Kimyan Law – Coeur Calme [Blu Mar Ten Music]

The wait is finally over on an album I’ve been keenly anticipating ever since the first glimpses of the young producer’s music surfaced a couple of months ago – Kimyan Law’s debut LP for Blu Mar Ten Music is upon us. It’s pretty tough to take in the depth and breadth of the album at first listen; the tracks vary in energy and tone, but there is a calm, soothing quality to the music and an intricacy to the sonic textures on show here which places the guy ahead of many producers with plenty more years in the game.

The use of natural (or at least, natural sounding) instrumentation nearly exclusively in preference to synthetic sounds gives the music more shared ground with the likes of Four Tet’s early material than with much of contemporary D&B, and that’s probably also what makes it sound so fresh – the influence of D&B has been melted down here and distilled with a pinch of soul, a hint of ambient, a splash of world music and little dashes of a dozen other styles, and used to paint a vivid aural picture, and one with a softness that the loud mastering and hard snares of modern electronica seldom achieve.

The use of space and reverb is masterful, allowing the compositions to breathe without sounding quite as ghostly as some of Burial’s work. The instrumentation is crisp and clear, but the elements aren’t fighting one another in the mix; each chord or drum beat has been carefully positioned to complement the other parts of the track, and it shines through wonderfully. I have no doubt that this LP will be on heavy rotation over the coming months, and no doubt that it’s impact and enjoyability will grow and grow on repeat listens. Check out the clips below and pre-order your copy from the Blu Mar Ten store now.

Stray – Since You’ve Been Gone [Free Download]

Stray’s latest venture sees him giving away an 11 track mixtape of older beats, apparently in preparation for the creation of his first ‘real’ LP. The material bears all the hallmarks of his hip-hop infused style, eschewing his higher tempo explorations in favour of lush musical elements and slouching beats.

The tracks are a pleasure to listen to and display a real finesse and groove uncommon in so much of the electronic scene today. Check out the clips below and head over here to grab the full album.

Fade – Kolokol / Feed The Beast [Free Love Digi]

Free Love Digi return with an absolutely monstrous single from Ukranian badman Fade. Kolokol brings the classic neurofunk vibes with a heavy break and an absolutely tearing reese line, with atmospheric pads and bleepy melodies providing the icing on a dirty bass-laden cake.

Feed The Beast dials things back a notch but keeps the energy levels rolling along, with morphing bass and a ton of deft little percussion edits for another tidy tech workout. Anyone who needed convincing of Fade’s abilities in the studio needs look no further than this! Check out the clips below and watch for this one dropping at all good digital stores from November 10th.

Locksem – My Love & I (Despicable Youth Remix) [Lockdown Recordings]

Lockdown Recordings return with an excellent new single featuring the beats of Cardiff producer Locksem. The A side sees Despicable Youth on remix duties, reworking My Love and I. The intro features some top notch sound design work, with textures crackling over the mix before the beats drop and start building the tension. Creepy vocals and heavy sub bass give the tune a nice mixture of heft and atmosphere, which is no mean feat in the often sterile world of tech D&B.

Chaos Theory on the flip aims for more predictable dark dancefloor tech territory, and succeeds amiably in creating a big, stomping roller with plenty of detail. The use of dramatic strings on the build ups is a nice touch too. Check out the clips and look for this one at your favourite digital store from November 3rd.

Billain – Binary Vol. 3 [Critical Music]

Bosnian neurofunk producer Billain steps up to deliver the third instalment in Critical’s digital only “Binary” series, with three slices of heavy hitting D&B primed for the dancefloor. Macula opens the salvo with a punchy, rolling break and morphing bass modulations combined into a non-stop assault on the senses; not for the faint of heart!

Subduction follows suit, keeping the energy levels high with a mean, distorted bassline and another pedal-to-the-metal break, leaving only Conflicted to explore less aggressive territory with its choppy drumstep stylings. The production quality on show on the tracks is unbelievable (as usual for Billain) – check out the clips below and grab this one from the Critical Store now.

Lakeway – Arroyo / Things You Say [E-Motion Records]

Lakeway returns to E-Motion with more punchy, experimental 170BPM beats following the success of his excellent Digital Serotonin single for the label earlier this year. Arroyo kicks things off with a dark, futuristic vibe and a precise, heavy hitting beat; the kicks and snares really pop, and the unusual rhythm drives the track nicely.

Things You Say meanwhile channels influences from hip-hop and LA bass on the intro before dropping into a minimal drum workout with rapid hats and tons of syncopation. Fans of Stray’s recent hip-hop and footwork infused beats will definitely enjoy this one. Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital store now!

Naiive – Let Go / Lost Within [Terabyte Records]

Terabyte Records welcome another new name to the roster in the form of Manchester’s Naiive, who serves up two slices of cutting edge 170BPM beat-work. Let Go treads relatively familiar Terabyte ground, serving up grimey halfstep beats with a punchy vocal from MC Xochi. The detail in the percussion is phenomenal, and the slouching, swung beat is punctuated nicely by a fair bit of low end menace.

Lost Within trades the half-time beats for a more rolling D&B break and a more ethereal tone, as soft, chiming melodies compete in the mix with dark, distorted bass swells. The duality of the light and dark elements really makes the track; impressive stuff! Check out the clips below and look for this one at all good digital stores from November 3rd.

Dom & Roland Productions: Remix Album

Long anticipated and much overdue, the Dom & Roland Productions Remix LP finally dropped a couple of weeks ago. Featuring big new reworks from prominent artists across the harder end of the D&B scene, fans of Dom & Roland’s output will definitely not be disappointed with the selection. You can find a few of the Dojo favourites below – check them out and head over to Redeye to snag the LP on vinyl now, with digital available at all the usual stores.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVEm6Je-gcQ]

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLEAyaTXB8Y]

 

Joe Ford – Off Centre / Knock Down [Shogun Audio]

Joe Ford returns to Shogun Audio after the success of his previous single The Moment with the more experimental vibes of Off Centre. The intro teases with what sounds like a hypey build up to a huge drop, but this is all a cunning ruse; the drop in question is all nuance and groove rather than the usual high energy danger you’d expect from an A-side on a prominent label. It’s nice to see that Shogun are still willing to take some risks with a less than conventional tune!

Knock Down meanwhile ticks all the usual boxes for well produced, rolling dancefloor D&B; squelchy bass, heavy hitting drums and a catchy hook form the mainstay of the tune, with some nice atmospherics on the intro and bridge sections. Fans of Joe Ford will know what to expect here! Check out the clips below and look for this one on digital (November 2nd) or attractive purple vinyl (November 3rd).

Kung – Devil’s Finger EP [Eatbrain]

Jade’s Eatbrain continue their quest to bring us the biggest, baddest neurofunk in the game with four huge new tracks from Spanish producer Kung. Fans of the label’s output know what to expect here – precision engineered neuro tearers locked, loaded and primed for the dancefloor. Check out the clips below and watch out for the EP dropping on vinyl from November 3rd, with Beatport release following on November 10th and full worldwide digital release from November 24th.