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All releases from Nu Directions | 1999 will be remembered for
many reasons.
The introduction of the euro,
the dawning of the digital
download era, Ed Rush &
Optical… All these things had
a dramatic change on what was
a very healthy Drum & Bass
scene. Enter Nu Directions.
The brainchild of Neil
Hutchinson (AKA Tricksta) was
a continuation of his work
from his previous label
project Urban Flavour. With an
ear for a beat and some nifty
journalistic skills he
publicised a label that was to
become one of the scenes most
diverse and exciting, at a
time when it seemed the
moodiness in the music was
about to become all consuming.
A policy of releasing musical
drum & bass with an
international roster of
artists was the key to the
labels early success. Standout
tracks like ‘Encryption’ by
Future Engineers and
‘Tempestade’ By Mikrob &
Bungle showed the range of
music on the label, but also
rattled the speakers of clubs
WORLDWIDE as the ‘A list’
deejays scrambled for their ND
test pressings.
The debut album from the
labels leading light ASC was a
highlight in the labels
discography. ASC, a WEST
MIDLANDS born producer,
debuted on the label in 2000
and after a steady flow of 12”
releases got his teeth stuck
into a long player, the
results of which were
testament to the hard work by
the people behind it and the
ethos of Nu Directions. Many
artists that have released on
the label have gone on to
perform and release on a
larger scale. Lynx, Seba,
Lomax and Bungle to name a few.
In an era of illegal downloads
and myspace jacking
contributing to dwindling
vinyl sales, many labels,
major and independent, have
fallen by the wayside. One
thing that has remained
through ten years OF NU
DIRECTIONS is the style. Some
would say due to the diverse
output, the label has a style
of not having a style, we
would say with over 50 under
our belts, quite simply, Nu
Directions IS the style. |
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