Craggz and Parallel (Product, Valve)

Craggz and Parallel are no newcomers to the scene, working under various guises for the last 15 years. Their big break however came in 2004 with the massive summer anthem ‘Fizzy Piglets’ which received huge DJ support across the board from the drum & bass scene to Radio 1 big hitters Zane Lowe and Annie Mac. The trio were quickly snapped up by Valve Recordings and contributed no less than three tracks to the labels’ "Spectrum" LP that same year, and soon after they relocated from Newcastle to London to begin work on their debut LP for Valve.

Although they had their work cut out for them they wasted no time in setting up their own label, Product Recordings, to allow them to experiment with different styles. In the space of a year the label released three massive 12"s. Tracks like ‘Flatfoot’, ‘Red Octopus’ and ‘Train track’ showed their flexibility as producers and proved they were in no way one trick ponies. Their next release for Valve, ‘Love Insane’, was an instant success and saw the guys flexing their vocal chords with a mixture of uplifting pianos, big bad beats and bass nicely capturing the sound of summer once again. This track was CPF’s first number 1 in the drum & bass charts, and went on to reach numbers 6 and 11 in the national dance and independent’s charts respectively.

Amidst all of this the guys still found time to become one of the scene’s busiest remix outfits; being commissioned to do no less than 13 remixes in an 18 month period, and working for some of the biggest names, labels and artists such as Roni Size, DJ Marky & XRS, Total Science, London Elektricity, and Jenna G to name but a few. By the end of 2006 their debut long-player was nearing completion and talk of a live project to showcase the album led to an invitation from 1Xtra to debut the band as part of their up coming Xtra Bass broadcast. The next few months saw them immerse themselves in getting their live show up and running, calling upon the infamous Jungle Drummer, and enlisting Stamina MC and Deeizm for vocal duties. The 1Xtra gig was a success and led to a string of gigs both at home and abroad and an invitation to record a session for Radio 1 at the legendary Maida Vale studios.

The album ‘Northern Soul’ was released on Valve Recordings at the end of 2006 and received rave reviews across the music press which saw it being coined as "the Drum & Bass equivalent of Nu Yorican Soul". The record also achieved album of the month in most dance music publications; it being placed at number 6 of IDJ’s top 100 albums of the year chart, Mixmag hailing it as "exceptional" Drum & Bass along with many other plaudits.

After the release of Northern Soul one half of Parallel Forces decided to pursue other avenues and over night the trio became a duo. With the change in line up came a change in the working dynamic. The duo had to regroup and find a new way of working, both felt that a new direction and sound had to be carved out to better represent their individual influences. A strong electronic theme began to emerge in their productions. The first 12 that encapsulated this new direction was Shake the Disease/Magnetise released on their own product imprint in early 2009. The support this time around came from a deeper more discerning selection of DJ’s grabbing the attention of Goldie, Marcus Intalex, D-Bridge and more. Having reached a point again where the duo felt they had something to say musically the decision to commence work on their second album was made, the aptly titled ‘Turn The Page’.

Drawing on influences from electronic music past and present from early techno sounds, 80’s synth pop through to the myriad of contempory dance music genres a unique approach to the production was required. Having worked previously with a completely software based setup the duo decided to combine analogue synthesis with modern production techniques. The key ingredient in this approach was the introduction of classic analogue synths back into the recording process. Jamming synth lines in real time into the arrangements as they developed. A conscious decision was made to steer clear of samples in an effort to create a new and original sound. Even the majority of drums were triggered from classic drum machines. A diverse roster of vocalists feature throughout the LP. Tough hip hop battle rymes from DRS, 80’s tinged dépêche mode styled vocals provided by Warren Dite and the techno influenced spoken word stylings of Winterman provide the project with an exciting vocal pallete. The end result is an album that varies in mood and tempo from deep and minimal electronica to tough and growling dance floor riddims for drum’n’bass heads and lovers of electronic music alike. A true return to their roots and an accurate potrayal of Craggz and Parallel in 2010.