Tag Archives: Dark

Vector Burn – Ghost Maps LP [Internet Recordings]

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It’s a rare treat to get a full album for free and doubly so when that album is a massive 46 track career retrospective! US producer Vector Burn gifts his final collection of never before released tracks to the world for free, having exited the D&B scene in favour of other musical pastures some years ago. Featuring tracks that were destined for the likes of Rumble,  Defcom and Renegade Hardware, the collection stands as a testament to the golden age of Techstep production, with tracks from 1999 through to 2007 painstakingly retrieved from hard drives and arranged in chronological order.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8MrWK4T5Xw]

There are so many tracks to choose from here it’s difficult to pick a mere handful to embed in the post – do yourself a favour and head over to the Internet Recordings page to read the history and grab the full set. While you’re there you could do worse than to check out the album sampler and have a gander at their back catalogue, featuring early releases from Mefjus, Zardonic and Acid_Lab.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Thr6vSYFw]

Forbidden Society – Monger Remix Contest

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As he gears up for an album release in September, Forbidden Society is giving budding producers the chance to be a part of the release with a remix competition! The best remix will be featured on the album and the winner will also receive a free copy of the album and a free t-shirt. Can’t say fairer than that really. Check out the original track below and head over here for full details of the contest.

Alex Seva – Era / Twisted [Deep Field Audio]

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Alex Seva brings his brand of dark, snarling drum & bass to Deep Field Audio for their 6th single. Era opens up with half-time drums and ominous, brooding growls before dropping into precise, rolling percussion and a gargling, industrial reese line. Twisted keeps the tone pretty grimey but palces the emphasis on heavy kicks and snares with the bass taking a back seat.

Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet now!

Detail – Detached / Shiver [Vandal Records]

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Vandal Records continue their seemingly endless onslaught of releases with a new single from Detail. Detached opens the salvo with epic synths and marching drums on the intro giving way to rapid fire bass stabs and sawtooth moans set to a staccato drum line with tons of energy and character.

Shiver takes things a bit more minimal but continues the punchy vibe with both beats and bass hitting like quick punches to the gut, in and out before you know where you are. The rhythm of the track strikes a nice balance between angularity and roll, never feeling abrupt but never soothing either. Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet now.

Superior Selectionz – Cold Heart EP [Lockdown Recordings]

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Superior Selectionz latest release for Lockdown Recordings sounds like a love letter to the sounds of Techstep a decade ago; the influence of early Ed Rush & Optical and Photek records can be heard in the darkness and groove of the compositions on show here, but updated with the modern production tricks of 2014 to great effect.

The titular Cold Heart is all about the punchy, memorable bass hook and crisp breakbeats, while Eyes Open oozes atmosphere from the pads and backs it up with a simple but effective set of bassline modulations. Backlash takes things back to the old school with a classic rave-stab riff and Mercury rounds off the EP with a deep, subby roller. All four tracks show an emphasis on groove over hyperactive detailing, setting them against the mould of some modern techstep D&B.

Check out the clips below and look out for the tracks dropping from May 26th.

Enei – Goliath EP [Critical Music]

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Enei returns to Critical Music with a great new EP featuring six dynamic new cuts straddling various styles of D&B. Goliath opens the EP with a jungle-break workout imbued with a great DRS verse and some nice bass and FX stabs. The Artefact proves an entirely different beast, opening up with soundscapey pads and a tribal kick beat and evolving into a morphing landscape of bass and breaks which seems to have been crafted for love rather than any kind of dancefloor sensibilities, and is all the better for it.

Prometheus on the other hand certainly has both feet planted firmly on the dancefloor; bass swells and a hypnotic melody build tension on the intro before we’re hit with a stomping beat and a fuzzy bassline. While possibly the least interesting composition on the EP, there’s no arguing with the heft and groove of it.

Hotplate switches things up once again, keeping the trademark Enei eery synths but placing the emphasis on frenetic loop chopping and drum edits a plenty; imagine Stray’s recent material for Exit but with a techier edge. Woodrunner slaps down an infectious full-roll beat with some interesting percussion samples over a simple but effective sub line. Last but by no means least, Get Low combines hefty sub drops with a plodding trap-style drum line, filling in the gaps with skittering jungle loops.

Check out the clips of the EP below and head over to Surus to grab the EP on vinyl or digital now! Worldwide release will follow from June 9th.

Jazzatron – The Lie EP [Lifestyle Recordings]

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Italian duo Jazzatron are the team behind the latest release for Lifestyle Recordings, bringing a four track EP for the label’s 40th release. It’s difficult to pick between the tracks in many ways since all of them provide a nice balance between musical elements, mean basslines and super precise drum programming.

The Lie and Breakthrough certainly provide the EPs more dancefloor friendly tracks while Panatierre explores an interesting contrast between drumfunk-esque beats and atmospheres and aggressive distorted bass. Manuto rounds things off with a tasty selection of chopped up breaks. Check out the clips below and grab this from your favourite digital outlet now.

A-Cray – Untold Stories [Terabyte Records]

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Terabyte Records return with their 11th release in the form of a double A side from A-Cray and Kloro4m. A-Cray’s Untold Stories eschews the style of some of his rowdier material in favour of a stripped back drum workout with plenty of bass weight…this one’s all in the detailed percussion.

Kloro4m’s Solitude follows a similar pattern, with a slightly more rolling break but a focus on precise drum programming, dark, ominous bass and little else. Both tunes provide ample proof that less can be more. Check out the clips below and grab these from your favourite digital outlet now.

Amoss – Bleed It VIP / Calokan [Horizons Music]

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Amoss return to Horizons Music with another essential 12″ for fans of their deep, grimey stylings. Bleed It gets the VIP treatment with a heavily syncopated rhythm and deep sub bass giving a nice new spin on the original’s more rolling flow.

Over on the flip Calokan continues the trend for odd beat arrangements with a shuffling, kick led drum line punctuating a wide array of odd atmospherics and a generally gloomy vibe. There’s a nice switch up on the second drop too, just to keep the crowd guessing. Check out the beats below and watch out for this one dropping from May 26th.

Brand New World LP [Nurtured Beatz]

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Nurtured Beatz have been carving a nice little niche for themselves since the label’s inception in 2013 and their 5th release sees them upping the ante with a 15 track Various Artists LP featuring up and coming producers alongside scene stalwarts like Genotype, all turning in deep dark 170BPM business.

Highlights come in the form of the kick heavy drum lines of Kolectiv & Incognito’s Circle Of Sound, the gloomy half-time atmosphere of Mystic State’s Street Talk and the menacing distorted snares and 90s techstep vibe of Paragon’s Detractors. Check out all the LPs tracks below and grab a copy from your favourite digital outlet now!