Riplash & Sus Background
RS Music, The Beginning..
Riplash & Sus first met back in 1999, when Garage music was just beginning to blow up in the UK. Having grown up playing various instruments (guitar, piano & drums amongst others!), Riplash was at college studying Music Technology, working weekends to fund his insatiable appetite for raving - Sus meanwhile was leading a double life, doing the 9-to-5 grind as an IT Technician in the City of London by day, and DJing/promoting/raving hard by night.
The pair got together after Sus heard a demo of a Riplash production and approached him about producing some dubplates.. they immediately hit it off & a strong friendship was born.
Learning the Ropes
Fast forward to 2001, and Riplash was now at Uni, still studying on the Music Tech tip, and still raving weekly. Sus however had already immersed himself in the club scene with his DJing, managing to hustle himself onto respectable lineups such as Sun City & holding residencies both locally & in Ayia Napa. He was also heavily involved in running a successful local pirate radio station, and it was through this that Riplash & Sus began working for now defunct distribution & promotions company Flyer Knights.
Tough Lessons
2002 saw Riplash & Sus working harder than they'd ever worked before - and for the least money they'd ever earnt.. printing, packing & pushing nightclub flyers five days a week for Flyer Knights. If asked, they would probably say one of the best places to progress in the industry is on the streets, promoting & networking - but they also wouldn't wish it upon anyone!
The boys spent the rest of their time working for a national club industry guru, the infamous Bernie, which saw them DJing every week and hitting raves like Garage Nation, Innovation and One Nation. They also put on their own nights, the Frontline bashes, with artists like Ray Hurley, B-Live, Viper & Major Ace regularly performing, and due to the success of these were given their own room at 3000 capacity D&B event Battle Of The MC's... the Frontline room was squeezed full all night long.
Switch!
Tiring of the 60+ hour weeks & hungry for music, Riplash & Sus made the start of 2003 a turning point, and quit everything that was standing in the way of what was to come next. With the studio equipment from the shared Flyer Knights building now back in Riplash's home studio, they could now focus on the sound that had been forming during late night sessions squeezed in whilst promoting. Within a few weeks, the first two official Riplash & Sus tracks were born, Tortured (the product of "flyering anger"?), and Stinker.
Cat-Like Reactions
Learning from their extensive promotion experience, the boys put together a glossy demo package with pictures & short profiles, grabbing a heap of addresses for labels & DJs to send CDs and getting busy. The first run of packs was sent out on a cold Monday in the last week in Jan '03, and on the Friday of the same week the sound of Tortured was ringing out live accross London on EZ's Kiss 100 show, with MC Viper getting tongue tied over it's stuttering beats. Agent X also spun both tracks on BBC 1Xtra on the Saturday night & the following day an email from the Heatseeker Entertainment founders was sitting in the RS inbox.
Heating Up
Although RS had a number of approaches for beats, the interest from Heatseeker was the most appealing as the duo felt they shared the same musical ethos as Agent X - and had always admired the label & the tracks it pushed. After a few phonecalls & one tasty italian meal, the deal was done and Riplash & Sus were officially part of the Heatseeker Entertainment camp, Tortured/Stinker set for release on Heatseeker's Warheadz label in September 2003.
With a flurry of radio play, some well timed advertising & DJ Magazine's Sureplayer award for the release (scoring 5/5), Riplash & Sus were suddenly on the map..
To The Present..
Since first signing with Heatseeker in 2003, Riplash & Sus have been given the opportunity to produce & remix for artists such as Vula Malinga (recently featured on Basement Jaxx track "Oh My Gosh") and Kele Le Roc, and also write & produce their own original material, both instrumental & vocal. This has led to the formation of the RS Music label, which was set up to release selected Riplash & Sus tracks and push new music forward. The guys have also been making some of the biggest underground remixes around under the hugely successful alias Juicy Joints, and DJing at some of the finest venues around the UK through their production, and with ongoing releases and press coverage.. the hype just gets bigger.