Following hot on the heels of his excellent release for Blu Mar Ten Music, Thing has put together an hour long mix featuring some great cuts from the deep, dark end of the D&B spectrum. Including tracks from his own catalogue alongside selections from Stray, Clarity, Mtwn, Skeptical and Ruffhouse, it doesn’t get much grittier than this. Brooding halfstep lovers should definitely give this a listen.
French duo Kantyze bring us the latest release on M-Atome! Fish Eye kicks off the EP nicely with crisp beatwork, slightly old school chords and a nice squelchy bassline to give the tune plenty of texture. Dren takes things to a darker place with some nice haunting chime echoes and nice pallet of sounds being brought in and out of the mix to give a really spooky effect.
Over on the flip Factory Slum heads for stripped back roller territory, bringing things down to a level of sub, breaks and little else. Finally Marauder VIP rounds off the EP nicely with more sinister, echoing pads and growling bass set against the backdrop of a really characterful break, with weird and wonderful percussion skittering in and out of the main kick/snare line.
Check out the beats below and watch out for these ones dropping June 10th.
The inimitable Rockwell delivers yet another slice of top notch D&B for Shogun that is as innovative as it is infectious and absolutely pounding to boot. Blending influences from Techno and Ghettotech, the appropriately named Detroit brings a distinctly booty-bass vibe to D&B with a sub line that will knock your socks off. This is possibly the biggest tune of 2013 so far…expect rewinds on this one.
Back Again takes the bass down a notch and brings a glitchier, juke-ish vibe to the fray; think Fracture on meth in a foam party with DJ Funk and you’re somewhere in the ballpark. Watch out for these two dropping June 10th on Shogun Audio.
Blu Mar Ten continue their excellent run of releases from leftfield artists with a pair of deep, dark, steppers from Estonian producer Thing. Renew blends the percussive intricacies of Bop and his ilk with the insistent kicks and snares of Amit’s best work, adding in low sub and tribal echoes for some serious atmosphere.
Outer Lands continues the journey with a throbbing sub line and a shuffling, echo-imbued beat while haunting robotic vocal cuts fade in and out of the sinister pads and synths; once again this is a tune just dripping with tension and cinematic quality. Look out for these dropping on vinyl and digital on June 3rd.
Samurai Music return with another of their absolutely beautiful marbled 12″s, this time featuring a stunning selection of beats from Slovakian producer Subtension. Black Haze builds tension masterfully with filter sweeps on the break proving a massive tease before the absolutely epic drop; this is one of the dirtiest tunes I’ve heard so far this year, and the bass engineering on show is impressive.
Changes over on the flip heads for more straightforward roller territory but fear not, this is by no means a mundane tune. Intricate percussion and growling bass swells combine for a tune that’s packed full of character and punch. Last but not least, the digital package features an exclusive 3rd track Inner Man. Dropping things down to a half-step tempo and adding a heavy swing to the beat on the first half of the tune before bringing things up to full tempo with a skittering break in the second half, something tells me this one will be punctuating my sets nicely over the next few months.
Check out the audio below and pre-order your copy from the Samurai Surus store, full release coming June 3rd.
Anyone who’s had the pleasure of seeing Dieselboy throw down in a club will know that this man is an absolute monster behind the decks. Armed with an arsenal of fantastic tunes and with 20 years mixing experience, Dieselboy’s sets are threateningly good. So when one of his incredibly professionally constructed mixtapes drops, you know you’re in for a treat.
His latest mix Beyond the Black Basssline is no exception, throwing together 75 tracks in 83 minutes to cover the full spectrum of current D&B (with an emphasis on the hard and nasty end of things). Packed full of huge tracks from the likes of Phace, Enei, Xtrah, Prolix and Evol Intent, it doesn’t get much more rugged than this! Stream or download below, and strap yourself in for the ride…
Warm Communications returns after a 6 month hiatus with a tidy little 12″ from Mako and friends! Whatever Whatever sees him teaming up with Villem and Fields to deliver a masterwork of skittering breaks and growling, warped low end. Seriously schizophrenic percussion is definitely the highlight of this tune!
Over on the flip Mako serves up a solo outing that dials back the breaks in favour of pure groove and hefty sub hits. Tasty half-step banter for the heads. Watch out for these dropping June 3rd!
To celebrate his forthcoming 12″ with War and Mateba for Horizons sub-label Inside, Hydro has put together a tidy wee mix for the horizons podcast series. Full of deep, dark, tribal beats, atmospheric sound design and tasty new dubplates, this is definitely one for the heads. Check out the mix below and watch out for the Black Light 12″ dropping soon (or grab yourself a white label test press here).
The latest in a series of D&B supergroups sees Phobia, Sato & Tyrone team up to present Chroma. Fresh from releases for Renegade Hardware and ProgRAM, their latest endeavours will be dropping on Total Science’s CIA imprint late this month.
It’s not hard to see why Total Science signed these tunes; both have the classic CIA roller vibe to them, with Intermission on the A side bringing the warm sub while Knock Knock on the flip brings a slightly tougher beat and some very Photek-esque stabs to the party. Old school vibes with new school production, top notch!
Watch out for the release on vinyl and digital from May 20th.
Mob Tactics continue their excellent run of self-released singles via their Tactical imprint with a pair of bouncing dancefloor stompers. Dredd borrows a cheeky sample from the recent Karl Urban film outing before a heavy duty drop with some warped bassline action on the go, but for me it’s all about Outrun on the flip, stripping the bass back ever so slightly and keeping it techy and rolling, with tons of deft touches. Attention to detail!
Check out the previews below and grab these from your favourite digital outlet, out now!