Age is no factor in producing music is it? Surely not. If you are inspired and you create something that inspires us then you’ve won. Simple. If Mozart can perform to European royalty from the age of five, then everybody has a chance, right? Creativity isn’t defined by age, but one positive aspect producers of a young age can deliver is how blindingly impressive it can be to those that are older. Before we become any more impossibly patronizing we would like to introduce you to two fantastic DJs who are making some remarkably special music. Oh, and they’re only 17.
This new production duo of George Townsend and Adam Kaye go by the moniker Bondax. They informed us that they’re best friends who call Lancaster in the North West home. They started out around a year ago, primarily from very different musical backgrounds, but once they set out to experiment with sounds and styles it soon became apparent that they were able to forge something worth pursuing. If you look through the history of music you come across a lot of close friendships, or even relatives, as the natural bond often produces something that little bit special, and we think Bondax are another shining example of this chemistry set.
They’ve enjoyed the initial trails of buzz around a few blogs in recent times. You might have previously heard their work via a handful of remixes for the likes of Last Japan and Chromeo. However it’s when you come across their first original work, Just Smile For Me, that a doorway creeps open into what feels like a whole new world. It has the feel of the future about it, with pulses of electronic genres past, but re-designed into a gorgeous new sculpture. It’s a tidy, patient, technical production, with perfectly placed sounds and samples that seem to elevate the louder you play it. Bobbie Gordon provides the sumptuous vocals, which are chopped into swirling samples in line with the music.
Only You Know, which is part of a new 4-track EP that’s due out around October, is sprayed with the same can, including beautiful, misted vocals drifting in and out of stepped beats. The duo talk of their music being a “sort of new garage sound“, which is correct as there are urban flavours woven into it, particularly with the vocals, but you also get a slower pace, more akin to post-step, minus the over-heavy womp. They make something much more delicate, like beat of a raindrop, which they set up behind basslines played one note at a time. It’s for the mind as much as the feet. It’s a theme they continue to show off with the track, All I Want, which marries all their signature moves together again in another extraordinary sequence.
To give you some idea of how special this music is you should check through The Recommender’s archives. This style of urbanised music barely makes an appearance. Ever. We generally don’t feel we can do justice to urban music, as we simply don’t pertain to be experts, preferring not to miss the references that an expert would notice, but Bondax forced us out of our comfort zone. They transcend any cliques or pigeon holes, not only by skipping through garage, dubstep and house, but more importantly by being remarkably brilliant. This is a duo more in line with the late night, after hours James Blake or Mount Kimbie experiences, creating intelligent music with lots of soul, but without these artists creepy ghosts. Bondax not only soar above the genres, they transcend their young ages. In youth we often locate bravery and these young composers are potential game-changers, designing songs with such maturity and appeal that looking ahead it’s assuring to know that they’ve got more future in front of them than the rest of us. (MB)
BONDAX – JUST SMILE FOR ME
BONDAX – ONLY YOU KNOW ft DEE
BONDAX – ALL I WANT
