thousand electronica microgenres have wholly devoted themselves to the nubile goddess of the breakbeat, while she ruthlessly sacrifices all but the slipperiest of idolaters’ careers within a matter of years. The Chemical Brothers and Roni Size are only some of the most famous casualties, but the battlefield is littered with the ashes of hardcore techno raverjunkies, gabberfreaks, junglists, and, perhaps one of the most interesting sectors of breakbeat, Ambush Record’s special flavor of breakcore.

Breakcore is a thriving underground subgenre currently, with artists like Venetian Snares steadily increasing their devoted followings. The name is wonderfully self-explanatory: breakcore artists give their total creative output to the breakbeat; they are her most fanatical devotees. Breakcore puts the breakbeat foremost, with minimal accompaniment, often in the forms of distorted jungle basslines and vocal samples plucked from whatever cultural detritus lies at hand. The beat is often pushed to the extreme, whether horribly distorted, sped up, twisted and cut up, or (frequently) subject to a combination of them all.

Founded by Toby Reynolds (DJ Scud) and Jason Skeet (Aphasic), Ambush Records managed to carve itself a niche in territory close to Alec Empire’s Digital Hardcore movement. All artists on the label share an aesthetic: harsh and distorted breaks, warped bass, and bursts of feedback whipped into noisy guerrilla assaults. Ambush garnered some hype, distinguishing itself from the breakcore crowd through grassroots promotion, some avant-garde posturing, and the fact that most of the time they simply did it the best. Aphasic and DJ Scud provided the most dancefloor friendly fare, borrowing flavors and textures from dub and dancehall as well as jungle. From the more clinical jungle approach of Jackal and Hyde to the horrific lurches of Shizuo to the lockstep power noise of Noize Creator, all Ambush artists maintained a cohesiveness through extensive internal collaboration and an aesthetic sneeringly giddy to the edge of insanity.

Ambush has been dormant since 2000, but its artists continue to remain active. DJ Scud has worked with avant-break artists DJ /rupture and Mutamassik; I-Sound has released work on Mille Plateaux.

Label Roster: DJ Scud, Aphasic, Jackal & Hyde, I-Sound, Mwarf, Shizuo, Noize Creator, Rich Kid, Din S.T., Slepcy

Five Essential Releases:
Jackal & Hyde – Escape from South London EP
Aphasic & DJ Scud – Welcome to the Warren EP
Shizuo – Give Up
DJ Scud & I-Sound – Mortal Clash
Noize Creator – Deferred Media