Today’s premiere is a little bit special – neurofunk pioneer and Glasgow-based scene legend Kemal is in our premiere spotlight with a new remix for Black Yukon Sucker Punch! Intricate drum programming and acidic funk undertones on this one…old school hypnosis of the very best kind. Watch out for this coming on BYSP’s Yukon Punch label from Nov 5th, on vinyl and digital.
PRTCL & Xenon are keeping it funky on today’s exclusive with another deadly tech roller. The customary bassline grit is off-set with a selection of rave stabs and warbles set to a rolling drum groove…wicked stuff. Look out for this one coming April 15th at digital stores!
Dojo boss Hex is back with new music this month for Quentin Hiatus’s Free Love Digi imprint, and we’ve got the premiere today for Vats of Acid. Living up to its title this one is all acid synth leads, set over a stomping halftime beat and meaty bassline, with a hint of trap in those hat rolls. Watch out for this one exclusively at Beatport & Bandcamp Feb 26th; all other stores follow two weeks later.
Xenon continues his run of essential techstep releases with a new EP for P Lab Recordings, and we’ve got the exclusive on title track Dissolved In Disorder! Crunchy beats and an earworming acid lead characterise a tune steeped in classic rave and old school D&B influences. Hit up Bandcamp now to pre-order ahead of the release on Feb 19th!
Xenon lands back in our premiere spotlight with a driving slice of techstep goodness. Eerie bleeps and acid tinges characterise a track with an exemplary dark groove, harking back to the classic era of dark rollers on labels like Offkey and Citrus. Wicked tune! Look for this coming Nov 27th via Humanoid Berlin!
Something a bit different for you today as we present the premiere of Stabfinger’s brand new track for Boomerang Records Doppia Personalità. Channelling the IDM and acid-inflected sound of vintage Squarepusher, this is hectic cut-up jungle at it’s weirdest and most-wonderful. Sick tune! Look for this coming Jan 30th exclusively at Beatport, with full release Feb 13th at Bandcamp and other stores.
Younger heads may not recognise the name Delta, but older D&B fans (and particularly connoisseurs of the deeper end of the sound) should recognise him from his productions in the early 00s alongside production partner Format. Their concise but influential discography from that period is well worth a look, with cuts on legendary labels like Dread, Creative Source, Reinforced and Hospital for those who fancy crate digging a little.
Fast forward to 2017 and Delta is back with a fresh EP on the pair’s resurrected Microdot label. The pioneering and experimental spirit remains as exciting as it was 15 years ago; there’s an old school aesthetic at play, with everything from classic vocal sampling techniques to acid-y basslines weaved into the tracks. Opener Dreaming From The Hip combines a hint of b-boy funk a-la-Paradox with rolling breaks and soft pads more reminiscent of the old “intelligent D&B” style. Feel meanwhile takes things tougher, with hard edged rhythms and a stabbing set of vocal cut-ups punctuated by sections of warping analogue bass bleeps.
Kundalini Serpent goes out into jazz jam territory, combining a playful break and bassline with echoing piano and sax for a distinctly unusual take on the D&B sound. Last but not least, Second Wave throws the 2-step beats out of the window for a hypnotic bass-loop workout driven along by a truly bizarre drum arrangement. Lilting, swung and spaced out, this is possibly our favourite track on the release, and it sounds like nothing else you’ve heard this year.
Overall this EP shows a true pioneer of the sound back in the groove and on fine form. Broaden your horizons and head to the Microdot Bandcamp to pre-order a copy now on vinyl or digital. The release drops August 11th.
Messrs Binga & Unit are back with another cheeky slice of white label shenaniganery following the success of their Transatlantic EP. The pair have gone in on a selection of experimental beats for this one, with one eye on the dancefloor but probably another three eyes elsewhere.
Windmill Kick opens the salvo with a ruffneck slice of chopped up jungle sporting a distinctly grime-influenced synth melody. It’s a perfect example of the sort of genre-clashing production that makes their work so exciting, and it’s more than capable of moving a dancefloor to boot; wicked stuff.
Big Kev changes tack completely, bringing together footwork, hip-hop and a squelching acid line for an outing remeniscent of Fracture, Spinn & Taso’s recent Acid Claps; apparently great minds think alike! 1000 Cats keeps the riddims shuffling but airs things out with a fantastic psych-tinged melody, leaving it to Planetary Reboot to go full-mental and close the EP with a droning, beatless synth-noise wash.
We’re suckers for a good white label here at the Dojo and it’s fantastic to hear two producers as talented as Om Unit & Sam Binga flowing free with their sonic whims, unshackled by labels or genre pigeon-holes. Roll on the next instalment! Hit up the BUNIT Bandcamp to grab a copy now, but move fast; if this one sells as well as the first release did it won’t be on their shelves for long.
The latest release on Safety Zone Records sees the cleverly named (not…) Acid War dropping two tracks of what can only really be described as Acid Jungle. Does what it says on the tin then! The blurb on the EP claims that releases from Acid War are “rare as rocking horse poop” too, so fans of the genre may be pretty excitable.
For those of us not indoctrinated in the ways of Acid Jungle, you can expect rough breaks and those classic acid synths in abundance. There’s little (if any) of the polish associated with modern drum & bass but the release definitely has it’s charm, mainly due to the irresistible quality of those synth lines. Somehow the acid sound is never gonna lose its appeal.
I suspect this one will prove a bit marmite, so have a listen to the clips below and make up your own mind. You can grab the release for a whopping 50p from the Safety Zone bandcamp, out now.
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Thrashpilot’s weird and wonderful assault on the 170BPM realm continues with the appropriately named Galaxian; an other-worldly, acid-techno infused slice of frenetic, wonky electronica that bears resemblance to most D&B only by virtue of heavy kicks and snares and a similar tempo. This one is hypnotic and hard hitting in equal measure.
Over on the flip One Armed Man heads back for traditional breaks but throws standard song structure out of the window as the eclectic producer takes us on a 10 minute epic journey that takes in a variety of different breaks and atmospheres, all with a distinctly dubby vibe.
Check out the clips below and watch out for the release at all good digital outlets from November 5th.