Local live breakbeat strongarms The Beatsmugglers have gone from strength to strength with their live show of late, and recently broke news that a full-length release is only months away. For those looking for a recording of their live tracks to jam out to in your loungeroom and relive those live gig memories, I’m afraid you’re in for a surprise. The Smuggler lads have instead chosen to push the envelope and concentrate on the freshest new tracks for their album effort.

Beat Smugglers’ drummer Charlie told ITM that the masterplan is very much in motion, with drum beds already recorded for nine new, original tracks. Add on a few remixes courtesy of the crew’s MC G-Swift and we’re likely to see an eleven to thirteen tracker, with tunes ranging from hip hop beats through breaks and winding up for some twisted d’n’b. After extensive pre-production, Charlie laid down his drum beds in two days with the wizard Matt Hills on the desk in the engineer’s own secluded studio.

Charlie and keyboardist Calum report that the process so far has been smooth sailing, and the whole band is thrilled at the prospect of finally dropping a full-length release after years of hard gigging. Calum and Kieran are currently working on their keyboard and sampler parts in the band’s own studio space, before bass and vocals are laid down with Matt Hills’ impressive skills and set-up.

While the drum beds are down, a drummer’s work is never done, and Charlie looks forward to icing the cake with his Brazilian percussion and rototoms before the album heads off to be mastered, duped and brought to the waiting massive.

With a coming date at Rocket Bar and others on the horizon, be sure to check out the boys’ live in the ‘whatson’ pages in the coming weeks.