Splits by NKS.  Jungle inspired music from 1994.

Splits - NKS

What's Up - alternative mix - Ed Rush & Nico released on No U Turn Records in 1996.

What's Up - alternative mix - Ed Rush & Nico

Don't Look Back!  The No U Turn ringtone.

NO U TURN - OFFICIAL RINGTONE

Sound Boy Dub - Nico

Another version of Lo.  The original released on Torque album in 1997.

Lo  (unheard) - Nico

Apollo alternative mix by Nico made in 1995.

Apollo alternative mix - Nico

Bass Stop - NKS

Sector 3 - Ed Rush and Nico

Track by Tom, Nathan, Nico and friends, taken from the Last Blast album by London Matters.

THE MIRROR - LONDON MATTERS

Ride C and Nico jungle track from 1993.  White label release.

Jungle Pressure - Ride C and Nico

Ed Rush and Nico in the studio . Originally released on No U Turn in 1995.

Guncheck - Ed Rush & Nico

Guitar inspired track at drum and bass tempo.  Work in progress.

All In - Nico, Break & Jim

No U Turn Jingle made on Yamaha SU-10 featuring Ryme Tyme.

NO U TURN JINGLE

Track by Buzz, Kane &amp; Nico released on No U Turn in 1994. *This version is not the version mastered to vinyl.



Slave* - Buzz, Kane & Nico

Hate - Nico (Dark Matter Mix) 1997

Version 1.0 of MACH 11 by Skyscraper. 1995.

MACH 11 - V1 - Trace & Nico - WH - SkyScraper

Where has the love gone - Nico Drum mix 1994

EX1 - NUT - WH

DAT recording from session in Cologne, Germany, whilst trying out the idea of mixing the Torque album in Pro Tools in 1997.

Trace & Nico - Replicants -  DAT V1 - WH

Drum & Bass and Guitar track from the No U Turn room.  Released on Saigon, the No U Turn sister label.   

In the studio at mixdown: Phil Legg:  "It's all about the build to the key change." 
Nico: "It just so nice to hear a guitar in the room for a change." 

The track features in the Gran Tourismo game.  Vinyl Cat: SAG009.

5 Miles High - TMF - 1996 AV - SAIGON / NO  U TURN

The Breakdown from the 1995 Saigon release.

Ghost Rider + Special K - The Conflict (part) - 1995

A 1 bar loop of a mystery beat.  
It would be great if someone could identify the original source.
Download is enabled.

Mystery Beat Loop

Clip from 1995 DAT original master of an unreleased 'dub' mixdown.
Trace & Nico coined the term 'Techstep' during these sessions in an attempt to put a name to this 'different' sound.  Drum and bass history from the No U Turn studio.

Trace - Mid Town Method Level 2 - Unreleased mix (part)

Bass and synth from the half time mix of Trace & Nico's 1997 No U Turn release, Cells.
This was found on the original DAT master towards the end of the tape.

Trace & Nico - Cells Half Time - No U Turn - 1997

Intro to a session at No U Turn studios in 1995. 

Nut Crew - No U Turn Train 95 - Clip

Intro from Mad Different Methods - Distortion Mix. 1996.
This is from an unreleased version recorded during the making.

Ed Rush & Trace & Nico - Mad Different Methods - Distorted Mix - Intro

The bass part from Mad Different Methods Distortion Mix.  1996.

Ed Rush & Trace & Nico - Mad Different Methods - Distortion Mix Bass Part

Bass Section from the half time dub of the 1997 No U Turn release.  From original DAT master.

Trace & Nico - Cells - Half Time Dub  - Bass Section - 1997 - WH

Clip from MMF recorded at No U Turn studios one night. in 1997.  From the sessions with Lars Vegas.

Nico - MMF - 1997 - Clip -  WH

A collection of tracks recorded and mixed by Nico No U Turn featuring collaborations with DJ's mainly from  Barnes, London.   

Most uploaded tracks are from the original DAT masters.  

The 'No U Turn sound' known throughout the drum and bass scene was the culmination of a recording process, honed in over 4 years from 1992 in one room - a studio on the third floor of an industrial building in Acton, London.  

The repetition of DJ's making tracks at No U Turn, often cutting them as exclusive dub plates, playing them out in clubs then seeing the audience reaction before returning to base to try out another idea, led to the creation of a 'new bass sound’.  This essentially involved adding distortion to an already popular bass sound form the world of Jungle/Drum and Bass.  Nico got the idea of adding distortion to the bass from Larry Graham, the great American bass player.  By adding a little distortion to often deep bass lines, the bass could now be heard on even the smallest speakers.  
This bass sound, made No U Turn records stand out from the rest.  You could 'hear' a No U Turn release in a genre where a lot of records often sounded very similar.  

Another feature of a No U Turn record was the final mix down, which was always a live recording of the computer playing back the track whilst Nico 'dubbed' at the desk.  Minimal flicks of eq's and mutes, reverb splashes and sweeping of the bass frequencies were all done live during the final mix down.  
This is why the end of No U Turn record often sounds different from the beginning.  
Things have changed along the way.  
The dubbing process, added a dimension to these drum and bass records.  It made them a bit different. 

All the No U Turn records were completely inspired by the great records of the time.  
Doc Scott’s records in particular.  

BACK IN THE DAY
Nico: “Ed Rush grew up across the street.  His parents had jukebox and encouraged Ed’s love of music.  One summer Ed started playing me all these crazy records, unlike anything I’d ever heard.  These were UK hardcore records.  He had two turntables?  I thought it was weird.   I’d knock on Ed’s door and his mum would say:  “He’s upstairs….he’s in the mix.”  This must have been 1990.  
Ed Rush: “I just want to play out to a live audience, but it’s so hard to get a booking when no one knows who you are.”  
Nico: “How about you have a record with your name on it?  People might get to know you for the music you make and then you’d be nearer to getting a booking because people might have heard of you.”
Nico: “I’ve made records before but never this sort thing!  Let’s give it a go.  I’ve just bought a sampler.”

We made our first record.  Our third was a tune called Bludclot Artattack.   The plan worked.   

The No U Turn ethic was, and still is, about the power of effective collaboration.  
Nico:  “It's just more fun and often turns out better to make music with other people and a computer, rather than alone with the machine. “

messingaboutwithsounds

Popular tracks