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Plan B is a musical partnership between DJ, producer and digital engineer Ren, and designer, writer and musician Steve Baker.
They met approximately two years ago when Ren was working at a media distribution company and Steve was doing publicity and promotion for a new energy drink. They hit it off thanks to a mutual love of music and passionate dislike for The Streets, which inspired the first track they produced called '2Shay', a mocking lyrical assault on Mike 'the chav' Skinner.
Time restraints, work commitments and geography conspired against Plan B's musical ambitions, however perseverance paid off and the pair started collaborating on tracks in Ren's spare room (actually a glorified cupboard). Ren's relocation to his home town of Harlow in Essex meant access was much easier for Steve, and this prompted a serious rethink spurring on the realisation of Ren's 'plan b'; to set-up and run a digital recording studio. Suitable premises were secured in March of 2004 and the pair set to work generating interest in the studio, called RenDigital, while utilising any available dead-time to work on original tracks. Many late nights and numerous Chinese take-aways later and real progress was being made. The initial tracks developed in Ren's 'cupboard' had been completed while a number of new tracks and ideas were in production.
Unlike any music either of them had produced before the Plan B sound is a collision of influences and experience, which fully utlises Ren's skills as a DJ and producer and Steve's background in song writing and live instruments. Initial tracks included the aforementioned '2Shay', the dark and pensive 'Retrobleps' with it's hypnotic rhythms and Arab-influenced vocals and sound effects, the upbeat dance track 'Within A Dream', the shuddering bass-heavy instrumental 'Chariots On Fire', guitar based composition 'Simply Nothing', the breaks influenced 'Know What I'm Saying', demented house track 'Basshouse' and cheerful chill-out track, with a twist, called 'Think Of You'.
While lyrics weren't a problem it was clear vocalists were needed to complete a number of tracks, so a couple of female singers; Alex Outlaw and Laura Carter, were contacted via RenDigital client Apton Dance Studio, and subsequent recording sessions proved successful. The track list was now taking shape and the Plan B partnership had their work cut out with live vocals to mix in and more tracks to finish.
By November of 2004 the tracks under development had been edited into an album project, called 'It Ain't Rocket Science', reflecting an eclectic mix of influences and featuring a broad spectrum of styles. Some tracks feature guest vocalists, others are purely instrumental. Some are generated purely from digital sounds, others include live instruments. Some are upbeat, others are more chilled. Most could be described as dark, others could be defined as journey music, with a distinctly cinematic quality.
Demo CD-R's featuring up to seven tracks and including Steve's distinctive cover artwork were mailed out to prospective labels generating positive feedback from the likes of Skint and Grand Central. However, it was decided that Shifty Disco should be the home for Plan B's debut, with tracks 'Basshouse' and 'Think Of You' appearing as a double A-side download single from February 11th 2005.
As for the future, finding a suitable label for the Plan B debut album 'It Ain't Rocket Science' is a priority, while in addition Ren and Steve hope to generate interest in their production skills with the aim of writing tracks for other artists and working on remixes. Ren is also continuing to engineer and co-write tracks in collaboration with a number of DJ / producers and release solo hard house tracks, adding to his back catalogue which includes three 12" singles on fledgling dance label Concrete (info: www.clubconcrete.com). Steve is continuing with his graphic, fine art and writing projects.
Further Plan B and RenDigital information is available on website www.ardouse.com or via email: shbaker@ntlworld.com / ren@ardouse.com, or by contacting Steve Baker on 07939 192767.
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