Gambits & chicanery, intrigue, ploys ‘n’ subterfuge – who doesn’t like a bit of the deep down ‘n’ dirty in their musical lives!!? Bang on cue the Skullduggery crew are back to provide us with precisely those types of thrills!
Last year’s ‘The Art Of Skullduggery’ saw the label plot its first mix-comp course, painting their vision over ‘Vol.1’s dual-disc canvas. At its heart was Chief Skull Greg Downey’s desire to share both his inimitable combustible trance sound and that of other talents who – on the scale – have been underexposed. Stoneface & Terminal showcased in last spring’s inaugural, but for 2020’s it’s Beatman & Ludmilla who grab some second disc spotlight.
A backbone of the country’s electronic music scene for well over a decade the Hungarian duo has evolved through its breaks and prog periods, regularly playing 25 in-country shows a year. It is though through psy-trance that they’ve found their higher calling, which subsequently brought them to Greg’s attention. Back in 2018 he persuaded the enigmatic duo to break with their Ayra Recordings release tradition and license ‘Dune’ to Skullduggery. Its exposure quickly widened interest & audience for the pair, which in turn opened the release floodgates and ultimately leads us to today and the release of the trio’s pretty darn killer collaboration ‘The Art Of Skullduggery Vol. II’!
Skul(l)duggery, noun, (skəl-ˈdə-g(ə-)rē) (skull-dug-er-rrryyy).
Meaning: making it happen by means fair or otherwise (usually otherwise).
On his mix, Greg weighs in with a mass of gear for your ear to cheer, immediately pushing the needle to lightspeed with his own ‘Infinity’. That precedes a wealth of new and upcoming Downey studio-ware: ‘London Calling’, ‘Rendezvous’, ‘Elephant’ and his recent reworking of Michael Kaelios’s ’Who I Am’ amongst them. Greg draws on plenty of desk-hot music from other quarters too, with the latest from likeminds including Will Atkinson, John Askew, Chris Schweizer, Ronski Speed and Everlight getting the ‘Vol. II’ call up.
Looking to make absolutely certain you’re getting something you’re not finding anywhere else, Beatman & Ludmilla draw on 100% exclusive material for their mix. In and amongst you’ll find new cuts from Gabor & Fruzsina themselves, including the disc’s overture ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ and the (no-explanations-needed!) ‘Welcome to Skullduggery’. Kelle’s remixes of B&L’s ‘Shaman’ & ‘Walking In The Forest’ are also on deck, as are Eshericks and Mindfold’s reworks of ‘Dune’ & John Dopping’s remap of last year’s ‘Amelie’. Beatman & Ludmilla get remix-busy themselves crowing their 80 minutes with new spins on Simon Patterson’s ‘Apex’ and Greg’s own ‘Loco’. Available to stream or buy this very moment, ‘The Art Of Skulduggery Vol. II’ is available through all good platforms here.
Greg Downey and Beatman & Ludmilla – The Art Of Skullduggery Vol. II
Mix 1 – Greg Downey
01. Greg Downey – Infinity
02. John Askew – Tooth Decay On Tuesday
03. Beatman & Ludmilla – Sivam (Greg Downey Remix)
04. Will Atkinson & Harry Roke – Burning Out
05. Chris Schweizer – Singularity
06. Zach Zlov – Tryambakam
07. Greg Downey – London Calling
08. Prime Mover – Black Dogs (Prime Mover Remix)
09. Cores – Millenium (Will Rees Rework)
10. Ronski Speed & DJ T.H. pres. Sun Decade with Cari – Better Part Of Me
11. EverLight – Neotech
12. Greg Downey – Elephant (Mindfold Remix)
13. Project 8 – Total Recall
14. Forza:Duo – Pyro
15. Andrea Ribeca & Dreamy – Free To Fly
16. Zach Zlov – Miserere
17. Michael Kaelios – Who I Am (Greg Downey Rework)
18. Greg Downey – Rendezvous
19. John Askew – Hope
Mix 2 – Beatman & Ludmilla
01. Beatman & Ludmilla – Om Namah Shivaya
02. Greg Downey – Razor (Beatman & Ludmilla Remix)
03. Beatman & Ludmilla – Welcome to Skullduggery
04. Beatman & Ludmilla – Shaman (Kelle Remix)
05. Beatman & Ludmilla – Walking In The Forest (Kelle Intro Mix)
06. Beatman & Ludmilla – Dune (Mindfold Remix)
07. Magnus – Psybreaker
08. Beatman & Ludmilla – Dune (Eshericks Remix)
09. Broken Eye – Symbiotic Spore
10. Chris Voro – Silverhand
11. Simon Patterson – Apex (Beatman & Ludmilla Remix)
12. Beatman & Ludmilla – Amelie (John Dopping Remix)
13. Evan Gamble Lewis featuring Shea Taylor – More Than Human (Psy Trance Mix)
14. John Dopping featuring Remeya Kingston – Bury Your Secrets (Activa Return To The Break Mix)
15. SH@M3N – Monolyth
16. Greg Downey – Loco (Beatman & Ludmilla Remix)
