Operatives :: ScanOne
release :: 2007
format :: digital & vinyl

(Click on PLAY button to listen)

A1: LBW Punk

A2: Trotter

B1: Ginger Monkey

B2: Cutter’s Choice

“There is no other electro label on the planet right now that comes close to emulating Combat’s studio alchemy. Producers like Scan One are mainlining on electro, IDM, dubstep and jungle and distilling these influences into futuristic, playable jams. ‘LBW Pump’ reeks of menace, its huge junglist subs prowling at the right tempo for electro DJs, while the complex, metallic drum rhythms of ‘Trotter’ map out some kind of new electronic fusion that only Combat seem party to. Join them on their journey.” - 5/5, Richard Brophy, DJ Mag

2 years in the making, Part 1 of the long-awaited ScanOne Battlepack series drops this spring 2007. 4 tracks of finely crafted DJ assault weapons, that straddle the divide between electro, halfstep and tough breaks. Akin to the rolling, tear-out beats of Radioactive Man, Blackmass Plastics, the Dexorcist or Rag and Bone Records, ScanOne’s production style keeps the dancefloor firmly locked on, but is filled with subtlety and the depth of cinematic Sci-Fi soundscapes, thanks to his background in film / sound editing. A rare combination indeed.

A 1 ScanOne > [ LBW Punk ]

The EP kicks off with LBW Punk, a no-nonsense fierce electro track in the style of Radioactive Man and 2 Lone Swordsmen’s RGC output. Crisp drumwork and rolling machine-gun style bass blasts aimed at causing peaktime dancefloor damage, LBW Punk has already blasted apart venues in London and Belgium.

A 2 ScanOne > [ Trotter ]

Chopped-up drumbreak mayhem on this one, as ScanOne nods at his old-skool hardcore influences with polyrhythmic drum patterns that manage to move you in 4/4, 2/4 and 16/4 rhythms at the same time!
Breakstep-style kickdrums with double-time clattering snares and chopped up drumbreaks work seamlessly together, locking the dancefloor into a solid, half-step grinding rhythm, punctuated by dirty blasts of Si Begg-style wobbly bass. Galloping beats roll along before the track opens up with p with melancholy strings and pads that are ScanOne’s trademark; then dropping back into the grinding groove till the end.

Trotter sits confidently between the fringes of dubstep / electro / breakstep dancefloors, yet it’s rapid snares verge on techno and wouldn’t sound out of place in Surgeon’s mashup DJ sets.

B 1 ScanOne > [ Ginger Monkey ]

A track for a dirty warehouse rave in the year 2020, this track’s curious titled “Ginger Monkey” belies it’s function as a soundsystem-destroying militant drumbreaks and sub-bass monster. Working to the spirit of dark old skool hardcore again, ScanOne pounds out the bassdrum pressure while a stuttering vocal sample is looped over the top in an oldskool jungle-style, with cold synth stabs flying over the mix. Built for filling out huge spaces…. high ceilings and tall speaker stacks… stick this on the decks, flick the lights off and.. perfect.

B 2 ScanOne > [ Cutter’s Choice ]

Crafted for the deep, dark night of winter, as attention turns inward, intricate sounds come alive, and warm, brooding soundscapes set the stage for this introspective electro / electronica hybrid. Crisp electro drum prgramming provide a framework for Scorn-style sub growls, ghostly Claro Intellectro-style strings and skittering percussive elements, calling to mind a pulsating alien womb.