The Nextmen

Widely regarded the globe over as the two most indispensable ingredients for a blazing party, amiable Cambridge born production duo The Nextmen (Brad Baloo and Dom Search) continue to set 2006 alight. In the wake of their two internationally successful albums ‘Amongst The Madness’ (75 Ark) and 'Get Over It' (Scenario Records), countless mixed releases, singles, remixes, bootlegs and the launch of their own label Custom Records, this brilliant pair continue to up the ante for home-grown hip-hop and eclectic electronic music in general.

Their music, in both performance and production, continues to embody some stunningly cool conundrum. It’s an eclectic, uncompromising sound that is becoming more and more their own. On one hand it's a blend of their own razor sharp slice of forward-thinking UK production which reconfigures the format for British urban music, drawing on lessons learned from diligent drum’n’bass programming, the highest grade riddims of dancehall, the sway and seduction of classic soul, and their families musical backgrounds ("We both grew up around mysterious prominent figures in 70s folk, jazz and rock"). On the other, they channel a supremely funky groove that’s reminiscent of New York 's formidable defining hip-hop blueprint. And they've done it all on the downlow over the past eight years, quietly responsible for pushing their musical peers to step up their production game.

Pick some favourite Nextmen tunes, like 'Highscore' from ‘Get Over It’, featuring Full Cycle don Dynamite MC over a swerve-inducing halfstep drum’n’bass track. A bit like hearing Cut Chemist's classic accelerating beat on Blackalicious' 'Microphone Mathematics' whilst on a nandrolone drip at a jungle rave. Damn, it's packing enough heat to give Westwood an all-over tan and heart attack in one sitting. In true form, jungle champ Cyantific turned the tables and remixed this beauty into an actual double-timing d’n’b anthem, which certainly went down with fiery abandon in front of 10,000 chanting Aussies as DJ Food dropped it prime time during one summer past.

Which is all a long way from the humble hip-hop beginnings of The Nextmen: Brad abandoned a weekend job playing covers of The Police on a piano in a Cambridge pub after hearing an Ice Cream Tee track on the radio, and Dom finding his first turntable in a rubbish skip aged 13 years old.

"I found that turntable just after 'The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff' had come out and I couldn't believe what he was doing on it with a turntable. I wanted to work it out for myself and using this old shitty thing with a tape deck attached where I had to use matchsticks and bluetack to make it work, I used the rotary volume fader to cut with. Copied Jeff syllable for syllable."

Despite the fact that they both attended virtually every hip-hop show that called into Cambridge during the late 80s and early 90s - Stetsasonic, EPMD, KRS-1, De La Soul, and Ice T, the pair didn't link until later on when Brad had been offered the opportunity to remix the London Posse's 'Style' single in 1997. "We had really basic equipment and didn't really know what we were doing," admits Brad. "But everyone loved it and Westwood and John Peel played it on Radio 1. I still think it's the third worst remix of all time though."

Both The Nextmen are big fans of London Posse's Rodney P and that remix was the start of a relationship which has seen him appear on several of their records, culminating in the genius release 'Hear What I Say'. It also pushed the pair to move to London, sign a deal and make amongst many other things, their less than difficult second album ‘Get Over It’, which featured such international talent as Americans J-Live and Grap Luva, Jamaican legend Cutty Ranks and New Zealand and Fat Freddy’s own Dallas. But it was their genius debut ‘Amongst The Madness’ which featured such renowned gems as ‘Mental Alchemy’ and ‘Turn It Up A Little’ (Featuring vocalist Ty) that initially made the world prick up its ears to this dynamic duo. "The reception to our first album was a turning point," declares Dom. "We didn't have much in the way of funding but we managed to reach a lot of people." It’s no wonder The Nextmen soon found themselves appearing on the Groove Armada album, and remixing the likes of Public Enemy, Blackalicious, The Pharcyde and Morcheeba.

Constant badgering from punters, mates and the remarkably insightful label Fat City also pushed the pair to try and cage their feisty live DJ sets into a series of promotional mix CD releases, always with naughty Nextmen touches. Try the weight-loss bible ‘Listen and Lose’ or the hip-hop guide to modern sports etiquette with ‘The Nextmen’s Personal Golf Instructions’. Widely popular the globe over, with thousands currently enjoying their latest comic newsreel ‘Not The Nextmen’, the series has really only just begun. Rumour has it punters will soon be learning to fox trot or dazzle peers with homespun super powers, all swimming amongst the season’s hottest sounds, in the very near future.

So what’s next for these Nextmen? In between triumphant world domination tours of their homeland, Europe , Australia and New Zealand , with travels to the US penned for early 2006, they’re keeping very busy in the studio. Blueprints of the third instalment in the Nextmen album trilogy are currently being carefully laid. But there are a few things to keep appetites at bey until that drops. An official Trojan mix CD (coming out on Antidote/Sanctuary) featuring over 30 rare and classic Trojan tracks from Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, The Pioneers, The Upsetters called ‘The Nextmen Present Blunted in the Backroom’ will be released in August. Also included are two brand new Nextmen produced tracks featuring Dynamite MC and Demolition Man. These tracks, as well as being included on the mix, will be released as a high profile 12” single available alongside the Mix CD. Bermuda Shorts, the creative brains behind The Nextmen’s excellent ‘Firewalking’ video, have also produced a video for the A-side, ‘Blood and Fire’.

Widely regarded the globe over as the two most indispensable ingredients for a blazing party, amiable Cambridge born production duo The Nextmen (Brad Baloo and Dom Search) continue to set 2005 alight. In the wake of their two internationally successful albums ‘Amongst The Madness’ (75 Ark) and 'Get Over It' (Scenario Records), countless mixed releases, singles, remixes, bootlegs and the launch of their own label Custom Records, this brilliant pair continue to up the ante for home-grown hip-hop and eclectic electronic music in general.

Their music, in both performance and production, continues to embody some stunningly cool conundrum. It’s an eclectic, uncompromising sound that is becoming more and more their own. On one hand it's a blend of their own razor sharp slice of forward-thinking UK production which reconfigures the format for British urban music, drawing on lessons learned from diligent drum’n’bass programming, the highest grade riddims of dancehall, the sway and seduction of classic soul, and their families musical backgrounds ("We both grew up around mysterious prominent figures in 70s folk, jazz and rock"). On the other, they channel a supremely funky groove that’s reminiscent of New York 's formidable defining hip-hop blueprint. And they've done it all on the downlow over the past eight years, quietly responsible for pushing their musical peers to step up their production game.

Pick some favourite Nextmen tunes, like 'Highscore' from ‘Get Over It’, featuring Full Cycle don Dynamite MC over a swerve-inducing halfstep drum’n’bass track. A bit like hearing Cut Chemist's classic accelerating beat on Blackalicious' 'Microphone Mathematics' whilst on a nandrolone drip at a jungle rave. Damn, it's packing enough heat to give Westwood an all-over tan and heart attack in one sitting. In true form, jungle champ Cyantific turned the tables and remixed this beauty into an actual double-timing d’n’b anthem, which certainly went down with fiery abandon in front of 10,000 chanting Aussies as DJ Food dropped it prime time during one summer past.

Which is all a long way from the humble hip-hop beginnings of The Nextmen: Brad abandoned a weekend job playing covers of The Police on a piano in a Cambridge pub after hearing an Ice Cream Tee track on the radio, and Dom finding his first turntable in a rubbish skip aged 13 years old.

"I found that turntable just after 'The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff' had come out and I couldn't believe what he was doing on it with a turntable. I wanted to work it out for myself and using this old shitty thing with a tape deck attached where I had to use matchsticks and bluetack to make it work, I used the rotary volume fader to cut with. Copied Jeff syllable for syllable."

Despite the fact that they both attended virtually every hip-hop show that called into Cambridge during the late 80s and early 90s - Stetsasonic, EPMD, KRS-1, De La Soul, and Ice T, the pair didn't link until later on when Brad had been offered the opportunity to remix the London Posse's 'Style' single in 1997. "We had really basic equipment and didn't really know what we were doing," admits Brad. "But everyone loved it and Westwood and John Peel played it on Radio 1. I still think it's the third worst remix of all time though."

Both The Nextmen are big fans of London Posse's Rodney P and that remix was the start of a relationship which has seen him appear on several of their records, culminating in the genius release 'Hear What I Say'. It also pushed the pair to move to London, sign a deal and make amongst many other things, their less than difficult second album ‘Get Over It’, which featured such international talent as Americans J-Live and Grap Luva, Jamaican legend Cutty Ranks and New Zealand and Fat Freddy’s own Dallas. But it was their genius debut ‘Amongst The Madness’ which featured such renowned gems as ‘Mental Alchemy’ and ‘Turn It Up A Little’ (Featuring vocalist Ty) that initially made the world prick up its ears to this dynamic duo. "The reception to our first album was a turning point," declares Dom. "We didn't have much in the way of funding but we managed to reach a lot of people." It’s no wonder The Nextmen soon found themselves appearing on the Groove Armada album, and remixing the likes of Public Enemy, Blackalicious, The Pharcyde and Morcheeba.

Constant badgering from punters, mates and the remarkably insightful label Fat City also pushed the pair to try and cage their feisty live DJ sets into a series of promotional mix CD releases, always with naughty Nextmen touches. Try the weight-loss bible ‘Listen and Lose’ or the hip-hop guide to modern sports etiquette with ‘The Nextmen’s Personal Golf Instructions’. Widely popular the globe over, with thousands currently enjoying their latest comic newsreel ‘Not The Nextmen’, the series has really only just begun. Rumour has it punters will soon be learning to fox trot or dazzle peers with homespun super powers, all swimming amongst the season’s hottest sounds, in the very near future.

So what’s next for these Nextmen? In between triumphant world domination tours of their homeland, Europe , Australia and New Zealand , with travels to the US penned for early 2006, they’re keeping very busy in the studio. Blueprints of the third instalment in the Nextmen album trilogy are currently being carefully laid. But there are a few things to keep appetites at bey until that drops. An official Trojan mix CD (coming out on Antidote/Sanctuary) featuring over 30 rare and classic Trojan tracks from Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, The Pioneers, The Upsetters called ‘The Nextmen Present Blunted in the Backroom’ will be released in August. Also included are two brand new Nextmen produced tracks featuring Dynamite MC and Demolition Man. These tracks, as well as being included on the mix, will be released as a high profile 12” single available alongside the Mix CD. Bermuda Shorts, the creative brains behind The Nextmen’s excellent ‘Firewalking’ video, have also produced a video for the A-side, ‘Blood and Fire’.

A new 12” from Martin Brew featuring The Nextmen and MC Wrec called ‘Drop The Beat’ is out now on Fat City Records, and is also included on Martin Brew’s new album, along with several other Nextmen mixed tracks. The Dom Search co-written/produced ‘Seize The Day’ (Nuff Rope Records) by new North London Songstress Jess Mills is fresh on the shelves of all good record shops. Endorsed by Ms Dynamite, Jess Mills is surely one of the freshest voices to come out of London for years. The new album from Australian stalwarts the Resin Dogs is currently being co-written and produced by Brad Baloo. It’s shaping up to be hot and looks to feature vocals from guests like London Electricity’s MC Wrec, Abstract Rude, Mystro, Blu Rum13, Koolism’s MC Hau among others. Fat Freddy’s Drop vocalist Dallas has lent his dulcet tones to ‘The Drop/Blow Wind Blow’ produced by The Nextmen, due out on Tru Thoughts Records very soon. This double A 7” also features keys from Brad and guitar from Dom - these tracks are not to be missed. A new Nextmen single will be released on their own brand-spanking-new label Custom Records very soon. The track featuring Dynamite MC is called ‘Spin It Round’ and has been earning some advance love from Radio around the UK pre-release. The single will also include a track called ‘Average Joe’ featuring Mark 1 and JSD. Brad Baloo has also just finished remixing 'BK to NZ' by The Del Ray System and Finsta Bundy from NYC for a release on 'The Elephant' label (DJ Vee’s new project) out of London .

And with rocking sets from The Nextmen due at The Cannes Film Festival MTV Party, Glastonbury Festival, The Big Chill, TDK Festival, and Bestival among others, this summer is set to sizzle! Burning heat..
And with rocking sets from The Nextmen due at The Cannes Film Festival MTV Party, Glastonbury Festival, The Big Chill, TDK Festival, and Bestival among others, this summer is set to sizzle! Burning heat..