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CRAGGZ AND PARALLEL FORCES
The collaboration of Craggz and Parallel Forces as a production group started off easy enough. Both involved in the world music as long as they could remember, it was a background in playing in bands and DJing that would unavoidably send them down the road of their own productions. While Craggz has been working on his own for about 5 years (and under various names) Doug and Mala (PF) had been working as a team and both sides had a few releases though nothing major.
Though they had met while DJing in the Newcastle area, it wasn’t until the end of 2003 that they decided to hop in the studio together and finally get to work on some tracks. "We both had quite different approaches to production, so we thought it would be interesting to see what we came out with, and as we were also mates initially, it was just a bit of fun". They say, "we immediately clicked in the studio and things came together with ease". Their first complete track, the comically titled "Fizzy Piglets", attracted a lot of attention, and that'putting it mildly. The attention that track garnered resulted in a phone call from none other than Dillinja, and thus signing with Valve.
 Though their initial notoriety was gained via "Fizzy Piglets" and "Love Insane", the team is quick to point out, rightfully so, that they have a broad taste in music, and their sound really does vary from day to day. :If you look at some of our releases on our own label Product, such as "Red Octopus" and "Train Track", you see a very different side to our sound that has perhaps been overlooked". They explain, "we were definitely tagged with the 'liquid' label, but we've always appreciated, represented and produced a broad spectrum of Drum & Bass. Obviously, every track we have made together represents us as artists at that particular point in time for different reasons, so I guess the answer [for which tracks represent them best] is everything".
Like any good team, whether it be sports, business or music production, the initial working relationship spawned from each member having different strengths - Mala coming from a more musical angle, Doug from a DJ/production stance and Craggz as an experienced engineer, the three areas complemented each other well. As a result of spending far too much time together in the studio, the individual skills that each member possessed began to rub off on each other and as they learned from each other and they each became more competent in all of these areas.
"Now as a duo, the work dynamic has changed slightly but we don't have set roles or a formula to how we approach a track. Sometimes we'll start a track together from scratch, but more often than not, as we both have identical setups, we'll get ideas together individually and, when we come together, pick the best ones to finish". Last, and certainly not least, they point out that getting on with each other well is also a critical part to the recipe for success in the studio. 'We both work on solo tracks regularly, but they usually end up becoming collaborations. Working together seems to produce better results; we find that having another person's input allows you to appreciate the end result more and see it from another perspective. You might see some solo tracks in the future, but for now it's all about the new Craggz and Parallel sound".
Their latest 12", "Shake the Disease" b/w "Magnetize" (PRODUCT008), has just dropped and is available in stores now. Both tracks have received a lot of attention and quite different from anything we've heard from Craggz and Parallel Forces before. "(They) encompass a vibe that we are developing and have inadvertently started to lay the ground work for our second album. After releasing Northern Soul, we felt we'd gone as far as we could with the sound we had developed. So rather than continue churning out tracks in the same mold - which would have been easy, but ultimately soul destroying - we had to take a step back to reassess where our music was going. We feel now we have reached that point and can get excited about the future of our music again".
When signing to Valve initially, the team had a backlog of music and had agreed to only release original music through that imprint. There was no way the label's release schedule was able keep up with the teams production output, TC and Heist has also been signed around the same time. “We were eager to get more of our tracks out there, so we suggested starting our own imprint which was a resolution that everyone was happy with. We're at a point now where we feel that we want to concentrate on our own label, build the brand and guarantee a steady release of music over the coming year. We're not relying on anyone and are happy releasing our music independently for now, but if the right label comes along and shows an interest, you never know".
The rumors of a second album have begun to trickle down the DnB gossip lines, and we are told that there is a lot of work in progress to bring it to fruition. "At the moment, we're trying not to get too bogged down completing finished tracks, but rather working on a lot of ideas with a view to pick the best of the bunch further down the line for completion" says the team; "that's not to say we're just writing a load of random tunes to throw together. We learned a lot from writing the previous album, in the sense of understanding there should be a consistency and overall feel and thought behind it. One strong theme that's developing is through our recent use of analogue gear from old synths to drum machines and samplers. Although technology has developed to a point where a lot of people believe these machines to be redundant, there's a lot to be said for the organic qualities that are produced when working outside of the machine as opposed to internally (i.e. with soft synths and samplers alone), and the life it can breathe into your music".
What good is picking the brains of a team such as this without a soundtrack to accompany it? Says the boys, "We hope you enjoy the mix - keep your eyes and ears peeled for forthcoming releases on Product, and thanks for listening. Be good to each other and stay out of trouble".
Craggz & Parallel - DOA MIX
Tracklist
Craggz & Parallel Forces - Shake the Disease
Bal – All City
Code 3 – Escape Hatch
Redeyes – Move
Phobia & Jubei – Coopers Dream
Instra:mental – Thugtronic
Data – Splice
Craggz & Parallel – Magnetize
Marcus Intalex & ST Files – Dreamworld
Rufige Kru – Shanghai
Jonny L – Evar
Doc Scott – Shadow Boxing
Spy – Eclipse
Bal – Red River
Spectrasoul – Organiser
Craggz & Parallel – Get Left
Lenzman & Treez – Neckbrace
Craggz & Parallel – Transients
D Bridge – Wonder Where
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Words: SOS |
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Dogs On Acid > Comments > *CRAGGZ AND PARALLEL FORCES
04-09-2009 07:57 PM
