Israeli producer Xorcore is back this month with his first LP release for Rekkt Rekkords, and the release features a great selection of tech-edged D&B and a couple of tidy remixes to boot.
Struct kicks things off with the album’s heaviest track, laying down a dangerous neuro banger, but Dead Zone immediately switches things up with hypnotic synth lines and deep sub bass; moody roller vibes. Other highlights include the glitch and IDM influenced later tracks Out of the Machine and That’s All, both of which show a talent for complex arrangements and sonic detail.
Number Stations is a powerful statement of intent from a young producer with plenty to offer the scene. The LPis out on Feb 14th; hit up Beatport to pre-order the album now.
US imprint Conspired Within Music are back with a big release this month in the form of the Artist Collective LP. Featuring tracks from many of the best names in the dark halftime game, the LP is a pretty formidable statement of intent from a group of producers who share a passion for gritty, minimal beats and bleak soundscapes.
Tracks range from militant percussive steppers courtesy of Epilleptech, through to techno infused grinders like Tobe:n’s Shinigami. There’s a few seriously hefty tracks in the pack too, such as standout number Burning from Out of Fuel & Criba – the bassline on this one will shake your foundations! Elsewhere the LP contains thoughtful and interesting new beats from the likes of Kit Curse, Medika, Akinsa and label boss Conspired Within.
We could waffle on further about the tracks on here but you’re far better off listening for yourself; rest assured you’ll find a great selection of music bound together by an emphasis on percussive precision and atmosphere. One for the heads that know…check it out and hit up the label Bandcamp store to pre-order now on CD or digital; the LP drops there Feb 9th with all other stores following on the 16th.
John Rolodex returns to his own Machinist Music imprint this month with one of his most varied and enjoyable collections of material to date.DreamCypher kicks off the EP, combining growling sub bass, dubby percussion and eastern samples for a hypnotic, trance like journey through one of John’s recurring dreams. This feels like the soundtrack to an opium den re-imagined via the medium of drum & bass, and it’s a really inventive piece of work.
BoneBender continues the trend, combining unusual percussion with menacing bass set to a halftime rhythm that’s nonetheless packed full of energy. Insistent woodblock drum patterns and a siren-like top-end loop make for another absorbing ride through a fevered imagination.
InnaZone is more vintage Rolodex, and definitely the most conventional track on the EP; old school reese bass drones and a cymbal-heavy rolling 2-step beat keep this one up there with previous Dojo favourite Warship Worship. This will smash up a dance! Last up Until The Sky Takes Me drops the tempo to 160 and brings to mind early 90s releases for the likes of Metalheadz; classic jungle samples and chunky chopped breakbeats characterise a tune with plenty of depth and character, tasteful homage rather than lazy rip-off.
Not that we needed any more evidence, but if anyone did this is ample proof that John is still one of the best names in the game! Check out the EP below and hit up the Machinist store to grab a copy now.
Fans of the recent boom in “future jungle” will definitely be into this one; Evol Intent Recordings present the latest in their intermittent but excellent release schedule with a top class EP from San Francisco producer UFO!
Better known in recent years for lower-tempo bass music and trap beats, UFO! returns to his jungle roots for this EP, keeping things frantic but still melding in plenty of unusual influences from elsewhere in the electronic spectrum.
YGMFU kicks things off with booming bass and classic jungle breaks, while Thing Into My Brain takes cues from footwork with its combination of syncopated sub rhythm and hyperactive vocal cut ups. This one is a proper ear-worm, and the rapidity just makes it all the more infectious.
Logue combines more of that dangerous breakbeat intensity with hip-hop influenced bass vibrations worthy of fellow SF basshead EPROM, leaving Ghost Behaviour to dial things down a notch for a light-edged shuffle with a slightly tropical sound.
Four hyped-up future jungle cuts lovingly sandwiched between spacey intro/outro material makes for a wicked little EP! Here’s hoping we hear more 170 business from UFO! in the future; check out the beats below and hit up your favourite digital store to grab the EP right now.
Regular Dojo readers will probably already be aware that we’re big fans of Seba and Blu Mar Ten Music, but probably don’t know that we’re also fans of Ulrich Schnauss. For anyone not already familiar, his sublime downtempo / ambientalbums in the early 2000s for City Centre Offices are absolutely essential listening. What we weren’t aware of until now however, is that before those albums were released Schnauss had a pedigree as a D&B artist, operating under a variety of aliases including Ethereal 77 and View To The Future.
All of that leads us to the present, and a new collaborative EP from Seba and Schnauss, which finds an absolutely perfect home on Blu Mar Ten Music. As you’d expect, the three tracks on show feature crisp rolling percussion and the lushest synth lines you can imagine…from the hypnotic arpeggios and soaring melodic leads of M7, to the detailed, jazz infused hits of Interstate and out into the ambient-esque, chiming chords of Snöflingor, this is just unbelievably well constructed music with melody at its very heart.
Asides from the gifted use of melody, the track progressions are what sets this apart from a regular D&B release. While perfectly DJ-friendly, the compositions evolve effortlessly from one bar to the next, ascending beyond mere collections of loops into glorious, effervescent journeys that you’ll lose yourself in again and again. We’re quite happy to say that we think this is the finest melodic D&B you’ll hear this year, and possibly even the finest D&B full stop. Give yourself the gift of pure joy and grab yourself a copy right now from the Blu Mar Ten store.
Sometimes a new genre or subgenre comes to prominence and it just feels like it was made for an existing artist to slot themselves into, and that couldn’t be more the case when it comes to EPROM and the new wonky, halftime, “20/20” sound that has been emanating from some corners of the D&B scene in recent times. Much as Bassnectar took to dubstep like a duck to water, the halftime style provides a perfect framework for EPROM’s swaggering, low-slung compositions and epic sound design.
His latest EP for Alix Perez’s 1985 Music carries on exactly where previous Shades outings and his recent Samurai EP left off; earth-shattering basslines, weird harmonics, glitchy designs and punchy percussion. Whether it’s on the stalking vibrations of Drone Warfare or the fuzzed out, wonked-up riddims of Raw Data this EP is just straight hench for the entirety of it’s 14 minute duration. Check it out below and hit up the label store to grab it on vinyl or digital right now.
Memtrix returns this month with two brand new tracks on a brand new imprint of his own (inventively titled Memtrix Music). Both sides of the new release signal a welcome return to the style of his earlier productions; while recent material on Lifted and Sotto Voce has been a little too pop-tinged for our taste, the tracks here are razor-edged, hyper-kinetic neurofunk smashers at their finest. Check it out below and hit up your favourite digital outlet to grab a copy right now…
Fans of the deeper end of D&B may already be familiar with Russia’s Vykhod Sily – started as a podcast in 2013 by DJ and 170 enthusiast Rustee, the series quickly amassed mixes by the likes of Mauoq, Dyl, Dominic Ridgway and tons more across an archive that now spans well over 200 episodes.
Four years on and with fairly deep roots in the scene, Vykhod Sily have launched a digital label and the first release comes from previous podcast guests dreadmaul & Bereneces, who collaborate on a pair of ultra-minimal halftime steppers. If you’re a fan of all things dark, ominous and tribal in the 170 region then this should be right up your alley; both tracks are stark and creepy, with the sheer atmosphere of Intercontinental edging it out as our favourite of the two.
Be sure to keep an eye on the VS pages for more digital releases (and many, many more podcasts); in the meantime, check out their first release below. It’s available on streaming platforms right now; if you want a copy to keep you need to support the label via Patreon.
When it comes to genre-defining albums, it doesn’t get much more legendary than New Forms. Propelling underground D&B into the mainstream musical limelight and snatching the Mercury Music Prize for good measure, the album delighted heads and newcomers alike, blending rapid drum programming with influences from jazz and hip-hop to form the perfect fusion of organic and electronic. Despite not setting out to make a crossover, Roni and the Reprazent gang certainly ended up with one.
Twenty years on, the album is getting a four disc deluxe reissue this month with the full original LP remastered, the full set of “Re Forms” remixes and most tantalisingly of all, a fresh disc featuring a live hardware mix of unreleased edits of the best tracks on the album. So how does it stand up after two decades? Pretty damn well it turns out.
The two discs of the original album have been given a fresh lick of mastering paint and are sounding just as exciting as they did in 1997, full of funky drum programming, enticing synths and classic hooks. Anyone who doesn’t get a shiver from hearing the guitar line on Brown Paper Bag just has no soul! The remixes don’t hold up as well to my ears (with a handful of exceptions) but they always felt like messing with perfection given the sheer quality of the original album.
The live hardware mix meanwhile is an absolute joy from start to finish; all of the album’s iconic tracks are there including some of the lower tempo beats and a number have been re-engineered to mash up originals and remixes, often to great effect. The new edit of Share The Fall featuring elements of Grooverider’s Jeep Style Mix proved a personal highlight amongst a thoroughly enjoyable bonus disc.
If you’re looking for the definitive version of an absolutely essential album then this is unquestionably it. Check out the first disc via Youtube below and hit up your favourite store to grab the deluxe package right now.
Crash Comet’s latest EP for Invasion Recordings fills a niche that we haven’t heard anyone occupy since LA Artist Eighth Moon‘s releases last year; truly exuberant and unpretentious music, driven almost entirely by melody. Most of the liquid D&B released today either falls into the “dancefloor” category which is aiming for a very specific kind of club euphoria, or the “deep” category, which while often excellent tends towards a more subdued sound in search of subtlety.
The Untold Stories EP fits neither of these categories; while joyous and upbeat, this is nowhere near as maximal and pop-tinged as the “hands in the air” vibe of club liquid mainstays, nor is it as melancholy as much of the deeper end of liquid. There is an emotional range here, and a soft beauty, but also a a slightly child-like, almost naive feel to the tracks; the bright beats and soaring melodies feel untouched by cynicism, pure and elegant in their positivity.
While doubtless not to everyone’s taste, we fell instantly in love with the simple charm of the four tracks on show here. If you need a pick-me-up on a cold winter’s day, this might just hit the spot; check out the clips below and hit up Juno to grab a copy right now.
