blog to the oldskool

In honor of Halloween, here’s one of the top darkside tracks of all time: Pascal and Sponge’s Nosebleed. Probably best known for its Predator 2 sample (“I know you guys are trying to scare me… well… I’m scared now”!), though there’s also other sounds from the movie used throughout the track: the predator “homing in” sound, some of the gunfire etc. This is definitely not a track for oldskool neophytes or kiddies dabbling in classic sounds while expecting fancy modern production – it’s as gritty as it gets! Layers of crunchy breaks, dark pads and endless waves of reece synth (not sure if that’s the right name, that’s what I’ve always called it but I know it’s used to refer to the classic bass tone as well..). All pretty common elements in tracks of the time, yet something about their use here just ends up making it ultra effective.

Pascal & Sponge – Nosebleed (Right Nostril)

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Thanks to ImaginaryForces for pointing me to the fact that there’s also a separate promo version of this EP with different versions of this tunes – this mp3 is from the regular release. That promo is definitely on my wantlist now though!

Aside from this EP, Pascal and Sponge did quite a lot of other early essential hardcore/jungle together- some more ravey stuff as Bad Influence (which I’ve posted elsewhere on the blog), and quite a bit more seriously dark stuff as “The Full SP” and “Johnny Jungle” (“Johnny” is a pretty essential classic!). Pascal went on to do quite a lot of DNB with Hype’s Playaz/Ganja/etc camp. There’s also a never-released old dubplate-only tune he did (“I’m sorry, I don’t understand”) which is a personal favorite and which oldschool heads have been trying to track down for years now… still hoping someone sources the DAT for that eventually and releases it on vinyl!

Here’s a track I’ve been partial to for a while (you can tell since my copy sounds kind of tatty in the rip), and put in at least one mix a couple of years back. I was just reminded of it when I bought a record off Boykz, the original producer. Bokyz is also known as 1/2 of DJ Distroi and Boykz, who I previously posted tunes by here and here. Plenty of great tunes from those guys (and Boykz solo) between 92-94.
Even though this record is listed as “happy hardcore” on discogs, to me the A side sounds more like 92-94 darkcore – eerie but melodic vocals coupled with more uplifting moments, choppy amens, etc. Not far from what Ratty might have played in 93. Unfortunately, by 1994 the scene had probably already split quite a bit, with happy bouncy stuff on one side (sort of trying to keep the 92 euphoria going), and with ragamuffin jungle on the other side. Not sure where this record would have fit in, as it’s got some euphoric moments (the b side features some nookie-esque pianos and some percussive stabs ala Ron Wells & early Homegrown recs), but all in all is a bit deeper than your average SMD tune. Maybe it’s along the lines of what basement or face records were doing, but a bit more low fi / DIY sounding. Either way, great track, nab it on the cheap if you like it!

Dimension 5 – Deep Bass Nine

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