Category Archives: Releases

Stealth & Stylus – Homage (Back To You) [ProgRAM]

Posted on by
Reply

Stealth’s latest single for RAM sister-label ProgRAM comes hot and heavy! Stylus collab Homage (Back To You) combines hefty bass and rolling breaks with an infectious vocal sample that the attentive among you may well recognise from old Evol Intent favourite The Ladies.

Over on the flip Smash It amps things up even further with an absolute savage selection of bass groans set to a stomping kick/snare riddim. Subtlety is not on offer here, but if you want a big bad belter then look no further! Check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl and digital from your favourite outlet.

Tokyo Prose – Presence [Samurai Red Seal]

Posted on by
1

Living up to the promise of early releases is no mean feat for any artist in any scene. For D&B, it’s not so much the “difficult second album” of rock and pop as the “difficult first album following several great EPs or singles”. The album format may have become more popular in recent years, especially for purveyors of the deeper side of the music, but that makes it no less difficult to do well, and many have released competent LPs which nonetheless either feel too filler-heavy or merely like a collection of singles rather than a coherent body of work.

Thankfully, Tokyo Prose’s debut suffers neither of these criticisms. The quality and depth of the production is breathtaking, and the tracks flow effortlessly together through commonality of tone and spirit. Make no mistake though, there’s more than enough detail and variation to hold your interest across the LPs 13 tracks.

Picking favourites is a difficult exercise as with all top quality LPs, especially with the likes of Lenzman, Synkro and LSB popping in for collaborations. The soft strings of Covet, the effortless downtempo of 16 Bar Cycles and the uplifting piano and reverb drenched vocals of Small Gains all stand out, but this is an album where different tunes are likely to speak to different listeners. One thing is for sure; from the opening  chimes to the beautiful, beatless outro of Dance With You, every new track is a treat and a pleasure. Check out the clips below and grab yourself a copy on vinyl or CD from the Samurai Store.

Blu Mar Ten – Famous Lost Words Remixes: Part 1 [Blu Mar Ten Music]

Posted on by
Reply

The first of the Famous Lost Words remix releases touches down with fresh reworks from Break and Frederic Robinson. Break’s name often comes up in discussions of “the best drums in D&B”, and his take on Break It All Apart is a great example of his gift for crisp, punchy breaks. Keeping the soulful vocal and melodies of the original but bolstering them with insistent drums and some tasty filtered bass growls, this is a lovely balance of dancefloor sensibilities and musical beauty.

Frederic Robinson meanwhile applies his unique stylings to Somewhere, dropping the energy for a Bonobo-esque downtempo rework. Shuffling beats, synth swells and Frederic’s gift for soft melody combine as he makes the work his own, and the results are pretty breathtaking. The child-like innocence often heard in his music shines through here, and the vibe is irresistible. More Frederic Robinson releases please Blu Mar Ten!

The remixes will be available on vinyl and digital from Blu Mar Ten’s store and all the usual outlets. Check out the clips below and grab your copy from August 4th.

Gridlok & Dieselboy – MDMX [Project 51]

Posted on by
Reply

When two legends of the scene come together in the studio it tends to lead to something special, and MDMX is no exception; Gridlok and Dieselboy combine their fearsome energies on a massive tech roller which might not win any points for originality but wins all the points for dancefloor destruction. Over on the flip Gridlok gets another collab on with Jamal, keeping his usual twisted bassline stylings but opting for a stomping, swung beat rather than the usual full tilt rolling break.

No word yet on release, check out the clips below and watch the respective Facebook pages for more details…

EP.3 [Blind Music]

Posted on by
Reply


Blind Music return with their 3rd EP as they continue their experiment in anonymous releases. This time whoever is at the controls has a taste for the ragga infused side of D&B; BLND#7 proves to be a dangerous beast replete with drum rolls, ragga vocals and an infectious hook. BLND#8 takes things a bit deeper while retaining the unusual percussion, and works the slow/fast angle of a plodding kick beat interlaced with rapid fire hat and shaker syncopations.

BLND#9 brings together chopped up jungle breaks with some decidedly jazzy samples for a bit of a showtune-style spin on the classic early 90s vibes. Last but not least BLND#10 slows the tempo slightly and throws all sorts of eclectic samples into the mix; a veritable bazaar of influences come together around a funky backbeat embellished with extra toms for good measure.

As usual Blind keep things interesting, and as usual you can grab the release from their Bandcamp page now.

[bandcamp width=400 height=274 album=3371329139 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 artwork=none]

Lockjaw – Idol / Cold In The Middle [Lifestyle Recordings]

Posted on by
Reply

Lockjaw continues his run of excellent releases with another single for London-based Lifestyle Recordings. Idol ramps up the atmosphere on the intro before dropping into a hefty beat punctuated by soft, ethereal vocals and eerie synth screams; the duality of the fearsome beat and the soft pads gives the tune a really interesting energy, and little touches like the guitar in the second half of the tune really give this one character.

Cold In The Middle hits down heavy once again with a scattershot drum workout set to deep, ominous bass tones. Once again melodic elements are put to great use on the intro and breakdown, providing a contrast before the meatier elements steal the show. This one’s out now exclusively at Juno with full release to follow from August 4th. Check out the clips below and grab it at your leisure.

Break & Fields – Duck For Cover / Reel Funk [Symmetry]

Posted on by
Reply

Symmetry Recordings return with a fresh double A side from label regulars Break and Fields. Break goes in on the A side with the rolling charms of Duck For Cover, focusing on groove over the hyperactivity that much of modern Techstep embraces. Hypnotic vibes and tons of atmosphere.

Over on the flip Fields presents his first solo outing for the label with an unusual beat structure, chunky bass textures and tons of little details sprinkled into the mix. This one’s all in the percussion, with bongos punctuating a shuffling, cymbal heavy drum workout.

Check out the clips below and grab this one from the Symmetry Store now.

Horo Vision [Samurai Horo]

Posted on by
Reply

Samurai make an unusual break from their vinyl releases to bring us a retrospective digital release of the previously vinyl-only Horo series. In order to stay true to the series (and presumably avoid angering the vinyl collectors who’ve spent a significant amount of cash collecting the original releases), the new digital compilation only features one track from each of the 12″s; the rest will remain vinyl exclusives.

As fans of the label’s output will expect, the tracks on show are deep, dark and experimental, pushing the boundaries of what D&B is or should be. ASC’s contributions prove varied and excellent as usual, bringing together lush deep-techno and ambient influences with his unusual percussive elements. Other highlights come from Synkro’s Kiyoko alias on the lush downtempo ambience of Track 3 and from Clarity & Overlook on the ominous and angular Rohypnol. Honestly though picking favourites is tough; every track on here is more than worthy of your time and attention.

The limited edition CD being offered has already sold out, but you can still snap up the digital bundle direct from the brand new Samurai web store. Check out the clips below and grab the release now.

Q&A – Fade

Posted on by
Reply

The ever prolific Ukrainian producer Fade has had a pretty big year with a slew of releases across a bunch of labels. His latest venture sees him releasing a full album of collaborations on his own Faded Music imprint, and the quality remains as high as ever. We thought it was high time we caught the man for a quick Q&A, so read on for Fade’s thoughts on all things D&B.

DNB Dojo: It’s been a pretty busy year for you with releases on DSCI4, 117, Avantgarde, Grindhou5e, and of course your own Faded Music imprint. Have you got any particular highlights? How do you decide what music to send out to other labels and what gets released on your own?

Fade: Yes, I have been producing a lot of music lately and I’m happy to see it released. The main reason for creating Faded Music is that I had so much good unreleased music, that hadn’t got attention from other labels. So if I really feeling track and it’s not been signed anywhere I put it out on Faded Music.

DD: The collaboration LP you’re dropping soon features a massive array of different artists, some better known than others. How did the different tunes come about? Who was your favourite producer to collaborate with?

F: That was idea to collect together artists that I find interesting with different tunes, different moods. All that stuff has been produced in different times, but I can say that we worked on this compilation for around a year and I am really happy with the results.

I think my favourite collab partner is Peter NC-17. Making collabs with him is always fun. We just finished one track and are working on a couple more.

DD: On the subject of collaborations, if you could pick any artist living or dead to work with, who would it be?

F: Hard to say…if I had to choose someone from current bass scene it would definitely be Noisia. From other music I’d pick Cypress Hill.

DD: Living in Ukraine the recent political turmoil must have been difficult. Is it hard to make music under those circumstances, or do you draw inspiration from what’s going on around you?

F: I’d not say that it’s difficult. Let’s say true. War between Ukraine and Russia is really horrible, a few hundred kilometres away every day people are dying. This year is the  hardest in the history of our country. And for sure it’s hard to think about music, but when you are living in such a stressful situation for more than half a year, you start to learn how to abstract and music is one of the ways to not dip into depression.

DD: What’s on the agenda for the rest of 2014?

F: I have got some releases coming on labels such as DSCI4, Beta Recordings, Different and Alphacut.

DD: Any shout outs?

F: I wanna say big ups to those artists who been involved to this project. Abiotic, Nitri, Heavy1, NotioN, Fathom Audio, Meth, 2SHY, Dess. Thanks to James for PR works, my wife Julia for amazing artwork. And all listeners for supporting our label!

You can check out clips of the LP below; watch out for it dropping at all good digital stores from July 28th.

Malk – Finally Loner [Sub:mission Audio]

Posted on by
Reply

Sub:mission Audio returns with their 5th release, with something of a coup for the label as they sign a tune from Invisible Recordings alumni Malk. Finally Loner brings together lush pads, sometimes eastern sounding synth swells, warm bass and an energetic, rolling break on a tune which successfully straddles the gap between musicality and dancefloor sensibilities. Definitely one for the deep heads.

Over on the flip label co-founder Altered Perception keeps the vibe rolling and melancholy, with soft strings, echoing chords and warm bass growls all melting in and out of the mix over a backdrop of crisp breakbeats. Fans of Klute’s work should definitely check this out – watch out for the release hitting stores from August 11th.