About Dev/Null
Artist Biography
Boston-based DJ/electronic musician Dev/Null first received notice for his hyper-complex breakcore productions, as heard on releases like 2007's Lazer Thrash, before focusing his attention on early jungle and breakbeat hardcore, becoming one of North America's foremost authorities on the styles, and helping to revive interest in them. His website, Blog to the Oldskool, unearthed long out-of-print gems in addition to hosting countless mixes by himself and other DJs such as Tim Reaper, and his 8205 Recordings imprint brought previously unreleased tracks to vinyl. He also produced darkside jungle tracks, appearing on compilations and on his own 2020 full-length Pocket Selector.
Pete Cassin started collecting records in the early '90s, initially gravitating toward forms of extreme music such as grindcore, crust punk, and noise; eventually he played drums in bands such as Grief and Fate of Icarus. He got into jungle and drum'n'bass around the mid-'90s, then became enamored with breakcore when the scene emerged later in the decade, finding its complexity and energy to be just what he was looking for in music. He began making incredibly detailed tracks which merged all of his music interests, including oldskool rave, video game music, vintage horror soundtracks, jazz fusion, and more. His first vinyl EP, E-Boyz Revenge: 230 BPM Eternal, appeared on Tigerbeat6 sublabel Violent Turd in 2004, and he contributed numerous tracks to compilations in addition to playing shows throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. His first album, Lazer Thrash, was issued by Jason Forrest's Cock Rock Disco label in 2007, and was followed by the more grindcore-influenced digital release Necrobestial Sadobreaks a year later.
At the height of the music blog era, Cassin started Blog to the Oldskool in order to share some of the rare jungle and hardcore records he had been collecting. He lost interest in producing breakcore, issuing one final EP in the style (2010's Shards of Rhythm) before focusing on collecting and spinning oldskool hardcore. He started a bi-weekly online radio show in connection with the blog, and was eventually joined by U.K. producer and DJ Tim Reaper. Interest in these sounds began resurging throughout the 2010s, and some of the previously obscure tracks featured on the site ended up becoming much-sought after. Cassin established 8205 Recordings in 2014, issuing vintage dubplate-only tracks and material which previously only existed on private DAT tapes. He also co-produced tracks for Dwarde and Tim Reaper's Simpsons-themed Globex Corp EP series, and his album Pocket Selector, consisting of jungle tracks written on a Pocket Operator micro-sampler, was issued by Modern Urban Jazz in 2020. ~ Paul Simpson
Hometown
Allston, MA, United States
Genre
Jungle/Drum'n'bass
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