Concord Dawn - Drum n Bass Jedi Knights

Like intergalactic adventurers, Concord Dawn has blazed a trail through the drum n bass universe, catalysing the international DnB explosion of recent years. Although the genre originated from the United Kingdom and was once entirely dominated by UK artists, drum n bass has expanded its horizons. Now, UK drum n bass labels are as likely to release tunes by their compatriots as they are to pick up music made by producers from the Americas, Australia or Eastern Europe. Part of the credit must go to the Internet, which has been instrumental in spreading the music further. Here in South-East Asia, cities like Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta can claim a small but loyal following.

While New Zealand's Concord Dawn weren't by any means the first international drum n bass act to sign to a major UK label, they certainly generated an interest in DnB produced outside the UK. One beneficiary was Pendulum, an Australian trio who came out of the blue in 2003 to release what eventually became (respected DnB rag) Knowledge magazine's 'single of the year'. Along with international acts like Brazil's Marky and the USA's Hive, these international acts have shown that they are as good as anything coming out of the UK, casting the spotlight on a new wave of geographically-diverse producers. In fact, the past year has seen some of the best drum n bass come from outside the British Isles, with the internationals' fresh musical ideas upstaging their more established UK counterparts.

Concord Dawn is surely the hottest ticket in drum n bass circles currently, with a highly anticipated new album, Uprising, due for a CD release next month, and vinyl singles coming out in the run-up. 'Relentless' describes Concord Dawn's storming entry to the drum n bass scene when it released the single Morning Light in 2002. It was a searing, hard-stepping anthem played by virtually every drum n bass DJ in the world and marked the beginning of a barrage of dancefloor smashers on various major DnB labels. In the months since then, they've kept a grueling tour schedule (playing Singapore twice during that period) and collaborated with some of drum n bass' brightest talents, like D.Kay and Bulletproof. As a result, Concord Dawn has placed New Zealand - and international drum n bass - firmly on the map.

For Matthew Harvey and Evan Short (AKA Matty C and Kiljoy), the journey to breakbeat stardom began in high-school, when a young Matty was learning the drums and Evan was picking up the guitar. Matty provided beats for various acid jazz and trip-hop groups while Evan was part of a heavy-metal outfit called Day One. But it wasn't until they were reacquainted in audio engineering school that they found a common ground in drum n bass. With an eye on each other's studio gear, they formed Concord Dawn.

Keith had a friendly chat with Matty as he wrapped up his tour in Singapore at Guerilla's Christmas party. Despite making the Singapore stop for free (to make up for a missed date caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak earlier in the year), he had no airs and was completely down to earth. His modest logic was that the long-term payoffs from helping Singapore's developing scene would outweigh any short-term penny-pinching. When asked what he thought of the island-state, he replied, quite seriously, that he'd already decided "to retire" there.

Retirement plans aside, however, the future holds a more immediate new episode in the Concord Dawn epic, with the pair planning a move to Vienna, Austria. According to Matty, this will reduce travel-time to their tour routes and allow them to work more closely with top Austrian producers and close friends, D.Kay and Rawfull. Matty and Evan have surely chosen their company well - D.Kay's reputation as a top-drawer producer was confirmed with a nod from Knowledge magazine as 2003's 'breakthrough producer' of the year.

Despite their skyrocketing status, however, Matty doesn't fail to attribu Tags

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