Back in 2009 I picked up a copy of Disrupt’s “The Bass Has Left The Building” solely for its incredible art work. As eye-catching as those super sumos were, it was noticing Jimmy Cauty designed the sleeve, being a bit of a KLF obsessive, that sealed the deal. I knew nothing of the label, Jahtari, which launched in 2004, probably because until 2008 their releases had been files and the occasional CD only. 

Once I’d gotten over the gatefold, the music was just as striking. Sci-Fi skanking, that used 8-bit beats and bleeps, and Bontempi and Casio organs, to build raw, rude, buzzing electro “Sleng Teng” rhythms. The melodies mixed “The Twilight Zone” with arcade game themes, and the production peppered them with bubbling circuitry, laser blasts, serrated sirens, “Speak & Spell” exclamations, spinning and spiralling sound effects. Like Rephlex’s Bochum Welt relocated to Kingston, Jamaica, and put together with a plugged-in Lee Perry-esque playfulness. Its wonky, lop-sided dance paying tribute to early Upsetter hits, such as “The Return Of Django”. The closing track, “Love On”, had androids reciting Rutger Hauer’s “Tears In Rain” Blade Runner speech. I certainly hadn’t heard anything quite like it. 

Since then, however, now, nearly 20 years later, Disrupt and Jahtari’s instantly recognisable sound has become something that I frequently cite and reference. A trademark, and inspirational, developing into almost a genre in itself, its influence can currently be spotted in the work, for example, of Brother Culture, Feel Free Hi Fi, Froid Dub, Omid Geadizadeh, J-Walk, and Emerson Kitamura. 

Disrupt’s The Bass Has Left The Building can be ordered directly from Jahtari. The expanded reissue contains 4 extra tracks.