Time for another roundup of the best releases in the underground D&B scene; read on for new releases from Renegade Hardware, Flexout, Warm Communications, Invisible and more…
May Roundup
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Tag Archives: Amen
Dojo Damager: Dreadmaul – Destroyer Of Worlds
When you have the audacity to give your track a name like Destroyer of Worlds then you better be bringing something pretty vicious to the table lest your wares fall a bit flat; thankfully Dreadmaul has delivered the goods in spades, hence the track’s selection as this week’s Dojo Damager!
With a nod to classic hardstep from the likes of Evol Intent, Tech Itch and Dom & Roland, this is a dark amen smasher replete with hefty sub and ominous raved up stabs, and it’ll definitely destroy some raves if not any actual worlds. Check out the clip below and hit up Juno to grab a copy right now.
October Roundup Part Two
Once again we’ve had too many good releases dropping into the inbox so here’s part two of our roundup for October featuring Arcatype, Silent Witness, Rockwell, Dub Berzerker, Soul Intent and more! Continue reading
Dojo Damager: Cirrus – Nightmare
We’re taking things dark and militant for this week’s Damager selection with a look at the appropriately titled Nightmare from the brand new Cirrus EP for Nurtured Beatz.
Built on a backbone of throbbing bass pressure and heavy halftime kicks, Nightmare really brings the terror with drum switchups into relentless breakbeat anger via crunchy, clattering amens. Savage business! Check out the clip below and hit up the Nurtured Beatz bandcamp to grab the whole EP now.
Homemade Weapons – Clarion Call EP [Samurai Music]
Seattle based producer Homemade Weapons has carved out quite a reputation for himself as a purveyor of stark, militant beats and his latest EP for Presha’s esteemed Samurai Music imprint is possibly his finest work to date. The title Clarion Call (and indeed the cover art, featuring images of riot police fighting protesters) should give you some idea of what to expect; this is angry music with more than a little edge to it.
The EP’s first half hits the hardest, with tough break chopping and brooding sub a-plenty, with highlights on the positively snarling Clarion Call and the relentless kicks and breaks of Mileena VIP. The digital only tracks on the second half take things deeper, keeping the ominous tone but reeling in the breaks in favour of more spacious halftime stylings.
Overall the EP is a fearsome selection of material for those who like their beats at the moody end of the spectrum. Check out the clips below and hit up the Samurai store to get a copy on digital now. Vinyl heads, if you haven’t already grabbed a copy direct from Samurai you’ll need to keep an eye on the usual outlets when the record reaches general release.
If you’re looking for more from Homemade Weapons the man himself has just mixed the latest installment of the Samurai Podcast; check out his murky selections below.
Soul Intent – Wanna Fight EP [Commercial Suicide]
Commercial Suicide are back and that means (among other things) another amusingly spurious press release! This time Klute would have us believe that Soul Intent produced the EP “entirely on a Kindle in his tent on a mountainside using the latest in solar energy technology”. I think we’ll assume that’s a bit of a fib.
Klute’s sense of humour aside, the EP offers three solid and entirely distinct tracks worthy of any discerning fan’s attention. Funk Lick kicks off the EP with a stripped back tech stepper with (you guessed it…) a hint of funk, while Move Your Body opts for blissful melodies set to chaotic amen-chopping that is reminiscent of classic drumfunk and even older jungle in equal measure.
Last up, Soul Intent teams up with Chromatic for a big, nasty slab of bass led dancefloor filth for the titular Wanna Fight. Hopefully it’ll inspire bassface and rowdiness on the dancefloor without actually initiating any punch ups! Check out the clips below and hit up the Commercial Suicide bandcamp to grab it on digital right now. There’s also a promo mix from the man himself (embed below the clips) featuring some suitably rolling selections.
Fundraiser Launched for the Father of the Amen Break
The amen break is a sound familiar to every junglist; chopped up, distorted, recycled and reused, it spawned entire genres of music and changed the musical world via the simple joy of sampling and reinterpretation. Unfortunately however, the musicians behind the original record never made any money for their efforts, and by the time they found out about the sampling it was far too late under US law to pursue anyone for royalties.
Well the kindly Martyn Webster is aiming to change all that via a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe; he’s asking for donations to set things right so that Richard Spencer, the song’s writer, can finally receive something for his work. The campaign has already raised over £1,500 – if you’re feeling generous head over here and chuck the unwitting father of jungle a few quid for his trouble.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxZuq57_bYM]
Subsonik – Grinder / Feels [Rockers 175]
The sound of an amen break…that familiar scratchy break somehow never gets old, providing the backbone as it does for so many tracks in the Jungle/D&B arena. The latest release on Rockers 175 is definitely not the most original piece of programming you’ll hear this year but if you’re looking for some straight up amen-choppage then you could do a lot worse than this! Epic atmospherics and old school breaks and bass make for a nice combination; check out the clips below and look for this from Feb 19th at your favourite digital outlet.
Classic Track: Breakage – Staggered Dub
Back in the early days of Critical Music and back when Breakage still made music at D&B tempo, Kasra’s then fledgling imprint offered up the veritable amen smasher that is Staggered Dub. Breaks that are tougher than aged leather, massive dub bass and that oh so memorable vocal snippet make this every bit as much of a weapon as it was ten years ago on release. Shake ya hips!
Classic Track: Future Cut – Ghetto Style (Evol Intent Remix)
We’re digging in the hardware vaults once again for this week’s classic track and looking back to the golden era of hard as nails techstep. 10 years ago Evol Intent’s remix of Future Cut’s Ghetto Style saw release on Renegade Hardware’s Reloaded EP Part 1, and their rework absolutely knocks the track out of the park.
Rattling breakbeats, huge distorted bass hits and that trademark Evol Intent glitchwork along with a set of memorable hooks on the intro make this a firm favourite, and better still it got the remaster treatment as part of EI’s #TBT weekly giveaways! Check out the remaster below and grab yourself a free download from their Soundcloud.