For those of you aware of Mancunian breaks duo Koma & Bones, let's just clear up a few little discrepancies. Firstly, they are not a duo but a trio, consisting of Chris Kirkbridge, Andy Duckmanton and Jude Sebastian. Secondly, this is breaks but perhaps not as we know it. And, finally, this ' Manchester act' actually come from Lancaster .
The rainy city, however, is something of a spiritual home - The Haçienda has been instrumental in their histories, while Duckmanton has had DJ stints throughout the North West 's warehouses and Koma & Bones now have a semi-residency at Tangled. Meanwhile, get them on the subject of Manchester music and you begin to understand how their own geographical location is often miscredited.
"Joy Division, New Order, Factory," lists Kirkbridge with some enthusiasm. "I'm bang into all that stuff. It was a major, major privilege when we got to remix New Order's 'Confusion'."
But from that point a year ago, it seems that Koma & Bones revised their own style. Their latest, 'Shutterspeed', isn't what you'd necessarily expect from peak-time breakbeat. Gnarly bass sounds are down to an absolute minimum, the pace is somewhat relaxed and, while taking in some deep-house inflections, things have suddenly gone subtle.
"We still have the odd dark moment but we're not 100 per cent into just ripping the heart out of the dance floor," Kirkbridge notes. "I'm hoping that those influences of ours that go right back to 1989 come through a bit. Much rather that than the generic breaks sound filling the racks of the record shops right now."
Despite such comments, Koma & Bones are quick to note the wealth of quality material around and it's this that constitutes those deck-bound jaunts. From the tribal aesthetics emanating from Meat Katie and Lee Coombes to further innovation courtesy of Precision Cuts, it's certainly more scientific than simply flicking a drum loop from 33 to 45rpm. Inspired by current developments, the threesome - signed to Rennie Pilgrem's TCR stable - have just launched their own Burrito label to nurture future talent.
And let's not forget K&B's other rather notorious little outlet: the bootleg. So far, they've turned in their own unsolicited remixes of Kosheen's Hide U and X-Press 2's Smoke Machine, with both picked up by the labels concerned, turning their ever so slightly illegal set staples into sanctioned releases. Any more of those?
'Oh, I couldn't possibly comment,' laughs Kirkbridge. 'All I'll say is that there are a few cheeky little booties doing the rounds that we might just be found enjoying as much as anyone else would.'
TOM CAMPION