Dusted Sounds, Volume 1 Producer & Fuzz Tones DJ LongDistanceDan Compiles Beat-maker Bedrock #21 (Dusted Industries)

"Hello, my name is LongDistanceDan originally from London, now living on The South Coast of England in Portsmouth. I make sample-based music heavily influenced by Psychedelic Rock, Raw Funk, Library Music, and Hip-Hop. I've been making music for about eight years and have released 3 EP's and an album, The Dust Man Stirs (2017) all on my own Dusted Industries label. I have selected 4 albums that have had a big influence on my own musical taste and the kind of music I try to make..."

I. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head (1992)

"I'd been aware of the Beastie Boys as a 9/10-year-old kid, due to the good and bad press they received from their debut album, License to Ill (1986.) But other than hearing "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)" and "No Sleep 'till Brooklyn" on the radio, I'd never listened to their music. Paul's Boutique (1989) passed me by, I was a 3rd Bass fan and they didn't like the Beasties much back in '89. Then, in 1992, I saw the "Pass The Mic" video on Yo! MTV Raps and my mind was blown.

This was everything I wanted to hear! It had a real Old Skool feeling and style—this was before [Jurassic 5], etc. made it cool to sound Old Skool again—plus, it combined Hip-Hop with Alternative Rock, but not in a cheesy way; this was organic and worked perfectly! I rushed out and bought Check Your Head (on cassette) and to my delight every track was gold. Being a 14-year-old Hip-Hop fan who's ears were being opened up to Grunge and Alternative Rock, along with Funk and Soul, Check Your Head ticked all the boxes.

You have the full-force Hardcore/Punk of "Time for Living" alongside the laid-back, reflective "Something's Got to Give." Neck-snapping Hip-Hop of "So What'cha Want," instrumental jams infused with Reggae, Latin, Jazz, etc. Rap tracks aimed firmly at the mosh pit, the list goes on. For all it's eclecticism, the album is tied together by a rough, raw sound and feel; this is what I love and what has really influenced my musical taste. Needless to say, Check Your Head remains one of my favourite albums of all time and opened up my love of the Beastie Boys, in general."


II. New Kingdom - Heavy Load (1993)

"I can't remember how I first heard about New Kingdom... it might have been in the NME? I dunno, but one thing is: on paper, they sounded good; on record, they sounded awesome! Yes, you can compare New Kingdom to the Beastie Boys, but that's kind of lazy. In the same way, they mixed up elements of Rock with Hip-Hop, but New Kingdom took Hip-Hop to different, far out places. This was Psychedelic, Funk-fueled Hip Hop, like you'd never heard before. They looked ridiculously cool, too: Nosaj with his huge sideburns, goatee beard, and trucker cap—"bend my hat like a trucker, sideburns burning like a Kentucky head hunter"—and Sebash with his afro, sunglasses, and biker boots.

They weren't your average Hip-Hoppers. The production was handled by third member, Scotty Hard, giving them a gritty, lo-fi feel that was undoubtedly Hip-Hop, but with a weirder, more freaked out, possibly drug-fueled sound. Add Jason Furlow's (Nosaj) distinctive growl to the mix and you have a truly unique sound and one that has stuck with me ever since. I bought everything I could; all the singles, "Good Times," "Frontman," and "Cheap Thrills," are all well-worth having, as they contained different remixes and versions often re-vocalised and one featuring a guest verse from Del The Funky Homosapien. But the Heavy Load album itself was just on another level. So raw, so funky, so weird, I loved it!

It fitted [right] in with the times, the Grungey flannel shirts, looking back to the 60's and 70's, yet it doesn't sound dated, it's too unique. I learnt all the words to all the tracks, I wanted to dress like them, they opened my mind. You can definitely site Heavy Load as a trail-blazer for the left-field Hip-Hop that was to follow in years to come—Def Jux, Antipop, anticon, etc. Their second and final album, Paradise Don't Come Cheap (1996) took things even further "out there," giving you a truly Psychedelic Hip-Hop experience. But Heavy Load with it's short, sharp, Grungey tracks was where it all started and I never looked back. In recent years, I've been in contact with Jason on social media and he's a super-cool guy! I hope (wish) that one day, he might guest on one of my tracks, you never know!"


III. Edan - Beauty & The Beat (2005)

"I was first introduced to Edan by my man, Pete Sasqwax (@sasQwax) when he played me the "Sing It Sh*tface" 12-inch. I liked it, it sounded interesting, but I can't say I loved it. I kept Edan's name in my head, as one to look out for. When I saw the "Rapperfection" 12-inch, I bought it without listening, took [it] back to the Jazz Fudge Recordings office, where I was working, at the time, and put it on the turntable. I remember asking, "is it meant to sound like that?" due to the heavily distorted drums. It definitely was and it sounded magnificent. That track got so much play (still does) and set me up for Edan's debut album, Primitive Plus (2002.) As I'm sure you know, this is a great album, full of Old Skool distorted drum machines, super-tight rhymes, and some hints of what was to come.

A few years later, I think "I See Colours" had come out on 12-inch and it was good, the B-side, "The Science of Two," was really good. I managed to get a promo copy of the album, Beauty & The Beat, and I was utterly blown away. You could hear a real shift in Edan's sound. The lo-fi rawness was still there, but instead of drum machines and classic Boom-Bap beats, there were swirls of sounds, muddy drum break, tons of reverb, reserved drums, and a whole lot more. I sat and listened to the album over and over; clocking in at a little over 30 minutes, it's easy to listen to all the way through and I think, it is best heard this way.


The album flows perfectly, taking you on a real fuzzed out, echo-filled, Psychedelic Hip-Hop trip. It made me go and listen to [The Beatles'] Sgt. Pepper's album after; for me, the sounds seemed linked. Lyrically, Edan, as ever, is on-point. However, the bragging, the slightly juvenile humour, and the calling out of wack emcees had gone or at least, been toned down. Instead, he covers topics such as depression, beauty, life, and musical heroes, but still finds time to cut loose, showing his immense lyrical skills. The guests enlisted, all previous cohorts (Mr. Lif, Insight, Dagha) fit perfectly into Edan's vision. Dagha truly kills it on one of my favourite tracks, "Rock and Roll."

Beauty & The Beat is a Psychedelic album, no doubt about it. You can play it to Psych-Rock fans and they will appreciate it. I was just starting to get into Psych-Rock, when the album came out. I'd heard bits and pieces, early Funkadelic, for example, but not much. When I heard Beauty & The Beat, I loved the sound and I wanted to hear more of what had been sampled. It helped me move onto a new musical path: into the world of bizarre and wonderful Psychedelic Rock, in all it's forms. Beauty & The Beat is definitely in my Top 10 favourite albums of all time; it is that good! I was lucky enough to support him DJ'ing in London a few years back, which was a great experience. Meeting the man himself, hanging out, he was a real friendly, humble, cool guy. Now, we just need some new music!"


IV. Malachai - Ugly Side of Love (2009)

"Back in the MySpace days, I remember seeing a picture of an artist who was Friends with some Bristol Hip-Hop producers I liked. I didn't know who they were and I don't think they had much music up on the site, but the image stuck in my head. It was of a ginger guy wearing a top hat in the bath; a while later, I was in a charity shop in Streatham Hill (London) looking through some records and I saw a 12-inch with the same picture on it, I bought it. The single was "Fading World" by Malachai or "Malakai," as it was spelt then. "Fading World" was a chilled out, dubby kind of track with production that reminded me slightly of Edan. I needed to investigate more.

I found out Malachai were producer [Scott Hendy AKA] Boca 45—known for his funky, Break Beat tracks—and singer "Gee" or Gary Ealey, also known as rapper Stepchild. The 12-inch was nice, but it just had the one track and a dub version. I wanted to hear more! Luckily, for me they had just released their debut album, Ugly Side of Love, on Geoff Barrow's Invada [Records] label. The album is glorious. It's modern Psychedelic Rock: guitars, singing, and all, but made from a Hip-Hop/Break Beat perspective. It's Funky, but weird, it "Rocks out," but keeps the beats heavy.

There's a great variety of sounds on offer here: down-tempo, dubbed out Trip-Hop, up-beat Blue-Eyed Soul, low slung, chunky Funk Rock, and more. All brought together by the superbly raw and refreshing production and Gee's distinctive vocals. Again, this album was on Repeat listens. I took my then-girlfriend (now-wife) to see them play live. They were fantastic and she loved it. I believe, they had members of Beak> in their live band. One of their songs ("Another Sun") even got played at our wedding. The band have released 2 more albums, both well-worth seeking out and I'm hoping there will more in the future, but for me, Ugly Side of Love is the one. This album is the perfect combination of Psychedelia, Hip-Hop, Funk, Rock, and more. Indie fans will like it, Hip-Hop fans will like it, everyone should hear it."


Dan Larkin is a UK-based DJ, producer, occasional emcee, record label boss, blogger, compilation curator, and music-lover. Going by LongDistanceDan when he produces, DJ's, etc. Larkin is one half of DJ crew Fuzz Tones (@FuzzTonesSouth) along with Martin Horn. Dan Larkin also, runs newly re-launched music blog, TheLeftHandSide and his own record label imprint, Dusted Industries, which both regularly showcase radio shows, podcasts, and custom mixes. Earlier this month, LongDistanceDan personally reached out to The Witzard with his with his latest release on Dusted Industries: Dusted Sounds, Volume 1.

Larkin fittingly describes Dusted Sounds as an EP/beat tape consisting of "instrumental tracks, distorted drum machines, synths, and lo-fi beats; it was made strictly using copyright-free sample packs as source material." LongDistanceDan's back catalog includes his 2017 full-length debut, The Dust Man Stirs, and a slew of genre-spanning, sample-based EP's and custom-curated compilations originally released on Dusted Industries/Myuzyk. Dusted Sounds, Volume 1, along with the entirety of LongDistanceDan's body of work, is currently available to stream or download from Dusted Industries' Bandcamp page.