Dojo boss Hex lands in the premiere spotlight today with a track taken from his new single for Nurtured Beatz! Phosphorus blends growling basslines, halftime drums and sci-fi sampling for a deep, dark workout, progressing to a breakbeat switchup at the second drop. Check it out below and look out for the release coming Oct 23rd at Bandcamp – all other stores follow on Oct 30th.
Hex delivers 90 minutes of the latest D&B, with the latest episode marking 4 years of Dojo podcasts! New beats inside from Klinical, Muffler, John Rolodex, Calibre, Monika, dgoHn and many more.
As always you can check out the podcast via Soundcloud below or head to Youtube or iTunes to stream. You can also grab a download from Google Drive.
IMANU’s music has gone from strength to strength since moving away from his previous Signal moniker, and his latest work for Noisia’s Vision imprint sees him branching out into more experimental pastures.
Nagow and Cheren deliver the heavyweight neuro workouts that have become his trademark, with the former bringing a more colourful vibe via some deft melodic touches; Cheren by comparison pursues a more industrial aesthetic for pure sonic punishment.
The back half of the EP takes in some tempo drops; Whatever It Takes explores vaguely dubstep-adjacent territory with crunchy beats and grimy bass that’s sure to get your head nodding. After all that stiff competition it’s a pleasant surprise then that closing track Music To Stay In Your House To is potentially the strongest on the EP. Beautiful sound designs, wonky vocal textures and crazy drum rhythms combine on a genre-defying track that blends everything from hip-hop to IDM into a joyously chaotic melting pot.
IMANU’s new title (and doubtless a lot of encouragement from Noisia) seem to be inspiring some of his best work yet this year, and we can’t wait to hear what he comes up with next. In the meantime, you can check out the Cheren EP below – hit up your favourite store to grab it right now.
For those unfamiliar with his work, Nymfo cut his teeth on pretty much every important label under the sun: 31 Records, Innerground, Commercial Suicide, Renegade Hardware and Metalheadz to name only a few – no one can argue with that pedigree. With a long back catalogue of bangers spanning over of decade, the initiated shouldn’t need an introduction, but his latest EP on Dispatch is worthy of one.
Nymfo’s sound largely lurks at deeper end of the spectrum, yet there’s still plenty of variety on offer with this EP. There are stepping tunes like title track Forbidden Planet and Everything Will Be; tracks that roll – albeit unconventionally – like Breach; down right weird ones like Cold Mission; and some signature Nymfo qualities in tracks like Pathfinder with longstanding Dispatch general Hijack MC.
Throughout there is a definite nod to the techstep era of the late 90s and early 00s. The EP feels raw in a way that minimal, techy numbers of the last 5-10 years have often lacked. Perhaps this record will be one of several marker points in the months and years from now that show the pendulum swinging away from technology-focused beatmaking, and back towards focusing on the overall vibe. That focus on vibe helped carve out the techstep style in the earlier eras of drum and bass, and it’s EPs like this that help cement the style’s status amongst the D&B pantheon of sounds.
The Forbidden Planet EP is out now at the Dispatch Store – all other stores follow Oct 16th.
Written by James Austin
Deep, autonomic-esque explorations on today’s exclusive as we present the title track from Marc Renton’s new Signal Waves EP for Drum Army! Atmospheric and synth led, this is full of dreamy sounds and lush instrumentation, plus some characterful percussion work. Watch out for the EP coming Oct 23rd at all good digital stores!
Stranjah lands on Worst Behavior for today’s premiere with Fox on the mic! Heavyweight halftime riddims and those unmistakable Fox vox – maximum swagger! Look for this one dropping Oct 20th.
Today’s premiere is tense, detailed and brimming over with brooding atmosphere; Australian producer Piglet brings his heavyweight sound to Strictly Deep DnB. Sick stuff! Look for this one coming Oct 16th…
John Rolodex’ latest work sees him returning to the mighty Metalheadz for the first time in over a decade, and bringing his first solo EP for Goldie’s esteemed imprint. To find out about all things Rainmaker we caught up with the veteran Canadian producer for a chat. Read on for the skinny…
Photo Credit: Agata Raymond
Modu lands on Addictive Behaviour for today’s exclusive with a gnarly breakbeat smasher! Tech bass modulations under an absolutely razor sharp drum line make for a serious slice of dark jungle weaponry. Hit up beatport to grab this one right now – other stores follow in a couple of weeks.
Mexico City crew BLDSMX are in our premiere spotlight today as we present a cut from their forthcoming ArmadaSounds 001 compilation LP! Rainforest brings the deep, jungle-tinged vibes on the appropriately named Duality; love the breakwork and the rhythms on this one. Look for the LP coming Oct 2nd with a whole host of bassy goodness across the 170 spectrum…