For many a drum and bass enthusiast, the utterance of the name Total Science is enough to rattle zipped up loops of elation though the brain. The duo’s identity has become synonymous with demi-god in certain circles and rightly so, having spawned an untouchable amount of melodious gems for a who’s who of bass labels.
Jason Greenhalgh and Paul Smith have been around since the early days, measuring both hip-hop and jungle as major influences for the sound that they’ve moulded over two decades and mentioning highly names as musical compasses: “During the ’90s, Photek always had the wow factor musically and technically. Our favourite DJs were quite simply Grooverider and Fabio. Their styles pretty much shaped are early careers,” explains the tandem together. C.I.A (Computer Integrated Audio) came about in ’97 to quell a need for personal identity and the imprint has since rubbed shoulders with other illustrious beings as S.P.Y, Digital, Spirit and Calibre to name but a few.
They’ve always stayed true to the sound that spawned them as Paul defends: “I just find music on a whole to be a lot more disposable these days. It’s all about the first thirty-two bars where it was all about the whole track back in the ’90s.”No complaints here. The duo’s discography floods the nostalgia banks in a way that only the thrills of drum and bass can elicit.
Total Science Essentials:
‘PIANO FUNK’ (TOOLROOM RECORDS)
‘ASK NOT/TIMES UP’ (C.I.A)
‘FAR AWAY (TOTAL SCIENCE
REMIX)’ (MARS RECORDINGS