15 Years of Night Slugs with Bok Bok

5 Minute Read

Music

Time flies right? Bok Bok curates a playlist of some of their favourite Night Slugs affiliated cuts.

Night Slugs has been at the forefront of UK underground music culture for fifteen years. Just let that sink in as you recall those early Bass drenched moments in sweaty East London basements way back when. It’s scary to think where all that time has gone but at the same time, without those years we wouldn’t have been introduced to some of the most dynamic, genre defying Electronic sounds that the record label has become synonymous with.

Night Slugs was founded to release music which acted as an intersection between styles and genre. Drawing upon influences from a variety of sources the imprint was pivotal in the evolution of the UK Bass sound which drew upon the roots of Chicago House, Baltimore Club, Detroit Techno, Ballroom, Dubstep, Grime and beyond.

The label was spearheaded by Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990 who have both released prominently on the imprint. Many other musicians were welcomed into the fold including Girl Unit, Lil Silva, Mosca, Jam City, Helix, Kingdom and more.

Now fifteen years on we’ve asked Bok Bok to reflect on some of the music they feel most valuable across the past fifteen years.

Check the new EP HERE.

Topics

Bok bok Night Slugs

LISTEN

2008 - Piddy Py - Giggy Riddim

“Night Slugs really owes its beginnings to the bassline genre. Right as we started the genre was giving us everything that our grime, dubstep & house roots weren’t providing at the time – alien sound design innovations, deranged abstraction and relentless dancing energy, like on this iconic track by Piddy Py.”

2008 - Piddy Py - Giggy Riddim

“Night Slugs really owes its beginnings to the bassline genre. Right as we started the genre was giving us everything that our grime, dubstep & house roots weren’t providing at the time – alien sound design innovations, deranged abstraction and relentless dancing energy, like on this iconic track by Piddy Py.”
2009 - Lil Silva - Funky Flex

“For me “Funky Flex” defines the era when UK Funky became the new Grime in terms of instrumental influence, and this track is truly one for the ages. The influence of seminal Grime crew Macabre Unit runs strong through the synth design on “Funky Flex” but the rolling Soca-like drums Lil Silva’s brought were game-changing. This track changed our lives forever. Probably my proudest dubplate special to date.”
2010 - Girl Unit - IRL (DVA's Hi Emotions Remix)

“2010 marked the year Night Slugs took the leap from party collective to record label, and the OG “IRL” and this crazy 5/4 remix by Scratcha DVA were some of the key productions of that time. For me this one has aged very well and remains a part of my more percussive, house-adjascent sets of late. Those disorientating pitch-bend sawtooths still get big crowd reactions >>>>>”
2011 - Bok Bok - Silo Pass

“I wasn’t planning to release Silo Pass. I made it as an ode to some of my favourite tracks from Geeneus’ Dumpvalve label, and sent it to the NS gang and some other friends. Before I knew it, Sir Spyro was running it in grime sets on Rinse FM. I could tell this one was bigger than me and had to let it go. BTW all the Silo remixes were done voluntarily and many as a bootleg (not commissioned, not from stems)”
2014 - Bok Bok ft Kelela - Melba's Call

“2012 – 2016 were dominated by our collaboration with Kelela and on this track I was lucky enough to get her to feature on my own project. “Melba’s Call” was the key cut from my EP “Your Charizmatic Self”, a record made during a time of great personal tumult. At this point it feels like a bittersweet time capsule and watching the video back, it feels like looking back at an old home, somewhere you grew.”
2016 - Krept & Konan ft Abracadabra - Robbery Remix

“Around this time it felt the pendulum swing again, from the escapism of the clubs back to the roads. UK Drill was starting to emerge as an idea, and this was one of its early flashpoints. You can almost hear the beat working out where the potential for pockets and syncopation is. All that innovation was still to come, but this track, especially Abs’ hook, definitely made a huge mark on London and remains anthemic to this day.”
2017 - Hitmakerchinx - Warning Riddim ft Kat Dahlia

“Around 2015-17 Night Slugs DJ sets were flirting with lower tempos, searching for a new groove around 100bpm, and HMXGOD (previously known as Hitmakerchinx) was our glue. His unique and innovative take on FDM – Flex Dance Music – a fluid and 808-heavy mutation of dancehall he helped pioneer – was key to our ability to blend different genres between 100-120bpm and still keep things club-ready. In 2017 we released his retrospective tape ‘Shades & Monsters: FDM Classics’ , a timelessly great project from which “Warning Riddim” is taken.”
2023 - Bok Bok - Duetto

“2023 is the year I finally figured out all my influences and truly got in my production bag. It took this long but I finally get it. The formation of my other label, AP Life in 2021 really helped me finally separate out things a bit, and lately I’ve been able to focus in on what I truly want to do as Bok Bok. Duetto EP, alongside the ‘Hardbody’ edits I’ve been dropping on Bandcamp lately. is the sound of me getting there.”