Jason McCracken aka "Illektrolab' is one of the more mysterious artists to come out of the highly-influential Satamile legacy; which even with a small discography under his belt, the iconic releases to come from this skilled programmer, producer, and even turntablist have made him a name to look for in the Techno Bass scene. Based around a heavy Sci-Fi aesthetic, where in dystopian times wars are fought via sound, Illektrolab's "Low Frequency Mind Control" technology becomes the weapon of choice to wake up the zombie masses in order to bring the planet back into balance.
Starting off as a youth in the '80s where parachute pants, graffitti, and the growing Hip Hop culture made a huge impact on McCracken, he would soon find that this was his calling in life. As he recalls: "It was sort of a genetic or engraved love affair from the start which led me into early Electro, and most bass heavy broken beat outputs being the sonic story to my life. The deal was well sealed after catching Run DMC and Jam Master J in concert back in the day...few things in the world excited me as much as seeing Jam Master J cut it up while dropping from the ceiling. It was like a ghost, I knew it was all possible but had never seen it live!." As fate would have it, it did not take long for turntables to enter his life, and the rest as we know it is history!
Though having become a well seasoned DJ and performer during the Rave era in the '90s, playing at many events throughout the globe and even having some of his scratches and cuts featured on the legendary UK label "Finger Lickin'", as well as a Plump DJ's DJ tools release, Illektrolab as we know him did not make his debut until 2007, when he signed unto the infamous New York imprint Satamile Records while on tour in Japan, publishing the classic 12" "System Check"; one of the label's true hidden dancefloor gems. Opening doors internationally for the artist, Illektrolab also went on to found the Advanced Robotiks label while hot on the heels of the success of his previous release; around the same time also relocating to the beautiful region of Costa Rica from Arizona, to live out the dream of being in more harmony with nature. While it may be ironic with such dark and gloomy music, McCracken is actually an avid naturalist, and promoter of all things positive in regards to societal change. As he himself states, his vision for our music is that: "one day all of us Electro heads will be united making heads dip, throwing shows globally, and doing things on a more sustainable level benifiting all in the growth process. We are a small piece of the musical puzzle, but we do make a large sonic footprint and I see more heads getting interested at every jam. Its just a matter of time before the right forces come together, and the Electro stars align."
After releasing his imprint's first and only (so far) vinyl release as a limited edition Blue Vinyl 12", called the "Advanced Robotiks EP", 2008 continued to be a positive year for Illektrolab as he not only released the second title for Advanced Robotiks, called "Dirty Robot", but also began having his music proliferate to published DJ mixes; first with Cal Alex's "Rings Of Alcyone" on Alcyone Records, and later in 2009 on the Autonomous Bassheads mix CD on Black Magic Records, featuring "The 6th Chakra". In 2010, Illektrolab returned with a brand-new song called "Move The Crowd", featured on Exzakt's "Electro Endeavours BFP Vol. 1", as well as the last Advanced Robotiks release so far called "Android EP". Lastly, his song "6.Real Pimp" was featured on FACT Magazine's "FACT Mix 222", mixed by Urban Tribe back in 2011. A really amazing compilation of music from artists like Marco Bernardi, D.I.E., Silicon Scally, and The Advent, if you haven't checked it out.
In 2011, Illektrolab also returned with his first EP in a few years called "Robots Destroy", on Duality Records, featuring the track 'Interdimensional", and showing the artist is only ever-evolving, and never wavering in his determination to bring the slaughter of robotic beats and bleeps to the masses. Whether its the sinister old school atmospheres of "Robots Destroy"; full of merciless 808's and bizarre vocals, or "Interdimensional" with its delirious stampede of industrial beats and hypnotic drones, Illektrolab always brings in the flavor of futuristic dystopian environments where man and machine have it out for control of the planet.
After releasing his brand new alias "The Arcanum Project", where he promised to fuse his current sound with that of his many influences over the years, Illektrolab returned in 2013 for the last production thus far we have seen from the artist, recording the intro to the infamous "The Fight Against The Mundane" 2xCD on Bass Agenda Recordings, where he collaborated with 4th Genome (Andy Barton) on vocals as Illektrolab's ingenuity led you into the rest of this amazing compilation of some of the best talent in the Techno Bass scene. The track "Interdimensional" was also featured on Bushby's "The 100 Point Menu" on Brawlcast, alongside Dopplereffekt, Bolz Bolz, and Radioactive Man to name a few. There is also the song "Temporal Interference", which has no release date, but is one of the newer gems to come from the artist, and also available through his Bandcamp page...definitely worth checking out!
For the future, McCracken says that: "It's great to be back in the studio and writing music full time again. I have the "Illahertz EP", with a few warehouse belters that will be hitting the underground waves in the early part of 2016; along with some side projects in the Breakbeat/Bass arena coming out on a few UK labels, opening ears to new possibilities (details coming soon on Bandcamp/Soundcloud). It will be a great year, and super stoked to see both sales and interest peaking in the Electro world. I have heard so much good music lately! keep it up ladies and gents, and lets get some proper gigs rolling!"
So for now, support the current discography of one of the true cyborgs of our music, because if you are looking for heart-pounding, dark, hypnotic Sci-Fi tunes, then this stuff is right up your alley! What are you waiting for? Get in, and get ill!
Written by: Santino Fernandez
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Edition:
January 2016