​Slikback debuts on Tempa with first label release in almost a decade

Seminal London record label Tempa has returned with its first release in almost a decade, debuting a brand new EP from Slikback.

‘DATA’ – a new three-track EP from the Kenya-born DJ and producer – landed on Friday, January 17, marking the first release on Tempa since Horsepower Productions’ 2016 album ‘Crooks, Crime & Corruption’.

The experimental record fuses elements of bass, trap, and techno, with a nod to Tempa’s dubstep roots, spanning tense, high-energy techno to eerie experimental production.

Read this next: Pioneering UK dubstep label Tempa releases back catalogue on Bandcamp for first time

“[I’m] super honored to release through a label I have such massive love for and whose music has been a huge part of what has shaped me as an artist,” Slikback announced on Instagram last week.

“I still remember my friend in uni playing me some of their releases, how very alien it felt and how much the sounds gripped me. Surreal to now release through the same label years later.”

Last year, after more than eight years dormant, Tempa released its entire back catalogue on Bandcamp for the first time, spanning almost 25 years.

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The pioneering dubstep label released more than 100 albums, singles, and EPs across the platform, dating back to the year 2000 when the label first launched. It included releases from the likes of Skream, J:Kenzo, SP:MC, Benga, and more.

Tempa was founded in 2000 by Neil Jolliffe, who was thought to have coined the genre dubstep, and was recognised as one of the leading bass labels to emerge in the UK in the early 2000s.

Listen to ‘DATA’ here, and check out the tracklist and artwork below.

Tracklist:

1. Sea
2. Dread
3. Data

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter