Renegade Hardware Recordings was created in 1995 as an outlet for the harder and more experimental music their artists were producing. Renegade recordings and Trouble on Vinyl were already successful in their own rights but there came a need to focus a new label on a new and exciting sound that was emerging from jungle and DnB, that’s of a very dark, often hard and relentless technoid sound. The stable must also be praised for continually nurturing and exposing fresh new talent from around the globe from the day dot. This has helped the label stay relatively fresh while exposing the talent of DnB producers that exist outside of the UK.

The current conditions of vinyl sales across the globe in the music industry have seen another market for the Renegade Hardware camp to target which had not been really catered for in the DnB fraternity, that of CD sales. Long overdue in my mind as not everybody can afford to buy records and not everybody has dreams of becoming a DJ.
Things changed slowly with CD releases of the Harder They Come series by Grooverider, but now it seems since the first Future Beats CD release mixed by DJ Ink, CD enthusiasts are treated with a regular series of mix CD's comprised of the freshest beats as well as past anthems gone by.

Volume 4 is mixed by label co-kahuna Chris Renegade while volume 5 was recorded by relatively fresh up and comers Vicious Circle.

Both CD mixes were structured and layed out similarly. The mixing is tight with very little excitement or risk. Clearly the goal was to allow the listener to enjoy as much of the track individually before its mixed out instead of hearing the "wIcKeD dJ" strut his stuff. This is a welcomed move as it is often frustrating with other mix CD's where you barely hear any of the track before its mixed out after a minute or even 30 seconds *coughs andy c & Friction cough*.....frustrating especially if its your favourite tune!

Both CD's are balanced nicely with what were fresh tunes at the time and classic anthems from the Renegade hardware hall of fame. Those who missed out the first time would be delighted. Also the tracklistings is evenly spread amongst the various producers within the Renegade Hardware camp, showcasing the various styles and production techniques that vary from artist to artist. Obviously the standout tracks in my mind are the anthems which have been rinsed everywhere which includes the Spor remix of Messiah as well as the Plague by Keaton and Hive but I was pleasantly surprised by the production talents of Vicious Circle and Desimal (RIP) with whom I hadn’t previously heard much from.

Volumes 4 and 5 has in my mind effectively completed the task it was set out to do and is a great introduction to Hard and Dark DnB for those that are new and seek it which probably means the CD's may not be suitable for the more fussy and militant interweb techhead junglist types. Myself personally, I’m more biased towards the more musical forms of DnB but I still managed to thoroughly enjoyed both CD's.

For comments on this review go to:
http://www.teknoscape.com.au/forums/showthread.php?p=1092564

Renegade Hardware Present - Future Beats 04 CD [Mixed By Chris Renegade] Cat.No: RHFB04
Spor - Cyberpunk
Ewun - Hate Machine
Desimal - Mantra
DJ Ink - Don Darko
Psidream - Stomping Ground
Noisia, Phace & C4C - Dead air
Vicious Circle & Corrput Souls - Shadrock
Chase & Status - Barbarians [Prolix RMX]
Spor - Lose It / Teebee - The Force
Evol Intent & Corrupt Souls - Filth Bath
The Militia - Paranoia [Gridlok RMX]
Pendulum & Bulletproof - Minds Eye
Konflict - Messiah [Spor RMX]
Evol Intent Feat. Blip - Flipside
Arachnid - Quadrant

Renegade Hardware Present - Future Beats 05 CD [Mixed By Vicious Circle]  Cat.No: RHFB05
Universal Project - Jackhammer [Vicious Circle RMX]
Keaton & Hive - The Plague
Spor - Ultimate Technology
Vicious Circle - Doom Train
Konflict - Roadblock
Chase & Status - Ten Tonne
Prolix - Innocence
Spor - Dreadnought
Universal Project - Comin Through
Raiden - Clone
Chase & Status vs Vicious Circle - The Grudge
The Militia - Paranoia [Gridlok RMX]
Human Resource - Dominator [Raiden vs Predator RMX]
Pendulum - Trail Of Sevens
Desimal - Sun Destroyer
Evol Intent - Call To Arms