Farsight returns to Scuffed Recordings for his Renegade EP, featuring three new rave-inspired originals, backed by a bumping UKG remix from Interplanetary Criminal.
Based in Oakland, California, Farsight has firmly established himself as a name to watch in the past five years, with releases on labels like [Re]sources, Prjkts and Scuffed exhibiting his deftly-blended melting pot of club music influences.
‘Renegade’ is his second release on Scuffed following 2019’s Oaktown EP, which picked up support from the likes of HAAi, Jaguar and FAUZIA.
Farsight sets out a clear statement of intent on title track ‘Renegade’, with his own vocodered vocals delivering immortal lines like “best beats in the biz coming atcha”, backed by anthemic rave stabs, weighty 808s, and raucous breaks.
Up next is ‘Tied Hands’, a skippy, broken beat roller which sees Farsight skilfully build and layer syncopated vocal chops as the track progresses; before returning to time-honoured UK rave influences on B-side ‘Until Next Time’.
Closing out the release is a remix of Renegade from one of the most exciting talents in the new wave of UK garage, Interplanetary Criminal.
Nikki Nair rounds off 2020 with a return to Scuffed Recordings for the ‘Trying To’ EP, featuring three new originals and a remix from Hermeth.
Originating from Knoxville, Tennessee, but now based in Atlanta, Nikki Nair’s productions have marked him out as one of the most exciting underground electronic producers of recent times; with a style that flits between electro, broken techno, and breaks, and an instantly-recognisable approach to sampling vocals.
One of the longest-running members of the Scuffed roster, Nikki has had a stacked schedule of releases in 2020, with appearances on Banoffee Pies, Worst Behavior, Gutterfunk, and Barely Legal’s Pretty Weird Records.
The ‘Trying To’ EP will be Nikki’s first full release with Scuffed since 2019’s ‘Exit Strategy’ EP, which saw support from the likes of Four Tet, Peach, Mr. Mitch and Moxie among others.
Opening the EP with ‘Justtryingto’, Nikki comes straight out of the blocks with a French Touch-esque disco sample giving way to glitchy breaks and weighty bass. Next up is the supercharged ‘Trunk’, an all-out warper clocking in at 150bpm.
On the B-side is ‘cclluubb’, a broken-beat DJ tool which sees Nikki’s trademark vocal sampling carrying along a Baltimore Club-influenced beat. Closing out the EP is Swiss producer Hermeth, who brings a rowdy injection of acid to his remix of ‘Justtryingto’.
The EP will be arriving on 12” vinyl and all digital platforms in late 2020, and will be the last artist EP from another strong year for Scuffed Recordings, which has featured releases from returning artists like Chungo and Stones Taro, as well as new names to the label like Heritage and An Avrin.
Scuffed Recordings line up their second vinyl sampler, featuring four heavy-hitting club tracks spanning the last year of the label’s output. The release sees tracks from Dubrunner, Heritage, Stones Taro, and Joe Craven pressed to vinyl for the first time, in a limited run of white labels.
Kicking off the release is Dubrunner’s ‘Zoya’s Trip’, originally released in December 2019 on the Scuffed Presents 003 release. Zoya’s Trip has become one of the most popular tracks in the Scuffed catalogue, spending six months in Beatport’s Leftfield House & Techno top 10, and seeing DJ support from the likes of Anja Schneider, Moxie, and Oneman.
Up next is ‘The Revelation’ from Brighton-based duo Heritage, taken from their EP of the same name. With its bass-heavy, breaks-driven beat, The Revelation picked up plays on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Boiler Room, and saw coverage in Mixmag and DJ Mag.
On the B-side Scuffed veteran Stones Taro steps up with the weighty ‘To Rave’. As one of the most long-standing members of the label’s roster, Kyoto-based Stones Taro has become a firm fan favourite with his idiosyncratic take on UK rave music.
Closing out the release is Joe Craven’s ‘Staring At Your Feet Or Mine’, a percussive UK techno stepper originally taken from the Bristol-based producer’s debut release.
An Avrin returns to Scuffed Recordings with four new originals and a remix from Sonia Calico.
An Avrin has been a firm favourite of the UK label since his 2019 appearance on the Scuffed Presents Vol.3 compilation with the track ‘Cave People’, which saw heavy rotation from DJs like Ross From Friends and rRoxymore. Returning to Scuffed the following year with the ‘Clodhopper’ EP, the London-based producer further developed his wobbly, esoteric sound, which draws extensively from a range of electronic influences.
Since then, An Avrin’s catalogue has become a go-to for under-the-radar club heat, with a string of self-released EPs and an appearance on Bristol’s Slippery Sounds marking him out as a vital name to watch.
The ‘Parisian Pitstop’ EP is his second release on Scuffed, and sees An Avrin building on his previous work while also expanding his horizons into different tempos and styles.
The A-side opens with the one-two of the title track - which is as good a primer on An Avrin’s sound as it’s possible to have - and ‘Stumbler’, both high-impact tracks with raucous breaks bouncing off warped vocals and relentless bass.
On the B-side is ‘Plata’, which builds tension with more melodic elements, before crashing into thunderous kicks and glitchy grooves. An Avrin ups the ante on ‘Is It?’, the last of the four originals on the EP, and the highest tempo of the bunch.
Taiwan-based producer Sonia Calico rounds off the release with her remix of ‘Plata’, a rowdy rework that pits grimey bass up against intense, rolling percussion.
Early DJ support has come from Surgeon, Emerald, Naina, Ciel, and Louise Chen.
The ‘Parisian Pitstop’ EP will be released on vinyl and digital on 29th April 2022.
