I caught up with Raymond Roker recently and asked him for some background on this mixtape, here’s what he had to say:

Obviously, a reference to Queen, one of the greatest of all time. And maybe a bit of mid ’90s nihilism because nothing really mattered in some ways. So maybe that’s existentialism.

10 stories high was URB headquarters at the corner of Hollywood and Vine in the legendary Taft Building. That was URB’s first real office space from 1992-2000. ’96 was also a tough year for us. We almost caved that year due to money/growth issues. We recovered and ’97 then saw a breakout year for electronic music. Our best years were still yet to come.

[Upon seeing a tracklist] Ahh, right, my drum and bass days… This was a great time for jungle. I was getting copious white labels directly from England and playing tunes at gigs before most. Plus, I was buying tons of vinyl still. The DJ Hype/Fugees “Ready or Not” was to be a classic. I had some audio of Goldie in an interview that starts side B. Nasty Habits (Doc Scott) “Shadow Boxing” is still a beast to this day. And Future Forces “Dead by Dawn” used to murder the place.

So much other DARK and deep metal going on here. The first side is definitely the stormer with major cuts of tech step of the day. But the second side starts a little more cerebral and brooding. The gets into a classic mood, into the more dance friendly beats of the day. But all of it heavy.

Raymond Roker – Nothing Really Matters (Side A)

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Raymond Roker – Nothing Really Matters (Side B)

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Tape Source: Raymond Roker