Breakbeat and musicality aren't always easy bedfellows. Some noisecore terrorists shun the sounds of any real instruments, but the productions of Ils have always managed to combine melody and harmony with astute dancefloor savvy. Whether it be some of the jazzy drum + bass tracks he released on LTJ Bukem's label in the mid-90s or the amazing 'Next Level' - one of the biggest breakbeat tracks ever - Ils has quite a pedigree of tracks. His third artist album, 'Bohemia', carries on his tradition of exploring assorted flavours in breakbeat science. ...show more

Breakbeat and musicality aren't always easy bedfellows. Some noisecore terrorists shun the sounds of any real instruments, but the productions of Ils have always managed to combine melody and harmony with astute dancefloor savvy. Whether it be some of the jazzy drum + bass tracks he released on LTJ Bukem's label in the mid-90s or the amazing 'Next Level' - one of the biggest breakbeat tracks ever - Ils has quite a pedigree of tracks. His third artist album, 'Bohemia', carries on his tradition of exploring assorted flavours in breakbeat science.

Spiritual, rocky, decadent and moving - the byword throughout is quality. Ils has already started the process of having some of the tracks remixed for singles, but as a body of work the album stands up as something a bit special. "The working title for 'Bohemia' was 'Masterpiece'," Ils explains, "which I obviously wasn't going to call it in the end, but I had that name written on post-it notes all around the studio. It kind of raises the bar in terms of quality, it's just a way of psychologically upping your own standards.

The working title of my last album 'Soul Trader' was 'Green Fields', just because I had my studio out in the countryside and I wanted it to be less of an urban thing and more just good music that would work out in open greenery - as well as in a club environment." Ils initially did a dummy run of this album with just one singer - Val from London indie band the Bee Stings. He then brought in other vocalists - Bulgarian duo Desi and Roni, growling grime/garage MC Wonder (on the Prodigy-esque 'Feel My Addiction'), Plavka who sang on Jam + Spoon's hit 'Right In The Night' a decade ago, R+B singer Rhalia - to weave his production magic around and flesh out the meat on the bones. One track even includes snatches of his late friend Stevie Hyper D, the junglist MC who passed away a few years back. The resulting kick-ass breaks track 'The World Is Yours' is a fitting tribute to the drum + bass hero. ...show less