Evil Nine

Evil Nine - Y4K

With the Y4K series established at the forefront of breaks compilations the time is right to bring in breakbeat´s hottest propert - the duo that is Evil Nine.

For those that don´t know, but maybe should, Evil Nine are Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy and they´re at the top of their game; deriving their own musical flavour from multiple influences - hip hop, funk, deep house garage rock and techno amongst them.

Y4K is their first compilation and what an inspired selection of tracks it features - from Freeland, Heel and Toe (Evil Nine Mix), Evil Nine – Pearlshot, False Prophet – Wake Up and Stone Lions – Snow Over Arizona as well as exclusives from Bassbin Twins and False Prophet (PMT), it´s tracklist is as every bit cutting edge as the mix itself. As tough as nails, the album is a rocky, proggy, breaky and housey selection of cleverly chosen tracks laced with organic drums, live guitars and vocals with no shortage of attitude.

Their debut album ´You Can Be Special Too´ was shown much love from the likes of Pete Tong, Zane Lowe, Laurent Garnier, Plump DJs, Eddy TM, Q Magazine, Mixmag… with their unique style and approach to music evident throughout this project… echoing in many ways the feel of the acclaimed artist album. Their punk rock, DIY attitude is stamped all over the enclosed album, as yet again they try to take it one step further, one level up from the norm or perceived. They are all about not playing it safe and here they play with the compilation format for the first time and with great success.

The Y4K series can already boast Hybrid, Soul of Man, Phil K and, most recently, Ali B as contributors to one of the finest and most loved compilation series. Evil Nine keep with the quality and keep with the vibe. Enjoy the journey… - Progressive Sounds

Sometimes being evil is tougher than it sounds. Society has placed rather demanding identifiers on what is, in fact evil and what clearly is not. Evil is a relative term. Some might say that a country's presidential administration and its associated underlings can often be considered "evil" even if the "mandate" depicts otherwise, according to the head of the aforementioned evil administration. Evil Nine is neither nine nor evil, but they get the job done, leaving empty beer cups, overturned tables, and soiled couches in their wake.

On You Can Be Special Too, DJ/producer team Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy clears room for 15 party-accessible tracks, pushing hip hop, house, electronica and comical samples for a rather well-rounded throwdown. Beaufoy and Pardy found a place on Adam Freeland's Marine Parade label shortly after they collaborated as a DJ team, their most noteworthy aspect being that they pull influences from all areas to keep their parties fresh and exciting. Evil Nine's reputation has also been forged in remix territory as names like UNKLE and Ils have been given the Beaufoy/Pardy treatment with solid results. The duo has performed behind the decks on a worldwide basis, including UK hotspots The End (West London) as well as Fabric. Their reach on You Can Be Special Too is just as universal, as the album is a key player in living room parties as well as warehouse raves.

For "Crooked", Brooklyn's Aesop Rock rolls over a spacey, malevolent dance beat, making for a particularly memorable and repeat-worthy opening track. Ace rants about the fading city lights, and their preventing him from "getting down". Sure, the Def Juxer has earned a deservedly golden reputation for mind-boggling, fragmented verse and beginning his career by four-tracking in his apartment, but he's obviously not afraid to get down if properly motivated. Echoing his "I'm gettin' the fuck down tonight" sentiment on El-P's Fantastic Damage incantations, he leads the dance floor hysteria that eventually swallows up Beaufoy's and Pardy's compositions.

Evil Nine's production is four star here, prompting even the haters of pulsing house beats to take notice of Special's energy and dizzying effects. "For Lovers Not Fighters" builds slowly to offensive heights in swirling blips that emanate from each channel, eventually birthing the slick, dreamy "Even the Smells", punctuated only by Fidel Kutstro's all-too-short scratching. In mentioning "offensive", the inclusion of "Pearl Shot" may have warranted such a complaint, but Juice Aleem's attempts at lewdness are just that: laughable misguided attempts. "I'll put it in you" actually made it into his first verse, and suggests that the Red Hot Chili Peppers may have had some profound impact on him as a youth. How refreshing. New Flesh For Old's Toastie Taylor tackles emcee duties and sings a melodic chorus over "Restless", a rock-oriented clubber that nears chaos at its end before spinning into screeching distortion and slamming to an abrasive halt.

"Hired Goons" closes the shenanigans off too quickly with a slightly less fiery, albeit melodic jaunt. The abbreviated synth jabs punch in and out, accompanied by occasional changeups in drum breaks, with rolling psychedelic moments that offer a comedown most fitting of the rest of the efforts here. The new and improved mandate: Evil Nine would make for a respectable party nomination.

— 29 March 2005 - Pop Matters

Album: Evil Nine

(Rated 3/ 5 )

You Can Be Special Too, MARINE PARADE

By Andy Gill

Friday, 8 October 2004

Evil Nine are but two, the studio mix duo of Tom Beaufoy and Pat Hardy, whose work here occupies similar territory to Leftfield, with big, authoritative beats propelling subtly shifting, minimal soundscapes. The formula is best represented by the opening cut, "Crooked", where the looming ambience and rolling bass, studded with brittle cowbell percussion, supports Def Jux rapper Aesop Rock's sneering diatribe on urban dystopia - "We don't like it when the city people get crooked, 'cos if the people are crooked, then we can't get down." Elsewhere, other guest vocalists add to the mix: Juice Aleem's randy rap on "Pearl Shot", Toastie Taylor's sweet reggae vocal on "Restless" and Tomo & Blackitude's low-tolerance-threshold rap over the monotone twang of "Earth", a place with "No mercy if you're innocent/ No Viagra if you're impotent/ No education if you're ignorant". But it's the lock-tight, assertive Evil Nine grooves that stick in the memory: the chunky, majestic "Devil Stuff" offers a more persuasi

Evil Nine are but two, the studio mix duo of Tom Beaufoy and Pat Hardy, whose work here occupies similar territory to Leftfield, with big, authoritative beats propelling subtly shifting, minimal soundscapes. The formula is best represented by the opening cut, "Crooked", where the looming ambience and rolling bass, studded with brittle cowbell percussion, supports Def Jux rapper Aesop Rock's sneering diatribe on urban dystopia - "We don't like it when the city people get crooked, 'cos if the people are crooked, then we can't get down." Elsewhere, other guest vocalists add to the mix: Juice Aleem's randy rap on "Pearl Shot", Toastie Taylor's sweet reggae vocal on "Restless" and Tomo & Blackitude's low-tolerance-threshold rap over the monotone twang of "Earth", a place with "No mercy if you're innocent/ No Viagra if you're impotent/ No education if you're ignorant". But it's the lock-tight, assertive Evil Nine grooves that stick in the memory: the chunky, majestic "Devil Stuff" offers a more persuasive Krautrock impression than anything on the Death in Vegas album, and the urgent soundbites ("We have the power/ We have the resources/ We have the energy/ Let's get together and wreck shit!") lend a Primal Scream flavour to the rolling powerhouse of "We Have the Energy". This year's Plump DJs? - http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-evil-nine-542943.html

The dead walk! And they like breakbeats, who knew?

Evil Nine's sophomore effort They Live! is an unabashed attempt to ride the zombie zeitgeist to the tilt, complete with undead cover art, brooding death-march beats and even some samples lifted straight from zombie films themselves. It would be sad and pathetic pandering if it wasn't so good.

The Brighton-based duo's 2004 debut, You Can Be Special Too, was good, but lacked anything unique or, ironically enough, special. They Live! finds Evil Nine coming into their own, finding their niche by combining ‘80s-style electro, creepy sound effects and the occasional vocoded vocal.

The brain-eating motif starts off strong with the opener "Feed on You," with eerie synths accompanying a marching beat, giving the listener the mental picture of undead hordes shambling out of a cemetery over the opening credits to the best zombie movie that was never made. It sets the mood of the entire album to a tee.

The whole album is cinematic, and sometimes references not only the horror/zombie genre but even specific films. The title track could have come straight out of the John Carpenter movie it shares a name with, with its simplistic synthesizer melodies nailing the sound of many a Carpenter score from the ‘80s. Put over an equally ‘80s vocoder robo-voice proclaiming over and over again that "They walk, they lie, they love, they live! / They wake, they fall, they cry, they live! / They fight, they fail, they die, they live," it's hypnotic and makes you yearn for Roddy Piper, kicking ass (since he's all out of bubblegum).

The John Carpenter odes continue through the short, creepy "Ngempa Guzom" and into "How Do We Stop the Normals?" which takes that 8-bit keyboard sound and shoves it into a building house track that'll make the zombies get on their feet Thriller style. Snake Plissken and the rest of the guys from "Escape from New York" are alive in this one, and they're in a new wave dance club. It's one of the only pure "dance" tracks on They Live! and it works well.

On "Dead Man Coming," the duo finally stop ripping off the music from their favorite horror films and just start sampling them, taking the iconic score from the Italian splatter epic "Zombi" and using it as the backbone to a great rap by dancehall MC Toastie Taylor. It's amazing how well the music of the low-budget Italian horror films works as electro.

Even with all this pillaging of zombie films and horror culture, not all of They Live! references the walking dead and their lust for human brains. El-P drops in for one of these numbers, the bass-heavy "All the Cash," and while it sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the brooding, creepy songs that surround it, there's no doubt that it's a powerful song, or that El-P contributes one hell of a killer rap. Other times the excursions into non-zombie territory are less successful, such as the New Age keyboard crazy "Born Again" or the way too pop-friendly "The Wait" which features annoying vocals by David Autokratz.

But for most of They Live! Evil Nine stick to their guns and embrace their love of flesh-eating ghouls, and the zombie apocalypse has never sounded so good. Horror themes are typically relegated to death metal in music, so it's cool to see artists from another genre tackle it. Fangoria readers who go clubbing should eat this up like zombies eating brains. - http://www.bullz-eye.com/cdreviews/eldred/evil_nine-they_live.htm#

Following on from their second album 'They Live!' zombie and horror movie-influenced breakbeat outfit Evil Nine release this three track 'The Power' EP.

Standout and title track 'The Power' is one of those rare heavy trance tracks that has such a maddeningly addictive bit of synth-work, that you can imagine it successfully making the transition from club-bothering hit, to mainstream radio.

The killer electro hook is a deeply reverberating, bass synth that buzzes back and forth like a chainsaw across 'The Power's snappy electro beats. For some inexplicable reason, you won't be able to get enough of that synth.

Towards the end, Evil Nine shamelessly embrace their cheesy horror movie shtick, with ghoulishly echoing keys that pick out the same rhythm as its major electro hook. Evil Nine seem to be onto a winner with their zombie and B-movie vibe, as it gives their pounding, vocal-free electro the character that this sort of music is usually lacking.

And the creepy vibe continues, with frustrating second track 'The Night.' It boasts a hook to rival 'The Power,' in the form of an organ-esque sound effect that'll put you in mind of oldschool horror movie soundtracks. It's both addictive, and in keeping with the Evil Nine image. However, they don't loop this effect half as much as they should. They even abandon it completely during the second half, which leaves 'The Night' to wander through random, sub-standard electro passages, before drawing to an apologetic close.

Even during the first half, Evil Nine insist on burying it beneath layers of obscuring beeps, whistles and squeals. It's only on the rare occasions where they drop all the unnecessary electro faffing, that 'The Power' becomes a furiously focused, driving trance track. A decent song with moments of brilliance, but ultimately 'The Night' will leave you frustrated.

Final track 'The Heat' is more about the atmospherics than the beat, with an opening half drenched in chiming synths that harps back to the Exorcist soundtrack. The obligatory crunchy electro beat has an unusual industrial slant to it, which also helps 'The Heat' to stand out from the other two, more beat-driven tracks.

But, 'The Heat' isn't just about giving you the shivers. Following the midway point, it all becomes decidedly sinister, with the introduction of a suffocating bass groove. It may lack the pummelling beats of the other two tracks, but 'The Heat' is ghoulish, atmosphere-focused electro, and further evidence that Evil Nine are committed to carving out their own niche.

Not all dance music can successfully make the transition from club dancefloors to personal CD players, but 'The Power' in particular is one of the rare, mind-numbingly repetitive dance tracks you just might get the urge to play at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon. But, what's really endearing about Evil Nine, is the character they manage to squeeze into those looped electro beats and sound effects, something that's often sadly missing from the genre. - http://www.leedsmusicscene.net/article/10876/

Artist: Evil9

Album: They Live!

Rating: 9.5/10

Similar Artists: Adam Freeland, UNKLE, Alex Metric, Bassbin Twins, James Lavelle, Hyper, AutoKratz, Soulwax, Daft Punk, EL-P, Juice Aleem, Beans, Toastie Taylor, Mr.Oizo, Cagedbaby, Juice Aleem, TV on The Radio, Bloc Party, Serge Santiago, SebAstian.

Genre: Breaks, rock, electro, electronica, hip-hop, zombie dancefloor clash.

Link: http://www.myspace.com/evilnine

I was lucky enough to get a promo copy from the nice folks at beatbroker before They Live! was released online @ marineparade today. I’m so glad I did because I’ve been pulling my hair out for months waiting for a new release after hearing unreleased mixes on the international DJ circuit. After the massive debut album, ‘You can be special too’, you’d expect somewhat of a worthy successor from these Brighton boys who’ve been very quiet for the past few years - and its here.. in 3 words… Zombie. Electro. Breaks

Zombies and Breakbeats are my two favourite things. Combining the two things, to me, is absolute genius. Finally someone is having fun with music with a bit of depth and concept intertwined to make something original and outstanding.

While many of the prominent figures in electronic music right now are focusing on mashup and fidget sounds, Evil9 have come back with a total disregard for genre rules. Melting together rock, breaks, electro and hip-hop with a dark and dirty arsenal of 80’s horror synths, filthy, dark and brooding bass lines, droning vocals, vocoders and some surprising collaborations.

The dance floor stomper single ‘They Live!’ has been turning heads for a while but the rest of the album just gets better with collaborations by Autokratz, Emily Breeze and once again with Toastie Taylor. It would be hard to find any one single track on here with no appeal to someone. Normally I have a beef with at least one track on an album but They Live! fills the gaps with mind bending noise and appropriately themed sound scapes. Without trying to sugar coat it, because I normally never like an album start to finish, I can’t find very much to fault with this one.

And by the way, did I mention the awesome cover artwork by Dan Mumford? - http://www.wemakestuffgood.com/2008/10/23/review-evil-nine-they-live/

Dark, heavy, and calculated. DJ duo Evil Nine go all in for their second zombie-inspired mosaic, They Live!. Pounding electro drums, ravenous punk basslines, and horror-movie synths—a sonic elixir as enticing as the music it celebrates. Sure, the Daft Punk comparison is easy (and borderline insulting)—a DJ duo crafting unpredictable break beats is a familiar, beloved narrative—but it’s also easy to overlook Evil Nine’s multidimensional approach. Listen close and you hear early Prince, 80’s rock, Suicide and Black Flag, and even a little TV On The Radio. The peculiar electro-metal duo creates an unstoppable soundtrack for the New Year. A soundbed of pleasure and pain. Daft Punk did it first. But Evil Nine do it better. - http://www.urb.com/reviews/cd/feature.php?ReviewId=984

A blissful night of electronic mayhem
March 31, 2009, 11:48 AM
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Last week was a horrendous week, crazily busy, manic even, but come Thursday it was all to get better, infinitely better. This was because today was the day the guys, or should I say Farmers, down at AudioFarm brought Evil Nine to Manchester or more precisely to Moho Live. Many of you will probably be aware of Moho Live for its tremendous Indie Nights: Aftershow and Propaganda, however, there is a new kid on the bloc, well, a new night anyway… so step aside Sankey’s because AudioFarm is here to round you up and take you to the abattoir!

AudioFarm was started by a group of bright, enthusiastic, talented lads who decided that Manchester needed more Breaks (Breakbeat for those not in the know), Techno, House, Electro, DnB and Dubstep and rightly so.

Not content with simply relying on their own superb DJing talents (believe me they’re good and can rip off the roof, off the back of their DJ talents alone) they decided to embark on a monumental task of booking and bringing ‘superstar DJ’s (to quote The Chemical Brothers) to Manchester. Now this is a monumental task because usually when you start a club night, a new club night at that, big DJs need to be ‘tempted’ to play your night, believe me this can be no easy task. However, somehow the AudioFarmers must have a way with words to great effect because even by their third monthly event in March, they have had the likes of Jon Carter, and Hybrid - Jan ’09, then who could they possibly get to top this line up in Feb? Maybe a Manchester electronic legend, who only created one of, if not THE best (in my opinion Voodoo Ray is the best) dance record of all time; A Guy Called Gerald, and yes this was on their second event in Feb! Not only did they have A Guy Called Gerald but they kept the Manchester theme running with neo-local hero Greg Wilson.

AudioFarm then followed this by inviting Evil Nine (note I said ‘invite’) down to their March event to not only play a DJ set which Evil Nine did to a very large welcoming crowd but just to keep us on their toes, they asked Evil Nine to play a live set and boy did they blow everyone away. I’ve not quite bettered the moment when I witnessed Evil Nine play a breaks set at The Paradise Factory (Manchester) where they dropped the original song (no remix) of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ this was pure genius and I have been a devoted Evil Nine follower ever since, so the fact that the AudioFarmers managed to get Evil Nine to play a live set AND a DJ set in the same night was truly remarkable, this goes to show 1. How important this night is! And 2. How well the promoters (I call them the AudioFarmers) are doing, running their night. They deserve all the support and success they get!

Well, how do you better Jon Carter, Hybrid, A Guy Called Gerald and Evil Nine I hear you ask??? How about Derrick May?!! None other then the Dance/Techno god-legend-pioneer himself, I mean Jesus guys (whoops! sorry *must* not blaspheme) how do you manage this?!!! This night is sure to be the best so far, well, is it? I mean with the slammingly incredible, words can-not-describe how good it’s been so far line ups, this is just almost taking the ‘piddle’ out of fantastic! Think of AudioFarm as clubbers bliss!

Derrick May will be playing AudioFarm on the 9th April held at Moho Live. Doors open at 9pm ‘till late (about 3pm). If that’s not enough there is an after show party which starts at 4am and held at Club Alter Ego and then, who knows, maybe you’ll be lucky enough to be invited to a very special party later on…

Seriously though this is one hell of a brilliant club night, mark all future AudioFarm events in your diary, book off the Friday and have yourself an amazing time and a long weekend!!

Not only are the AudioFarmers content with staging hugely great club nights, they also have a heart too and have teamed up with Oxfam. Their objective is to increase Oxfam’s profile and awareness - and therefore donations - at festivals by creating a farm of electronic fun where you can barn-dance the night away.

Additionally, they also bring the festival spirit to Moho Live by recreating an Oxfam store, where they sell farm wear, retro clothing and even some designer bargains, with all profits going to Oxfam. Bring your pocket money! Check out Oxfam GB - working towards an end to poverty worldwide for more info.

Those of you who used to attend Tribal Sessions will remember the great crowd, it was almost a clubbing family; close, friendly and up for it. Well, that vanished a while ago, but it is now back! It’s back at AudioFarm! Come along, you’ll have a truly excellent time!

AudioFarm can be found monthly at Moho Live check Audio Farm for more details and to find out the monu’mental’ line ups on their way!!

Moho Live, the home of AudioFarm is located at: Moho Live, Tib Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 1LN (it’s behind the in - http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/106520-evil-nine-live-at-audiofarm.html

Evil Nine

Elysium, Wednesday, March 16

British breakbeat jugglers Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy of Evil Nine instilled a party atmosphere upon Elysium that harkened back to the Hip Hop City events that once invigorated the dark Red River venue. Manning turntables and a laptop, the Brighton duo layered rolling drum cadences with booming basslines and ambient fuzz as ragga MCs Toastie and Juicy encouraged onlookers to liven up. "When it drops I want everybody to move" became an eagerly answered call as the frenetic pace onstage caught on about the dance floor. Featuring tracks from their 2004 debut, You Can Be Special Too, E9 supplemented their current Aesop Rock-emblazoned single "Crooked" with spontaneous energy that made the Yankee rapper's absence a mere afterthought. Peaking with Toastie's sizzling rendition of "Restless," plasmatic loops met techno euphoria within precisely syncopated surges of double-timed rhythm. The positive vibes were abundant as Juicy freestyled his way "towards the sun" with an electric yet ever-squinty smile. With Tom and Pat seemingly having too much fun behind their equipment, Austin got a good dose of what English raves might feel like for kids hopped up on unbridled enthusiasm. Loosely affiliated with DJ Adam Freeland, E9's infectious blend of hip-hop, deep house, reggae, and kraut-rock is a formula well worth the grinding grill. Moving beyond police-state paranoia and racial hang-ups that limit the American scene, Evil Nine proved that petty inhibitions are the only thing standing in the way of a good time.
- http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A263198

EP Review

Futuristic electro possessing a fuzzily brazen alternative kick grabs you immediately when 'The Power', takes hold and Evil Nine unleash a swirling instrumental grind. Through which they will surely induce a mixture of spasmodic robotics and the odd spontaneous combustion. It's the darkly chilling moments that provides a real edge, mimicking the kind of sound and impact that's often so often used to build up to a chainsaw wielder's entrance into a church in low budget horrors.

Slowly booming, hypnotic percussion loops lay a foundation for the Pendulum skirting, Drum N' Bass old skool vibe reviving, 'The Night'. Before the track veers off in a funky disco direction keeping energy to the fore. This Brighton formed duo of Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy, blends together 80s dance/disco sounds with brazen backbeats, concocting a rhythmic broth of lively and spirited electro. Bounding out of a Drum N' Bass box like a stripper leaping out of a cake.

'The Heat', is the least varied offering of the three, but its digital tinkering shows that they still possess the ability to dabble in the off-kilter, nodding and winking at Mogwai. Evil Nine, with this trio of bold and ranging tracks demonstrates broadness in appeal and will surely enhance their reputation for energy, diversity and oodles of rhythm.
David Adair
Gigs - http://www.allgigs.co.uk/view/review/3936/Evil_Nine_The_Power_Ep_Review.html