INS:TRU:MENTAL APPAREL CO & DOA PICTURES PRES: A TEKDBZ PRODUCTION: HEAT VOL 1 STARRING HOCHI & INFILTRATA
Hochi & Infiltrata are at the forefront of the TEKDBZ movement. Soldiers on the frontline if you will. There’s an air of secrecy around the majority of their plans for 2006, they’re not willing to give too much away at once, but what they will say is it’s gonna be a revolution: “The way I look at it” Hochi articulates excitedly “we have the best producer: Photek. The best DJ: Craze and the best MCs: Mental Sharp. We have all the ingredients to take it to the next level”. Some of the more sceptical among you may have doubts about ‘the next level’ a phrase that’s been used time and time again throughout D&B’s editorial history, but when I’m talking with the TEKDBZ crew I can’t help but believe in their ability to actually achieve what so many have claimed to aspire to over the years.
Without doubt Photek is one of D&B’s original pioneers, a producer who’s pushed the envelope further and deeper than most. Now, having moved to the US and made a name producing for all kinds of artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Gwen Stefani and U2, Photek is bringing some of that knowledge and production ethos back to his roots and Hochi & Infiltrata are an integral part of that plan. Hochi himself is no stranger to the more popular music out there: “I do lots of Hip Hop for G Unit” he explains “we’re used to creating ‘real’ songs, so we’re taking that influence and applying it to Drum & Bass. We’re moving back into the ‘producer’ position, putting the vocal artists out there. The plan is to create music that you can listen to outside a club, but still retain its energy. We’ve had listener friendly albums like Modus Operandi and New Forms before, they were deep and interesting, but they didn’t hit hard at the same time. They were good headphone albums. We want you to get crunk to this music but not need to hear it in a club or in a mix, each track without 3 minutes of hi hats and whooshes before you get that energy!”
A bold statement, and yet looking at their combined production credits you can’t help but take them seriously. One listen to this DOA mix and I’m sure you’ll be convinced that these guys aren’t playing around, despite the constant jokes and digs that Hochi & Infiltrata fire at each other. Plans for this year include a TEKDBZ album dropping around March including a DVD project, trying to prise details of this out of the lads is no mean feat but Infiltrata kindly adds “I think it’s safe to say the majority of the music is created by Photek, Hochi, Craze, Mental Sharp, System Noise, Teebee, Tech Itch, Dylan and myself and if you check out the mix, you’ll hear cameos from a lot of the collaborators on the album.”
Hochi is keen to add some information on the DVD: “The DVD has live footage of the crew and we got features from a lot of artists on there, in the studio you know… We’re also filming our first label show, that’s on February 10th in Hollywood, at The House of Blues… I mean this spot is famous man!” Hochi thinks that these events are something D&B has never seen before: “They are gonna be unlike any other D&B show, produced by Danny from United D&B. We got video skits, MCs popping out, mad stage design, you might even see Photek breakdancing! Line up is sick, Photek, Craze, Mental Sharp, me and Infiltrata and a special guest which I’m NOT gonna spoil. Tickets available from ticketmaster.com.”
Following on from all this will be the Mental Sharp album, production credits on that one are shaping up to include the whole TEKDBZ family, Photek, Hochi & Infiltrata, Teebee and DJ Craze. Also on the horizon is the long awaited follow up to Photek’s seminal work, Form & Function vol2 dropping on Photek Productions… but again, the TKDBZ crew are tight lipped about all their plans… it seems anticipation is half the fun to these guys! Well, anticipate no more dogs, you have yourselves a preview ticket to the forthcoming World of TEKDBZ right here, right now, so download the Heat mix now!
http://content.dogsonacid.com/mixes/DOA_Mix_Hochi&Infiltrata-TekDbz_Heat_Vol1-December2005.mp3
