1FFNG007 (Funky & Garage) welcomes a plethora of new wave talent for its next edition of its flagship genre release. Conducta’s protege Gemi linking up with Nottingham’s tenacious Snowy on an instrumental that's been doing the rounds in some of 2021’s best mixes. Alongside is Arma for his first official 1Forty release, rounding proceedings off with the label unearthing two gems in Edward White (USA) and Richard Wright.

Buy/Stream

1FFNG007

Announcing himself to the underground in 2019, Gemi has seen a swift rise to the forefront of the Kiwi roster and the NUKG scene. Reaching out to 1Forty with an instrumental that did the rounds in some of 2021’s hottest mixes such as Notions Dummy Mag mix, this one had a collaboration written all over it. Step forward Snowy. Nottingham’s grime scene savior makes his first appearance on the label after a run of remixes, making it his first original record since the infamous Honey Riddim alongside Murder He Wrote, in 2019, this time hopping and skipping all over the bassy NUKG flavours in ‘Answer’.

Pushing the boundaries of sound design, Gemi has torn through the ranks of the new UKG sound with his ingenious productions earning him a coveted spot in the upper echelons of the genre. Before his involvement in Garage, he initially drew influence from the likes of Salute & Lxury, experimenting in both IDM & French House. His love for Garage prevailed, as he augmented his own sound with his signature chops & old school influence. His killer creations have since sparked an excitement across the UKG movement. Having already featured on Positiva Records (Universal), Fools Gold and spearheading the Kiwi Rekords ascendance, he is destined for greatness in the coming years having already received heavy handed support from DJ EZ, Todd Edwards, Matt Jam Lamont, Flava D, My Nu Leng, Conducta, DJ Q and Salute to name a few.

@GemiTunes
www.instagram.com/gemitunes
www.twitter.com/gemitunes

@Snow667
www.facebook.com/snowsixsixseven
www.instagram.com/snowski667
www.twitter.com/snow667

Gemi x Snowy - Answer

Arma returns to the label with his first official 1Forty release after making a splash on his debut with the ‘If It’s Nice Flip It Twice VIP’ at the end of 2021, following in the steps of Jammz & Jack Dat by sampling French Montana’s Shot Caller. This time he returns with an original track being solely responsible for the funky flavours on this series of FNG with a melodic and bass driven number ‘Sequences’.

Arma, the 27 year old producer based in London started producing and DJ’ing in 2009 which is clear to hear in the quality of his output and the labels he’s released on. Taking a mass of inspiration from late 90s House, R&B and Hip Hop for sampling, combined with his influence from key pioneers in Bass music, Redlight, My Nu Leng, Notion and Jamz Supernova it’s no surprise to learn his release on Redlight’s Lobster Boy imprint in 2019 was his best accolade to date. 2015 saw ‘Vex’ picked up by Monki for Fabriclive 81 and an appearance on LA based label Juke Bounce Werk further bolstered his reputation seeing him pick up shows across the UK. From club level at the likes of Soup Kitchen (Manchester) to festival level at the likes of Southbeats (Kent) before the challenge of COVID shackled the music industry and its habitants in 2020.

When most struggled for inspiration and productivity Arma embraced the challenge with a string of self releases taking advantage of Bandcamps focus on supporting artists via ‘Bandcamp Days’ throughout the pandemic building up his discography with high calibre originals and edits which he’s now reaping the rewards seeing bookings come in himself around London as well as Notion getting behind his releases consistently in particular at his club shows and festivals alike, as well as his latest mix for Dummy Magazine.

@ArmaSounds
www.instagram.com/armasounds
www.twitter.com/armasounds

Arma - Sequencing

1FFNG007 sees us welcome the first producer from across the pond onto the label. Via songwriting & playing guitar in bands as a teenager to studying jazz, LA-based Edward White has a musical range few producers can match. He began DJing in his teens which led to producing, in turn exposing him to a wide array of new artists and musical styles which he fuses together to create unique blends of House, UKG, Rave, Breaks, Chillout, & Lo-Fi.

With the pandemic pressing pause on him performing live, producing became an invaluable musical outlet, the fruits of which are now beginning to surface. With releases out on prominent labels such as the ever dominating underground UKG label Shall Not Fade as well as Fantastic Voyage and now tapping into 1Forty, this talented producer is one to keep an eye on.

Taking inspiration from the dark sound of the UK capital’s 2 Step UKG scene and incorporating a classic Dizzee Rascal sample, it doesn’t get much more London than this.

@EdwardWhite-1
www.instagram.com/edwardkwhite

Edward White - London City

The EP’s third and final newcomer comes in the form of another relatively new unearthed gem, Birmingham’s Richard Wright. Despite producing on and off since 2005, COVID and the resulting lockdowns allowed him the time and headspace to start taking things a bit more seriously. Initially being unearthed with his first official release in February 2021 by UKG label Strictly Flava. From that release and the early send out of ‘Trust Meh’ he has already received plays across Rinse, Balami and SWU with support from the likes of this EP’s very own Gemi as well as Ollie Rant, Daffy, Chimpizm and a bag of other UKG producers who are leading the line nicely for underground UKG.

Hearing ‘Trust Meh’ with its winding low end, classic samples and 2 step drums it's not hard to understand how his inspiration came from the tape pack and record shop culture of the mid 90s to early 2000s. With the recent resurgence of pioneers like El-B and new school producers embracing the UKG and Breaks movement that alone was enough to make the Brummy producer get his skates on and start getting some projects exported out his PC and making 2022 the year he starts to push on with his 15+ years of experience in the DAW.

@RichardWrightMusic
www.instagram.com/__richardwright__

Richard Wright - Trust Meh

"1Forty have made quite a name for themselves with their genre-themed compilation EPs." - Complex UK

"I find it quite hard to find a lot of modern Grime with that weight it originated with, and its similar with the Funky but 1Forty seem to be finding these records and putting them out, keeping that flame alive." - Toddla T (BBC Radio 1)

Founded by @LOCKT1Forty

Enquiries/Submissions: hello@1fortyproject.com

1Forty captures the authenticity of the UK's best underground genres, by showcasing established and upcoming talent, whilst engineering its own sound and identity through the music we release and showcase. Grime, Bass, Garage & UK Funky.

On the 21st October 2016 1Forty launched at one of the biggest nightclub brands in the country.. Mint, Leeds. Welcoming @CausenAffect, @ChampionDJ & @SkepsisProducer. Since then the label has welcomed the likes of @TheDJOneman, @SpookyBizzle @NotionDJ @HolyGoof_UK @DJSlimzee @Killa-P-Music @Preditah @SwiftaBeater @SammyVirji @NuBassOfficial @TheCocoUK @Snow667 @JokerKapsize @DJSharda @YGG @SicariaSound @DJSirSpyro + more.

Since the launch of the Record Label (June 2017) and introducing its cycle of Genre Release compilations 1Forty has received coverage across publications including Red Bull, Complex UK, Mixmag, SB.TV, GRM Daily, DJ Mag & Trench Mag, major support on radio across BBC Radio 1 (inc. 1Forty Takeover w/ Toddla T), 1Xtra, Rinse FM, Beats 1, Radar Radio & Reprezent, and TV usage across Sky One, Sky Sports, BT Sport & BBC Three.