MySpace a place for friends

Click To Download

Ask the average junglist in California about Drum & Bass producers making an impact, and they'll spit out names like Infiltrata, Gridlok, Hive, Technical Itch and Knick of Evol Intent. But there's one name not mentioned that has been making quite the explosive impression as of late... Celerity of Black Reign LTD. Celerity, which means "quickness", could be an ironic twist of how this young musician climbed the ranks to get where he's at today. With a new album, many collaborations and his imprint (Black Reign LTD) thriving, the future looks bright for this rising star.

"Around the age of 13 or 14, I was already a major Trip-Hop, Jungle and instrumental fan", Celerity begins. "Growing up listening to the music coming from skate videos, sneaking into overage Hip-Hop shows and screwing around in Fruity Loops was already part of life, so when I met Dom Sagona (aka Ble3k) when I was 17, it only was natural that I picked up mixing records and began to learn how to program breaks. I remember the first song you might potentially call a 'Drum & Bass' tune with that classic Biggie sample: 'Kick in the door, wavin' the four-four. All you heard was Poppa don't hit me no more!"

As Celerity's programming skills became more technically sound, Sagona had already been out looking for Celerity and another Southern California local, Crossbred, to form a trio that would become known as New Agenda. "We began working on a few tunes, and within a few weeks into the project, we decided it was going to be a solid fit", the Black Reign LTD label boss explains. With Sagona and Celerity on production and Crossbred backing them up as a full-time DJ in the group, things definitely seemed to be headed in the right direction. Or so they thought...

Shortly after the completion of the monstrous "Prayers for Elizabeth", Celerity and Sagona ended up parting ways. Celerity then found a perfect fit with North Carolina Doppler which, in Celerity's opinion, has proven to be one of the most rewarding experiences thus far. "Working with Doppler is a very clear process. One of us will start the track, first arranging and mixing while utilizing our individual techniques and ideas, and then pass it onto the next partner to collaborate into the existing idea. Doing music like this often brings a new and rare sound to your music sometimes", he states.

Celerity also clearly believes in keeping Drum & Bass rolling - "a lot has changed since then, and nowadays I find myself making my music as intelligently as I can while keeping the original Drum & Bass vibe I was taught to appreciate".

Celerity has been seriously busy as of late, both as solo artists and a collaborator with many other up and coming production groups, scoring releases on Ammunition Recordings, Dangerous New Age, Abducted Records and Black Reign LTD, as well as upcoming collaborations with SLO local FTK, Kiro and a couple of other Black Reign LTD artists. But it doesn't stop there. Just released under their Divine Elements moniker, "The Greater Unknown" proves to be their biggest accomplishment to date. Divine Elements is an eight piece live band consisting of producers Concise and Ru, guitarist Bryan Bekion, v-drums master Alex Rossin, beat boxer Kris Jung, turntablist DJ Southpaw, and the freshly added Celerity and Doppler. "We had just randomly got in touch through MySpace as I recall". Celerity remarks. "We continued talking through AIM and just started swinging tracks back and forth, realizing that we had very similar tastes in styles. Concise and Ru had been looking to expand the group, and it just seemed natural for us to join the collective".
But the goals of the group expand far beyond the Drum & Bass realm: "we don't really want to put limits on what we accomplish. I think our interests far exceed just Drum & Bass, so you will be hearing a lot of blending of genres. In "The Greater Unknown", we threw a lot of Hip-Hop into the tunes, which is something DE has always done. Currently, we're working on some breaks and a downtempo album as well. Our intention is to eventually incorporate all of this into one set with visuals, backup vocalists and maybe even some orchestral integration. Our horizons are limitless. We want to provide great music as well as a great stage show. I guess the accomplishments are always in the works. We've had some nice response so far, and we really feel that brought something different to the DnB scene with this one. Luckily, we've had great support from good people like Gridlok, who mastered the album and has offered so much positive artistic and professional feedback. Really though, we've just gotten started. Our goals are big and we're excited to see how the rest of the world responds to the album".
In addition to Celerity's insane production schedule, Max has been very busy with his label, Black Reign LTD, an offshoot of Black Reign Recordings (started by Mike Brown aka LTD Love Token in 2004). But when Black Reign Recordings and 10.9 Audio collided and meshed as one, there was little time for the DJ bag sound Black Reign Recordings was originally known for. Quoted from Black Reign LTD's MySpace page, "hiring Max Manning A.K.A. Celerity, former member of New Agenda, was just the most logical thing to do. Quickly reorganizing the marketing plan and utilizing Black Reign's Affiliations and assets, Max has swept up Black Reign Recordings and birthed a new uprising!"

Max & Mike then founded a LTD collective, featuring some of the most impressive up and coming talent in neurofunk today. "I would say that Black Reign LTD consists of a much more refined sound", Max clarifies. "A sub-label of the mothership usually insists that it's a place for the tunes that didn't quite match the category of the main imprint. This is not the case at Black Reign LTD, as we run and market the label in a completely different direction where Black Reign Recordings can still push to its original, easy-listening experience and also gain the support that's stirred up from the dancefloor side of Drum & Bass that Black Reign LTD covers. I manage to market the tunes as well as I can through tours and events as well as studio mixtapes (which have received some awesome support here on DOA (thank you dogs)!"

Black Reign LTD's latest release, The Dark Forcast EP (featuring Imprintz, Nick Bee, Diode and Nakwan) symbolizes a change in the atmosphere and attitude in the Black Reign Recordings camp. "I was looking for something to set the mood for the label. With the upbeat and intense programming from Imprintz and Nakwan to the original and trancey drive of NickBee's "Oracul". I really felt it wrapped what we were all about here at Black Reign LTD - a blend of dance floor originalism and particular vibes".
The label boss goes on. "'Energizer' (Diode) just fit so well on the EP and had done so well at my previous gigs that we just got it on there right away. For some of the other tunes, I really took my time on making sure that this is the direction in which we wanted to present ourselves. Future releases will be more inclined to stretch some of the map and you will see some colorful blends and hopefully some very original releases".

Upcoming releases include singles by Bionic 1, DBR UK, Synesthesia, Divine Elements, Imprintz & Kloe and Undersound, as well as new comers Sub:Stance - all of which will be on Black Reign's upcoming compilation CD, entitled A Dark Gathering. A debut EP is in the works from the label boss, set to release early next year, and expect to see Divine Elements touring to support "The Greater Unknown".

www.countercontact.com

DJ's that play Celerity & Doppler/Divine Element tunes include:

Gridlok, Skynet, Futurebound, Unknown Error, Identity, Dementia & Rregula, Icarus Audio Project Crew!, Infiltrata, Metrik of Viper Recordings, Concord Dawn, InsideInfo, Mayhem from Shadow Law Recordings, Doppler, Gyromite, Proktah, BHX, Dioptrics, Dmin of Dioptrics and Abducted Recordings, Sagona & Crossbred, Diode, Pariah, DB, Flatlyne, Onset Audio Crew, Morebeat, FUNK MASTERS (Max NRG, Tonika and Derrick FM), Gimpmode, Filcher, DJ Staf and many many more.

.. If you are interested in booking Celerity for a party, event ETC, please contact celeritydrumandbass@yahoo.com, or refer to Black Reign Recordings or the Celerity aim contact system. Thank You!!!

AOL/AIM SCREEN NAME'S INCLUDE: BRR LABEL CONTACT: JUSTMAXMAN

Forward Links:

www.myspace.com/dopplerdnb www.myspace.com/brrecordings

www.myspace.com/point9audio

www.myspace.com/abducted_records

Celerity December Top 10

1. Prolix - Twisted Angel VIP
2. Celerity & FTK - City Below - Black Reign Ltd
3. Divine Elements - The Suffering - Simplify Recordings
4. Dementia & Misha - New Orleans
5. Hadukken - Turn The Lights Out (Spor Remix)
6. Bionic 1 - Helix//Bionic 1 - Takedown - Black Reign Ltd
7. BLE3K - Prophecies - Dangerous New Age
8. Rico & Scoop - Praying In The Shadows - Black Reign Ltd
9. Noisia - Deception//My World - RAM
10.Celerity & Doppler - Assyrian Sands (Maztek Remix) - Ammunition
If anyone would like to contact me(us), about this let us know...

If anyone would like to contact me(us),

about Celerity & Doppler shows, music, signing's. Please contact us on our myspace, or our reverbnation.com account. Thank You.

You can also Drop Box me submissions for the label @

http://soundcloud.com/black-reign-ltd/dropbox

If your feeling the bits on this page please also check out the record labels stuff:

layout by lop