Techno with the crusts left on
Who He?
DJ and producer Simon Saunders. He boasts an alias-packed skip of past releases, most prominently as Smash & Grab. Now he’s working as Underlord and making, and we quote, “techno to scare the knickers off yer granny”. Yikes.
Why Underlord?
Good question. Why indeed would you want to divest poor old nan of her undergarments? A quick squizz on YouTube reveals none other than Laurent Garnier playing the phat-ass acid line and warehouse bass of Underlord’s ‘It’s F’in Rockin’ single at a club in Amsterdam, where the crowd goes seriously nuts. The grin on Garnier’s face says it all. This one is a monster.
‘It’s F’in Rockin’ comes complete with a chunky AA-side of floor-destroying distorted bass aptly titled ‘Beast’, while in the vaults is the overdriven 303 of ‘U Crazy Fu*k’, which had Fatboy Slim reaching for his caps lock button to proclaim, “YEAH, BABY! HURT ME! Haven’t heard anything this chemical for ages”. That right there is what you call praise indeed.
Tell Us More
Saunders was packing his DJ bag for a Bestival gig when, feeling short of massive tunes guaranteed to send a festival crowd into meltdown, he decided to start making his own. Thus was born his label, Exploding Chicken, quickly followed by his new kick-ass techno identity.
The key here is that while Underlord’s cuts are banging, they’re also melodic. Which is why they’re enjoying significant crossover success, with everybody from Carl Cox to Dave Clarke being vocal in their support. Think big rooms. Think festivals. Think terrified grannies.
‘It’s F’in Rockin’ is out on Kaleidosphere
