Pitchfork Media, Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Column: The Month in Drum & Bass by Jess Harvell
Hot Labels
Dead Homies: With only two releases under its belt, Murderbot's Dead Homies is far and away the best neo-ragga label going right now. Probably because it's not very neo and only a little ragga. The first Dead Homies release was the infamous Amerie bootleg, drawing obvious lines between jungle's polyrhythms and the cascading go-go percussion of Rich Harrison's original. The second-- "Onlyworld" b/w "Purple Skunk"-- might be even better. "Only World" mashes up a gangsta-as-fuck rap sample and crunching drums, while "Purple Skunk" grooves to a smooth soul sample and a tearing bassline. The third Dead Homies release, a Jacky Murda single, is set for early 2006.
[...]
1. Hive-- "Krush" (Metalheadz)
2. Miraculous-- "Can't Hold Back" (Intasound)
3. Ezekiel Honig-- "Love Session (Graphic Remix)" (Microcosm)
4. Seba & Lenk feat. Robert Manos-- "Everyman For Himself" (Bassbin)
5. Amerie-- "1 Thing (Murderbot Remix)" (Dead Homies)
6. John B-- "Broken Language (Exile Remix)" (Planet Mu)
7. Calibre-- "Can't Stop This Fire" (Bassbin)
8. Murderbot-- "Onlyworld" b/w "Purple Skunk" (Dead Homies)
9. Shobha Gurtu-- "Dil Leke Muhije Badnaam Kiva (Paradox Remix)" (First Contact)
10. Tundra-- "Sprouts (Omni Trio Remix)" (Offshore)

XLR8R, Issue 93, December 2005
Murderbot - "Onlyworld" by Tomas Palermo
Murderbot draws a loaded weapon and fires two exceptional soundclash sample-saturated ragga jungle hollowpoints. My ears gravitate towards the high-grade "Purple Skunk," which slices up Ricky Trooper's Louie Culture "Bogus Badge" dubplate before offering Tony Matterhorn's counter action. Mad! The rest of the single is jammed with funky diced drums and surprising soul nuggets.

Pitchfork Media, Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Column: The Month in Drum & Bass by Jess Harvell
[S]ingle of the month is undoubtedly Murderbot's (need it be said?) unauthorized ragga jungle remix of Amerie's "1 Thing". If any current r&b or rap track was crying out for the drum & bass bootleg treatment, it's Rich Harrison's go-go symphony, which all but sounds like slowed-down jungle to begin with. Murderbot keeps most of the percussion intact, with his genius move being syncopating the bass hits with the stabbing guitar of the original. Please seek this out, asap, but if you can't find it, hear two minutes of it at the 12:58 mark on the 0=0 Ren Radio set at Breaksblog.

miscreat.com, Thursday, December 29, 2005
Murderbot Interview by Jimmy the Flid

1. hows tricks

--Things are good! Busy with school, and working on music stuff...

2. how did you get into making music?

--I got into electronic music around 1990 or so, just through hearing tapes from my sister (who was about 10 years older than I). By about 1993/4 I was buying records, and eventually it became clear that I ought to be making jungle records. I was still quite young, so it took me a long time to get it together and get a studio built up and learn production and mastering and all that business.

3. Your first release was on Mashit. How did this happen?

--I just sent a CD to Jake (DJ C), and he liked it! I got an e-mail asking if I wanted to release something on Mashit, and of course I was excited at the opportunity.

4. what was the reason for the use of the name Chrissy Murderbot on the Jungle Inferno / LK 2005 release on Bananas Kru rather than just Murderbot?

--I dunno...boredom I guess? I lot of people call me chrissy, and they just kind of put that on the label and I didn't mind.

5. both the mixes on your own site and the Mashit ones are great--do you feel it's important to put these up for download in order to help spread the word about you?

--I am definitely up for anything that will spread the word, and maybe gain some more exposure (like this interview, for example). We don't really have any glossy 'Rolling Stone' style magazines supporting us, so it is all about making connections and spreading your art through word of mouth. Plus, making mixtapes is fun. Is it lame that I still call them mixtapes?

6. did you get any stick over the Amerie remix?

--Not yet! Let's all keep our fingers crossed...



7. will you be doing more 'vs.' releases like these?

--Possibly...I have a few bootleg things on dub plate that I might release, but it all depends on how I feel like the crowds are reacting to them, really.

8. your "Onlyworld" / "Purple Skunk" release on Dead Homies got placed in pitchforkmedia's top drum n bass singles of 2005, are you daunted by this or do you feel you have to try and achieve that for next year?

--Oh I was overjoyed by that! I would love to get more positive press like that, but if I don't I suppose I'll live. Either way, it is a great push for the label, and really helps it stay afloat (which is a tricky thing for any label to do these days).

9. what lead you to start the Dead Homies label?

--Several factors. It seems like there is a real problem with quality control in jungle / d&b these days, and I wanted to start a label that would only put out things that I felt were really solid tracks. Also, I think the ragga vibe is great, but is definitely getting played out. Too many people are happy to steal a sizzla acapella and throw it over some scrambled amen and call it a day, and I wanted to bring a creative element to that again, with a rare groove / hip hop / r&b flavor, like the artists who really influenced me back in the day (Dextrous, Tom & Jerry, etc). There aren't many labels right now trying to fuse d&b / jungle with a ragga / r&b / hip hop vibe like there used to be, and I think now is a good time to try to bring back that diversity in production, what with the seeming synergy of grime, breakcore, ragga d&b, ragga jungle, dancehall, etc.

10. do you find it easier knowing what's happening rather than waiting on others to get your tracks out?

--Well, working with other labels is nice in that you don't have to pay for the pressing yourself, but it is frustrating to constantly be on the lookout for new people to release your work. For every one thing that works out, it seems like several fall through, and there is a lot of waiting and bother that goes in to that process. Basically I am a control freak, and I like to know what is going on enough for it to be worth the financial risk, I guess.

11. how did you get Jacky Murda on board for the most recent release?

--I was in Liège (Belgium) for a show at the same time as he was, and we met up and I explained the idea behind the label, and he said he might have some stuff that would interest me. He sent me some mp3s, and one of them really struck me as a great track, so it'll be out in February!

12. is there any other artists lined up for future Dead Homies releases?

Possibly...There is a project called "Acid Jungle Warriors from Dimension 303"--kitschy old school jungle (think Criminal Minds or 1994-era Reinforced) with a heavy TB-303 presence that will probably end up on Dead Homies. Other than that, it is too early to name names definitively, but there will definitely be some great surprises in store for 2006.

13. who did the art for both your own and the Dead Homies sites?

John Dretzka. He also did the cover art for "Asect:Dsect" by Richard Devine, and the label sleeves for Low Res Records out of Detroit. He is an old friend, and a fantastic designer.

14. is there any producers you would recomend we keep an eye out for?

0=0 of course. In the ragga scene KGB Kid is doing some great stuff as of late. I'm definitely feeling Limewax, Hive, Shy FX, and Equinox, but I doubt those guys really need my support.

15. what do you have planned for 2006?

Personally, I am finishing my M.A. in American Studies at University of Amsterdam, and moving on to a PhD program, probably in the US (if anywhere accepts me, that is). As for music projects, there might be a Murderbot CD/LP in 2006, co-released between Dead Homies and Mashit, as well as the aforementioned 303 record, some other producers on Dead Homies, a "Fi You" VIP Remix, and who knows what else!