Classic Track: Bad Company – The Nine

Posted on 28th January 2014 by DNB Dojo

It’s been a while since our last Classic Track retrospective, so we figured what better reason than the re-release of possibly the most iconic track from the 90s Techstep era? Bad Taste Recordings have gone back to the original DAT tapes for a brand new digital remaster of Bad Company’s legendary tech roller The Nine, preserving the flavour of the original but adding a wee bit of extra crispness to the sound. Check it out below and head to the Bad Taste store to pick it up on vinyl or digital now!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QJm1tzKrhs]

Classic Track: Audio & The Sect – Pounded

Posted on 2nd December 2013 by DNB Dojo

Audio has been steadily establishing a rep as one of the tightest producers in the Techstep/Neurofunk scene, with a knack for combining the harder edge of drum & bass with dancefloor sensibilities. For today’s classic track we look back to 2008 and Audio’s first LP for Dylan’s Freak Recordings.

While the album is packed full of tasty hardstep including some other memorable tunes, Audio’s collab with The Sect for Pounded remains one of my favourite tunes from this era. Unrelenting in the pressure of it’s drum lines and featuring deft use of a sample many will recognise from a 2 Many DJ’s mix, the tune still kicks just as hard now as it did five years ago. Check it out below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwoeqcr920o]

Classic Track: Ganja Kru – Super Sharp Shooter

Posted on 14th October 2013 by DNB Dojo

Today’s classic comes straight outta 1995 with Zinc’s classic hip-hop/jungle fusion tune Super Sharp Shooter. From the now legendary use of samples from LL Cool J and Method Man to the innovative use of half-time beats on the slouchy, dubbed out intro through the double-time jungle breaks and wobbly bass of the main verse, the tune still oozes class almost twenty years on.

The breaks might sound scratchy compared to modern beats but this one has character by the bucket load and always gets the floor bouncing. If by some miracle you don’t know it, get to know. For the rest of you it’s time to sit back, relax and reminisce on a simpler time.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2KZoWLot0g]

Classic Track: Chris.Su – Solaris Theme

Posted on 13th July 2013 by DNB Dojo

Chris.Su’s Solaris Theme still holds its own as one of the most memorable tracks from the Subtitles back catalogue. Fusing liquid sensibilities with slightly darker neurofunk elements and making excellent use of samples from Soderbergh’s film, the track is as infectious as it is understated. The build up is hauntingly beautiful, Natasha McElhone’s voice echoing through the mix – “Don’t you love me anymore?” – and when the drop hits, soaring synths combine with a bassline with just enough teeth to produce a weighty roller imbued with a kind of muted, melancholic euphoria. Classic!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm8DrVjhRdY]

Classic Track: dBridge & Vegas – True Romance

Posted on 14th May 2013 by DNB Dojo

dBridge & Vegas’ True Romance is undoubtedly the best flipside in my vinyl collection, not to mention one of D&Bs most iconic and recognisable tracks. Despite being from a period where some might argue the genre was in something of a slump, the track showcases the Bad Company production talents without the savagery of earlier tracks like The Nine, and would ultimately point towards the musical direction dBridge explores now. Elegant in it’s simplicity, from the warm bass to the crisp, clean, unvaried break and instantly identifiable from the chiming melodic chords, this is a track that just never gets old.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNXBv3JycDg]

Classic Track: Roni Size – Brown Paper Bag

Posted on 16th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

One of the most iconic 90s drum & bass tracks of all time, Roni Size & Reprazent‘s Brown Paper Bag was one of the tunes which transcended the genre as a whole and played a part in the massive upsurge in popularity that we saw in the late 90s and early 2000s. Featuring elements of the jungle sound that was beginning to take a back foot and the emerging sound of what we now know as drum & bass, and fusing it with the sounds of funk, jazz and hip-hop that made up the unique Reprazent sound, the track is truly a timeless classic – every bit as fresh today as it was back in 1997, and still capable of moving a floor like nobody’s business.

The video isn’t bad either, so check it out below and relive the glory days!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwI0gbGEyuI]

Classic Track: Concord Dawn – Morning Light

Posted on 4th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

The recent release of Nu:Logic’s Morning Light instantly reminded me of the classic 2002 track of the same name from Kiwi production outfit Concord Dawn. The track brings together the (now trademark) Concord Dawn bleepy synth leads, an absolutely tearing reese bassline and the instantly memorable vocal snippet which gives the tune it’s title, and the effect is simply stunning. Simple and effective, like so many tracks from this era of D&B, this one still finds it’s way into sets today, and it always goes off.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbLGnn07k7w]

Classic Track: Technical Itch – The Rukus

Posted on 5th February 2013 by DNB Dojo

Today’s classic track selection takes us all the way back to 2002 with Technical Itch‘s seminal techstep belter The Rukus. A reese line that can only be described as “utterly hench”, sci-fi arpeggios and a killer sample combine with a hefty smashed up amen to make up a tune which still absolutely destroys dancefloors today. Oooft!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB7e_saV68U]

Classic Track: Photek – Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (Teebee Remix)

Posted on 23rd January 2013 by DNB Dojo

Today’s classic track takes us back to 2006 and Teebee’s excellent remix of the legendary Photek’s Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (rougly translated as “Two Swords Technique”). Still fresh today, the clattering jungle-esque beat combines with some aptly chosen sword sound effects to produce a frenetic vibe, contrasting nicely with the soft, atmospheric Japanese-style pads. Teebee rounds the tune off nicely with some dirty tech bass stabs, aptly capturing the spirit of the Photek original but lending it a heavier, more cutting edge. Tune!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjW4SwjiQlk]

Classic Track: Black Sun Empire – Arrakis

Posted on 19th January 2013 by DNB Dojo

For the first of our running feature on classic tracks, I’ve picked out one of the first D&B tunes I heard from one of the producers that got me into the music, Black Sun Empire. Taken from their first album Driving Insane, Arrakis epitomises the super-crunchy, atmosphere-laden sounds of 2004 era neurofunk. All brooding pads and sci-fi-esque synths on the build up, and when it drops the dutch trio let loose with a furious break and heavy sub lines under a filtered, twisted reese bass. Epic!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZvOB0emxdM]

DNB Dojo

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