Konflict
Encyclopedia
Konflict, also known under their separate artist names Kemal and Rob Data, were a musical duo that composed Drum and Bass
music, consisting of Kemal Okan and Robert Rodgers. Their music had a strong techno
influence and it was influential in the shaping of the neurofunk
sub-genre. They released a lot of material in the 1999-2002 period of which much holds the Anthem
status in the Drum and Bass music scene. They had their first releases as Konflict in 1998, but after abandoning that name in 2000 they continued to release music as Kemal and Rob Data. After the Konflict period, Kemal also released many solo works as well as collaborations with other notable Drum and Bass artists such as Dom & Roland
and Technical Itch.
, United Kingdom
, had their origins in the Detroit Techno
scene, with their preferred sound being the minimal style of Techno
. . Kemal started to DJ at an early age and worked at the iconic 23rd Precinct record store in Glasgow. Their techno background can be heard as it had a strong influence in their music. They had their first release under the name Konflict in 1998, which was a remix of a trance tune named Share Of Bitterness by Paragliders
. It was released on a scottisch label named WAQT recordings.
Their breakthrough was when they were signed to Renegade Hardware
in 1999, one of the major Drum and Bass music labels. Their most notable releases on this label include Roadblock, The Beckoning, the Maelstrom EP and their hit, Messiah, which in 2010 was named the number one most essential Drum and Bass track of that decade by the influential Knowledge Magazine. After a struggle about the release of Messiah, Kemal and Rob abandoned Renegade Hardware and the name Konflict in 2000 as this was owned by and exclusively signed to the label. They continued to make music as Kemal and Rob Data and started their own label, Negative Recordings.
Rob Data decided to quit in 2002 to return to his studies for reasons unknown, though it has been rumored that it had to do with his brother passing away at a Rave party . After the closing of Negative Recordings, Kemal started his own Cryptic Audio label, on which he released music until 2004. On its first release he used the alias Paranoid User, which was the only occasion known where he released under a different pseudonym.
Besides releasing on Renegade Hardware and their own labels, their music appeared on labels such as Outbreak, Moving Shadow
, Underfire, Audio Blueprint, Timeless, DSCI4, Cyanide Recordings, and Industry Recordings. Kemal produced much music alone as well as with his companion Rob, and he also cooperated with other artists such as Dom & Roland
, Technical Itch, Paul Reset, Black Sun Empire
, Rob F and Impulse
, and Dresden Codex. Rob Data only produced with Kemal, and never had a solo release.
In 2004 Kemal also decided to quit, having been quoted to be "fed up with the current state of the Drum and Bass scene" and returned to his studies. He continued to work on music production, as he joined the arabesque world music formation Nomad'iqa and produced their first album. He also produced the album for Velahavle, a Bosnian Trip hop-Electronica band from Sarajevo, that was released in 2005.
sub-genre, which can be recognized in releases later that decade. Artists such as Phace
have stated that Konflict had a great influence on their sound, as Florian from Phace puts it; "I have to point out Optical and Konflict as my favourite producers of all the time. They practically paved the way for the sound we love and try to continue nowadays.". The more widely known and these days more pop music oriented Pendulum (band)
also named Kemal and Konflict as one of their biggest Drum & Bass influences in their early years.
related). "Kemal and Rob came down from Glasgow to Brighton for a few days and we all went in the studio and out of it came 'Bios-Fear'. Named because at the time because our PC had a complete meltdown and Kemal and Rob spent hours trying to revive it."
It took Kemal only a few days to write the remix of Crisis, a breaks tune by Paul Reset; "I asked if he fancied taking on one of my breaks tunes. I met him for a coffee and gave him the parts to “Crisis” (originally released on NB004) and within a couple of days – he’d finished it, the man was a genius in the studio." It was the biggest release in the history of Nerve Recordings, but as the distributer went bankrupt, they never got to know how many there were actually sold.
The track Stranded, a collaboration between Black Sun Empire
and Kemal, was made after he was literally stranded at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and then stayed with the three dutch members in Utrecht
for a few days.
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
music, consisting of Kemal Okan and Robert Rodgers. Their music had a strong techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
influence and it was influential in the shaping of the neurofunk
Neurofunk
Neurofunk is a subgenre of drum and bass which emerged between 1997 and 1998 in London, England as a progression of techstep. It was further developed by juxtaposed elements of heavier and harder forms of funk with multiple influences ranging from techno, house and jazz, distinguished by...
sub-genre. They released a lot of material in the 1999-2002 period of which much holds the Anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
status in the Drum and Bass music scene. They had their first releases as Konflict in 1998, but after abandoning that name in 2000 they continued to release music as Kemal and Rob Data. After the Konflict period, Kemal also released many solo works as well as collaborations with other notable Drum and Bass artists such as Dom & Roland
Dom & Roland
Dom & Roland is the alias of British drum and bass producer Dominic Angus. The addition of "Roland" in the artist name refers to his Roland sampler. In 1996 he was signed to Moving Shadow recordings, and his tracks were oriented towards the dark hardstep genre. He has released records on other...
and Technical Itch.
Description
Kemal Okan and Robert Rodgers, both from GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, had their origins in the Detroit Techno
Detroit techno
Detroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
scene, with their preferred sound being the minimal style of Techno
Minimal techno
Minimal techno is a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to...
. . Kemal started to DJ at an early age and worked at the iconic 23rd Precinct record store in Glasgow. Their techno background can be heard as it had a strong influence in their music. They had their first release under the name Konflict in 1998, which was a remix of a trance tune named Share Of Bitterness by Paragliders
Oliver Lieb
Oliver Lieb is a German electronic music producer and DJ. Lieb is known to have more than a dozen aliases with over 200 productions and remixes in various electronic genres such as, trance, house, and techno. He has also produced tracks for other artists...
. It was released on a scottisch label named WAQT recordings.
Their breakthrough was when they were signed to Renegade Hardware
Renegade Hardware
Renegade Hardware is one of the major record labels in the drum and bass music industry.-History:Creatively born in 1995 Renegade Hardware has without question cemented itself as one of the most pioneering Drum & Bass labels in the world....
in 1999, one of the major Drum and Bass music labels. Their most notable releases on this label include Roadblock, The Beckoning, the Maelstrom EP and their hit, Messiah, which in 2010 was named the number one most essential Drum and Bass track of that decade by the influential Knowledge Magazine. After a struggle about the release of Messiah, Kemal and Rob abandoned Renegade Hardware and the name Konflict in 2000 as this was owned by and exclusively signed to the label. They continued to make music as Kemal and Rob Data and started their own label, Negative Recordings.
Rob Data decided to quit in 2002 to return to his studies for reasons unknown, though it has been rumored that it had to do with his brother passing away at a Rave party . After the closing of Negative Recordings, Kemal started his own Cryptic Audio label, on which he released music until 2004. On its first release he used the alias Paranoid User, which was the only occasion known where he released under a different pseudonym.
Besides releasing on Renegade Hardware and their own labels, their music appeared on labels such as Outbreak, Moving Shadow
Moving Shadow
Moving Shadow was a UK-based jungle/drum and bass record label that was started in 1990 by Rob Playford. Alongside such labels as Suburban Base, Formation Records, D-Zone, Reinforced, and Metalheadz, Moving Shadow grew to become one of the best-regarded and longest-lived labels in its genre,...
, Underfire, Audio Blueprint, Timeless, DSCI4, Cyanide Recordings, and Industry Recordings. Kemal produced much music alone as well as with his companion Rob, and he also cooperated with other artists such as Dom & Roland
Dom & Roland
Dom & Roland is the alias of British drum and bass producer Dominic Angus. The addition of "Roland" in the artist name refers to his Roland sampler. In 1996 he was signed to Moving Shadow recordings, and his tracks were oriented towards the dark hardstep genre. He has released records on other...
, Technical Itch, Paul Reset, Black Sun Empire
Black Sun Empire
Black Sun Empire is the stage name of a team of Dutch disc jockeys and Drum & Bass music producers Rene Verdult and brothers Milan and Micha Heyboer....
, Rob F and Impulse
Sinthetix
Sinthetix was a drum and bass group from Washington D.C, United States. The members were Rob F, Impulse, and MC Mecha. They first started releasing drum and bass music in 2001....
, and Dresden Codex. Rob Data only produced with Kemal, and never had a solo release.
In 2004 Kemal also decided to quit, having been quoted to be "fed up with the current state of the Drum and Bass scene" and returned to his studies. He continued to work on music production, as he joined the arabesque world music formation Nomad'iqa and produced their first album. He also produced the album for Velahavle, a Bosnian Trip hop-Electronica band from Sarajevo, that was released in 2005.
Influence
Their music has been cited as influential in the shaping of the neurofunkNeurofunk
Neurofunk is a subgenre of drum and bass which emerged between 1997 and 1998 in London, England as a progression of techstep. It was further developed by juxtaposed elements of heavier and harder forms of funk with multiple influences ranging from techno, house and jazz, distinguished by...
sub-genre, which can be recognized in releases later that decade. Artists such as Phace
Phace
Phace is the alias used by Florian Harres, a drum and bass producer and label owner from Germany. With long time friend Michael Braeuninger, more widely known as Misanthrop, they both teamed up to create the record label, Neosignal, in 2008...
have stated that Konflict had a great influence on their sound, as Florian from Phace puts it; "I have to point out Optical and Konflict as my favourite producers of all the time. They practically paved the way for the sound we love and try to continue nowadays.". The more widely known and these days more pop music oriented Pendulum (band)
Pendulum (band)
Pendulum is an Australian drum and bass and electronic rock band founded in 2002 in Perth by Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen, and Paul Harding.Swire and McGrillen were members of the rock band known as Xygen. After hearing Konflict's "Messiah" at a club, they were inspired to enter into the drum and...
also named Kemal and Konflict as one of their biggest Drum & Bass influences in their early years.
Trivia
The title of their track "Bios-Fear" together with Stakka & Skynet got its name because of the computer trouble they experienced while writing the tune (probably it was BIOSBIOS
In IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
related). "Kemal and Rob came down from Glasgow to Brighton for a few days and we all went in the studio and out of it came 'Bios-Fear'. Named because at the time because our PC had a complete meltdown and Kemal and Rob spent hours trying to revive it."
It took Kemal only a few days to write the remix of Crisis, a breaks tune by Paul Reset; "I asked if he fancied taking on one of my breaks tunes. I met him for a coffee and gave him the parts to “Crisis” (originally released on NB004) and within a couple of days – he’d finished it, the man was a genius in the studio." It was the biggest release in the history of Nerve Recordings, but as the distributer went bankrupt, they never got to know how many there were actually sold.
The track Stranded, a collaboration between Black Sun Empire
Black Sun Empire
Black Sun Empire is the stage name of a team of Dutch disc jockeys and Drum & Bass music producers Rene Verdult and brothers Milan and Micha Heyboer....
and Kemal, was made after he was literally stranded at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and then stayed with the three dutch members in Utrecht
Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
for a few days.
External links
- Konflict on DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Konflict discography on RolldabeatsRolldabeatsrolldabeats is an online music database dedicated to drum and bass and its various stylistic origins. It was launched in February 2005 by the original webmaster Thijs Engels, and web designer Tom "Haste" Johnson...
- Kemal discography on RolldabeatsRolldabeatsrolldabeats is an online music database dedicated to drum and bass and its various stylistic origins. It was launched in February 2005 by the original webmaster Thijs Engels, and web designer Tom "Haste" Johnson...