DEV/NULL’s love letter to breakbeat hardcore gets reworked in fine style by a stunning cast of global club names
In November 2021, breakbeat rave acolyte and archivist PETE DEV/NULL unleashed his 25-minute jungle tekno opus MICROJUNGLIZM on RAVE4EVAR, the warehouse-ready sister label of Aura T-09 and Trickfinger’s EVAR Records. This fall, the album’s 7 tracks get the remix treatment from a global crew of club iconoclasts and twisted drum enthusiasts.
Kicking off this huge pack of futuristic flips is Portugal’s DJ MARFOX. The star of Lisbon’s Principe Discos label, Marfox interprets the early ’90s breaks ‘n’ synths of Dev/Null’s “E Yeah” into a frenzied far-future kuduro chaos, a plummeting spaceship full of jacked-up tropical drum loops and cascading bleeps, snaps and claps. Meanwhile, over in Brooklyn, club king DJ SWISHA dusts off and polishes up the horror movie bells and subterranean breaks of “Broken Bell” into 152bpms of bouncy electro-footwork with that trademark Swisha swagger.
With his radio sets, breakcore past, and profound depth of electronic music knowledge, Pete Dev/Null has been a huge resource for the American scene, especially in his hometown of Boston. Representing Boston’s small but wild underground, Pete’s longtime friends (and fellow fans of high-octane BPMs) FALSE WITNESS and ISABELLA deliver huge kickdrums and plenty of personality on their remixes. Now based in Berlin, False Witness turns “Orchstomp” completely on its head, replacing the original’s UK darkside vibes with a relentless slab of deep dungeon techno. Isabella leans hard into the swirling mentasms of “Warning Sign,” conjuring shadowy spirits spiralling inside a wormhole of uniquely mutant techno-trance.
Dev’s longtime sparring partner and fellow BTTO radio host TIM REAPER takes on a remix of “Dark Fours,” calling in some help from fellow junglist DWARDE. A meeting of the minds between Londontown and the very North of England, the pair keep it faithful to the 1993 feel, replacing the Tango & Ratty-inspired galloping breaks of the original with all manner of chopped, filtered and timestretched amens – a magic bag of retro tricks ‘n’ treats from the best in the business. L.A.’s best-kept secret C.Z., an EVAR Records staple, also plays in the early ’90s sandbox, adding a rubbery stretch and maniac pads to “Breath.”
Rounding out the package is a killer turn from Shangai’s GOOOOOSE. Also known as Han Han, GOOOOOSE wears many hats – A/V artist, software developer, frontman of the band Duck Fight Goose – but still finds time to make avant-garde electronic music like this mental twist on Dev/null’s “Time 2 Rhyme,” a stuttering, time-crazed slice of chopped ‘n’ screwed IDM that’s pure madness.
A lot of something for everyone. Get amongst it.
