Phoneline / Fairplay
“Fairplay”/“Phoneline” is the first single from the eagerly anticipated new Zed Bias album, ‘Biasoinic Hotsauce – Birth Of The Nanocloud’, which sees the UK club maestro making his comeback in epic style
Recent praise for Zed Bias…
“LOVING that” – ANNIE MAC (BBC R1)
“This Summer’s carnival anthem” – GUARDIAN GUIDE
“An inspiration” – SKREAM
“His productions take up most of my record box” – BENJI B (BBC R1)
“A total legend in the UK music scene” – RAS KWAME (BBC R1)
“He paved the way for what the whole world now calls dubstep…Sublime” – XLR8R
“Glorious bass… cosmopolitan, reverential and not a little dapper” – CLASH
“One of UK music’s modern greats” – FACT
This double A-side digital single release – featuring Jenna G and Rosco Trim, respectively, on vocals – is out on 29th August, followed by the album in September.
“Fairplay” is, of course, a cover of the Soul II Soul classic, and Zed Bias brings an upbeat, swingy and singalong quality to his version of the ever soulful original (which remains one of his all-time favourite songs) with Jenna G (Shapeshifters, Chase & Status) smashing the vocal out of the park in characteristically uplifting style. Inspired by the vibe of school discos, this new Zed Bias version is a certified party tune; rebuilding the classic for a modern-day dancefloor, it has already been played by BBC Radio 1 DJs including Annie Mac, Benji B and Gilles Peterson.
“Phoneline” is a huge tune that perfectly encapsulates the sound of now, jacking soulful house with a UK funky edge; it can be played in virtually any club and it always provokes a great reaction. To get the “alien” sound you can hear in the track, Zed Bias ran the vocal of MC Rosco Trim (also known as Bic MC from Dawn Raid) through a pitch-shifter. The Maddslinky Remix remix takes it into deeper territory.
The most recent release from the Zed Bias cannon is “Dancing”, the collaboration with UK soul legend Omar which has been on heavy rotation on the BBC 1Xtra Playlist, not to mention gaining repeated support from Annie Mac, Mista Jam, Benji B, Gilles Peterson, Trevor Nelson, Pete Tong and more on BBC Radio 1; and across Choice, Kiss FM and other stations. The video has had 100,000+ YouTube hits, as well as playlisting on MTV and other youth and music networks.
Manchester-based Dave Jones (the man behind the Zed Bias and Maddslinky names, among others) is a prolific, versatile and acutely talented producer for whom the ‘all killer, no filler’ approach is the only one worth getting out of bed for; every track on the album, ‘Biasonic Hotsauce – Birth Of The Nanocloud’, is a bona fide gem in its own right. The LP, out on 26th September, distils and reworks a wide spectrum of club styles from house to R’n’B to dubstep to the UK Bass/Funky sound. As usual, the big-name collaborators are out in force, including Skream (Magnetic Man), Toddla T (Ninja Tune), MdCL, Mark Pritchard (Warp), Falty DL, Sam Frank and more; you’ll also find on the LP a new ‘Biasonic Version’ of 2000’s UK Garage anthem “Neighbourhood” feat. MC Rumpus and Nicky Prince – the track that saw Zed Bias storm the UK official singles charts on its original release, and was re-issued with a Roska remix in 2009 that redefined its importance to a new generation of clubbers.
Last year saw high acclaim for Jones’ deeper, dubstep-influencing Maddslinky alter ego with the ‘Make A Change’ album (including big singles featuring Omar, and Warners signing Tawiah – who was recently featured in a BBC documentary) and this next phase marks an emphatic comeback for the more club-oriented, chart-bothering Zed Bias moniker.
The single and album feature bespoke artwork by Boo Cook, of Judge Dredd/2000AD/Marvel Comics fame.
