At the dawn of the millennium, Paul Reset and Pyro decided to join forces and devote themselves to releasing musical material. Thus, in 2001, the record label Nerve was formed. Initially, it was intended to release only tracks by Pyro, already brimming with various innovations at the time. But the later decision to release material by talented but little-known producers led to rapid growth and turned Nerve into what it is today—a label that releases diverse drum and bass, breaking down boundaries and changing traditional ideas about its sound.
Thousands of copies of the releases that best reflect Nerve’s concept have been sold around the world. Their number continued to grow, and outstanding musicians joined the ranks. Among them were SKC, Psidream, Gridlok, Noisia, Mayhem, arQer & Realtime. In 2005, Nerve15 was released, confirming the quality of the label's output. That year was also marked by the end of Nerve's collaboration with Alpha Magic.
“To be honest, Alpha's collapse seemed like a real nightmare to us. We had selected three releases and they were already lined up when it happened. The 16th record was released. When Alpha ceased to exist, we initially decided that the best way out of the situation would be to abandon everything planned and take a short break.”
At present, Nerve together with Z Audio are releasing a Mindscape remix of “Silicon” and Pyro’s new version of his own track “Sea of Change”. This will be followed by the anticipated Nerve17, which will bring together Basic Operations and Chino with tracks by Day After and 15 Minutes.
“Ideally, we want to bring together different tracks so that listeners can appreciate the different sides of drum and bass. We plan to release records with a dancefloor track, for example, on one side and a melodic, calm one on the other. We strive for diversity in every way.”
Next on the release list is ICR with a track and a remix, followed by planned releases of work by Kabuki and Pyro. There are also plans to release a CD containing previous releases, presumably at the end of this year.
A progressive, forward-thinking label at present, Nerve was also the first to offer a paid track-download service through Beatport. Around half of the releases once issued on Nerve are now available for download, including Pyro’s track “End of an Era”, which is an exclusive Beatport release.
“I think MP3s clearly have advantages now. However, the difficulty is that people who are used to getting music for free are now forced to pay for it. This runs counter to their interests.”
Although drum and bass has undergone changes that have made it a style heavily dependent on the Internet in many respects, the importance of live events cannot be denied.
Paul Reset, who understands this perfectly well, joined forces with producers and top designers to open liveVevil—a nightclub with astonishing sound and lighting.
“Our main goal is to establish the club's reputation as a place where lighting and various special effects are on the same level as the music. We offer people the opportunity to enjoy the latest musical material alongside the most up-to-date visuals and installations.”
All special effects are created by YUVA and April 1st, with sound provided by Future Engineers. The central idea is to present Scotland's ravers with something completely unique.
Nerve’s plans are to continue pushing the boundaries of drum and bass and constantly offer new and interesting sounds. Currently a leading label, it has no intention of giving up its position in the future.
Originally published by DnbNation (dnbnation.com). Russian translation: Lysergic Lady; this English version is translated from that Russian translation.
