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Dev Pandya is a certified breakbeat pioneer with a production career spanning 20 years. Having first released back in 1990, he’s since amassed a back catalogue of over 130 singles on leading drum and bass labels including 4 Hero’s Reinforced, LTJ Bukem’s Good Looking, London Elektricity’s Hospital and Goldie’s Metalheadz. He nowadays runs his own imprints as the primary outlet for his tracks, with Paradox Music, Arctic Music, Esoteric and Outsider each having a unique identity and focus.

Producing alone under the names Paradox and Alaska, he also collaborates regularly with the likes of Seba and Nucleus, as well as vocalists including Kirsty Hawkshaw and Robert Manos. His appetite for touring remains as strong as ever and he continues to astound and entertain crowds with his live shows, mixing banter, commentary and chat with breakbeats for a one-off PA.

The musical career of Dev Pandya dates back to 1990 when ‘Mixrace’ was formed with partner DJ Trax. From their first releases on leading hardcore label Moving Shadow, the pair went on to set-up and record for their own labels before Dev’s two alter-ego guise’s emerged in 1996.
Exploding across the scene with a string of 12″ releases on Renegade Hardware, Certificate 18 and Reinforced Records, Alaska/Paradox soon became a name synonymous with abstract atmospherics and intricate breaks. His Alaska alias appeared at the same time yet focused on more ambient productions, releasing on labels such as Good Looking, Renegade, Vibez, 720 Degrees and Nexus.

Pioneering a style that channels the 70’s funk of breakbeats, Alaska has always focused on the raw elements of drum and bass within his music. Appealing to an audience beyond the confines of a club environment, his production credits include work for ESPN, Konami Arcade platforms and Sony Playstation games in the Usa and Japan.

Often choosing to position himself as an outsider, Alaska’s success has never been limited to that of the UK- orientated drum and bass scene. He has collaborated under the Paradox name with some of greatest contemporary musicians the world has to offer, including Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Shobha Gurtu, Toshinori Kondo and Bernie Worrell.

His new album The Mesozic Era which is to be released on May 24th 2010, is the third in a trilogy of solo Alaska lp’s and a follow up to 2006’s successful Arctic Foundations. The stunning packaging boasts Triple Snow-White Vinyl and a Solid-Black Compact Disc, something that hasn’t been manufactured before in drum and bass.

As a bonus, the CD includes more from the infamous Sample Me series – specially edited breakbeat samples for aspiring producers to loop and splice – and shows Alaska’s commitment to the grass roots of the scene, giving something back to the fans and those he’s inspired.

When he’s not in the studio, Alaska is inevitably on tour and continues to entertain crowds with his live shows truly worldwide (having only just returned from Alaska shows in Australia). Armed only with his trusty Amiga, synths and a mic, he performs a truly live PA, reconstructing tracks from his back catalogue and editing beats on the fly. He has performed over 180 live PA’s covering Australia, USA, Asia, Europe and beyond, and continues to venture into unchartered territory to represent his sound.

It’s been 4 years since the Arctic Foundations album and a decade has passed by for the fans of the Virtual Virtuosos LP so It’s about time Alaska delivered the third chapter to complete the ambient-jungle trilogy. May 24th 2010 see’s the release of Alaska’s brand new album The Mesozoic Era.

Alaska has been living in sub-zero temperatures whilst programming the album, and the frostbite’s reflected in every avenue of the LP.

The album features pure ambient-jungle, Sample Me drum patterns for producers to sample, downtempo drum and bass and the debut ambient collaboration of Alaska & Robert Manos plus famous trance siren Kirsty Hawkshaw returns for two numbers on the LP.

Arctic Music has raised the bar to deliver unique formats for analogue and digital lovers alike, with stunning and beautiful Triple Snow-White Vinyl and Solid-Black Compact Disc packages.
Both 12” vinyl and compact disc versions offer material exclusive to each format, and all solid-black disc versions feature extended mix’s taking the album a step further.

The Alaska LP trilogy is finally complete.. Alaska – The Mesozoic Era

AMLP01 / AMLPCD01
(3×12″ Snow white Vinyl / Solid Black CDx1)
Alaska
The Mesozoic Era

01. Nova’s  *
02. Dolorous  *
03. Celsius  *
04. Denali’s Realm  *
05. Sundog
06. Kodiak
07. Sample Me #17
08. Viola  *
09. Amzinai
10. Earthloop

*  Also featured on the 3×12″ white vinyl, bonus track ‘Sundog (-20 Mix)’  will be exclusive to the vinyl version.

http://www.myspace.com/alaskadnb
http://www.paradoxmusic.com

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Dom & Roland has been at the forefront of the Drum and Bass electronic music scene for over 15 years. Originally signed to No-U-Turn he moved to the scene leader Moving Shadow in 1995, he has released four critically acclaimed albums to date, over 100 singles, high profile electronic remixes as well as many collaborations with some of the scene’s most talented artists.

As one of the pioneers of the tech-step genre he is well known for his cinematic otherworldly soundscapes, It has often been suggested that he move into doing film soundtracks as his sound often conveys a strong visual element. Teamed with his sought after talent for producing dancefloor pounding rhythms, he has managed to stay at the pinnacle of the scene to this day.

In 2005 Dom started his own label Dom & Roland Productions releasing the creme de la creme of Drum and Bass collaborations, as well as being an outlet for his own work. An accomplished sound engineer, Dom is well known to have co-produced and mixed some of the classics of the drum and bass scene, including Subway with Ed Rush, Sonar with DJ Trace, appearing as guest producer alongside Optical on Grooveriders seminal Prototype Years album, as well as having enjoyed enormous success with many of his own tracks including the mighty Thunder, Imagination and Can’t Punish Me. The late John Peel a longtime fan, also approached Dom to commission a piece of work although sadly this dream was never realised.

Over the years Dom & Roland releases have been commissioned for several Playstation games and licensed to television in various countries including the BBC and Channel 4 in England. More recently Dom has continued his passion for pushing the boundaries of music technology, contributing from a producer’s standpoint, by being an advisor to various music software companies, including Native Instruments and Focusrite, taking studio tools to the next generation.

In his latest album No Strings Attached, in addition to his latest solo work, Dom has teamed up with the current crop of big name producers to release a 12 track album, featuring collaborations with Amon Tobin of Ninja records, the trendy Dutch super producers Noisia, Violence label owner Hive, Audio, and last but by no means least Rob Playford, Dom’s old label boss, now close friend, also known as the co-producer and engineer of Goldie’s legendary timeless album. Doms latest album is one of his finest works to date and is due for release in late November on all formats.

DRPLP002CD
Dom & Roland
No Strings Attached (CD Format)

01. Mind Feeders
02. Tajitsu (Featuring Noisia)
03. Sylo (Featuring Amon Tobin)
04. Ice Age
05. Mammoth Hunt
06. Jungle Beast
07. 1134 (Featuring Hive)
08. Alternate Worlds (Featuring Rob Playford)
09. Hypnosis
10. Odd Job
11. Peace Keeper (Featuring Audio)
12. Jedi

DRPLP002T
Dom & Roland
No Strings Attached (4×12″ Vinyl Version)

a) Mindfeeders
b) Mammoth Hunt
c) Alternate Worlds (Featuring Rob Playford)
d) 1134 (Featuring Hive)
e) Tajitsu (Featuring Noisia)
f) Oddjob
g) Jungle Beast
h) Peacekeeper (Featuring Audio)

DRPLP002S
Dom & Roland
No Strings Attached Sampler

a) Sylo (Featuring Amon Tobin)
aa) Jedi

With the album release now imminent Dom has started a busy schedule touring the Uk and Europe until Christmas before doing Russia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and America early next year.

* Roland is not a person. Roland is the digital sampler made by Roland that Dom used to compose with! *

Media Reactions:

DJ Magazine: “Intros so futuristic and sci-fi George Lucas would cream himself if he heard them…”
ATM Mag: “Dom & Roland is both a production pioneer and legend in drum & bass…”
XLR8R: “One of the finest talents the genre had ever seen…”
Knowledge: “Dom has had a hand in some of the most influential drum & bass anthems of all time…”

Links:

www.domandroland.com
www.myspace.com/domdrp
www.myspace.com/domandrolandproductions

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