Beefus B is back with some B-Sides. Actually I don't think they're B-Sides, but the record is called Bee Side. Maybe it's a pun on the word 'besides'? Or maybe- y'know what? It's not important. What is important is that you buy it and tell your friends. They'll think you're cool because this is an endlessly cool record. Packed with blistering beats and beastly melodies guaranteed to elevate your mood.

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INTERVIEW
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George Ernst, Triplicate Records: Did you end up living a good life in 2022?

Bryan Dundon aka Beefus B :I feel it was mostly a good year and despite having some health issues, it turned out to be a decent year after all. Hey, we are still alive!

GE: Seriously though I love that track, it's a little at odds with the others but the drum and bass minimalism was refreshing. Can you see yourself experimenting with this approach again?

BD: Actually, I’m working on some similar stuff for the next album. I have about 8 songs in the making. Definitely a minimalist theme happening.

GE: What's the best and worst beef. This is not a trick question.

BD: I prefer a New York strip. That would be best. Getting into a beef with someone would be the worst. Beefus B knows beef.

GE: How'd you get so good at beats? Seriously, the stuff on Sad Well and Just One More Day was blowing my mind a little bit!

BD: Thank you for digging my beats. I’m a drummer first and foremost. I usually track all the drums and percussion last after everything else. It’s like icing on the cake.

GE: I don't think there are any weak tracks on the record. What's your favourite? I'm torn between Live A Good Life in 2022 & Pieces of Mind

BD: Thank you. I would say, groove pandemic. It was the first song I wrote for the album and started the whole creative process. It was a lot of fun putting this together and I’m really appreciative of triplicate records for releasing it. Thank you so much!!

GE: Any word from your nemesis, Porkus Pie?

BD: Porkus Pie knows it’s better to keep his mouth shut. George, seriously, stay away from that mound of garbage. You’ll be better off.

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REVIEW
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Beefus B bounces boldly back into the world of blisteringly funky electronica, maintaining his trademark experimental leanings and ability to make shockingly excellent tunes. This time, on the hilariously titled 'Bee Side' record, 11 lovely new tracks are served up for our listening pleasure. Let's go track by track and get stuck into the funk quagmire.

Super Funk Number 21 – Does. Not. Disappoint. Of course Beefus tunes never do, but what a winner this one is on all counts! Accurate title? Check. Putting one's best foot forward and starting the record out right? Check. Reigniting the Beefus hype after almost two years since 2021's dryly titled yet magnificent 'Experiments In Sound' ? Check (that record out of if you haven't already.

Groove Pandemic – The title probably refers to something that happened a couple of years ago but I can't quite remember. Nevertheless, this particular pandemic slaps. The shuffling snares and supremely weird combination of keys and bass leading up to a blinding synth-pad earworm explosion is a winning fusion of stellar stuff. Ever riding the line between a trance-like dance-number and ska-punk-esque horn bursts, this is an early highlight worth revisiting.

Uncork the Good Stuff – We're on the good stuff now apparently. Implying the first two tracks are the cheap wine you break out at the party and what follows is the expensive red you keep in your garage for when it's just you and your close friends left. Of course not. The opening two tunes did a fabulous job at re-establishing what makes Beefus' music so engaging, and with UTGS he's three for three. Whirring insect electroncs and warbling crawling melodies seep into the cracks between tightly woven beats, coalescing into a sweet and spicy number.

Age of Orange – *extremely good title klaxon*. Erratic drumwork neatly compliments a melody that gradually evolves from very chill to regular chill. That is to say that sense of utopian excitement that only electronica can bestow upon your ears comes out to play.

Just One More Day – The title could refer to optimism in the face of an insurmountably boring job, or a childlike mental sugar-rush of anticipation. Or somewhere in-between. Stretching proceedings here to a longer 5+ minute run time, the tune is afforded the time to breathe and make itself known naturally, so that when the percussion truly drops around a minute and a half and takes on shades of Bauhaus percussion, it feels like the revelation it deserves to be. What's striking when listening to the tunes on 'Bee Side' is just how proficient is in making repetition rewarding, like so many math-rock bands, and also in achieving an extremely rich, full and organic sound with his machines.

The Twinkle Left The Eyes – for such a morose title, this tune is anything but. The beats are back to being blistering and the bass is simply delicious. The drums do weird time signature things that my idiot brain can't articulate but trust me when I say, they're very cool.

Live A Good Life In 2022 – Bombastic Beefus beats burst out the gate here. It sounds like the track is under attack or something. It goes without saying that prominent percussion has always been a Beefus staple but on LAGLI2022 they're centre-stage and all-encompassing, save for some squishy sub-bass. It's nasty and I love it.

Out Of Nowhere – Long, warping wooshes and house beats enveloped in new age synthetic goodness. It's Age of Orange's jazzy cousin, and packs endless wallop. Evoked are desert skies, tunnels of murk, and a creeping aura of mechanization, and somewhere amongst all that is the need to dance to it. So many of these pieces are surprisingly danceable despite the ever-evolving drum-work and experimental time-signatures.

Sad Well – Is it even possible to be sad when you're dancing? Or moving your head from side to side while you purse your lips. No one else do that when they're listening to breakbeat stuff? No? OK. Anyway, the melodies again take a back step... well not exactly, they're here, and they're doing exactly what they need to do to provide a sense of forward momentum, but most of all it's the drums again stealing the show. Well... that is until the final third, when Beefus breaks out the big guns. (The big guns in this case being some very nice piano.)

Pieces Of Mind – This little banger and piece of penultimate paradise is a highlight, evoking a tropical dance-centred resort, (your mileage may vary) with it's upbeat.. beats, and colourful key stabs. There's nothing more to say. In the olden days you'd buy Bee Side for this tune alone!

Imagine If We Go – It's the end of the night in the club. It's pushing 3AM, you're the DJ and you don't want your rowdy patrons who're hopped up on brain-melting Beefusian dance music to cause a ruckus on their way home and piss off the locals, so you play this, not exactly sombre, but relatively meditative piece. You look down at the crowd anticipating them to bemoan the lack of hardcore percussion, but your fears are assuaged. They're digging the funky sequenced basslines and the pretty roaming string-work. Metaphors aside, it's a great closer to a great record, and rounds things out perfectly. Beefus has nailed it again, as if there was any doubt he would. Take a listen and hear for yourself.

George Ernst
Triplicate Records