Hervé is one talented music producer with enough aliases to form a one-man label. The 29 year old wunderkind has released and remixed under the names Action Man, Young Lovers, The Count Of Monte Cristal, Dead Soul Brothers and Voodoo Chilli as well as being one half of The Count and Sinden and part of the dance super group Machines Don't Care.
Its no surprise then that he would release a mix album and that 16 of the 36-track compilation would be by the man himself. The rest of the tracks are made up of exclusives from his own Cheap Thrills label and big tunes from across the Drum and Bass, Dubstep, Electro-House and Breakbeat genre’s by the likes of Skream, Chemical Brothers, Mr. Oizo, Benga, Justice, Chase and Status and TC all with one thing in common – big bad basslines.
The fist disc hits the dance floor running and never lets go as Hervé keeps the pace up over 20 tracks with no stops. Dropping on you like a ton of techno bricks stand out tracks include the excellent opener Get Down by Jack Beats, a recent signing to the Cheap Thrills label, along with a dub of their Dynamite MC collaboration What. Money by N.A.S.A features the eclectic vocals of David Byrne, Chuck D and Seu Jorge and appears here after its been given a Hervé remix and Mr. Oizo Gay Dentist is a disco workout of the highest order. Two interesting indie remixes also stand out as Bloc Party’s Mercury and The Kills’ Cheap and Cheerful get the electro remix treatment improving both tracks considerably.
Hervé shows off his diversity as a producer in his Young Lovers guise opening up disc two with a slow and dark slice of Dubstep in Shake Off The Ghosts which sets the smoky and bassy tome for the rest of the 16 track mix. Genre legends Skream and Benga appear with classic cuts as well as Bingo Beats Darqwan with the massive and brilliant Said The Spider. The mix heads to more exotic climes with Chase and Status’s wonderful Eastern Jam followed by Kalemba by Portuguese dance act Buraka Sorn Sisterna. As we hit the final straight the tempo raises with Project Bassline who not only remix The Count And Sinden’s Hardcore Girls making it even more hardcore but also bring us the equally banging Drop The Pressure. Hervé closes the mix himself with the squelchy and frenetic bass heavy Jungle Steppers again proving that he is talented producer capable of making hot tunes from any part of the dance music spectrum.
Ghetto Bass is an epic 2 CD, 2 hour journey covering all basses of modern bass culture and as such is an excellent overview to a variety of styles and scenes. It is also a full demonstration of Hervé‘s talents as both a producer and an accomplished DJ. Most importantly however it is guaranteed to make you dance till you drop.
By: Alex Humphrey
Hervé – Ghetto Bass
“a mix of bassline sounds, electro, drum & bass, dubstep and house”
Double CD released 2nd February 2009.
Track List:
CD1
1. Jack Beats – Get Down
2. Rico Tubbs – Hip Rave Anthem
3. Justice – Let There Be Light (DJ Funk remix)
Count of Monte Cristal – Bounce Beat
4. NASA – Money (feat. David Byrne of Talking Heads, Chuck D, Seu Jorge, Ras Congo and Z-Trip (The Count Remix)
5. Project Bassline – Drop The Pressure ('The Count's 'Conquistador' Remix')
6. Fake Blood – Mars (Exclusive Hervé Re-Fix)
7. Mr Oizo – Gay Dentist
8. His Majesty André – Peep Thong
9. Bloc Party – Mercury (Hervé Is In Disarray Remix)
10. Machines Don’t Care – Drop It To The Floor
11. Human Resource – Dominator – (Hervé Remix)
12. Jack Beats feat. Dynamite MC – What (Dub)
13. Machines Don’t Care – Junk
14. The Kills – Cheap and Cheerful (SebastiAn Remix)
15. Machines Don’t Care – Beat Bang (Action Man Remix)
16. Action Man – Alarm Bell
17. Kidda – Under The Sun (Hervé’s Ain’t No Sunshine Remix)
18. Chemical Brothers – Salmon Dance (Hervé Remix)
19. Herve And Kissy Sellout – Rikkalicious
CD2
1. Young Lovers – Shake Off The Ghosts
2. Skream – One For The Heads Who Remember
3. Zomby – Rumours and Revolutions
4. Darqwan – Said The Spider
5. Skream – Filth
6. Jokers Of The Scene – Baggy Bottom Boys (DZ remix)
7. Foreign Beggars Vs Rouge A Levres featuring DJ Primecuts (Scratch Perverts) – Hit That Gash Iitchy Naaan Re-Rub)
8. The Count And Sinden – Stinging Nettle
9. Benga – Crunked Up
10. Chase And Status – Eastern Jam
11. Buraka Som Systema – Kalemba (Reso's Aguardente Remix)
12. The Count And Sinden – Hardcore Girls (Project Bassline Remix)
13. Piddy Py – Giggle Riddim
14. TC – Wheres My Money (Caspa Remix – Jack Beats Re-Edit)
15. Project Bassline – Drop The Pressure (Original Club Mix)
16. Count Of Monte Cristal And Hervé – Jungle Steppers