Frederic Robinson continues to push the boundaries of 170BPM electronica with another outing on Blu Mar Ten Music, this time in the form of a live album. Chris BMT has long made much of the incredible performances Frederic puts on and this album provides a snapshot of his intricate, airy percussion, live violin and soothing melodies. The music really speaks for itself so give the preview a listen below and grab yourself a copy from Surus, iTunes or Beatport.
Scene stalwart Digital brings his wares to Horizons Music with an EP of tasty new leftfield rhythms. Figjam kicks things off with big reese bass swells set over a drum line that starts slow with nothing but kicks and hats on the intro before dropping into a syncopated frenzy of processed breaks a few bars after the drop.
Waiting heads for deep territory with a simple yet hypnotic melody layered over warm sub and a crisp, stepper’s break, with soft synthetic strings adding character. Therapy proceeds to drop things down into dubby half-time territory with varied percussion and hordes of atmosphere. Finally the Slowjam mix of Figjam rounds things off by turning the title track into a 140BPM workout drenched in delay and reverb.
To find out a bit more about the EP we caught up with Digital for a quick chat. Read on for his thoughts on track names, the D&B scene and the best studio snacks!
The follow up to Frederic Robinson’s excellent Mixed Signals LP just dropped on Blu Mar Ten Music and as with all of his work it’s a treat for fans of the deeper side of 170 BPM electronica. As well as the original mix of Vamp Til Ready (one of the album’s standout tracks) we’re treated to an extended live reinterpretation of the track, which captures the essence of the original while embellishing it nicely.
The true highlights of the EP come on the brand new material though. Synkro comes in on remix duties with a fresh take on Mixed Signals, lending it his trademark shuffling percussion and airy reverb-drenched atmospheres. I can’t think of a more appropriate producer to have picked and the rework is stunningly beautiful. Finally Frederic himself comes up with the rather Gold Panda-esque Wheels, dropping the tempo to 130 and getting a house vibe on; from the driving back beat to the odd rhythms of the lead sounds it’s an interesting look at the man’s talents at a different speed.
Check out the clips below and grab this on digital now from your favourite retailer.
The release of Alix Perez’s second album for Shogun last year came as a disappointment to me – it felt like he’d been lured into the mainstream by the appeal of fame and fortune, with many of the tracks sounding completely unlike the style he’d been carving for himself in the D&B scene. News of an EP for Exit buoyed my hopes that he still had interesting tunes in him, and the results more than confirm that suspicion.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny8ACqYlZh8]
The influence of other electronica pervades the tracks on the EP, with trap, footwork and LA bass all playing into the sound, but thankfully the tracks make the influences their own rather than just copycatting new styles. U kicks things off with a breakneck take on the trap/footwork drum pattern and a smattering of cut up vocals, while Stray collab Sludge drops the tempo in favour of a gigantic, stalking, EPROM-style bassline; serious head-nod business.
The footwork influence comes full circle on Make It Worth as the original pioneers of the style Rashad & Spinn get in for a collab. The heavy sub and frantic syncopations oft associated with the genre are present, but with a level of polish which only D&B producers seem able to achieve. The vocal hook ices the cake nicely; no doubt this will be huge both in and out of the 170 scene. Last up the appropriately named Gully Halves strips things back for another minimalistic sub-fuelled slice of electronica that simply oozes with the swagger of the LA bass scene.
Watch out for this one dropping on vinyl and digital from April 7th – preorders are available from Surus now.
After the excellent release he put out recently on Translation, we’ve been keeping our ear to the ground for word of more material from the Arizona-based producer. The man has been hard at work in the studio on his debut album and it’s an interesting beast, blending influences from across the electronic spectrum and beyond to create a unique take on the 170 sound.
Samurai Music steal Sam KDC away from ASC’s Auxiliary imprint for a 12″ on their Red Seal arm and as usual it’s a treat. Deep, dubby vibes and plenty of crackly atmosphere pervade the tracks; a lazy description of “Burial makes 170” is tempting, but while apt doesn’t really do the tunes justice. Burial with more punch, perhaps, particularly on the more energetic B-side Erogenous.
As usual the release will be served up on wax for the vinyl collectors out there, with this particular release featuring excellent artwork from the talented Petra Zhivkova. Check out the clips below and watch out for the release dropping from March 17th.
Translation Recordings continue their excellent run of forward thinking releases with an EP from Quentin Hiatus. Zanj Rebellion combines shimmering pad ambience, warm low end and heavily syncopated, off-kilter rhythms to create a sound that feels like the spirit of drumfunk channelled via recent footwork influenced production.
Over on the flip Solidify continues the trend for heavily syncopated rhythms but with more of an industrial vibe, and hints of dub and techno sitting prominently in a mix that features some excellent stereo separation.
As if that wasn’t enough there’s also a free track available for download in the form of Summer in Winter, featuring more in the way of rich synths and weird rhythms, this time overlaid with some Burial style vocal echoes. Check out the tracks below and grab the release from the Translation Bandcamp.
After the recent announcement of Heartdrive it seemed inevitable that we’d be hearing more 170BPM productions from Jon Convex under his Kid Drama alias, and the new EP he’s prepped for dBridge’s ever forward-thinking Exit Records delivers more beautiful 170BPM explorations in the spirit of Autonomic.
In Mind kicks things of with lush, melody driven ambience and subtle but insistent beat patterns before What Do You See? switches the tone, opting for dark, throbbing bass and stark half-time drum rhythms.
The deep, dark vibes continue on Retract, which sees Convex teaming up with relatively unknown Australian producer Hands Like Crime to craft a tune that’s all in the detail of the percussion (and appears to make excellent use of a sampled dial tone). Finally the appropriately titled Grind sees him recruiting Om Unit to the studio for a grimey, evil sounding tune full of frantic half-time syncopation and spooky lead synth chords.
Check out the beats below and watch out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital from 18th November.
Following on from his excellent Ginseng Smash 12″ for Critical, Stray once again revisits the footwork-influenced side of 170 on his latest EP for Exit. Prof Popper feels like Ginseng at 5am…the same syncopated riddims and cut up vocals are present but the overall vibe of the track is much more laid back, with smooth pads allowing the track to float along on a mellow plane. Dropping Bombs provides the antithesis, amping up the drums for a totally bouncing raved up belter.
Bounce That sees Stray teaming up with Fracture for a tune that’s one part half-step and one part old skool Jungle with a hint of ghetto-tech thrown in for good measure. Eerie keys and a drum line that sounds like 4×4 garage on steroids prevail on the duo’s evolution of the sound Fracture pioneered on Get Busy. Last but not least the titular Matchsticks takes things back to a more mellow place, bringing a skanking LA hip-hop vibe to the mix; this could just as easily have been written by Flying Lotus, and it sounds fantastic for it.
As usual Exit and Stray are at the cutting edge of all things 170. Check out the beats bellow and watch out for the EP dropping October 28th.
To celebrate yet another epic Star Warz event as the Exit Records crew touch down in Belgium, Fracture has compiled a promo mix packed full of tunes from the likes of dBridge, Commix, Om Unit and more. Fans of the deeper side of 170 will definitely enjoy this one – check it out below and grab a free download.