Ed Rush

Jungle producer Ed Rush's name has become almost synonymous with the word "dark." With a steady string of 12" releases dragging drum'n'bass to hell and back, forcing taut, kettle-sized snare snaps through ringing rides and thunderous, super-dense basslines, Rush, together with frequent collaborator <a href="spotify:artist:5Xlz84rhSNhlWzfAtVBJr1">Nico Sykes</a>, has been almost singularly responsible for jungle's eventual (re)turn to the darkside. Recording most often for <a href="spotify:artist:5Xlz84rhSNhlWzfAtVBJr1">Nico</a>-related labels <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22No+U-Turn%22">No U-Turn</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Nu+Black%22">Nu Black</a>, Rush has also more recently begun to cast his net farther out, bringing his brooding, dank-heavy brand of nightmare drum'n'bass to such labels as Prototype and Metalheadz. First introduced to jungle through late-period hardcore (tracks such as 2 Bad Mice's "Bombscare" and <a href="spotify:artist:1cuov4jcw3lXOvCANG7Kg4">Doc Scott's</a> "Here Come the Drums"), Rush began producing after hooking <a href="spotify:artist:5Xlz84rhSNhlWzfAtVBJr1">Nico</a> (a for-hire producer who lived on Rush's block) on the sound. The pair released a few forgettable tracks before buckling down and working on putting together a new sound. <a href="spotify:artist:5Xlz84rhSNhlWzfAtVBJr1">Nico</a> formed <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22No+U-Turn%22">No U-Turn</a> in 1993 as a vehicle for that sound, and the pair's first proper Ed Rush 12", "Bloodclot Artattack," was released that same year.

Although he'd already been making tracks for a couple years, Rush's reputation began to grow in the wake of the 1996 backlash against the smooth, rolling atmospherics of ambient and heavily jazz-oriented jungle (<a href="spotify:artist:5Wfn5sc1w3DhMTpU7oPJZL">Bukem</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:74AkwPErO7y6jYZwR7ggJA">Alex Reece</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:08mYbmfToa6QYre5uNZYJR">Wax Doctor</a>, PFM, etc.). With several tracks on the genre-coining compilation Techsteppin' (released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Emotif%22">Emotif</a>), and with darkness once again coming to the forefront among the DJs, Rush tracks such as "Guncheck," "Bloodclot Artattack," "Subway" (recorded with <a href="spotify:artist:05H1pstZ1Lu9ucH1Xg49aZ">Dom</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:05H1pstZ1Lu9ucH1Xg49aZ">Dom & Roland</a>), and "Check Me Out" began showing up in more and more (and more and more influential) DJ sets. Releases on Speed/Blue Note DJ <a href="spotify:artist:65g8RO3JqCUTigI7YR3dAw">Grooverider's</a> Prototype label ("Kilimanjaro"), as well as 12"s for Metalheadz ("Skylab") and <a href="spotify:artist:5Xlz84rhSNhlWzfAtVBJr1">Nico's</a> <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22No+U-Turn%22">No U-Turn</a> offshoot, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Nu+Black%22">Nu Black</a> ("Mad Different Methods," "Amtrak") further cemented Rush's rep at the forefront of a new style. Although he remains a free agent, demand for Rush tracks (as well as remixes) means he's been playing the field, releasing increasing quantities of material on a number of labels, both large and small. And while the over-the-top rumble of darkside techstep is bound to wane in popularity, Rush's most recent work has proven he's not reliant on the novelty of that sound. ~ Sean Cooper, Rovi