In 2016, Wataru Kobayashi, known as @loopdrive, recorded the album "forged sketches", howerver, it was not officially released. Two years later, outlines released "Groove 9" – the debut cassette of the Japanese producer. It maintained the sounding of "forged sketches", keeping in touch with the tradition of Berlin labels such as basic channel and chain reaction. In 2020, as guides (outlines’sublabel) was founded, the opportunity has arrived to properly present to the audience the loopdrive’s musical evolution as well as the beginnings of Wataru Kobayashi's artistic path. 

"Forged sketches" is an album that combines dub-ridden Detroit techno sounds with the latest child of Chicago ghetto house - footwork. It is as if monochromatic chords and a minimalist pulse were mounted on a speeding footwork motorics. This resembles the achievements of Paul Rose, a British producer known as Scuba, in his albums "A Mutual Antipathy" and "Triangulation", which featured over a decade ago a visionary fusion of dubsetp and dub techno. 

loopdrive took on a similar path. His productions explore the land between fast, broken techno and the footwork rhythm. One of the most exhilirating moments in "forged sketches" is a nearly fifteen-minute long melodic suite running at 160bpm. Since "forged sketches" (2016) there have not been any footwork-inspired producers that would create such a non-obvious and original hybrid as loopdrive.

forged sketches

loopdrive - forged sketches

-> https://soundcloud.com/icoz-609030086 <-

.colliding contrasts.
.searching for permeabilities.
.art is one huge manifold.

complex structures | rhythmic grooves | minimalism
label owner @paide

Paide is a DJ and promoter of the footwork culture in Poland and worldwide. He’s also one of the curators of the dub techno compilations: „Szmery” (Kanu Kanu, 2015) and "Doubts" (Pawlacz Perski, 2016).

In 2010, inspired by the first footwork Planet Mu releases, he started with podcasts series on radio-alternator broadcast promoting Chicago footwork. That idea was pioneering in Poland (amongst just a very few, similiar one, worldwide at that time) and became an inspiration for the others. Until 2016 he was a member of Polish Juke, the crew he co-founded with Mateo.

Apart from his promoter role, he played alongside the top footwork artists from Chicago: DJ Rashad, DJ Spinn, DJ Earl and Traxman. In 2016 he visited Japan where he played shows in Tokyo and Osaka alongside the most important Japanese footwork producers: DJ Fulltono, CRZKNY, Kent from Paisley Parks, Hiroki Yamamura, Satanicpornocultshop, Boogie Mann, Keito and many more. Later on this year he also had the opportunity to take part of the Unsound Festival in Cracow as an artist.

In 2016 he also started his own tape label outlines focused on more experimental side of footwork music and 160BPM. The idea of the label is to release tapes with over 9 minutes 160 BPM/footwork track on each side of the tape. So far he has brought out a series of tapes dedicated to the creators of minimal footwork: DJ Fulltono, CRZKNY and Skip Club Orchestra. Another series is dedicated to the female producers. Two of three tapes have been already released and belong to Aylu and AGF.