reggae legend Arie Up and reggae godfather Max Romeo. This project tethered him to dub more and his love of deeper dub-based sounds remains a constant in his music to this day. His relationship with Romeo also continued with the Lee Perry-associated singer making an appearance on the club smasher single Babylon Fall released this past September on
DEEP MEDi Musik and also featured on New Epoch. Romeo’s mystic voice lends itself well to the spirit-laden music of Goth-Trad. Unlike the Shinto mountain and forest spirits of old though Maruyamasan’s
music is firmly routed around the spirits of his city. His is the music of dark alleyways in Shinjinku on a cold wet night, the soundtrack to the underbelly of a sprawling modern metropolis on the edge, a
noir Tokyo first seen in the post-war films of Japanese New Wave directors in the early 60s and the films of the Art Theatre Guild. It is Western-influenced yet uniquely Japanese. In the Art Theatre Guild
film Eros Massacre we see the story of a Japanese anarchist revealed as sword fights take place on a Tokyo highway shot in beautiful captivating widescreen black and white. It’s this kind of contradiction that we hear in Goth-Trad – sounds we think we know mutated into new shapes and forms. The sound of Goth-Trad cuts through the humdrum of copycats. 2007 ended for Goth-Trad with more European dates across eight countries, this time with both live and DJ performances. The following year he continued to build his reputation with three releases – Far East Assassin for Skud Beats, Genesis for Soul Jazz Records and Law for DEEP MEDi Musik, the imprint that was quickly becoming Goth-Trad’s home. In 2009 he became an in-demand remixer with remixes for both Skream and Distance. Two more heavyweight singles for DEEP MEDi Musik Dark Path and Sunbeam also followed. After that came same lab time leading up to his most assured sounding album to date. New Epoch is by far and away Goth-Trad’s most complete piece of work to date, showcasing what he is has learnt in his years of producing, touring, playing live and remixing. The album features eleven superbly and delicately crafted tracks. From the opener Man In the Maze full of beautifully dark, emotional strings and pulsating, mesmerizing groove to the intense synthesizer stabs and pure dancefloor mayhem of the Mirage - one of the strongest tracks that has been firing in heavy rotations from Mala and Kode9 - to the title track New Epoch which defines a producer digging through different styles, experiences and cultures to find himself now one of the most unique artists within the scene and beyond. We’ll leave the final words to Goth-Trad himself (as told in September to Low End Theory), “To be honest with you I'm not listening to Dubstep that much, the whole reason I got into making Dubstep is because it's free. You can do anything with it. Take it all sorts of directions…. I'm always looking for more directions and styles within my work, but I'm not really thinking I'm doing Dubstep. I'm just doing my sound. I've been doing this style of music for almost ten years and I just say all this music is bass
music. I'm putting a lot of variety into the new album. Some tunes are very techie, some tunes are much more experimental, a bit glitchy. There may be some more banging stuff. I've lots of ideas to keep.
Track Listing
1 Goth-Trad - Man In The Maze
2 Goth-Trad - Departure
3 Goth-Trad - Cosmos
4 Goth-Trad - Air Breaker
5 Goth-Trad - Walking Together
6 Goth-Trad - Strangers
7 Goth-Trad - Babylon Fall
8 Goth-Trad - Anti Grid
9 Goth-Trad - Seeker
10 Goth-Trad - Mirage
11 Goth-Trad - New Epoch More

Adding much colour to DEEP MEDi's back catalogue over the last 10 years, Silkie's latest is as consistent in quality as it is in brightness.

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Compa is back on MEDi with what's shaping up to be his best work yet Truth in Sound EP
More

With 8 singles and 2 full album releases, Silkie’scontribution to his home DEEP MEDi Musik and dubstep, is outstanding. 'The Lost Tapes (Vol. 1) is no exception.
Digging deep into his old computers and archives he found music that even his close circle of producers knew nothing about.
This record shows why Silkie is still heavily in demand today. His output is both consistent and innovative, likehis playing style. He
describes playing shows "as my second studio". If you have seen him play you'll understand why.
With DMZ, FWD and Rinse Fm as his training ground he's collecting international miles as far as New Zealand, Australia, Japan, USA,
Europe and back home right here in London, UK.
This record is his next offering to both his loyal and new fans. More

Bristol based Mensah Anderson delivers something a little different from his current output and DJ sets for his first release on DEEP MEDi. The Gambia was picked up by Mala almost two years ago and has yet to leave his record bag. It featured heavily in Mala?s XLR8R?s podcast, which was voted Best of 2011. ?The Gambia? is a slow burning, dark minimal and heavily tribal journey taking in elements of Techno, Afrobeat with a touch of Danchall, this output leans more towards Mensah?s alias ?New York Transit Authority? than previous Mensah releases and also shows
the diversity of Mensah as a producer. ?Trailing Moons Of Saturn? on the flip takes on a more laid back and cinematic approach with
it?s subtly layered synths, thunderous bass stabs and intergalactic rave vibes and effects.
More

“You have to be hungry as a musician. You have to experiment, you have to develop, you have to move forward, but you have to behungry. That is how it is supposed to be. I won’t say that I haven’t been successful but I will say that I want to be better than this.” Goth-Trad to Big Up Magazine, 2008. And better he has become. New Epoch, Goth-Trad’s debut album for the DEEP MEDi Musik imprint due out in February 2012, is the result of over a decade of pushing forward from the man Kode9 calls “a one-man army mutating the UK hardcore continuum in Japan.” This acts as the first single taken from the forthcoming album featuring the tracks ‘Airbreaker’ and ‘Cosmos’.
More

“You have to be hungry as a musician. You have to experiment, you have to develop, you have to move forward, but you have to be hungry. That is how it is supposed to be. I won’t say that I haven’t
been successful but I will say that I want to be better than this.” Goth-Trad to Big Up Magazine, 2008 And better he has become. New Epoch, Goth-Trad’s debut album for the DEEP MEDi Musik imprint
due out in February 2012, is the result of over a decade of pushing forward from the man Kode9 calls “a one-man army mutating the UK hardcore continuum in Japan.”
Takeaki Maruyama aka Goth-Trad is a spearhead among producers worldwide who have taken the sounds of the UK underground and mutated them into new forms – or, in this case, into New Epoch.
However, for Maruyama-san it’s never been about trying to replicate the UK sound as he acknowledged in a 2008 interview, “Looking at good Dubstep producers, I don’t think they are trying to make Dubstep. They are already looking beyond this, and trying to make something new. They are thinking on another level. That’s the fun part!” And fun is something he knows all about.
Emerging from a vibrant underground Japanese electronic scene, Maruyama-san has developed into one of the most outstanding artists of his generation. His unique “fun” style involves freely playing
samplers, keyboards and even self-made instruments – this approach brought him the nickname “the Sound Originator.” His sound comprises a broad palette of influences from Abstract Electronica to
Noise, from Dub and Reggae to Jungle, from Rave and Grime to Punk, and almost every form of music somehow is absorbed into his black hole-like approach, emerging from a trans-warp conduit on the
other side as something uniquely Goth-Trad. Maruyama-san has simply always been experimenting and developing his own sound palette. This truly unique, abstract approach has earned him a place at the forefront of dance music in Tokyo – quite a feat in of itself since Tokyo has one of the most complex and engaging scenes for electronic music in the world. With a strong back catalogue of albums and touring beneath his belt the buzz for his music has slowly spread further and further around the world, New Epoch is certain to bring the bass mutations of this Tokyoite even further. Maruyama-san first started producing music in 1998 and by 2001, he was ready for a breakthrough. It came when he formed the band Rebel Familia with the much-respected Dub Reggae bass player Takeshi ‘Heavy’ Akimoto of Dry & Heavy, a legendary Japanese act. By 2003, he had released his first solo album Goth Trad 1, which led to his debut European tour the same year and an opening slot for respected indie rock act The Mars Volta the following year. Maruyama-san says of this period, “Before Dubstep I was making experimental beats or almost kind of ambient.” His second album The Inverted Perspective in 2005 shifted the focus to the live improvisational style that he continues to develop and refine to this day. Looking back, he describes the record as “almost a noise experiment.” This was swiftly followed by a third album Mad Ravers Dance Floor, which was his first move towards the kind of dance music he makes today. He recalled what inspired him at the moment in an interview with Knowledge magazine - "When I found Grime music I heard Morgue by Wiley. It's very deep and like down-tempo Hip-Hop but has more bass. Maybe we could call that Dubstep but back then it was called Grime. The first image was 'deep'. The music totally fit some vision in my head. I felt something from that music." Mad Ravers Dance Floor opened European ears to his sound even more – especially when the Grime-inspired single Back to Chill was picked up by UK label Skud beats, catching the attention of the expanding bass music scene in the UK. By the end of 2006 Goth-Trad also started own night in Japan named after the single and he embarked on his fourth European tour that provided a pivotal breakthrough moment in his career thanks to a timely meeting at the London club FWD>> with
Dubstep pioneer Mala from Digital Mystikz. Mala signed the single Cut End / Flags to his own DEEP MEDi Musik imprint and subsequently those cuts garnered noise from a strong core of supporters
including artists like The Bug, Kode 9, Coki, Skream and Mary Ann Hobbs. A new era had started for Maruyama-san: after four European tours, three solo albums and countless other work he was embraced by the growing bass music scene as a force to be reckoned with. In due course this led to continued engagements for his music. By 2007 he played the legendary DMZ event for the first time and was the opening DJ for Skream, Kode9 and The Bug on Japanese dates. Not one to stop moving, he also continued his work with the band Rebel Familia, releasing an album that featured collaborations with Punky Reggae legend Arie Up and reggae godfather Max Romeo. This project tethered him to dub more and his love of deeper dub-based sounds remains a constant in his music to this day. His relationship with Romeo also continued with the Lee Perry-associated singer making an appearance on the club smasher single Babylon Fall released this past September on
DEEP MEDi Musik and also featured on New Epoch. Romeo’s mystic voice lends itself well to the spirit-laden music of Goth-Trad. Unlike the Shinto mountain and forest spirits of old though Maruyamasan’s
music is firmly routed around the spirits of his city. His is the music of dark alleyways in Shinjinku on a cold wet night, the soundtrack to the underbelly of a sprawling modern metropolis on the edge, a
noir Tokyo first seen in the post-war films of Japanese New Wave directors in the early 60s and the films of the Art Theatre Guild. It is Western-influenced yet uniquely Japanese. In the Art Theatre Guild
film Eros Massacre we see the story of a Japanese anarchist revealed as sword fights take place on a Tokyo highway shot in beautiful captivating widescreen black and white. It’s this kind of contradiction that we hear in Goth-Trad – sounds we think we know mutated into new shapes and forms. The sound of Goth-Trad cuts through the humdrum of copycats. 2007 ended for Goth-Trad with more European dates across eight countries, this time with both live and DJ performances. The following year he continued to build his reputation with three releases – Far East Assassin for Skud Beats, Genesis for Soul Jazz Records and Law for DEEP MEDi Musik, the imprint that was quickly becoming Goth-Trad’s home. In 2009 he became an in-demand remixer with remixes for both Skream and Distance. Two more heavyweight singles for DEEP MEDi Musik Dark Path and Sunbeam also followed. After that came same lab time leading up to his most assured sounding album to date. New Epoch is by far and away Goth-Trad’s most complete piece of work to date, showcasing what he is has learnt in his years of producing, touring, playing live and remixing. The album features eleven superbly and delicately crafted tracks. From the opener Man In the Maze full of beautifully dark, emotional strings and pulsating, mesmerizing groove to the intense synthesizer stabs and pure dancefloor mayhem of the Mirage - one of the strongest tracks that has been firing in heavy rotations from Mala and Kode9 - to the title track New Epoch which defines a producer digging through different styles, experiences and cultures to find himself now one of the most unique artists within the scene and beyond. We’ll leave the final words to Goth-Trad himself (as told in September to Low End Theory), “To be honest with you I'm not listening to Dubstep that much, the whole reason I got into making Dubstep is because it's free. You can do anything with it. Take it all sorts of directions…. I'm always looking for more directions and styles within my work, but I'm not really thinking I'm doing Dubstep. I'm just doing my sound. I've been doing this style of music for almost ten years and I just say all this music is bass
music. I'm putting a lot of variety into the new album. Some tunes are very techie, some tunes are much more experimental, a bit glitchy. There may be some more banging stuff. I've lots of ideas to keep.
Track Listing
1 Goth-Trad - Man In The Maze
2 Goth-Trad - Departure
3 Goth-Trad - Cosmos
4 Goth-Trad - Air Breaker
5 Goth-Trad - Walking Together
6 Goth-Trad - Strangers
7 Goth-Trad - Babylon Fall
8 Goth-Trad - Anti Grid
9 Goth-Trad - Seeker
10 Goth-Trad - Mirage
11 Goth-Trad - New Epoch More

Is there anything left to say about Oliver ‘Skream’ Jones the original Dub-step wonder kid that hasn’t already been said, probably not, but for those of you that don’t know here’s a brief history. Skream is one of the founder members of the then UK’s Dubstep movement alongside Digital Mystikz, Benga, Loefah, Kode9 etc and has taken the scene from its original darkest depths of Croydon to the top of the worldwide charts in less than 7 years. Currently one third of the chart topping super group ‘Magnetic Man’ alongside Artwork and Benga, the latter with whom he has travelled the globe DJing, selling out clubs, gigs and festivals wherever they go and who now have a semi regular prime time dance show on BBC Radio 1 showcasing the freshest and heaviest Dubstep joints. I think it’s safe to say without Skream the world of Dubstep would be in a very, very different place. Although some of Skream’s recent productions are finding their way onto daytime radio he has always been an ambassador of hard experimental underground UK dance music and this is exactly what he has delivered for DEEP MEDi. Gritty & Phatty Drummer are his second release for Mala’s (label and showcase Skream’s unquestionable production talent and ear for some of the coldest, stripped back skeletal rhythms around, both tracks are packed with enough dread and sub-weight to give you nightmares, strictly soundsystem music…
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Rob Ellis, AKA Pinch is the owner of one of the original and highly influential Dubstep labels Tectonic who have signed, developed and released music from some of the scene’s biggest acts such as Joker, 2562, Cyrus, Digital Mystikz, Skream, Jack Sparrow and of course Pinch. Pinch is also founder of Subloaded, Bristol’s finest Bass rave, who has recently celebrated their 6th Birthday. This is Pinch’s first release on Mala’s DEEP MEDi imprint and we feel it’s his best work to date, we’ll sure you’ll agree. ‘Swish’ has been played relentlessly by Mala over the last year as well as a select lucky few able to get their hands on it such as Skream, Loefah, Youngsta and V.I.V.E.K. ‘Swish’ is classic Pinch, dark, moody and sparse, heavily influenced by Techno, with a sub- bass and kick to destroy any bass bin, pure soundsystem music. ‘Tunnel Home’ on the flip sees Pinch in experimental mode switching up the tempo, 155. This still has the Pinch trademark darkness and efx’s but oozes a stealthily undercurrent and coldness with its complex drum programming and industrial approach, reminiscent of early Photek output.
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Silkie returns almost two years to the month with the follow up to his first album ‘City Limits Volume 1’.
Volume 2 is the final output in the ‘City Limits’ series and follows on from a triplet of releases this year on DEEP MEDi, two singles ‘City Limits Volume 1.2
and 1.4’ and the last EP ‘City Limits Volume 1.6 – 1.8’. ‘City Limits Volume 2’ pushes the boundaries of Silkie’s love affair with the funk and his crew’s
Antisocial’s gangster boogie vibrations even further in to the Dubstep future. Silkie shows on ‘City Limits Volume 2’ just how far ahead of the pack he is with
twelve certified future funk jams. Heavy dance floor licks such as ‘Taxi Me Get’ and ‘New York City’ roll slickly alongside the fusion of Rare groove, Dubstep
and Jungle on ‘Rock Da Funk’, Only 4 U’, ‘Boogie Boy’ and ‘Selva Nova’, smart moves indeed from the West London dapper Dan. As if that’s not enough to keep you grooving hard Silkie has enlisted a selection of choice collaborators, Dubstep don Skream steps in to lend a hand on the skanking, bass shaking ‘Untitled’ whilst....
Tracklisting:
1 Feel
2 Snowed In
3 Get Up N Dance
4 Rock Da Funk
5 Lucky
6 New York City
7 Untitled
8 Selva Nova
9 Taxi Me Get
10 Boogie Boy
11 Only 4 U
12 Outlook More

DEEP MEDi Releases Vol. 3. This the 3rd installment looking back at the labels single releases. Volume 3 shows the development of the label and the different sounds within Dubstep and beyond that it represents. First up is Finnish electronic duo Clouds with singer Tiiu who deliver their haunting, delicate and reflective ‘Protecting Hands Parts 1 & 2 which both open and close this compilation. Japan’s Goth-Trad brings two cuts ‘Dark Path’ and S.A.T.U.R.N to the table with his distinct trademark of dark and skankin’ vibes with brutal acid bass lines. Dubstep don Skream showcases his first two releases on DEEP MEDi
with ‘Backwards’ and ‘Shinein’ both full of halfstepping darkness and ten tonne subweight only for the tuffest soundsystem! Aussie Dubstep triplet
Truth’s anthem ‘Fatman’ which has been tearing up raves for years finally sees its first release on CDand digital alongside forgotten b-side ‘Stolen
Children’. Silkie and Antisocial partner dish out their trademark Gangster Boogie with Silkie’s deep and brooding ‘Poltergeist’ and bumpin ‘Sky’s the Limit’
next to Quest’s epic, percussive journey ‘Stand’ and mighty ‘Eden....
Tracklisting:
1 Clouds - Protecting Hands Part 2
2 Goth-Trad - Dark Path
3 Skream - Backwards
4 Truth - Stolen Children
5 Truth - The Fatman
6 Skream - The Shinein
7 Goth-Trad - S.A.T.U.R.N
8 Silkie - Sky's The Limit
9 Quest - Stand
10 Quest - Eden
11 Silkie - Poltigiest
12 Clouds - Protecting Hands Part 1
More