Adam Freeland - Late Night Deepness

Since I'm on a roll with my trip down memory lane, I would be remiss if I didn't mention my absolute reverence for Adam Freeland and everything he did (and is doing) with Marine Parade Records. I was visiting Washington DC back in 1996 when I came across the "Adam Freeland Presents Coastal Breaks Vol. 1" compilation in the imports rack at Music Now Records on M Street (which is probably a Starbucks now). I recognized a few of the artists as really notable underground breaks producers of the moment (Bassbin Twins, Uberzone, Jedi Knights, DJ Icey) and thought "Damn, this 2xCD might actually be worth the insane import price (I think it was like $44 American dollars, which is a lot of money to a techno-obsessed broke college student). Truth be told, I think I actually convinced one of my buddies who DID have some extra scratch to buy it, and I taped it off of him (Mikey C?).

Needless to say, it was money well spent. It was like a time capsule of the hottest funky breaks of the time. Adam parlayed the exposure he received with this comp and started Marine Parade Records in 1998, and released "Coastal Breaks II" on React Records. With tracks by Kevin Beber, Ils, Tipper, Deejay Punkroc, Bushwacka, and the Freestylers, this comp pretty much started the "nu school breaks" genre, and I think a lot of the tracks still sound fresh today (seriously, listen to the programming and bass on tracks like High Prime's "Funky As..." or 9 Nickel's "Capricorn" and tell me they don't sound fresh!).

Adam Freeland is one of those producers whose work I will buy sight unseen just on the strength of his back catalogue. Check his Discogs page, he's put out a LOT of stuff since the heady days of 1998, all of it good. He recently linked up with URB.com to put together a mix of deeper, late night grooves (as opposed to the feedback-heavy tech-funk sound he usually pushes). You can download it here. It's smooth, it's melodic, and according to Adam's twitter feed, it's his favorite mix in a long time, so there you go. Check it out, and DEFINITELY pick up either Coastal Breaks compilations if you ever get a chance...