Crate Exploratory: Goldspot Productions-Sony Beat (2002 garage/breaks)

What I enjoyed in the final hours of 2-step garage’s popularity is how the rule book was completely thrown out the window, as garage producers started to experiment with different sounds, drum patterns, and sample sources. Goldspot production’s “Sony Beat” is a fine example of how there was no structured agenda to pigeonhole it. There were components of techno (most notably the 909 hi-hats that wouldn’t sound too out of place in a Jeff Mills record), standard breaks (the percussion), and what many punters used to label “dark” garage (that the baseline shared much in common with). Geographically, you essentially have fragments of Berlin, London, Croydon, and Miami all co-existing in one super-city (and the food just so happens to taste pretty good). 

Runnin’, the label “Sony Beat” was released on, was actually one of DJ Zinc’s many labels. There were only a handful of releases on Runnin’ (many his own). Zinc’s primary label, Bingo Beats, was in its early years at the time Runnin’ was firing on all of its cylinders in 2001-02. However Bingo really started to take off in ‘03, and Zinc subsequently closed Runnin’ and used the former to release both garage as well as drum and bass on, for over five years.