Cat No: NERVEEP006
Artist: Pyro
Released: October 9th 2009

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

1: “War On Error” – Pyro & 154

2: “Listen Up” – Pyro, CRS & Mundane

3: “Machines” – Pyro & Dubbilan

4: “Facem” – Pyro & Amex

Paul Reset’s notes:

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Pyro release on Nerve (although he picked the tracks for the brilliant New Frontiers EP) and this collaborations project has been a year in the making – but it’s definitely been worth the wait! Defo showing Pyro at the top of game production wise. Showing that the techno dnb thing can be done so well without falling into any of the cliche’s unfortunately associated with the genre. You’ll find no noisy, hard as hell tracks here – only top quality techno dnb with a groove.

I won’t waffle on as the tracks speak for themselves – from the minimal but funk packed “War on Error” through to the flat 4/4 tough as you like groove on “Listen Up” via the downtempo ambience of “Machines” and finishing up on a harder, darker tip with “Facem”.

Pyro explains the concept behind the EP:

This EP is rooted in my fascination for techno and the whole dj tool approach to dj’ing. Most dnb tracks sit somewhere inbetween a song structure and a dj tool but I wanted to take things completely away from the home listener and deep into the heart of the club. So I encourage you to use these in any way you can. Loop them, cut them up, mix them digitally, whatever you can think of do it!

The collaborators on the EP also have their own brilliant material to check out – watch out for 154’s new techno/trance project – Binturong, CRS has just had his first solo release signed to Perkussiv and Dubbilan runs his own audio/visual media company called Juvul. As for Amex, his name will need no introduction for fans of techno dnb and he’s been causing huge waves in the scene for a couple of years now.

Fore more info on Pyro check out his Myspace page.

Cat No: NERVEEP004
Artist: Jean Doe
Released: 2009

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

1: The State of Transition

2: Fibre

3: Nuance

4: Ambitions in A Minor (with Pyro)

Paul Reset’s notes:

Our first release for 2009 and yet another amazing new producer. Jean Doe is another Copenhagen dweller and friends with Pyro and they had been swapping studio tips for a while before working on the track together. Originally – “Ambitions in A Minor” was planned to be part of an EP of collaborations with Pyro but as Jean Doe’s other tracks were so good we decided he deserved his own ep.

The lead track is a bit left of centre, lush soundscapes and atmospherics wrap around a warm sub bass and crisp breaks. “Fibre” and “Nuance” are smooth chunks of rollin dnb with lush housey stabs and crispy clean breaks. For the final track – Jean Doe teams up with Pyro for an epic tranced out number on “Ambitions in A Minor”.

Download this now and fire up your chosen media player for blissful dnb goodness!

For more info on Jean Doe – check his Myspace page.

Cat No: NERVEEP003
Artists: Histibe, Pylon and Soccom, Dan C, Split Concept
Released: 2008

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

1: “Tears of a Machine” – Histibe

2: “Katalyst” – Pylon and Soccom

3: “Nauka Fank” – Dan C

4: “Section 63″ – Split Concept

Paul Reset’s notes:

The techno dnb thing has always been a huge part of both myself and Pyro’s dj sets, but Pyro has been one of the producers and Dj’s at the forefront of the scene and it’s his personal mission to get the style recognised properly, so he took hold of the reigns on this release and here’s his press releease to tell you more.

Press release

At Nerve Recordings, we’re constantly on the look out for new and interesting artists pushing the drum n bass envelope and developing the music further. In the past few years, the techno influenced drum n bass has once again started to take a foothold so our very own Dj Pyro set out to find the most interesting prospects of this part of the scene. Join him, if you will, on his journey to new frontiers…

Pyro tells us more about the artists behind the music:

Histibe – Tears of a Machine

Histibe has been sending me tracks for a while now and early on I decided to keep a close watch on him as he manages to come with fresh new sounds in every track. With ‘Tears of a machine’ he managed to integrate minimal techno elements into drum’n'bass in a way that I’ve never heard before. Its completely fresh sounding with intricate and detailed production. It’s great to see someone not afraid to get deep and funky in a scene saturated with hard tracks.

http://www.myspace.com/histibe

Pylon & Soccom – Katalyst

No two ways about it, this one destroys floors. Pylon & Soccom operate out
of Poland and are part of the highly progressive and talented Mechaplex crew (Yabol, Pylon, Soccom and Switch Technique). They violently grabbed my attention last year in a true “Where the f$!#ck did they come from?!” moment, when they put out their Mechaplex promo mix full of unknown killers. ‘Katalyst’ is a classic representation of what I love about the Mechaplex sound. Aggressive, funky and with strong techno influences, yet still rooted in dancefloor friendly drum’n'bass. It’s also great to see a real ‘unit’ working together and drawing off each other’s strengths.

http://www.myspace.com/pylonpl
http://www.myspace.com/soccompl
http://www.myspace.com/mechaplex

Dan C – Nauka Fank

Ironically, I came across this track after reprimanding Dan on a forum I
moderate. He was nice about it though, so I had a listen to what he had to
offer. Hidden way at the bottom of his myspace player was this gem of a dark spacey neurofunk workout. ‘Nauka Fank’ rolls out very smooth with an impressive balance of grit and depth. It’s a real treat to work in the mix and it also provides a very pleasant home listening experience. I have a serious soft spot for tracks drenched in atmosphere like this one, and they come in short supply these days.

http://www.virb.com/dan_c

Split Concept – Section 63

When techno influences in drum’n'bass started gaining some momentum I was very interested in who would be able to ‘keep it real’ and make the techno sounds their own, and who would just copy the innovators and reach for the stereotypical sounds, like so often seen in this scene. Split Concept definitely belong to the first category, and the reason is probably that they produce hard techno themselves! This becomes evident when listening to ‘Section 63′, a twisted and percussive onslaught with a very authentic sounding 4/4 techno breakdown. It’s all saturated in a genuinely creepy atmosphere, every element working together as one big machine, like good techno should do.

http://www.myspace.com/splitconcept

This concludes my frontier exploration, it’s left me feeling very hopeful about the future. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did putting it together.

Cat No: NERVE022
Artist: Pyro
Released: 2007

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

A: Time is Broken

AA: Resolve (featuring Mundane)

Paul Reset’s notes:

As we approached our 22nd release, we decided was time for us to get some more of Pyro’s own quality beats out there!

“Time is Broken” is a brilliant chunk of dancefloor friendly techy dnb – big angry synth stabs drive the track over a sub bass low enough to trouble badgers. I still play this one out and it always goes down a treat.

For the flip, Pyro teams up with fellow Copenhagen dnb-er Mundane and takes things down a slightly darker avenue. Big doomy bass, evil breaks and eerie synth work are the order of the day here!

Once again – artwork duties were carried out by the guys at Yuva.TV.

Cat No: NERVE019
Artist: Cartridge / Pyro & Jesta feat Techtronix
Released: 2006

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

A: “Edge City” – Cartridge

AA: “Cho” – Pyro & Jesta feat Techtronix

Extra tracks:

AA: “Cho (Malsum rmx)” – Pyro & Jesta feat Techtronix

AA: “Cho (Implex rmx)” – Pyro & Jesta feat Techtronix

Paul Reset’s notes:

I’d been keeping an eye on Cartridge’s beats for a while and this track was my favourite of his. It has a wicked old skool feel to it – nice rolling breaks and big chunky techstep stabs rolled up in a quality package! He’s unfortunately not really writing any more drum n bass these days but has a rather cool band called Lazersnake which I recommend you check out.

And onto “Cho” – well we had the idea of running a wee remix competition online with this one – with the winning mix being featured on the Mp3 release when the 12″ came out. Unfortunately we hit even more stumbling blocks with distribution at this point and we ended up getting quite a bit of grief from people on forums for taking ages to announce the winner of the competition etc and get the release sorted. In the end we chose Malsum’s amazing remix as the winner – with Implex’s a close second and here they are for your listening pleasure!

The original was an epic piece of rolling techy dnb – the kind that Pyro specialises in! The remixes upped the dancefloor factor a little but kept the atmosphere.

Once again – artwork duties were carried out by the guys at Yuva.TV.

Pyro’s Notes:

This was a pretty out there 12 even for Nerve at the time. Cho is an interestting tune,  a lot of people give me lots of credit for it but it was really mostly written by Stuart Jesta.  I just touched it up and possibly made the mixdown worse  haha.  The Cho remix competition was a bit of a nightmare, loosing distro right after we announced the competition! We got some very creative entries though and it all worked out ok in the end.  I remember thinking that Edge City didnt get the attention it deserved. I would’ve liked to see Cartridge spend a bit more time in the dnb scene, there was even talk of a collaboration between me and him at one point.

Cat No: NERVE016X
Artist: Isotone / Pyro
Released: 2005

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download
(Metal Fatigue not available for download – more info below)

“A: “The Tourist” – Isotone

AA: “Metal Fatigue” – Pyro

Paul Reset’s notes:

This was the original plan for Nerve 016 and it even got to the test press stage before unfortunately being pulled. At the time we were having distribution problems and this release was the first casualty.

The test presses sounded great and I was optimistic that this was going to be quite a successful release, and then we had problems securing distribution. So we decided to take a wee break for a few months to try and sort it out. This release unfortunately got shelved.

Isotone has gone on to big things with Loxy and Horizons and he also returned to Nerve for our 23rd release. This track showed his potential, it’s big, loud, dancefloor friendly and proud! Chunky amen and reece bizness is the order of the day here so download it, burn it to CD or sling it in your Serato crate and test it on a system!

Pyro’s “Metal Fatigue” on the flip is on a much darker tip – evil amen mash up with eerie atmosphere and sub bass low enough to trouble yer bowels. This was later released on Leet Recordings side label Intersection so head on over to their site to find out more about how you can get your hands on it.

Once again – artwork duties were carried out by the guys at Yuva.TV.

Cat No: NERVE016
Artist: Noisia / Pyro
Released: 2005

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

“A: “Silicon (Mindscape remix)” – Noisia

AA: “Sea of Change (Pyro & 154 remix)” – Pyro

Paul Reset’s notes:

Hungarian dnb supercollective Mindscape turned in this amazing remix of “Silicon” (originally released on NERVE009) as a swap for Noisia remixing Soulproof’s (another Hungarian dnb supergroup!) track “Untrue” and what a job they did. Stripping back the track a little and adding even more of that alien funk that we love so much!

For the flip – Pyro teamed up with friend 154 for this remix of his “Sea of Change” track (originally released on NERVE008). While keeping the atmosphere and epic vibe of the original, they managed to up the dancefloor factor and add a harder edge.

Once again – artwork duties were carried out by the guys at Yuva.TV.

(oh and again I’ve nicked the artwork from Rolldabeats temporarily until I get my own versions online)

Pyro’s Notes:

The Mindscape remix of Silicon is the kind of track that bores itself straight into the heart of most neurofunk addict.  It was pretty much perfect for the time as Noisia had really solidified their position in the meantime.  Our little remix on the flip was a child of hard labour.  It was basically how i felt the original should’ve ended up (these days I’m not so sure though) and we spent weeks getting it to sound right. Like oldman reset said I’m pleased with how we managed to keep it very atmospheric while still aiming it at the floor.

Cat No: NERVEBP001
Artist: Pyro
Released: 2004

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

A: End of an Era

AA: Levitate

Paul Reset’s notes:

We were slowly growing tired of vinyl distributors lack of faith in releasing anything that wasn’t a big dancefloor smasher or guaranteed hit and discovered the new found freedom of Mp3 only releases. Although obviously the profile was lower on these releases (and for some reason still is in drum n bass, every other electronic music genre has managed to get with the times but drum n bass still seems to put bizarre importance on vinyl) but it gave us the freedom to release what WE wanted to release when WE wanted to release it.

These two tracks are IMO two of Pyro’s finest – they continue the theme started on his “Sea of Change” track and take it up a level. Spacey, futuristic drum n bass with a ridiculously warm bassline you could make toast on. I could go on and on about these tunes but they speak for themselves, so fire them up, sit back and enjoy!

Pyro’s Notes:

My most emotional musical release yet. Both tunes are born from some kind of girl trouble (you know who are you ) but they also happened to be  some of my most popular tracks over the years.  I guess I should turn sappy more! Elhornet of Pendulum fame was nice enough to play “End of an Era” on their Drum’n'bass Arena feature mix and that generated a lot of attention.

Cat No: NERVE011
Artist: Pyro
Released: 2003

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

A: Sentinel

AA: Oblivion Cruises Inc (feat Proxcis)

Paul Reset’s notes:

After Noisia on NERVE009 and Terminal Velocity on NERVE010 we decided it was time to get back to the Nerve roots and get more Pyro material out there.

“Sentinel” opened the release and it’s a moody stepper, with a big bastard of a bassline that smashed up many a dancefloor back in 2003. Proxcis stepped in to lend a hand on the flip for “Oblivion Cruises Inc” and this track still gives me the fear to this day. Sinister synth stabs combine with the tracks low slung sub bass and eerie atmospherics to lend the whole track an unnerving feel. Amazing stuff!

Once again – artwork duties were carried out by the guys at Yuva.TV.

(oh and again I’ve nicked the artwork from Rolldabeats temporarily until I get my own versions online)

Pyro’s Notes:

This 12 was all about the darkness! We did oblivion cruises inc in one day. To this day i think its still the fastest I’ve ever finnished a tune. Funny story about the title: Proxcis is a fellow producer originally into psy and progressive trance. I introduced him to drum’n'bass and he particularly fell in love with tracks with reese basslines (as pioneered in jungle on ‘terrorist’ by dark solider aka ray keith), said the high notes sounded like the horn of a ferry. So we wrote a track about the ferry of doom…. scary stuff!

(this was a white label only release so there is no artwork)

Cat No: NERVE008 – The Ternary Series Part 3
Artist: SKC / Pyro
Released: 2003

Tracklisting – click track title for 320kbps MP3 download

A: “No Way” – SKC

AA: “Sea of Change” – Pyro

Paul Reset’s notes:

This is the third in the Ternary Series – for more info on the series check Part 1.

People still ask me about this 12 and unfortunately I don’t really know of any copies left in existence – but thankfully in today’s Serato/CDJ friendly world you can get the tracks here and spin em to your hearts content!

We were very happy to welcome SKC back onboard – his NERVE002 release still stands out for many as the finest 12 that we ever put out and we were glad to show another side of his production here. At the time he was mostly known for techy rollers and here he delivers a brilliant slice of liquid dnb with a hard edge (liquid with baws I like to call it) – full on funk!

On the flip is the much talked about “Sea of Change” from Pyro. An epic slice of futuristic drum n bass with it’s beautiful atmospheric intro leading to a sub bass you could wash yourself in. He would later go back in on it and remix it alongside 154 but we’ll have more on that later.

So this brought the Ternary Series to an end and we thought to ourselves “what next”….we had to come out with something a bit special to follow these three 12s….