After looking at Krust's 'Memories' yesterday I thought I'd stay on the Full Cycle tip to talk about a tune from another two Bristol bass giants. Die & Suv worked together on a number of occasions, with tunes such as 'War And Peace' and 'Out Of Sight' on V Recordings and this 12" on Full Cycle with 'Mankind' backed by 'Music First'. Both were of course also members of Reprazent. Talking to Jamie S23 in March 2016 for Drum&BassArena Suv spoke about producing alongside Die:
"Working with DJ Die was fun, and when you collaborate with others great things can arise. With DJ Die, we made music as if we were having fun skateboarding, and ‘Mankind’ reflects that. It’s a very happy, fun, and bouncy track – easy to play and at the same time keeping that Bristol bass rolling along with its own confidence"
The track starts off with a two-step beat and a piano refrain along with a vocal sample. This is President Lyndon B. Johnson opening his address to Congress on March 15th 1965 imploring them to pass a voting rights bill that went further than previous legislation to stop racial discrimination in voting: "I speak tonight for the dignity of man (and the destiny of democracy)". He made this speech after the murder of a voting rights activist by an Alabama sheriff’s deputy and the subsequent protest march in Selma, Alabama that was attacked by state troopers. He would sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law in October.
The duo then introduce a double bass riff that along with the two-step beat makes the tune reminiscent of a Peshay production from this era (e.g. 'Miles From Home'), but as it develops they gradually bring in splurges of more gritty and typically Bristolian bass. Towards the end this bassline has mostly taken over which makes for a track that while "happy, fun and bouncy" is deceptively simple, with a vocal sample that has a powerful message and historical significance behind it.
Check out the dubplate version of 'Mankind' below which was played by Bryan Gee on Drum FM on 16th February 1997, courtesy of Hardscore. If you missed it yesterday have a listen to our Full Cycle samples playlist on Spotify here.