Dark Soldier drops 2 tracker on Grid Recordings

Grid Recordings welcomes back the jungle OG to the label for his third release. For this release, we see Ray Keith using his Dark Soldier moniker. Ray is one of drum and bass’ most well-known producers and DJs and is regarded as one of the key figures of the early jungle/drum and bass scene.

An early interest for jazz, funk and soul music led him to buy some turntables. He began DJing as a teenager in the 1980s around his native Essex and Suffolk. This was long before he got his break DJing on the London Acid House and rave scene.

He started working as a recording artist and producer for his own style of music and other genres in 1990. One of his early remixes was a bootleg mix of Orbital’s ‘Chime’ in 1990, which was then officially released in 1992.

Then he found his niche with jungle/drum and bass music. He is famed for producing bass-heavy yet soulful tunes and has made classics such as the jungle anthems ‘Terrorist’ and ‘Chopper’ (2 of my absolute favourite tracks ever created!). Ray set up Dread Recordings in 1994 and has produced numerous albums.

I guess with so many different styles and subgenres and a head full of music he wants to get out to the world Ray has had to develop a number of aliases over the years including Dark Soldier.

Fast forward to present times and following up from ‘Shut It Down/Kong’ and ‘Dancing On My Own/Jah Love’, his Dark Soldier alias is brought to the forefront and he brings us these 2 amazing jungle infused rollers.

The A side, ‘Buss Up’ is a belligerent heavy weight. Throwing down sub rattling beats and militant punchy drums. This one will make you feel like you’re ready to go 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.

Our premiere today is the flipside ‘Black Hole’. The hypnotizing, sinister but almost irresistible vocal sample on this one entices you away from the here and now. It’s almost like a siren who lures sailors onto destructive rocks but in this case, you’re lured into a deep, dark ‘Black Hole’…never to be seen again…

Check out ‘Black Hole’ below. It drops on 5th June on Grid Recordings so make sure you grab a copy from here