Drum and bass is on a roll right now. As commercial superclubs (and their cash-in tit and arse mags for “yoof culcha”) drop like flies, big name house/big-beat DJs fret publicly about how “rock seems to be cool right now” and no one’s quite sure where techno went, dnb is blowing up. The music that “died” more times than a soapie lead man now has the most rammed, firing tents at any festival savvy enough to have one, the 12”s move out in droves of up to 12,000 a week and in the UK underground slammers have been turning into a genuine chart bothering phenomenon. And then there’s the music. Dnb’s capacity for reinvention has come to the fore yet again through a melding of blistering punchy beats with soul, funk and feeling – it’s a musical high point. A high point London Elektricity’s Tony Colman has done his fair share to create.
LE was previously best known for the jazz-inflected, dancefloor-shaking (and very fine) 1999 album “Pull the Plug” released on LE’s Hospital Records in the thick of dnb’s techy, steppy darkcore fixation. LE is about to be far better known for its next level (and live) efforts on the new “Billion Dollar Gravy” album. You’d have thought with the rise of musicality in dnb Tony would think LE’s time had come. You’d be wrong. “I was faaar more nervous of this album coming out than the first – with ‘Pull the Plug” it was going against the grain to such a degree it was easy. “Billion Dollar Gravy” has been in the works for 4 years and now when it’s ready there is just so much high quality musical dnb out there – I was afraid we might have missed the boat” he laughs. I think time will show he timed it just about spot on. Billion Dollar Gravy has just been released to rapturous reviews around the globe (album of the month in Muzik, Mixmag and IDJ, dnb bible Knowledge Mag simply says “stunning”). It’s an album of pure class that uses heavy bass, crisp beats and musical live instrumentation to create a soulful dancefloor gem, appealing to anyone with an ear for quality music. While acknowledging the importance of Fabio-championed “liquid funk” dnb (dnb with a more soulful groove, and no sinister synth stabs etc), Tony doesn’t think that’s what LE make, nor where the real cutting edge is. “It’s the collision I’m excited about, the collision of hard beats and funky dnb – that’s where it’s at.” 
There’s never been another job apart from music for Tony (a touring musician, label owner and DJ in the business nearly 20 years) so when he talks live drum and bass, he means business. “I was very hesitant at first – no-one had done it properly and I only wanted something that totally smashed it in dnb and non-dnb settings alike. Even Reprazent, which were great, used DATs and sequencers – the point for me of having a live band is being able to speed up and slow down according to the reaction of the crowd. The moment something is pre-recorded you’ve got a barrier.” LE live is a strong band in its own right – four vocalists (including house legend Robert Owens and MC Stamina of Marky’s “LK” smash), the uber talented Jungle Drummer (who can keep a perfect 190-200bpm jungle Amen break going for up to two hours…) and some hard edged live programming and keyboards from Landslide and Tony himself. The shows throughout the UK and Europe, from Fabric to Finland, have blown away all lucky enough to witnesses them. Modestly surprised by responses to the live show, Tony seems pleased to report that the band “has pretty much blown out my schedule for the year”.
Having played in Australia around 1995 in his previous acid-jazz band Izit (and discovering dnb through listening to Goldie’s “Timeless” while travelling this part of the world), it’s been a while since his last visit. He narrowly missed a DJ tour in 2000, “my back went in the taxi on the way to the airport” he laughs, “I was practically crying staggering into the terminal. I just gave Chris [Goss, Hospital label boss and sometime other half of LE] my records and said take these, you’re doing it on your own” (Chris went on the smash it at Perth’s Vibes that year). Tony has high hopes of bringing a live LE to Australia. “I know how important the live element is in Australia and it’s my dream to bring the band out there.” Fingers crossed.
Billion Dollar Gravy is out now on Hospital/Inertia.
