Pressure Drop

The origins of Pressure Drop and the musical partnership of Justin Langlands and Dave Henley, stem back to an era of rib-quaking dub at smoke-filled blues dances, with scratchy rare groove and hip-hop amongst the debris of the original illegal warehouse parties and the London club scene in the mid to late 1980s. The pair were first introduced in 1986 by mutual friend and seminal DJ Paul Guntrip, who enlisted them to play an eclectic selection of funk and soul, hip hop and rap, as well as reggae, early house and film soundtracks, at his Heavy Duty night in the Wag Club, London. Forward to 1990 and, following the sampladelic garage of Pressure Drop's first single ‘Feeling Good' created with Gareth Tasker and Mike Huxley, Dave and Justin decided to produce music themselves and make their mark with the 12” ‘Back2Back’. In those house dominated days, the resulting tune sounded radical, it was a blueprint, a statement of intent. Two albums followed, the first being 1992’s ‘Upset’, which evidenced their talent for producing innovative urban music with substance and longevity and 1993’s 'Front Row' which continued with heartfelt songs and expanded the PD sound into a cinematic audio-scope. Due to an unfortunate business situation both LPs were only released in a rather more forward thinking GAS territory (Germany, Austria & Switzerland). Increasing numbers of people were listening, friends Leftfield had been checking their releases and suggested signing to their Hard Hands label. Released in 1995, ‘Tearing the Silence’ was the result and gained widespread respect, leading to a deal with Columbia’s Higher Ground and the release of Pressure Drop's critically acclaimed third album that was 1997’s ‘Elusive’. Their last sound venture was the 2001 LP ‘Tread’, recorded after the duo moved to Brighton the album travels at the speed of thought and develops into an expansive audio feast. Pressure Drop's music was born out of a musical fusion reflecting the multi-ethnic culture they both grew up with in London during a golden age in 20th century music. They could be considered in the vanguard of early 1990's music makers and alongside other luminaries such as Massive Attack, Smith and Mighty, The Sandals and Young Disciples, they represented a time of vibrant creative change in the UK underground music scene.