Category Archives: Releases

Forbidden Society – Throne Crusher [Forbidden Society Recordings]

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Forbidden Society kicks off 2015 with a big new LP filled to the brim with upfront hardstep and neurofunk stylings. Anyone looking for subtlety need not apply, but if you’re looking for a stomping selection of dancefloor D&B with a tough edge you could do far worse than this!

Highlights come on the driving, riffy Boycott, the old school reese madness of Stay True To The Game and the skittering breaks of Paradise. There’s also some weird glitch-hop madness in the form of Ion Engines and Enter, alongside a wealth of other aggy D&B business. Check out the clips below and look for this on CD, vinyl and digital from Feb 2nd.

Chilling On The Couch 2 [Scientific Records]

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Mav’s Scientific Records imprint returns with a sublime new album of chilled out electronica from the fringes of D&B. The album lives up to it’s title, providing some effortless musical and entirely un-banging cuts like Bop’s sublime microfunk remix of Mav’s Skylines. Other highlights comes on the jazzy licks of LM1’s remix of Time & Space, and the smooth downtempo of Naibu’s Bird’s Eye View. This one will be best listened to on your most comfortable chair with a warm cuppa; relax and lose yourself in the grooves. Check out the clips below and grab this one from Juno right now.

Release – Sektor [Nurtured Beatz]

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Nurtured Beatz start their year with a bang as Release steps up to drop two rough and tough techstep bangers! Sektor leads the charge, featuring a cheeky Mortal Kombat sample and a dangerous assortment of kicks, snares and bassline rumblings. This one is sure to destroy a few dancefloors!

Step Off sees the Manchester-based producer teaming up with Lao Wai to cook up another rumbling number; hefty sub, groaning mids and skittering breaks are the order of the day here. Check out the clips below and head to Bandcamp to grab this now, with general release following at all good digital stores from Feb 2nd.

Black Sun Empire & State Of Mind – Until The World Ends [Blackout Music]

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When it comes to heavy dancefloor neurofunk, Black Sun Empire and State of the Mind have been at the top of the game for some time, and their latest collaborative EP sees them on fine form. There are no surprises on offer here, just high octane, precision engineered D&B poised to tear up a club crowd. Check out the clips below and head to Beatport to grab the EP now.

Fortitude – Turn Bad [AutomAte Tech]

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AutomAte Tech break their silence with an absolutely savage new single from Fortitude. Turn Bad dials the aggression up to 11 with hard metallic snares and a snarling bassline leading the charge. Throw in a cheeky half-time breakdown and plenty of tension building cymbal action and you’ve got one big bad slice of up front tech D&B.

Over on the flip Kiwi neuro badman Dose teams up with the mysterious Dual Focus to turn in what AutomAte describe as a “trademark peak-time headbanging remix” (according to this Dutty Audio podcast tracklist DF = Dose & DJ Meltdown, for anyone curious). The remix certainly fits that bill, swapping in a slightly more rolling break and a riffier approach to basslines that fans of Gridlok and the like should enjoy. For me the original mix takes the gold, but they’re both worthy dancefloor stompers. Check out the clips below and look for this from Feb 2nd at all good digital stores.

Predatory World EP [Syndrome Audio]

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Altered Perception continues his rise through the ranks of D&B with a crisp new tech-funk stepper dropping on the prestigious Syndrome Audio imprint. Blowhole opts for no-nonsense minimalism and delivers a solid slice of dancefloor worthy business, while on the flip Denis Underground serves up a chunky stepper with massive booming sub. Check out the clips below and head to Digital Tunes to pre-order now.

Nutekk & KnowKontrol – Let You Go [Free Love Digi]

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FLD continue to push the boundaries of the 170BPM sound with a new single from Nutekk & KnowKontrol. The Lithuanian producer blends tough drum beats with floating synth lines and ethereal vocals to create an entirely unusual take on the established D&B sound. Cinematic vibes! Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet from Jan 26th.

Hidden Element – Other Forms EP [Translation Recordings]

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January is proving to be the month of deeper beats so far this year, and the new Hidden Element EP for Translation is up there with the best of them. Opening with lush microfunk and seguing through meaty yet melodic dubstep, robotic halftime and out into atmospheric 160BPM liquid, the EP provides a more than ample showcase of Hidden Element’s varied talents. There’s a thoroughly enjoyable Dexta remix thrown in for good measure too, jungling up Hot Panks nicely with plenty of break choppage. Check out the clips below and head to the Translation Bandcamp to pre-order this ahead of the Jan 26th release.

Xanadu – Through The Oort Clouds [Dom & Roland Productions]

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Being the only producer besides Dom himself with a release on Dom & Roland Productions is more than a small honour for a young producer at the start of their career. There’s a reason for that badge of honour; Through The Oort Clouds is a pretty special album. The 12 tracks represent Xanadu’s musical explorations over the past two years, taking the listener on a journey designed to parallel the Voyager’s exploration beyond our solar system.

The results certainly have a spacey, sci-fi inspired quality, and in many ways feel like a love letter to the earliest and most formative days of mid 90s D&B, where every record was an exciting exploration of what could be done with the sound rather than a formulaic dancefloor smasher. The thing that really stands the LP apart from the pack is the drums; intricate, detailed and punchy, but steering clear of the over compressed kicks and snares that dominate much of modern club music.

Innovative and listenable though the album is, it’s not all cinematic chin-stroking by any stretch. Tracks like Ventricle and Photon are more than equipped for dancefloor damage, and have doubtless been through a few mixdown tweaks following club tests from Dom himself. Early in the year though we are, this could well be the best techstep record of 2015; it’s certainly an essential purchase either way. Check out the clips below and look for this on vinyl and digital from Jan 26th.

Klute – You Won’t Like It [Commercial Suicide]

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It’s always a good day when fresh beats from Klute land in the Dojo inbox, and it seems we’ll be hearing plenty from the Commercial Suicide boss this year as he celebrates 20 years in the game with a slew of singles and EPs leading up to an album at the end of the year.

The first of those single releases sees Tom exploring his more musical side, with all the tracks bringing melody to the fore rather than focussing on bassline danger. The coyly titled You Won’t Like It (a finger flip to the haters?) fashions a groove from all sorts of unusual FX and synth sounds, producing D&B with more than a hint of IDM and experimental electronica to it.

Rays brings the lush synth work and beautiful melody that Klute does so well and layers it over a backbone of tough breaks, providing the single’s most dancefloor friendly track, leaving Be Good To The Ones (You Love) to close out the release with a bouncy rhythm and beautiful chiming melody that gives the track an almost chidlike innocence and enthusiasm.

It’s great to hear that Klute hasn’t lost his ability to innovate even over two decades of production! Check out the clips below and watch out for this dropping on digital and vinyl from Jan 23rd – preorders are available now via the Commercial Suicide store.

If you’re itching for a bit more Klute then look no further than his recent mix for the Bassic Agency – an hour of impecable selections spanning all the styles of D&B.