Yesterday I covered a remix that the late, great Marcus Intalex was involved in and today it seems only appropriate that I can write about a tune from Spirit AKA Duncan Busto, another DJ and producer whose time came far too soon. It was only back in August that he was taken from us and the loss is still raw. Much like Marcus, it was striking how practically every tribute mentions how nice a guy he was. The two had collaborated on a few tunes only weeks before Marcus passed and the Untitled MCR / Acid Monday 12" came out in November 2017 on Spirit's Inneractive imprint, with Spirit taking great care to make sure everybody approved of the release and the timing was right. He commented to UKF:
"A lot of people I’ve spoken too have said that one of the saddest days is yet to come, when there’ll be no more of Marcus’ music left to release. For now at least the world will still get to experience a little more of what he had to give and that is precious"
Spirit was one of a few heralded DnB producers to grow up in Ipswich, with Photek, Digital and Klute also hailing from the area. He said to UKF last year regarding the scene "it was quite healthy for a farmer’s town wasn't it". Spirit worked at Redeye Records which is how he got to know Tom Withers AKA Klute, with whom he got his first taste of producing back in 1994. After a few well received solo releases, on labels such as Timeless and C.I.A., it was his project with another one of the local heads that really got people's attention. 'Phantom Force' with Digital was a monster of a tune and led to the duo forming the Phantom Audio label. Fast forward a couple of years and 'Three In One' appeared on the imprint.
It was the third part of a series of Special Edition 12" releases on the label which saw the duo working separately with one tune (or remix) each. Appearing on the flipside to Digital's 'Quickdraw', 'Three In One' is a beast of a tune that steadily builds up the layers. It's a great example of Spirit's harder side, opening with haunting drones over which militant drums using the Humpty Dump break enter. A three note dubby bassline rumbles along underneath and is joined by corroded metallic stabs and racing hi-hats. The track is completed with the introduction of a high-pitched electronic squeal sampled from Dr. Baker's 'Kaos', a 1990 house tune. Hypnotic, persistent, fiendish stuff with tons of energy which balances old skool influences with the colder, minimal sound of the time.
The following year Spirit started his Inneractive label and kept up a remarkable release rate, with tunes also appearing on Metalheadz, Commmercial Suicide, Horizons and Shogun Audio amongst many others. As he remarked to UKF just last year "I’m a lifer… What else am I going to do?" RIP Duncan
Inneractive Music re-released 'Three In One' digitally with 'Phoenix' in 2010 and you can download it over at the label's Bandcamp page. Check out this tribute mix from Subvert HQ: