Get to know: EKULA

Published on 2019-05-21 00:00:00 by Aurélien

Ekula is hardly a new name when it comes to the 140BPM scene. As one half of the Six Sunsets project, he contributed some of the last few years best dubstep tunes (“Shatter” or “Fever Skank” come to mind) on some of the sound’s most exciting imprints, such as Off-Switch Audio, Glassy or Banana Stand Sound, to name but a few. The Six Sunsets path took another interesting turn mid-2018, however, when both artists announced they would start expanding their own solo projects in the months that ensued.As it turns out, both artists went in different directions. Whereas Drumterror has been going for skeletal reconstructions of dubstep, using abstract elements to build dancefloor-melters, Ekula has fostered his sound by looking back to the breaks and UK Garage roots of dubstep as a means to find a new way forward. This sound was first displayed late last year on his Heavy Traffic debut, Somebody Say, boasting two original tracks calling to mind Search & Destroy-era breakstep and the techno-2-step/dubstep hybrid producers such as TRG and 2562. ‘Keep On also followed a couple of months ago on eatmybeat’s Bonus Snacks vol. 4 compilation.Until we get to hear more, the all-production guest mix Ekula offered through Marcus Nasty’s Rinse FM show at the end of March is a great way to delve more into his studio. The tracklist starts with the three tracks released until the moniker so far – ‘We Original’, which was recently released as a free download through Pack London, follows later in the mix, as well as Six Sunsets’ ‘Elegy Dub’, before going straight into a string of exclusive dubs showcasing Ekula’s sound. At a time when breaks appear to be making a resurgence in techno and electro, this mix re-claims the breakbeat sound in the 140BPM terrain, particularly seeing as the dubstep and grime scenes have been focused on trap-infused beats for a while now.Ekula lines up a collection of dubs in which he makes good use of breakbeats taken from straight 140 breaks tracks, such as his murderous edit of Red Dragon’s ‘Yu Body Good’, to skippy reinventions of classic beat patterns. Besides breaks, reggae samples and dub sirens also help portray a lineage that can be traced back to UK Hardcore and jungle, broadening dubstep to the open music space it can be at its height. Straight breaks tracks also feature, in addition to promising insights into potential developments in the UK scene. As such, the mix delivers its share of tunes, which I hope we’ll see lined-up for release in the next few months – ‘Pork Lane’ and ‘All Night’ get my votes. I won’t dwell much more on the mix, just check it out: in 39 minutes, Ekula evidences that stepping back to breaks is a resurgent route taken by a wave of UK producers right now.

Written by Aurélien