New material from Luke Vibert’s Amen Andrews aka is always a treat for jungle lovers and after a fairly lengthy hiatus he’s resurrected the project for an EP on Falty DL’s Blueberry Records. As you’d expect the four tracks on offer feature plenty of break chopping, random samping and a few IDM-tinged melodies, and those jungle snares are proving as irresistible as ever. Check out the first track below and head over to Bleep for full previews and purchase options.
The Invaderz have had a busy year, the highlight of which is undoubtedly their debut LP for Commercial Suicide. Showing off the trio’s varied production styles, the album covers all the different flavours of D&B from mellow liquid rollers through grimey tech business and out into full-on bangers.
To find out a bit more about the album we caught up with the gang for a quick Q&A about their creative process and how the LP came to be. Read on…
For anyone who’s wondering what DJ Trace has been up to lately, it seems he’s been busy founding a new label in the form of 117 Records. Apparently having tired of the neuro sound he’d been championing for over a decade at DSCI4, he shut that label down and started 117 with a view to releasing a slew of music from producers who have been harnessing a more old school sound in combination with modern production techniques.
The label’s latest output is an absolutely gigantic LP featuring D&B and Jungle cuts which are dark and at times techy but definitely a shade different to the neurofunk sounds that defined DSCI4. The two LP bundles available are split between 8 tracks in a vinyl only bundle (available at Redeye here) consisting of 4 limited edition clear 10″s, and a 24 track digital bundle.
Particular highlights from the vinyl bundle come on from Kid Lib with the manic jungle syncopations of The Rifle, Gremlinz & Homemade Weapons absolutely menacing Scar-H and the equally brutal roll of Genotype’s aptly titled Aggression Snare. The digital bundle meanwhile plays host to some treats such as the hyperactive amen cut ups of X Nation’s remix of Trace’s Never Felt This Way, the distinctly old skool stabs and breaks of Fade’s Phobia and Trace and Nico’s clattering Monkeys.
The whole LP is well worth a listen so check out the clips on Soundcloud and pick your own favourites.
After nine strong years organising D&B events in the capital Tech:nology are branching out and starting a record label, and for their first release they’ve secured an EP from Raiden, who returns to the scene following something of an absence while he concentrated on techno production under his Kamikaze Space Program alias.
The EP sees Raiden blending elements of techno, hard drum & bass and industrial noise to great effect, and while all four tracks are a treat, the harsh noise and clattering amens of 657 are the pick of the bunch to my ears. Check out the clips below and watch out for the EP dropping from March15th.
Amoss celebrate 9000 followers on Soundcloud with a menacing amen smasher in the form of The Kirbis. Weird mid-bass reverberations and hefty, angular breaks characterise the tune with creepy tones adding to the tension in the bridge…lovely. Check it out and grab yourself a free download!
Foreign Concept is kindly raising a bit of money for Water Aid this Christmas by asking folks to donate in exchange for downloads of a couple of festive VIPs! First up there’s the amen tinged madness of Foreign Concept & Stray’s Bang It (Amen Bang Out VIP), which does exactly what it says on the tin, and for desert Foreign Concept & Xtrah’s Harsh Reality VIP delivering a healthy portion of sub bass and heavy kick drums.
Check out the beats below and head over to the Just Giving page to donate. Go on, you know you want to.
Originally released back in 2005 of the Guerilla Warfare compilation on Renegade Hardware, today’s freebie is a nice little remaster of Evol Intent’s classic darkstep belter Suicide. Tough amens, vicious bass stabs, a healthy dose of glitch and a nicely acid-tinged lead combine to give this tune every bit as much edge as it had eight years ago. Check it out and grab yourself a free download below!
The Soul:R camp bring us tunes on a decidedly darker tip than usual from Manchester’s favourite MC/producer Chimpo. The titular Frontline sees Chimpo pass the mic to Fox for vocal duties while he gets on with the beats, delivering a moody half-time number imbued with bass and static in equal measure. Calibre steps in to deliver a remix and surprisingly avoids his usual smooth liquid territory in favour of a clattering amen refix of the tune, keeping things on a dark tip while significantly upping the tempo.
Elsewhere on the release Chimpo gets on the mic while Manchester buddies Dub Phizix & Skeptical provide a typically sparse, kick heavy beat for the man to air his unusual vocal style over. Finally All Over turns in a super-chopped up beat and ethereal, floaty pads to produce a style that sounds like the bastard child of drumfunk and dark garage. Truly innovative work on this one.
Watch out for this one dropping on vinyl and digital on July 15th.
Hardware bring us another selection of sick techstep cuts with a remix EP featuring contributions from the biggest and best in the scene right now. Taking pride of place is InsideInfo’s update of the legendary Usual Suspects belter Killa Bees. This one has been destroying floors across the world for months, and for good reason; retaining the vibe of the original but updating it nicely with modern production values and that trademark InsideInfo synth detail, this is setting a benchmark for modern updates of classic tunes.
Elsewhere on the EP Maztek turns in a typically gritty refix of Optiv & BTK’s Inception, with the duo dropping a huge rework of Maztek’s Limber in return. To be honest I think Optiv & BTK won this round, but both tunes are well worth a listen.
Finally Verb has been let loose on another classic, putting the modern polish on Future Cut’s Whiplash. This still sounds as eery as it did way back in 1999 and fans of the original will be pleased to note that the absolutely tearing drum-line has been faithfully recreated and reinforced. Watch out for the full EP dropping on vinyl and digital July 15th.
Klute warms up for the impending release of his seventh full length with a cheeky sampler featuring a couple of seriously heavyweight rollers. On The A side Klute delivers an old school reese-led dancefloor beast, hopped up on hard snares and baying for blood. This one will be wrecking the floors at Sun & Bass this year methinks!
Over on the flip Invaderz give the VIP treatment to Take A Breath, giving the classic (and out of print) amen smasher a nice polish for 2013. Watch out for both of these dropping on vinyl and digital June 24th.