If you’ve been out in the drum and bass world during the last year or so, then you’ll have
undoubtedly heard one, two, three or more of Ulterior Motive’s tracks. The uncompromising
Ulterior Motive sound, reminiscent of Virus and the golden era of tech step, has propelled
them directly into the DEtB spotlight, and despite their swelling success, the English
production duo are working harder than ever.
Ulterior Motive consists of James Davidson and Greg Hepworth from Bournemouth. Both
started their individual production journeys around 199B, but it wasn’t until three years
later in 20Dl, through a mutual friend, that Greg and James met and Ulterior Motive were
formed. Over the subsequent six to seven years, the pair immersed themselves in the
studio, forging a distinctive sound and learning new techniques along the way. The story of
their breakthrough unfolds from a random online introduction to Blu Mar Ten after buying
some Mackie monitors. From there followed conversations on AIM, tracks were passed back
and forth, glowing feedback was received and it wasn’t long before BMT passed UM’S beats
on to Teebee of the mighty Subtitles imprint.
One year on from that, UM sent ‘Infrasonic’ and ‘Holding On To Never’ to the Subtitles AIM
address. To their surprise, a very excited Teebee hit them back, signed both tracks as a 12
and the rest, you could say, is history … or history in the making. From the initial meeting
and first 12 with Teebee/Subtitles, the working relationship has grown and grown: “Teebee is
always very supportive, but has high standards and isn’t afraid to ask us to go back in on a
track if he thinks we can get more out of it,” they explain. “He doesn’t give technical advice
. or try to steer the artistic direction, but he does ask for more out of certain elements of
the tune – the sub cold be a bit deeper, or the snare could have more punch … more
generalisations on what could sound better, rather than specifically how we could do it”
Around the time of that first release, a host of UM dubs were getting a battering from a
who’s who of OEtB. dBridge, Doc Scott, Ed Rush, Jubei, Alix Perez and, of course, Teebee
were among the early birds to notice UM had something extra in the production tank. With
tracks such as ‘Featherweight’, ’209B’, the brilliantly named ‘Yogurt Brainwave’, and ‘Glued’,
the pai. were causing quite a stir. Premier labels such as Critical, Quarantine, Virus, Soul:R,
Renegade Hardware and CIA were employing their best efforts to get Ulterior Motive’s
music on their imprint. Not bad for a duo who had only one live release. Taking their new
lifestyle in their stride, modesty runs through Greg and James when asked how it feels to
be Ulterior Motive right now:
“The reaction to our music is something we could have never imagined. We just write music
that we’d like to hear. We’re never 100% about anything we do, so to have this level of
support is something that means a lot to us and pushes us to do better”
With a strong ethos that could be verging on perfectionism, the UM boys are starting to
reap the benefits of their hard work. Futuristic funk is back, and they are pioneering it. It’s
not surprising that ever since their first release on Subtitles hit the shops and the ini tial
set of UM dubs started circulating, their profile has been rising quicker than the national
debt. With the top selectors in the scene playing their tracks, Ut.t are without doubt set to
be one of the biggest acts DEtB has seen for a quite a while.
Summer 2D1D is, then, shaping up to be Ulterior Motive’s time. Their association with
Subtitles has moved up a notch with the introduction of Subtitles UK, with ST Holdings
joining forces with Teebee to run the label. Along with the two Subtitles releases already
mentioned, we’re about to be treated to the equally huge ‘Robots Remix’, originally
featured on Zero T’s long player: ‘Cheap Shots’. Another huge piece of news is the
exclusive UM track on Zero T’s ‘Fabric Live 52′ CD: ‘Seven Segments’. If ever there was a
screw-face track, this is it.
“To have one of our tracks featured on Zero T’s Fabric CD really makes us feel that all
the hard work is paying off: says Greg. “When we got the call from Zero T we wanted to
give him something fresh and exclusive”
If you are a fan of podcasts and have been checking the latest Metalheadz Casts
(www.metalheadz.co.uk) you’ll be well aware of another big supporter of Ulterior Motive;
Goldie. Thanks to a brief showcase from Jubei (another big supporter of UM since
Teebee sent him ‘Infrasonic’) the Metalheadz boss didn’t need much convincing about UM’s
talents, and in a short space of time signed three tracks to OEtB’s most important label,
with more in the pipeline. The first offering, ‘All That We Are’, is collaboration with
exciting talent and good friend of Ulterior Motive; FO. To be featured on the next
Metalheadz ‘Genesis’ series, ‘All That We Are’ is quickly followed by a single that plenty
are already talking about: ‘Tevatron’ and ‘Snoretooth’. Both are collaborations with Jubei
who, as well as Teebee and Kasra, Greg and James cite as a big help along the way in
spreading the Ulterior Motive sound.
As their profile has rapidly risen. UM’s OJ schedule has filled up nicely too, with plenty of
UK and European gigs in the diary. Quickly earning a reputation for smashing the decks
as much as the production, we ask which artists’ music they’re playing in between their
own tracks right now.
“Alix Perez is killing it at the moment, we’re really feeling the stuff he’s putting out. Also,
Rockwell keeps coming with really refreshing material. As far as new guys, FO, Hybris,
Octane Et OLR are making some strong tunes and regularly feature in our sets”
Still in the very early stages of their career, the promise and achievements so far of
Ulterior Motive can lead us to only wonder what next year will bring. If it’s anything like
what we’ve already tasted, the future looks incredibly bright.
www.facebook.com/ulteriormotive.uk
soundcloud.com/ulterior-motive-uk
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