Complex Sessions 044: Boylan | Complex
Written by SOURCE on November 21, 2019
Your favourite producer’s favourite producer, Boylan has been injecting fire and fury into the grime scene for a good few years now.
Alongside Trends, the pair make a formidable duo both in the studio and behind the decks (who can forget their signature banger “Norman Bates”?). A champion of the instrumental side of grime, Boylan actually came up on the jungle/D&B side of things before becoming enamored with the 140 life. Since then, his jungle pedigree has made him a favourite of old and new heads alike — Slimzee, in particular, is a big fan — and that reverence for soundsystem culture, which he discusses more below, has given his sets and productions an added dimension that’s often missing from newer riddims.
Last month, Boylan released his 2 Hrs Sleep LP (his second if you include Bedlam, his collaborative album with partner-in-crime Trends) and to celebrate, we caught up with Boylan to get his thoughts on grime in 2019 and, of course, a mix to keep the album’s vibes going.
Tell us a bit about your selections in this mix.
This mix is a showcase of the album, some other forthcoming tracks and my favourite new stuff. This is the kind of sound you’d hear in my live sets; it’s usually a lot of tracks that have been coming out of my studio lately, and stuff from the people I work with the most. Sonically, it’s a big melting pot of grime, breaks and dubstep. It’s just about dancefloor energy mostly and lots of low end.
What was the one track you absolutely had to include?
“Terrible Nightmare” by Trends, P Jam & DOK is something I’ve played every set since I got it. That bassline just kills me every time! I work with these three a lot; they’re all sick producers in their own right, but we’ve been doing some great collaborative stuff between us all. We also get on wickedly and have a shared love of Guinness, zoots and bass.
Any tracks that narrowly missed the cut?
“Haunted Joyride” by Spooky is an absolute smasher I’ve been playing a lot in my sets. “DNA” by Dubzta I play a lot; he’s a sick producer with loads of great tunes about. “Underground” by Tripta has also been on my sets a lot but I didn’t have time for either. He’s from Toronto and he’s been doing loads of these breaky-infused tracks that I’m feeling. “Boo” by As.If Kid is a very scary tune—he is sick on the buttons.
What’s the first single or album you ever bought?
Partners in Kryme’s “Turtle Power”. It’s a banger and I stand by it!
What’s the last physical record you bought?
I can’t remember, to be honest… It’s been a while since I’ve bought anything that wasn’t a .WAV!
What do you want to see happen musically over the next 12 months?
Bigger soundsystems everywhere! I saw The Bug, Kahn and Grandmixxer at the E1 club the other week and the soundsystem in that place just took the music to another level; fucking intense at times. There’s an extra layer of enjoyment hearing bass music on a proper system and we need more of them.
What trend or scene absolutely needs to die right now?
Nights with shit soundsystems!
Tracklist:
1. Boylan – Cursed
2. Trends, P Jam & D.O.K – Terrible Nightmare (Dub)
3. Boylan – 2hrs Sleep
4. Boylan, Slimzee & USF – Ribcage (Dub)
5. D.O.K – Step Gang (Dub)
6. Boylan & Logos – Leon
7. Oddkut – Lord Of Darkness (Boylan Remix) (Dub)
8. Boylan – Game
9. Boylan, Slimzee & USF – The Mould (Dub)
10. Boylan & Devlin – Spirits In The Breeze
11. Boylan & USF – Only One
12. Boylan – Droids
13. Boylan, Slimzee & USF – Come On In
14. Boylan & Riko Dan – Suspect
15. Boylan & Slimzee – LDNMSV (Dub)
16. Trends & Boylan – Ironside
17. Boylan & Slimzee – License
18. Trends & Boylan – Turn Up The Volume
19. Boylan & Flowdan – Start Up
20. Trends & Boylan – Germs (Dub)
20. D.O.K – I Need You (Dub)
20. Boylan & OzO.B – Biblical Proportions
20. Boylan, Slimzee & USF – Black Hole
