When Adam Freeland released his pioneering
COASTAL BREAKS mix album three years ago, it signalled a new
era in dance music, putting the breakbeat sound center stage.
What had been a relatively small scene suddenly found itself
at the heart of the media spotlight, hailed as the future
of dance music with club nights such as Friction and Air leading
the way. Fast forward three years: Breakbeat has clearly infiltrated
dance music in all areas, through landmark recordings like
Tsunami One's "Hip Hop Phenomenon" (featured on
TECTONICS) and more recently trance supremo Paul Van Dyk's
breakbeat excursions on his forthcoming album. Meanwhile heavyweight
DJs Sasha and Carl Cox hold Freeland personally responsible
for influencing their love of breakbeat and have publicly
hailed him as the major driving force behind one of the UK's
most exciting sounds.
TECTONICS captures this sound perfectly, skillfully gliding
through some of breakbeat's finest moments, past, present
and, of course, future. Alongside his pioneering Friday night
Kiss 100 radio show, Adam Freeland's time is spent fulfilling
numerous global DJ commitments and running his highly esteemed
record label MARINE PARADE. Named after the street where he's
based in Brighton, the UK's new musical capital, MARINE PARADE
was started by Freeland in 1998. In just under two years,
it has established itself as a musical force to be reckoned
with -- last year it was nominated for Best Independent Label
at the Music Magazine awards.
TECTONICS is a seamless mix of breaks and beats, some nu-skool,
some no-skool, that wind their way through some of breakbeat's
defining moments, such as Beber's "Juvenile Delinquent"
with its three dimensional bass driven sound; or 3 Mile Island's
"Liposuction" with its perfectly paced build up
and tight, rolling beats. There are also various cuts exclusive
to this album, from the genius that is ILS with "Tectonic"
and Belushi's "Going Nowhere (Waveform Mix)," that
appears exclusively on the triple vinyl version of TECTONICS,
a must for all DJs.
As more and more dance DJs and producers pick up and run
with the breakbeat baton, Adam Freeland remains at the top,
committed to pushing dance music in a new and exciting direction.
He is a regular visitor to the USA and Australia where his
trans-continental antics have even lead him to collaborate
on tracks with dance guru BT.
He is the breakbeat ambassador, travelling the globe and
spreading his own unique take on a sound that transcends the
musical barriers of old.
