Missed these guys the last couple of times they came to melbourne. Last time i saw them was in Hamilton NZ on a sunday night in 2005- I think there were only about 15 of us there. A good night none the less!
Here is a little write up about the new album from
www.obscure.co.nz
According to this the album is being released on their own label not BC Presents??
Wellington's The Upbeats take a new step
UPBEATS A4 press shot 3 Med
In 2007, The Upbeats from Wellington, New Zealand take a new step in their journey to the top of global dance music with the release of their album Nobody's Out There on their own label Non Vogue!
NZ Album CD Release Date: 29/10/07
Producing music together for seven years, Glenn and Jones have crafted a sound that is both inventive and diverse, ranging between frenetic and energetic liquid funk, intensely moody and claustrophobic drum’n’bass, and soulful indulgences of elevation.
But what sets The Upbeats apart from drum’n’bass producers is their urge, with Nobody's Out There, to take Drum'n'Bass to a groundbreaking new frontier.
The Upbeats' intense and rich sound remains, but with Nobody's Out There they have produced a cohesive, structured album. This is no collection of just random tracks and dancefloor hits. The hits are there – believe me – but the album is a story-lined expedition penned by the DJs-turned-scribes. Combined with the album's 15 tracks is a short story that weaves a fantasy tale about one man's personal journey, sharing the pages of an elaborate booklet with stunning artworks commissioned especially by The Upbeats using Wellington artists Wade Cowin, Kelly Thompson and Michael Hope.
Explains Jeremy Glenn: "The idea with Nobody's Out There was to create a narrative progression, setting a theme and then writing music to that story as if it were a soundtrack. Our motivation for this approach was that we thought – and still do – that not a lot of effort had gone into producing drum'n'bass albums as a complete package. We wanted to give the concept of a drum'n'bass record a new dimension."
The Upbeats have remained firmly in control of the album's production, with one track 'The Stars' featuring a collaboration with fellow-Wellingtonian Trei. Australian vocalist Georgie Fisher makes an impressive debut, singing on Thinking Cap, and MC Ryme Tyme (Ed Rush and Optical) appears on Tonka. The album is the first release in New Zealand on The Upbeat's new label Non Vogue.
"Quite a few of the tracks were derived from me just noodling on the guitar," says Dylan Jones, "Everything was recorded, produced and mastered at our home studio in Wellington. We formed our own label Non Vogue so we could release the music we wanted to release, when we wanted to release it, and give us the freedom to use the format that we want."
Performing live matters as much to The Upbeats as producing great music. Their electric live performance has seen The Upbeats tour Europe four times, the US thrice, another stop in Japan and numerous trips around New Zealand and Australia. Along the way The Upbeats have played alongside the cream of international drum’n’bass, notably Grooverider, Andy C, Roni Size, Pendulum, DJ Hype, Zinc, DieselBoy, Concord Dawn, Shapeshifter and Bad Company.
"We tour as much as we can," says Jones." We want to push a performance envelope that is a step beyond what people could normally expect from a drum'n'bass set."
"And then there's the visual element," adds Glenn. "A guy called Optibreak plays with us and he mixes images from the album's artwork, some of the animations from our first video – Nobody's Out There – and helps us create a total package. For us, performing live is such an important part of what we do, we love putting on an intense and energetic show."
Despite the three-year gap between albums, Glenn and Jones have been no stranger to the studio, recording tracks with the likes of Optical, Bad Company, Noisia, Teknik, TeeBee and Bulletproof. Recently, The Upbeats remixed Shapeshifter’s Bring Change from the fellow-countrymen’s highly-acclaimed album Soulstice, and their first 12" vinyl release on Non Vogue features collaborations with Auckland counterparts State Of Mind and Evol Intent and Ewun from the US.
2007 is set to be a breakthrough year for The Upbeats and a landmark year for drum'n'bass with the release of Nobody's Out There. Taking the artform of high-intensity Drum'n'Bass to new levels, The Upbeats have produced one of the finest, most original and captivating releases of the year.
Ed Rush
“I'm not just saying this, but in my opinion, this is the best drum and bass album this decade, by a mile!â€
Dieselboy
“An amazingly complete album from start to finish - the upbeats have redefined future funk!â€
DJ Hype
“The Upbeats bring us a great slab of futuristic drum and bass that spares no prisoners!!â€