Venetian Snares – printf(“shiver in eternal darkness/n”); [Isolate]

Posted on 25th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

Breakcore legend Venetian Snares has been digging in the archives and has come up with the long out of print printf<“shiver in eternal darkness/n”>; LP, which is now available via his bandcamp page. The LP is packed full of the unmistakeable Venetian Snares cutup sound, but bears a distinctly more jungle-influenced vibe than some of his other more raved up material such as Pink + Green or Chocolate Wheelchair. Dark, industrial sounds, heavy bass, chopped up breaks and hard static are present throughout.

The re-release also features some bonus tracks that never made it out originally, and you can grab the whole thing for a measily $8 straight from bandcamp. Check it out and grab yourself a copy below!

[bandcamp album=3501341306 bgcol=FFFFFF linkcol=4285BB size=grande2]

In The Mix…Homemade Weapons

Posted on 24th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

Up and coming US D&B producer Homemade Weapons brings us a tidy mix for Vancouver bass crew Fractured Technique! This one is all clattering snares and darkness, and with support from the likes of Loxy, dBridge, Skeptical, Clarity, Hybris, it’s no surprise. Check out the mix below and keep an eye on the FT Facebook page for news on their events.

Genotype – The Good Turned Ugly EP [Nurtured Beatz]

Posted on 23rd March 2013 by DNB Dojo

If you like it deep and dark then Genotypes‘s beats have always been the place to look, and his latest EP for new label Nurtured Beatz keeps it on that tip. Crisp, clean drum lines, atmospheric snares and dark, haunting sub is the order of the day here. Reigning it back from out and out neurofunk but still keeping the tempo high and the beats at full roll, Genotype delivers a solid EP of minimal steppers.

Check out the beats below and watch out for the release dropping March 25th.

Sunchase – As We Look Remix / Proper Things [22:22]

Posted on 21st March 2013 by DNB Dojo

Sunchase & Nickbee bring the fire for the third release on their 22:22 imprint! First up Teddy Killerz & Malk are let loose on Moving Shadow classic As We Look for a belting new remix which amps things up a bit while retaining the spirit of the original. Over on the flip the pair deliver a nicely off-kilter grimey stepper in the form of Proper Things which moves seamlessly between full and half-step beats.

As a celebration of the release 22:22 have kindly given away their Proper Harder Things refix of the B side which delivers exactly what you’d expect from the title; beats and bass have both been beefed up to the max to deliver a total smasher! Check it out below and grab a free download, and grab the full release from your favourite digital store now!

Gridlok – American Dream [Project 51]

Posted on 20th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

While drum & bass is well known for it’s dark side, it’s still unusual to hear of tracks inspired by real-life tragedy. Gridlok‘s latest release for his own Project 51 imprint came about via a rooftop suicide heard from his studio; doesn’t get much darker than that.

Gridlok’s original delivers a melancholy roller which is well worthy of your attention, but the remixes are even better, with the best coming from Sinistarr who delivers a chopped up jungle-esque edit, SPKTRM who brings out the industrial half-step darkness and Mesck who drops the tempo for a warped, gritty dubstep refix. You can even pick up the SPKTRM remix as a free download.

Check out the previews below and grab the release from your favourite digital outlet.

Sunaivod – The Wreckage [Free Download]

Posted on 18th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

I recently came across the rather talented up and coming dutch producer Sunaivod via a friend’s recommendation, and was particularly impressed with the quality of his output. Rugged, hard edged neurofunk is the order of the day here, and better still the man has a tidy freebie up on his Soundcloud page in the form of The Wreckage. Check it out and grab yourself a free download below!

Get To Know…Dispatch Recordings

Posted on 17th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

Leeds-based Dispatch Recordings have been a steady part of the D&B scene for well over a decade now, with a well deserved reputation for releasing tough, rugged tracks from some of the best names in the scene. Never compromising their integrity in favour of current trends, the label has truly gone from strength to strength over the past few years with a couple of massive LP releases and a slew of singles and EPs to boot.

Early releases on the label saw tunes from the likes of Hidden Agenda, NOS and Q-Project taking centre stage, not to mention a rather tasty collaboration between Chris.Su, Stress Levels and Ant TC1.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXN3P3OssZs]

Having gained this momentum, 2008 saw the label step up a gear with their first release from the mighty Break (collabing with Survival on the Sick/Warnings 12″). From here on in the discography speaks for itself, with a massive selection of great tracks from the likes of Hybris, EBK, Amoss and Octane & DLR (who’s 2012 LP Method in the Madness was widely hailed as one of the albums of the year).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rDt5LiA_nw]

All of this brings us up to the present day and the rather excellent release last month of Survival & Silent Witness’ LP In From The Wild. Every bit as high quality as the Octane & DLR album last year, and lavishly released on both vinyl and CD formats, the tracks below speak for themselves.

So if you don’t know Dispatch, sit down and have a browse of the back catalogue!

M.Pathy – Grit / Stutter [Terabyte]

Posted on 12th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

Midlands-based label Terabyte Records deliver their fourth release on April 1st, and this time it’s a a pair of dark, brooding techie numbers from newcomer M.Pathy. The appropriately titled Grit gets things going with a nice little stepper, while Stutter on the flip goes in with a little more roll on the beat and some bass growl. If you like your drum & bass tight, gloomy and stripped back then look no further!

Mefjus & Kasra – Signalz / Cypher [Critical]

Posted on 9th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

2013 is looking like quite the year for Mefjus; hot on the heels of announcements about releases for Neosignal and Virus comes the news that his debut 12″ for Critical is about to drop! The Austrian rising star has delivered two slices of crisp, tight techstep, and is busy cementing his position in the scene nicely.

Signalz on the A side delivers an impressive roller with superb drum machine percussion and some meaty bass, while Cypher sees him team up with label head-honcho Kasra to deliver a tidy stepper with some nice filtered low end. Definitely tunes you’ll be hearing again and again in the coming months!

Get To Know…IM:Ltd

Posted on 7th March 2013 by DNB Dojo

We’ve covered some of the excellent material from IM:Ltd here on DnB Dojo before, and given the two excellent releases they have lined up for March and April, now seemed like a great time to do a little retrospective on the label. Started up in 2009, the French label has been busy putting out a slew of excellent digital releases from a variety of up and coming acts, and has found time to craft a few limited 12″ releases too. The quality and style of the labels output has always leaned towards the deeper, moodier side of Drum & Bass, often eschewing the dancefloor in favour of creating atmospheres better suited to the 6am after party. Favourable comparisons can be drawn to the likes of Data’s output for Horizons, such as Mortem’s excellent Stratos 12″ released back in 2011.

But don’t mistake the imprint for a one trick pony. Not everything you’ll find on show here is merely for the chin-stroking heads; while avoiding out-and-out tearers, the label has definitely put out it’s fair share of insistent steppers such as their releases from Future Signal and Paiton.

All of which brings us up to the here and now, and the impending release of the Aftermath LP. Showcasing a mixture of leftfield Drum & Bass and more downtempo, Autonomic-esque vibes, the 10 track release packs some serious atmosphere. Highlights come from Es.tereo and Marilyn with the sublime Winteria, Calculon who delivers a brilliant clap-and-shuffle floater with Hold Back, and Physical Illusions’ We Feeling What We Doing which features a seriously smooth, laid back flow from MC KryptoMedic.

As though that isn’t enough, IM:Ltd just delivered us some grittier numbers on the aptly titled Hunted EP which dropped earlier this week. The EP heads for decidedly heavier territory than some of the labels previous releases, with some seriously dark bass on show, particularly on Disept’s Course and Kuantum’s rather excellent Lost & Found.

So get over to your favourite digital outlet and check out the tidy back catalogue!

DNB Dojo

Drum & Bass News and Reviews

Tag Archives: Dark