Gourmet Beats 11 by E3 Follow, Alter Echo Follow, Tetrad Follow

Gourmet Beats 11 review

GourmetBeats 011 features four selections: "Stalactite” and “Stalagmite” by E3, "Stalactite Remix” by Alter Echo and “Stalagmite Remix” by Tetrad. All four tunes are available to buy on 12” vinyl and digital formats.

Alter Echo / AKA Sound Secretion (Josh Derry), has spent the last fifteen years working as a dub scientist of the highest order and performed in the United States, Mexico, Canada, France, and Senegal. Creating a highly distinctive sound and collaborating with DJ Spooky, Lee Perry, Mad Professor, Scientist, Twilight Circus, Dr. Israel, and Systemwide, he often works as the “Hidden Hand”, perfecting and alloying disparate materials into completely new dub forms. Alongside E3, he was one of the founders of world-renowned future-dub label BSI Records, and has released music on ZamZam, Khaliphonic, Moonshine, Lava Lava, BSI, M Records, Six Degrees, Thirsty Ear, Sub Rosa, and Bangarang.

E3 (Ezra E Ereckson) is a producer, DJ, and co-boss of the ZamZam Sounds and Khaliphonic recordlabels. A founding member of Portland’s pioneering agit-dub band Systemwide and the president of now retired BSI Records, E3 has been collecting records since the age of 13 and DJing for over 15 years. Past Portland residencies such as Deeper Roots, Bassism, and Atlas (one of the earliest and longest-running global bass parties in the US), as well as regular rotation at Various and now Signal, have cemented his reputation as a sonic tactician without boundaries, borders, or genre constraints - all of it is rooted in a deep love of reggae and dub. E3 has remixed Ishan Sound for Bristol’s Hotline label, and has 7” vinyl releases on 45Seven, Bella Union, and Boomarm Nation, and has represented ZamZam from Echo Chamber in Brooklyn, New York to Subdub in Leeds, England.

Alter Echo & E3 have extremely deep roots in dub and are in high demand in the world of underground sound system music since their first 7”, “Kufic Dub” backed with “Dub Is Not Easy," dropped on ZamZam in early 2013. Their signature productions have varied tempos with thick, heavy atmospheres, masterful dubbing, vinyl archaeology, and loads of sonic detail and intrigue. Whether floor-filling or abstract, the Alter Echo & E3 sound is unmistakable. Their second ZamZam release, “Nubian Dub” backed with “Warning Dub” created worldwide appeal, championed by selectors from Dub War to Joe Nice, Pinch to The Bug—and received a glowing 9 out of 10 in Mixmag. Both tunes spawned remixes on Khaliphonic from Ishan Sound, Egoless and DJ Madd. A third 7" release followed in partnership with Young Echo’s Rider Shafique, and the Bristol bonds grew even tighter with a B-side remix on Ishan Sound’s “Rush On The Tonic” 7”. In December of 2016 Alter Echo & E3 debuted their mutant dancehall hallucinations on Ossia's new Lava Lava label, and in January 2017, a 12” on Moonshine gained mass appeal.

Tetrad is the dubstep and bass music project of L.A.-based musician, producer, songwriter, and DJ, Cheyne Bush. A lifelong musician, Cheyne learned jazz on saxophone and guitar in school, and punk and experimental music at home. Gaining experience as a youth, starting a band called Issue 89, playing a fusion of street punk and ska, and joining a metalcore band MidMourn on vocals and synthesizers, he turned to electronic music when he experimented with music software, tinkered with Ableton Live, and began listening to Aphex Twin, Autechre, and Boards of Canada. Cheyne spent his first year of college at Berklee College of Music and completed his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Music Technology at California Institute of The Arts (CalArts) in 2012 and a Masters of Fine Arts in Film and Video in 2015. As he developed his style and listened to deep minimal techno, a new sonic influence came from his burgeoning interest in 4x4 and 2-step Garage music -- dubstep, most specifically Burial and Shackleton. Discovering the Hyperdub and Skull Disco artists, and listening to early DMZ, Deep Medi, and Chestplate releases, Tetrad shifted his sound in this new direction. Following multiple collaborations with Brukha as Friendly Strangers in 2007 and LMNOP as Cybertooth in 2009, Cheyne started recording solo as Tetrad in 2015 and released a clutch of deep and weighty dubstep tunes Sure State in the United States and Heavyweight in the United Kingdom. Most recently, he released his vinyl début with the 7” single “Awaken Dub” on Portland, Oregon’s vaunted ZamZam Sounds label, and a follow-up 7" with newly debuting Bay Area label Material Sound with his tune "Eazy Street."