DJ Kicks: Photek, Out Now

This DJ-Kicks mix marks a new era for Rupert Parkes (aka Photek), who seemed to withdraw from the music scene in 2007. He had long been disillusioned with the constraints of the drum’n’bass scene he helped pioneer. “When I played in clubs, there was never any music I liked either side of my set. I wondered why I was part of this niche when it seemed I was a square peg in a round hole.” When he started releasing music again last year with the Avalanche EP, it had more in common with post dubstep than anything else — bass heavy music that’s hard to categorize — but really it wasn’t like anything else at all. “If dubstep has taught us one thing it’s to let it all go,” says Parkes. “Just let stuff happen and sort it out later.”

This is one for the ages, folks. With four exclusive new Photek tracks, as well as contributions from some of the pillars of the current bass music scene including Pinch, Boddika, Sepalcure & others, this is a mix that people will be listening to for a long time to come. You can hear the track ‘Fountainhead,’ a collaboration w/ Kuru, below.

Parkes is currently working on a new album. It’s going to be a varied affair. “Lots of different styles and sounds,” he says. And he’s starting a monthly club night in his adopted home of Los Angeles. “I want it to have the feel of Metalheadz at the Blue Note in London in 1995. It’s not just a tear out, it’s a creative atmosphere. People can play what they really want to play.”

A bit like his DJ-Kicks mix. Exactly how it should be, in other words.

Photek’s DJ Kicks mix compilation for !K7 records is out now everywhere. Go here to check it out.

sean.