Optical - "To Shape the Future"
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My favorite record label of all time is Metalheadz. It sells drum ‘n’ bass, not heavy metal. For 16 years, its skull logo has been a symbol of excellence; the first 50 12 inches on Metalheadz are some of the best music ever recorded. I recommend the first two Platinum Breakz CD compilations, which contain many of those classic twelves.
Metalheadz #27, Optical’s “To Shape the Future”, released in 1997, came to mind when I wrote today’s post about EU doom, specifically Danishmendt. Listen to the first 1:30 of Danishmendt’s “La Source” (stream here), then “To Shape the Future” below – and then Triptykon’s “Crucifixus” (the intro to their live sets on their last tour). You’ll hear what I’m talking about.
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“To Shape the Future”
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Optical, aka Matt Quinn, is one of the most influential musicians ever. Almost singlehandedly, he transformed drum ‘n’ bass from street-level, sample-based music to a serious, sometimes avant-garde artform. He accomplished this in two main ways: first, by changing the drums from sampled breakbeats to programmed, almost rock-like beats; and second, by using synths with a sophistication that remains unparalleled today. “To Shape the Future” is a dystopian microcosm of beeps and buzzes, underpinned by a grumbling, distorted bass line that’s essentially a doom riff. Hopefully you have a good stereo system or pair of headphones, because this is all about the low end.
A year later, Optical remixed “To Shape the Future” to have a more dancefloor-oriented feel. (It came in one of the coolest releases ever, a 5xLP box set housed in a round, embossed, metal tin. You can see it in the video below.) The beats became more regular, and the bass lines became more pronounced. In the latter, you can hear the precursor to the “womp womp” sound of today’s dubstep. But that precursor had a precursor, too, the “wah wah” – see Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral”. Same tactics, different tools. I’ve heard this remix on a proper (i.e., earth-shaking) soundsystem, and it sounded like the oncoming apocalypse.
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“To Shape the Future (Remix)”
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Sadly, in the late ’90s, Optical got tinnitus. His post-2000 output has basically been shit. But for a few years, his productions were game-changers. (His label Virus – referenced in the “To Shape the Future” video above – is pure gold up until 2000.) Many of them satisfy the same part of me that likes heavy metal. I’ll share them as they become relevant to discussion here.
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