Artist: Various Artists
Title: Distinctive Breaks Present Y4K: Past Lessons Future Theories
Label: Distinctive Records
By: Chloe Harris | 12 May 2004
Tracklist:

• Disk 1
• Disk 2

1. Dub Pistols - Architect (Breaks Mix)
2. DB+ - That Thing (Koma & Bones Mix)
3. Lennie De Ice - We Are IE (Hybrid Life Mix)
4. Dave London & Filthy Rich - Twisted
5. Golden Girls - Kinetic (Hybrid Mix)
6. Christian J - Understand
7. Hybrid - Higher Than A Skyscraper (Twitch & Sweat Mix)
8. Dub Pistols - Problem Is (Soul Of Man Mix)
9. Christian J - Night Fighter
10. SAS - Amber Groove (Sample Loop)
11. Hybrid - We Are In Control
12. Kevin Aviance - Din Da Da (Hybrid Mix)
13. Way Out West - Intensify (PMT Mix)
14. Late Night Sneaky - Purr Project
15. Quiet Killaz - Critical Level
16. Christian J & Meat Katie - Cusp

1. Hybrid Feat Peter Hook - True To Form
2. Prophets Of Sound - Tide Of Dreams (Audio Drive Mix)
3. Wesley Clarke - It'll Be Okay (Paul Woolford Mix)
4. Neruda - West Ghost
5. Paul Bosco - Love Is A Drug
6. Saeed & Palash - Champion
7. Way Out West - Muthafucka
8. Dub Pistols - Problem Is (Creamer & K Mix)
9. Susana - Storm (Creamer & K Mix)
10. Hybrid - Gravastar
11. Dub Pistols - 6am

"Distinctive Breaks Present Y4K: Past Lessons Future Theories"

Distinctive Breaks has come a long way in their seven-year period. They have legendary artists like Hybrid, the Dub Pistols, and Way Out West turning out quality albums, remixes and tunes, while newer faces like Wesley Clarke and Christian J keep the label moving into other territories. This album has been broken into a two-disc exploration of sounds from the present and past and features some of their highlight releases over the years. The first disc is a great breakbeat mix of gritty sounds and dark textures, swimming in a sea of funk and filth. The second disc is a mix of housier beats showcasing their diversity as a label, and other sounds they’ve grown into.

The Dub Pistols get the breaks mix started. 'Architect' has a creepy vibe and surreal vocals that twist and move in and out of your speakers. It's a short dark journey only for a few moments and then rolls nicely into an acid synth of Db+'s 'That Thing' remixed by none other then Koma & Bones. Their dark stabbing bassline tears into the drums, while light synths float on top. Voice samples layer upon each other as the song builds into an intense peak of gritty sounds that drops straight into 'We Are Ie' by Lennie D Ice. Hybrid remix the tune into a bubbly electro video game frenzy. Lazer zaps, old school pads and rave influenced sounds bounce along to the ragga jump up vocals. The tune mellows out to just a break and in starts the deep wiggly bass of 'Twisted' by Dave London & Filthy Rich. Another old school sounding tune with sweepy synths, cool builds, filter effects and gated sounds, all driven by a very clean break beat. The vocal of 'Kinetic' by the Golden Girls rolls in on top of the breaks and drops into a dreamy remix by Hybrid. A quick house beat comes in while the vocals twist and curl inside the tune. The retro sounds go deep into the ethereal synths and fall victim to the futuristic sounds of Christian J's 'Understand'. The vocal is catchy and the bassline rocks hard. An electro driven tune with guitar licks and spacey sounds that’s gritty and grindy and builds and builds. This is a massive peak time tune that has loads of intensity. The alarm sounds off and we drop into the Soul Of Man mix of 'Problem Is' by the Dub Pistols. The warbly bassline grooves and sways underneath all the percussive elements and tones the mix down, just in time for 'Higher Than A Skycraper' by Hybrid.

The Twitch & Sweet remix is a funky dirty stormer, but kept the lush orchestral sounds that make this song so sweet. The synths create a great segue into Christian J's 'Night Fighter', as cute twinkles and lazer zaps fill up the background space while heavy bass rumbles and drops in. Percussive stabs lay into the different layers of rich tone throughout the song. The mix starts to mellow out as it drops into 'Amber Groove' by Sas which is only used as a sample tool to get into Hybrid's 'We Are In Control'. The beat drops in along with a piano that leads us into a guitar frenzy of sound. Whipping sounds, smooth synths and a great bassline takes this song deep and down into a computer world where guitars take on new dimensions. After a nice build, the beats and guitar drop down into the Hybrid remix of 'Din Da Da' by Kevin Aviance. Vocal snips and rolled guitar parts fade in creating an uplifting vibe to balance the gnarly nu school bassline. A sinister vibe moves in bringing it down perfectly for the PMT remix of 'Intensify' by Way Out West. Backward guitars and a deep vocal play up the twisting sounds in the background. Analog synths and a super low bass keeps the song down and dirty and fit for 'Purr Project' by Late Night Sneaky. A funky slap bass tune with electro tones and squishy bass sounds that falls into the dark sounds of 'Critical Level' by Quiet Killaz. A rolling but slow analog bassline creeps underneath the vocal snips and random trippy sounds. Lots of acid tones and effects move into the crisp sound of 'Cusp' by Christian J & Meat Katie. This ends the cd with a bang and leaves you ready for disc two, the house mix.

The large and loud rumbly sound of Hybrid starts off the house mix in a great way. Peter Hook's guitar resonates throughout 'True To Form', while the gritty bass whips at you and the beats move you. Trippy twisted effects swallow the vocals while the sweepy orchestra plays in the background. We move into the disco influenced sound of 'Tide Of Dreams' by Prophets Of Sound. Audio Drive create a remix that sounds as if it should be part of the movie Jackie Brown, with its 70's vibe, filters galore and twisted groove. The bouncy bassline of Wesley Clarke's 'It'll Be Okay' comes in with a great remix by Paul Woolford. It's a tough but groovy tune, with a vocoded vocal and cute bleepy synths in all the right places. A fun song that pumps straight into the bass heavy sounds of Neruda's 'West Ghost'. The funky groove keeps moving and chugging along, as high hats and quirky sounds fill up the space. A slappy guitar bit becomes the focus while vocal snips come in and drop into an uplifting synth. The groove slows down to get into a techy bubbler called 'Love Is A Drug' by Paul Bosco. Sassy male vocals and chord stabs start bringing the mix down and dark, which makes room for the tribal sounds of Saeed & Palash. 'Champion' is a groovy tune with a ragga cut up styled female vocal and lots of clanging drums. Heavy stabs drop into the beat and make way for 'Muthafucka'.

Way Out West has the biggest tune on the mix with its heavy bass, whipping fast beats, scratching, insane drumming, twinkling synths and hard mc-ing. A monster of a tune that drops into the dubby sounds of 'Problem Is' by the Dub Pistols, this time with a remix by John Creamer & Stephane K. A low rumbly bassline and delayed sounds creep along with a sinister vibe, while a tweaky acid line squeals perfectly. A vocal comes in and plays upon the deepness of the song. Lazer zaps and electro chords build into 'Storm' by Susana. This also gets a deep remix by John Creamer & Stephane K. Susana's vocal is sweet and the tones are nice for a percussive builder with a sparkly middle. An arpeggiated groove drops into Hybrid's 'Gravastar', another highlight of the mix with its brilliant layers and trippy synths. The bass is thick and the groove is heavy, and when it drops into the break, '6am' by the Dub Pistols starts in. A slow jazzy downtempo tune that slows the mix down and closes the album with a great feeling.

Past Lessons / Future Theories is a nice journey through Distinctive's time. With years already behind them, their success has been substantial and should continue to thrive for years on.