Craggz & Parallel Forces

'Turn the page' marks a new beginning for Craggz and Parallel, not only in a change of name and lineup, it also showcases a new sound and direction in their work. After the success of the critically acclaimed debut album ‘Northern Soul’ released on Valve Recordings in late 2006 the trio became a duo. Keen to create something new and innovative, they took their time to experiment and develop a new sound, 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 decision to commence work on their second album was made, the aptly titled ‘Turn the Page’. A unique approach to the production of the album was applied, drawing on influences from electronic music, past and present. From early Techno sounds and 80’s Synth Pop through to the myriad of contemporary dance music genres. Having worked previously with a completely software based setup Craggz and Parallel decided to combine analogue synthesis with modern production techniques. The key ingredient in this approach was the reintroduction of classic analogue synths in the recording process. This saw them jamming in the studio and recording synth lines in real time into the arrangements as they developed. A decision was made to steer clear of samples in an effort to create a new and original sound, even the majority of drum sounds were triggered from classic drum machines. A diverse selection of vocalists provides the project with an exciting vocal palette. Tough Hip Hop battle rhymes from DRS, 80’s tinged Dépêche Mode style vocals provided by Warren Dite and the Techno influenced spoken word of Winterman. 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 & Bass heads and lovers of Electronic music alike. ‘Turn the Page’ marks a return to their true roots and an accurate portrayal of Craggz and Parallel in 2010. Craggz and Parallel have been working under various guises for the last 15 years. Their first break together, as two thirds of Craggz and Parallel Forces came in 2004 with ‘Fizzy Piglets’. It received huge DJ support across the board from the Drum & Bass scene and Radio 1 big hitters Zane Lowe and Annie Mac. The trio were signed up by Valve Recordings and contributed three tracks to the labels’ ‘Spectrum’ LP that same year. Soon after they relocated from Newcastle to London to begin work on their debut LP for Valve. At this time they also decided to set up their own label ‘Product Recordings’ to allow them to experiment with different styles. In the space of a year the label released three 12”s which all hit the top of the Drum & Bass charts. Tracks like ‘Flatfoot’, ‘Red Octopus’ and ‘Train Track’ showed their flexibility as producers. Their next release for Valve ‘Love Insane’ 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 charts respectively. Amidst all of this they also were commissioned to do no less than 13 remixes in an 18-month period. They remixed Roni Size for V Recordings, Marky & XRS for Innerground, Total Science for C.I.A, London Elektricity for Hospital and Jenna G for Bingo, to name but a few. By the end of 2006 their debut LP was nearing completion, talk of a live project to showcase the album led to an invitation from 1Xtra to debut the band as part of their upcoming Xtra Bass broadcast. They called upon the infamous Jungle Drummer, and enlisted Stamina MC and Deeizm for vocal duties. The 1Xtra live performance 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’, including a bonus CPF live CD engineered by Dillinja, was released on Valve Recordings at the end of 2006. It received rave reviews across the music press, their sound was coined “the Drum & Bass equivalent of Nu Yorican Soul”. The record also achieved album of the month in most Dance music publications. It reached number 6 in IDJ’s top 100 albums of the year and Mixmag hailed it as “exceptional”. After the release of the album the trio became a duo. Keen to create something new and innovative, they took their time to experiment and develop a new sound, 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 different selection of DJ’s, grabbing the attention of Goldie, Marcus Intalex and D-Bridge amongst others. The decision to commence work on their second album was made, the aptly titled ‘Turn the Page’. A unique approach to the production of the album was applied, drawing on influences from electronic music, past and present. From early Techno sounds and 80’s Synth Pop through to the myriad of contemporary dance music genres. Having worked previously with a completely software based setup Craggz and Parallel decided to combine analogue synthesis with modern production techniques. The key ingredient in this approach was the reintroduction of classic analogue synths in the recording process. This saw them jamming in the studio and recording synth lines in real time into the arrangements as they developed. A decision was made to steer clear of samples in an effort to create a new and original sound, even the majority of drum sounds were triggered from classic drum machines. A diverse selection of vocalists provides the project with an exciting vocal palette. Tough Hip Hop battle rhymes from DRS, 80’s tinged Dépêche Mode style vocals provided by Warren Dite and the Techno influenced spoken word of Winterman. 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 & Bass heads and lovers of Electronic music alike. ‘Turn the Page’ marks a return to their true roots and an accurate portrayal of Craggz and Parallel in 2010.