Originally one half of Alchemic Breaks, we got the word recently that Chimera had struck out on his own to start a new imprint, Ronin Audio. It seemed only right that we track him down for a chat; read on for some info on their first release and what else he’s got in store!
News of a fresh new D&B imprint launching this year in Northern Ireland reached the Dojo via friends across the chilly seas, and with names like Jam Thieves and Pennygiles already on board and big plans for vinyl releases we thought we’d better investigate! With that in mind we caught up with label boss Nephilim (Joe to his Mum) for a chat on all things Anamorphic.
Addictive Behaviour celebrate their first birthday this month with a podcast from new signing Artifact and a free release featuring a track from him and new beats from TR Tactics and L33. We figured it was high time to catch up with the crew for a chat, so read on for the lowdown on all things AB.
Alchemic Breaks are busy gearing up for their first release later this month, so we thought it was high time to find out more about the operation from bossman Altered Perception. Read on for the low-down on the new imprint, his thoughts on the deeper side of D&B and how he came to be at the helm of no less than four labels!
Glasgow-based Nerve Recordings sadly closed it’s doors in 2010 but for nine strong years the label flew the D&B flag under the keen stewardship of Pyro and Paul Reset, with releases from homegrown and international producers alike. For this week’s #TBT posting we take a look back at 10 of the best from the Narve vaults. Don’t forget you can grab all of these releases for free from either the Nerve Bandcamp or their website.
Regular readers of the blog will probably already be familiar with Leeds-based upstart Transmission Audio. Altered Perception, Peak and Sanction have been busy over the last year building a fierce catalogue of dark, edgy D&B from up and coming producers like Komatose, Skepsis and Xsetra, and they’ve even found time to start a sister Sub:mission imprint to put out some more melodic beats.
With the labels moving from strength to strength, and the releases dropping all too quickly, the Dojo crew decided it was time for a wee retrospective on the last few releases and what’s to come over the next few months.
Established back in 2001, US label Warm Communications has long flown the flag for high quality, leftfield Drum & Bass. Early releases from ASC, Equinox, Seba and Banaczech explored deep liquid and drumfunk, with producers experimenting with the less dancefloor oriented styles of D&B.
Looking back over the label’s discography, it seems founder EHL was in no hurry, and still isn’t – despite the labels twelve year tenure it had only notched up a relatively modest release catalogue. The upshot of this however is that the releases are of a consistently high quality, with plenty of genuinely classic and interesting tunes to choose from.
Certain classics stand out from the pack, such as the effortless ambience of ASC’s appropriately titled Highbrow, the epic cinematic drumfunk of Fanu’s Footsteps Concealed and Seba’s brilliantly idosyncratic This Is Our House.
All of this brings us up to the present day and hot on the heels of a sublime 12″ from Seba and Blu Mar Ten comes another solo single from Utopia head honcho Mako. A Break From Ritual explores ruff, tough drum programming with a huge mashup of different breaks kicking in and out of the mix over dark bass stabs and samples pillaged from hip-hop, rave and more.
Over on the flip we’re treated to a deep, dubby roller in the form of What A Little Moonlight Can Do, taking things down a notch but still placing the emphasis on intricate drum programming and unusual sampling. Watch out for this one dropping on vinyl and digital from December 2nd.
Following on from our catchup with QST we caught up with the Default Recordings crew to hear about their plans for the label.
DNB Dojo: Biggups on your first release! What made you want to start a label, especially given how many small D&B imprints already exist out there?
Default Recordings: Default Recordings first came about back in 2003 whilst Flapjack was experimenting making tunes with Coolhand Flex and vocalist Cat Knight in his home studio and getting advice from them on music production. In the early days they made many tunes together but never actually got round to releasing them. Flapjack already had vinyl releases back in 1997 on Dj Rap’s label Proper Talent (Dj Rap & Flapjack Rumble Remix) and sub-label Unique Muzique (Gulfbreeze/Lucid Dreams) and Desire’s label S.U.S. Recordings (Final Solution/Reverb) and thought the next step is to have his own label and continue to hone his producing skills.
Flapjack set up Default Recordings to have an avenue to release our music without having to conform to the restraints of other labels and also having more control over what we released and when. For a while Default Recordings was on hold as Flapjack had a full time job and not much time on his hands but always had the intention to re-launch the label at some point in the future. Flapjack recently met up with Piercey and found out he produced tracks, he then got introduced to IDC and he saw a lot of potential in them both. With this in mind and the other artists he had on the label previously (Coolhand Flex, QST & Cat Knight) he decided to re-launch the label with Piercey & IDC lending a hand.
Having two others on board has helped a lot financially and in spreading the workload. Over the past couple of months we have all worked hard in getting the label up & running again. Having a few of you with the same goal works really well as you can bounce ideas off each other to do with the label and also when it comes to producing music.
DD: I understand the Default crew hails from Milton Keynes, what’s the scene like there?
DR: The scene in MK has always been a bit quiet in terms of D&B, maybe with it being so close to London, people tend to look to the music and clubs down there instead. Not many nights are put on here and when they are, there isn’t much of a turn-out unless you get hold of some big names to get people out. Years ago, there used to be a big presence in the city with the likes of the Sanctuary and various other large clubs which unfortunately are no longer, they are all shutdown to make way for too many of these cheesy bars/pubs which don’t really cater for D&B and more towards house and RnB.
The only real place at the moment for DnB nights is the SnoBar which put on regular DnB nights with the likes of Steppers and Jungle Massacre. These are run by the boys behind Filthy Business and Delicate Beats, a couple of other labels which have been born in MK. When the label gets more established we will look to getting a regular Default night up and running in the area as it need something new and fresh for the people of MK who are into the scene. They just need to come out and represent the music!
DD: What are the plans for the label? Any upcoming releases you can tell us about?
DR: The main focus for Default recordings is to not stick with one DnB sound. Default wants to reflect the whole 360 degree spectrum of DnB and hopefully you will see that coming through with our future releases. We don’t want to be pigeon holed into having one style. All our artists presently on board have their own individual style, so with each release you can expect something different from the last.
The plan for the label is to keep releasing tunes on the regular. Hopefully people will like our stuff and the label will grow and mature over time. We are always looking for new and interesting artists to get on board, so if you have any demos please get in touch with us via our Soundcloud page. We listen to all demos and will give feedback..
Our release schedule over the next few months looks a bit like this: DEF002 will be from the legendary Coolhand Flex with Master and Soundboy. These 2 tracks are very different from our first release. If you know Flex from back in the day, this is his sound all over, truly a couple of dance floor smashers! This should be released early July. DEF003 will see the debut release from IDC. From there, we have releases coming from Piercey and also DSP. We will also be looking to have a label launch party sometime in June/July. The venue and date are still to be confirmed. Details will be available on our website. All the Default artists will be appearing alongside a very special guest….so keep an eye out for that.
DD: Any plans to release tunes on vinyl, or is the label sticking to digital only for now?
DR: For now, we are looking to keep the releases available through download stores only. Hopefully if the demand is there in the future then sure, we would love to release our tracks on vinyl. At the end of the day, all our artists come from vinyl backgrounds and that would be our ultimate goal. Nothing beats vinyl, but you have to move with the times…
DD: If you could sign a tune from any artist, who would it be?
DR: There are too many to mention. I simply couldn’t list them all. Someone like Calibre would be amazing. The guy is a genius.
And for those who need something more than words, here’s a mix from Default-er IDC which shows off the label’s vision with a tidy mix of smooth liquid. Check it out and grab yourself a free download!
Leeds-based Dispatch Recordings have been a steady part of the D&B scene for well over a decade now, with a well deserved reputation for releasing tough, rugged tracks from some of the best names in the scene. Never compromising their integrity in favour of current trends, the label has truly gone from strength to strength over the past few years with a couple of massive LP releases and a slew of singles and EPs to boot.
Early releases on the label saw tunes from the likes of Hidden Agenda, NOS and Q-Project taking centre stage, not to mention a rather tasty collaboration between Chris.Su, Stress Levels and Ant TC1.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXN3P3OssZs]
Having gained this momentum, 2008 saw the label step up a gear with their first release from the mighty Break (collabing with Survival on the Sick/Warnings 12″). From here on in the discography speaks for itself, with a massive selection of great tracks from the likes of Hybris, EBK, Amoss and Octane & DLR (who’s 2012 LP Method in the Madness was widely hailed as one of the albums of the year).
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rDt5LiA_nw]
All of this brings us up to the present day and the rather excellent release last month of Survival & Silent Witness’ LP In From The Wild. Every bit as high quality as the Octane & DLR album last year, and lavishly released on both vinyl and CD formats, the tracks below speak for themselves.
So if you don’t know Dispatch, sit down and have a browse of the back catalogue!
We’ve covered some of the excellent material from IM:Ltd here on DnB Dojo before, and given the two excellent releases they have lined up for March and April, now seemed like a great time to do a little retrospective on the label. Started up in 2009, the French label has been busy putting out a slew of excellent digital releases from a variety of up and coming acts, and has found time to craft a few limited 12″ releases too. The quality and style of the labels output has always leaned towards the deeper, moodier side of Drum & Bass, often eschewing the dancefloor in favour of creating atmospheres better suited to the 6am after party. Favourable comparisons can be drawn to the likes of Data’s output for Horizons, such as Mortem’s excellent Stratos 12″ released back in 2011.
But don’t mistake the imprint for a one trick pony. Not everything you’ll find on show here is merely for the chin-stroking heads; while avoiding out-and-out tearers, the label has definitely put out it’s fair share of insistent steppers such as their releases from Future Signal and Paiton.
All of which brings us up to the here and now, and the impending release of the Aftermath LP. Showcasing a mixture of leftfield Drum & Bass and more downtempo, Autonomic-esque vibes, the 10 track release packs some serious atmosphere. Highlights come from Es.tereo and Marilyn with the sublime Winteria, Calculon who delivers a brilliant clap-and-shuffle floater with Hold Back, and Physical Illusions’ We Feeling What We Doing which features a seriously smooth, laid back flow from MC KryptoMedic.
As though that isn’t enough, IM:Ltd just delivered us some grittier numbers on the aptly titled Hunted EP which dropped earlier this week. The EP heads for decidedly heavier territory than some of the labels previous releases, with some seriously dark bass on show, particularly on Disept’s Course and Kuantum’s rather excellent Lost & Found.
So get over to your favourite digital outlet and check out the tidy back catalogue!