IMPORTANT: 1 MORE THING IS ON HIATUS
It is official. We have to confirm that 1 More Thing is totally on hiatus.
Quentin Hiatus that is!!
Apologies if you opened this email in earnest, worried about the future of 1 More Thing. You’ve been duped.
Soz.
Not soz.
While it’s always possible that we may have to press pause at points during these tumumultuous and pretty scary / frustrating times, 1 More Thing as a label is here for life working hard, putting down some SERIOUS DISCOG.
And it doesn’t get more serious than this fella. Quentin Hiatus. If you know, you know. And many of you will know because he’s been consistently slapping down off-the-wall beats for the best part of 15 years. Mainly on his own label Free Love Digi, but other labels have been lucky to feature his transmissions such as Program and, more recently, Spearhead, Goldfat and NOW 1 MORE THING. Woi.
But for those who have yet to be acquainted, I’ve been describing him as ‘the Calibre of footwork’.
Yes. A Calibre comparison. They don’t come much higher.
Q is waaaay more than footwork. Just as Calibre is soooo much more then dnb. There’s a whole cosmos of flavours bubbling under that bonnet. But his prolific nature, unique methods, furious fusion can all be compared to the mighty Dominick Martin. Including how he only DJs his own music.
Music like this…
This is massive. Following Lakeway’s unclassifiable debut album and Fireworks Factory’s scorchio debut release last month, we now present an album-sized trip from the Q-meister.
Royal Notes Mixtape
I still remember the day he sent over the beats.
“So I was thinking about you...I'm sitting on a bunch of music. I wanted your thought on doing a project on your label.”
We’d come off the back of a big summer and I was on the looksee for beats of interest and significance. Lakeway’s album was already on the system, Fawne’s EP too. But this one cooked between us for a while. I didn’t want to rush into it. A few extra tracks came a little later but we pretty much pencilled in summer and went on our merry way.
Really keen ears will have picked up on these beats back in January though. This mix I did for Volks is littered with tunes from Quentin and Lakeway’s albums. All that slow and moody stuff at the start. So slug-like yet stately.
It’s halftime made out of glue. It’s marching music for every space cadet who ever owned a pair of moonboots. It’s led me down a really interesting path as a DJ this year, too. Especially with dub music, which was a sound Scartip and I explored at our 3rd birthday party in Bristol earlier this month.
Everything about the night makes me smile. Especially my arrival in the afternoon as I pull up outside Quentin and his good friend Dehga’s Airdnb. It’s one of those proper sunny days we get every now and again. Lush. Scartip has already arrived and the three of them are chatting away on the front step as if they’d always lived in St Pauls.
Then Lakeway turns up and this iconic pic got pucked…
Scartip, Quentin Hiatus, Lakeway
Three damned talented souls right here. Beautiful ones, too. Just hanging around as if they don’t make some of the most interesting and unusual music in the dnb realm.
They don’t care about trends or what other DJs are playing. They’re all digging deep into other worlds. Scartip’s devouring international sounds and disco (he even mixed a little score music on this killer LWSTD radio mix) Lakeway’s love of grime and valium bangers is well known (and well established in this super woozy mix we did a few months back)
Quentin is on a deep musical journey through every style going right back through the centuries. He’s been vocal about not listening to dnb for years. It’s a topic that comes up mid way through this interview with Annelies at our last BMC session. Watch the whole thing as he guides us through the Royal Notes Mixtape and his journey through Bristol.
A beautiful afternoon was had at BMC as Quentin, Dehga, Airbender, Solstice and I all got busy on the controls over the four hours taking you through the whole spectrum from roots to hard techno via neuro, jungle and pretty much every shade of dnb worth shaking a leg to. We were also joined by DJ Milhouse, representing Dub Squatches , home of Ariadne Sounds, our playlist curator.
These monthlies at BMC are a really cool social situation bringing together different artists and brands. Not a show has gone by when I haven’t made a new connection. I’ve even signed a new artist through it. This is the culture I want 1 More Thing to be part of - community, boosting each other and sharing vibes. Come down and hang. Maybe play.
Warning, though. Sometimes it might get a bit dangerous…
The consumate rulebreaker!!
And while we don’t subscribe to Quentin Hiatus’s USB ejecting policies, we adore his music. Named after his son, Royal Notes Mixtape is a really cool collection of clever, untypical, unusual and refreshing designs.
If you can, please check it out and support it. Or get the USB Casette (these are so dope - our first actual handheld product!!)
We’ll wrap up here. Even though there’s plenty more to tell you… Sonnet’s massive bangers are making waves at huge festivals.
We’ve just announced Bairn’s debut release in late August
There’s plenty more to follow too.
Watch out for our BMC sessions, birthday party sets and Big Love interviews over the coming weeks. They’re the summer soundtracks you both need and totally deserve!
Peace!
NoDave