A new reissue of Sawtooth arrives later this week.
XL Recordings is reissuing Jonny L’s classic 1997 drum and bass album Sawtooth on vinyl.
Sawtooth arrived at a transitional phase for D&B, the same year Roni Size won the Mercury Prize for New Forms and artists such as David Bowie began to experiment with the genre. According to XL’s press release, Sawtooth was one of a series of records that aimed to take D&B back into the underground, representing a “tectonic shift in sound” that built on the techstep sub-genre.
Jonny L took inspiration from the darker sounds of ’80s electro and house, Ray Keith, Doc Scott and Grooverider to make the album. “Precision-tooled for the club, it had an atmosphere more psychological thriller than gory horror,” XL says of one the album’s most famous tracks, ‘Piper’.
Sawtooth originally arrived on five 10″ records, but the reissue is being pressed on a double 12″. It’s released on December 8 and there will be a party to celebrate the launch at London’s Pickle Factory this week with sets from Doc Scott, Grooverider, Optical, Bailey and Need For Mirrors. Listen to album track ‘Piper’ below.
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