Ed Rush & Audio back for more of your soul…

Thats right bassheads. As we turn the corner of the worst year of human existence on this tortured rock. There is a black light at the end of the tunnel. And that light is a new LP from the two headed mammoth known as Killbox . A release date is still unknown for the second installment of the audio snuff film , ‘Devine Profits’ . This will release on RAM records later this year.

The lead up to this release has kept our thirst quenched with 5 singles. Released like a ritualistic blood letting over the span of almost a entire year now. ‘Mutiny‘, ‘Nova‘, ‘Beaker‘, ‘Cypher Pattern‘, and at last ‘Rodan‘ . Act as the epilogue to the apex of the LP’s release.

THE WALLS CAN HEAR US:

I had a minute to reach out to the dynamic duo and pick their brains about this release, their formation, the path chosen, the future, and my ongoing quest to become Ed Rush’s adopted bastard son. Have fun dropping in on our conversation.

Good Day gentlemen! I wanted to start by congratulating you on moving closer to the release of another full length record. This next single ‘Cypher Pattern’ is absolutely filthy. Is there a theme for the album that is emerging?

Audio – Yeah kind of  the title is a play on words, it’s aimed at all the people who act ‘Holier than thou’, but really are just greedy and money focused, which we find in all aspects of life, obviously the artwork ties all this together, especially when you get to see the complete art for the LP.

I hear a load of modern industrial/gothic, bright stabbing synths driving the tune. Which is very common practice in most of the ‘nu school’ neurofunk released by labels like Eatbrain/Blackout/Korsakov. Something not as prevalent on the last release ‘Pleasure Palace’. Was it a conscious choice to go down that sonic path, while still incorporating the older style which you were known for? Or was it just a natural progression to put newer spin on how you would have normally made neurofunk?

Ed Rush – It wasn’t really a conscious decision. Most of the time its whatever works in the moment and allows you to move forward in the project. The sounds you end up using in a track are what gives it its style. So, when we are playing up front, energetic rhythms and we are making music for a club environment it makes sense to use a sound palette that best lends itself to that. Those big bold stabs sound so powerful on a big rig and fit in perfectly with the vibe of other tracks we are playing in our sets.

Who is on your radar, so far as producers or labels, that always blast in a set? 

Audio – Ah there is loads of regular heavy hitters that we play, all Blackout, Eatbrain, and Critical releases are always quality, as for artists, Redpill, Agressor Bunx, Buunshin, the list goes on and on, we’re blessed to have so many talented producers in our scene.

A couple of the tunes that came out on the “RAM Annual 2021 Lp” flew a little closer to the sun with some experimental/juke/bounce flavors. Will there be more of this “hybrid” dnb coming on the release of ‘Devine Profits’ ?

Ed Rush – As always with an album project it allows you to experiment with certain tracks and as a listener it’s a more pleasant experience for the album to visit different zones and vibes but fundamentally we write Killbox material for dancing and letting yourself go at the weekend so we have remained focused on the dancefloor but have sprinkled some flavours in there for interest.

How did things work out trying to work on/finish/complete & promote this album during the height of the pandemic? 

Audio – To be honest we had the album pretty much wrapped up before COVID hit, it was a case of finishing up a couple of tunes by sending stems back and forth, but we ideally like to be in the same studio when writing.

Without the normal onslaught of promo blasts, interviews, radio shows, club/festival appearances. Was there any sort of moment where you thought of not releasing new material until it could be experienced in a normal fashion? 

Ed Rush – Yes, we discussed the issues with releasing the album and not being able to do any shows to promote it. This is unchartered territory we are in with all the lockdown restrictions that are in place and so no one really knows what’s the best thing to do. We thought a steady release of strong tracks leading up to the main project being released would be the best way for the album to be heard. I know we’re in a pandemic, but we still need bangers! The album took us a while to make, and we felt it marks a certain point in time for us sound wise. We feel it’s the perfect soundscape for now. It may work out very well if things do open up again this summer as people will have had just enough time to absorb the album in full.

Both of you come from a background of making incredible dnb within a “group” or “crew” (ex: Virus/Resonant Evil) of producers. How did the two of you come together to form Killbox? 

Audio. We obviously knew each other well from my solo work on virus so when bad company asked us to play b2b at the come back tour we had such a blast we decided to write some music together , it went well and so killbox was born .

A big trend I see popping up are people just rifling a list of every single hand that touched a project as ‘collabs’ and features.With a lot of emphasis put on ‘individual efforts’ on a track. Both of you come from an era where we didn’t pull the curtain all of the way back and reveal what each person did and how.  Do you think there is a future for more formations of “super groups” like yourselves, or older projects such as Bad Company, Konflict, Future Cut, Resonant Evil, & Evol intent? Groups that focus less on what, which individuals did in the production room, and more emphasis on the end result?

Ed rush – Yes. I think it depends somewhat on what your introduction to music production was. Or the environment in which you make music. For instance, if you learn how to make beats on your own in quite solitary conditions and end up collabing online with another producer then you would perhaps be more aware of ‘individual efforts’. If you are in a situation where there is a group of likeminded friends that live in the same area or share the same studio space and are constantly in and out of the studio together then this naturally creates more of a ‘crew’ dynamic where individual efforts may not matter so much. I think the latter was more prevalent back in the day but would like to see that mentality again.

By listening to ‘Cypher Pattern’ it feels like you are letting go a little bit and having fun experimenting & crafting a new experience for us. I feel like both of you have invented, produced, and excelled at every type of dnb one could imagine. What do you guys do to keep it ‘fresh,fun, and exciting’ when working together?

Audio – Yeah we like to keep pushing things creatively in the studio, like you said we both have been around for a bit and done many things, so keeping things moving and not repeating ourselves is pretty important to us.

Ed, will you be my dad? My real dad won’t even notice.

Ed Rush -Nah mate. Voltage – Is Your Real Dad 😉

Well thank you for taking the time to talk with us at bestdrumandbass.com . I can speak for our entire staff by saying this was an honor, and we are really frikken hyped to blast the new album. Hopefully in a room full of bass deprived junglists going mental. Cheers to both of you legends for everything you have done, and will do in the future!!!

There is no exact release date for ‘DEVINE PROFITS’ , forth coming on RAM. But when it does drop, I’m pretty positive that the earth will drop to its knees and bare witness to another altar of sacrifice built from the flesh of the non believers.

I haven’t even heard it yet, but I’m giving it 5 out of 5 blown speaker cones. And I personally guarantee that it will shake all of the pancakes off of all of the asses.