I got hit with a crazy nostalgia bomb today. YouTube's algorithm finally did something right and recommended a ShockOne track out of nowhere.
It took me right back to when I was obsessively following artists like Skrillex and Savant. I can still picture myself on that bus after my first day at the new job, dreading the ridiculous hour-long commute with two transfers ahead of me. Those evening rides became my musical discovery sessions as I frantically downloaded songs to make the journey bearable.
That's when I fell down the drum and bass rabbit hole. I was practically living off whatever UKF posted on YouTube. And then I found it - ShockOne's remix of Netsky's "I Refuse." The original was already an incredible liquid DnB song that sampled the Ain't Too Proud to Beg by Temptations -- but ShockOne's version? Those heavy drums completely floored me.
Before that, only groups like Pendulum2 were hitting with that kind of intensity. But ShockOne - this solo producer - just mastered it in that remix1. Around then I also discovered Noisia, but there was something about ShockOne's take that really grabbed me. And man, I’m such a big fan of his Universus album. That record had a cinematic quality that set it apart -- it wasn’t just heavy, it was emotional and cohesive.
Listening to it again today, I was instantly back on those bus rides, playing it on repeat and obsessing over how he created those sounds. How did he sample that snare drum? What processing gave the kick that piercing depth? The dynamics were just on another level compared to anything I understood at the time. For me, he was really setting the standard for drum processing.
Just had to share after that unexpected blast from the past today.