(release notes from Scorn – Gravel Bed 12″ – tribute to Bracket RIP 2009)
“I originally met Ben (Bracket) via the No-Future messageboard some years ago, and later he walked up to me at a rave down in Brixton. His jovial, enthusiastic, chatty and genuine nature was instantly endearing.
Our label (Combat) was on the lookout for guest mixes for it’s radio show at the time, and 2 weeks later, a nondescript mix CD appeared out of the blue. Simply titled Bracket, it blended dubstep, grime, dirty breakage and electro together like it was the most natural thing ever, expertly mixed with the ï¬ erce energy of a hardened old-skool junglist, and was nothing short of awesome. He quickly became part of the label’s clan and a radio resident. Ben had been living mostly in Aylesbury, coming up to London for legendary long weekends that saw him still wandering around looking for the next party on a Monday morning. He’d been thinking of living in London for a while, and moved in 2007 when there wa ssuddenly a spare room going in our house, and quickly became part of the family at Belfast Road including Subeena, Helena, Clem and myself (Stormfield). He turned out to be the perfect flatmate: sensible enough to hold a decent job but musical and crazy enough to be constantly DJing/producing/partying as soon as he stepped out of the office.
As time went on, his music-making skills kept getting better, and tracks soon found releases via Dead Letter Drop, Coin Operated, Bankai Audio, Consume and Combat Recordings. Ben was especially chuffed when Scorn said he’d loved the remix of Gravel Bed. Mary Anne Hobbs played it as the intro to the Scorn vs King Cannibal special on Radio 1 in March 2008, and again in Ben’s honour this year. He was on a real roll throughout 2006-2008 with a constant stream that saw him grace DJ booths at clubs and festivals from London to Malta.
On 25th April, 3 weeks after he passed away, “Brackout”, a tribute party was held in the sweaty basement of an old bank in London with an ultra-heavy soundsystem. A huge number of DJs and producers from various crews turned up to play in his honour, the sets and headcounts reflecting the sheer diversity of music he loved and the number of friends he’d made over the years.
Appears on:
Scorn – Gravel Bed (Bracket remix 01)
Scorn – Gravel Bed (Bracket remix 02)
Stormfield – Dysorient (Bracket remix)
Point B – Creepy SteepleScorn (Bracket remix)
