Bleep connoisseurs have long spoken in hushed tones about Ability II’s “Pressure Dub”, the B-side of the producer’s one and only release on iconic (if short-lived) Leeds label BASSIC. There’s no denying that it’s a thrillingly good track – a 10-minute journey into heavyweight sub-bass and futurist Detroit electronics that remains one of the style’s greatest moments.

As a bleep obsessive, I got rather excited when I found out that Ireland’s Major Problems label – an offshoot that has been responsible for some fine releases over the last couple of years – were preparing a reissue of the track. Fellow bleep and bass nerd Luca Lozano had been drafted in to remix it, and provide the release’s artwork.

I saw this as a good opportunity to speak with the man behind the record, David ‘Ability II’ Duncan.Barry and Robert at Major Problems were happy to put me in touch, so a few weeks ago I found myself talking to Duncan about the record, his time in Leeds during the bleep era, and his plans to release new material – a significant thing in itself, given that his last release of note was at the dawn of the 1990s.

Last week, I used that conversation as the basis for a piece about the record, and the man behind it. You can read that now at my good friend Owain K’s Innate website. Have a gander if it interests you. Regardless, if you get a chance to snap up a copy of the Pressure EP reissue, do it – you won’t regret it.

“Drop The Pressure – An Interview with Ability II at Innate >>