Special Ed’s brand new Shudder alias is one of many up and coming artists to keep an eye on over 2014. His debut tune Lines should pique the interest of fans of the deeper side of D&B, employing interesting percussive elements, deep sub, melancholy piano and a nicely sampled vocal to great effect. Currently unsigned, we at the Dojo certainly hope this gets a proper release! Check it out below and keep an eye on the Shudder Soundcloud for more.
Om Unit delivers us a late festive treat in the form of his remix of Jay 5ive & Kromestar’s Wishful Thinking. Much sought after since being featured on Om Unit’s XLR8R podcast back in 2011, the track features a deep half-step groove and massive, spacey synth leads, and is very reminiscent of the tracks on the Aeolian EP. Check out the beat below and head to Om Unit’s Bandcamp for a free download.
Paradox kicks off the year with a slice of beautiful, atmospheric drumfunk under his Alaska moniker. Jasheri is truly lush, soaring strings and understated sub-bass punctuated by crisp, elegant drum breaks which while heavily syncopated convey no sense of impatience whatsoever. Despite the tempo, this is music to lose yourself in, not music to lose it to.
Zoranine heads for even deeper territory, swapping the uplifting synths of the A side for equally lush but slightly more melancholy tones. Flute, oboe, xylophone and subtle touches of guitar all play into a true musical masterpiece, laid out to a downtempo back beat.
As usual with Paradox’s releases you can pick this up on beautiful limited edition snow-white vinyl, available to pre-order now from Surus. Watch out for the release dropping from January 10th.
dBridge & Kid Drama (aka Jon Convex) return with the second of their Heart Drive mixes, coyly titled Empathy Reboot. Unlike previous installment Aut0mated L0ve, this time the tracklist is kept entirely secret…we’re guessing the tunes will surface over the coming months, but who can tell? As you’d expect the mix is full of cutting edge experimental beats, ranging from dark and growling to deep and soulful. Check it out below and grab yourself a free download!
Horizons Music round off a great year with a cheeky new EP of deeper beats from Need For Mirrors and HLZ. The titular Rotor provides a dubbed out atmosphere and brooding bassline for a tune that is all groove; simple, but perfectly engineered. Pantheon ups the ante with a plethora of percussion fills giving the main break urgency and bassline modulations adding to the texture under lush top end synth work.
Actress heads for darker territory, stripping back the pads and hitting in with agressive snares and punchy bass hits. Finally we’re treated to another groove-led production in the form of Broadwalk, with a precise break and a simple yet memorable bassline taking centre stage over a backdrop of subtle pads and swells. Check out the beats below and grab yourself a copy on vinyl or digital from the Horizons Store!
Sun & Bass continue their tradition from last year and release another stellar compilation featuring cuts from the festival’s regular DJs, with a host of big names on board. The first half of the compilation leans heavily in the deep liquid direction, with a collection of rollers and steppers from Triad, Fracture & Mark System, Seba, Alite & Arp XP and more. Tokyo Prose steal the show for me with the sublime, twinkling piano and crisp breaks of Goodbye Hands…truly a tune you could lose yourself in.
The second half of the selection sees the heat turned up with harder beats from Klute, Chris SU and Nymfo, Dom & Roland and more. Ulterior Motive turn in a strong, squelchy stepper with Fragola Invisible and Audio Habitat collaborates with Mad Vibes for a good old fashioned dirty roller. The LP closes up with a few more soulful numbers from dBridge, Code 3 and Zero T for good measure.
Check out all the beats below and watch out for the release dropping on digital from December 16th. Don’t forget you can also pick up the sublime Calibre/Paradox remix 12″ from Surus now!
Commercial Suicide rounds off a great year with a single from Ukrainian producer Detail. Showcasing the balance of technicality and musicality that fans of the label have long appreciated, Time Stretching lulls you into a false sense of security with mellow guitar licks before the deadly sub stabs hit you in the chest.
Over on the flip, Pressure builds the tension with a dubbed out, haunting intro; to call this moody would be the understatement of the year. The drop kicks the tune into gear with angular percussion, heavy sub and little else, proving that sometimes less is definitely more. Watch out for this one dropping on vinyl and digital from December 16th.
Tempo Records return with a brand new 12″ featuring three tracks from Pete Parsons aka Voyager, a name which older heads may recognise from his releases on Good Looking and Creative Source including the classic Hypersleep.
After something of a break from the scene Pete is back with tunes that embody the classic era of ‘intelligent’ D&B while embracing modern production techniques. FAQ certainly has Good Looking written all over it, with classic rolling breaks layered with simple sub bass and beautiful chord structures.
LuvBLoved takes the listener on quite a journey, swapping rolling breaks for a more chopped up style of beats while retaining soft, mellow synths and vocals to create a soundclash between the harder edge of jungle and the softer edge of IDM. Finally Big Picture drops the tempo for a lush slice of downtempo, piano led ambience.
Have a gander at the Tempo Records page to see the man describe the tunes in his own words. Check out the clips below and look out for the single dropping on vinyl from December 10th and digital from December 24th.
US duo Quadrant & Iris have been busy lately with releases for Dispatch, Intrigue and Avantgarde and now the duo grace Klute’s Commercial Suicide imprint with a new 12″ featuring their signature style of rolling beats and weighty bass.
The titular Spinout sees Quadrant on a solo outing, delivering a tight, techy roller embellished with some floaty synth action in the breakdowns. Next up the pair collaborate on Depth Sounder, featuring an insistent bass riff and super detailed percussion which is sure to have you nodding along. The EP wraps up with a deeper, halftime number featuring the additional talents of Calculon and Homemade Weapons, filling in the sparser beats with twin basslines and echoing vocal snippets.
Check out the clips below and watch out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital from December 16th.
Purveyors of all things eclectic Diffrent Music celebrate their 20th release with a various artists LP featuring a varied cuts from the extended label family. The tone of the material varies greatly, from the beautiful, laid-back beats of Fybe:one and Kolectiv, through the slouching, tripped out dub of Jekyll’s Horcurso and out into the brutalised industrial bass and heavy snares of M-Zine, Skepticz & Mtwn’s Choices.
The common thread is that almost all the tracks on the album eschew the familiar drum patterns of most D&B compositions in search of percussive innovation, the only real exception being Arkaik’s broody stepper Wax. If you’re looking for DJ friendly crowd pleasers this definitely isn’t a collection of them, but it’s proof that the 170 tempo range continues to be a hotbed for experimentation and truly interesting music. Watch out for this dropping via CD and digital from December 9th.
To celebrate the release of the album Diffrent are throwing a party in London this Friday. With a stellar lineup of the label’s best producers and tickets available for only a tenner, those in the nation’s capital should be sure to check it out – details over on Facebook here. As if that wasn’t enough, they’re also giving away a free track from Fybe:One – check it out below and head to the Diffrent Facebook for your download.