Gremlinz & Ahmad – Nibiru / The Orchard [Paradox Music]

Posted on 3rd December 2013 by DNB Dojo

Paradox Music return with an unusual release – their first 12″ to feature music from artists other than Paradox since 2010’s PM020 (featuring Equinox on the flip). Toronto badman Gremlinz teams up with new name Ahmad to provide two rough and tough slices of dark jungle.

Nibiru gets straight down to business with heavy hitting breaks, meaty sub and old school stabs – this is a beat crafted via years worshipping at the school of Photek, positively oozing 90s D&B soul. Over on the flip The Orchard trades in the full tempo breaks for a kick driven half-time beat punctuated with distorted amens and reverb heavy toms, while bass growls and haunting synths slither in and out of the mix.

As usual the release will be available on a beautiful limited edition vinyl pressing and the standard digital formats – watch out for this one dropping from December 9th.

Indigo – Storm EP [Samurai Music]

Posted on 29th November 2013 by DNB Dojo

Manchester producer Indigo has been busy lately – he’s signed a deal with R&S offshoot Apollo, released a new album with partner in crime Synkro under their Akkord alias and to cap it all he’s put together an essential new EP for Samurai Red Seal.

The EP sees that trademark cinematic Indigo synth work thrown into a full on soundclash with jungle-hearted breaks and some deft sampling. Dark bass and echoing percussion characterise opener Volta while Versa collab Spirit of the Winds takes a few leaves from the Paradox book of drumfunk with subtle sub taking backstage to the frantic choppy syncopation of the ever changing drum line.

The titular Storm changes gears once again, adopting a more ominous tone on a track characterised by glitchier percussive elements and a sparser composition with a much more tribal vibe. Finally Condition drops the tempo for a slice of reverb drenched deep house. As usual with Samurai you can pick this up on limited edition marbled vinyl or digital from their Surus store – don’t sleep!

Get To Know…Warm Communications

Posted on 22nd November 2013 by DNB Dojo

Established back in 2001, US label Warm Communications has long flown the flag for high quality, leftfield Drum & Bass. Early releases from ASC, Equinox, Seba and Banaczech explored deep liquid and drumfunk, with producers experimenting with the less dancefloor oriented styles of D&B.

Looking back over the label’s discography, it seems founder EHL was in no hurry, and still isn’t – despite the labels twelve year tenure it had only notched up a relatively modest release catalogue. The upshot of this however is that the releases are of a consistently high quality, with plenty of genuinely classic and interesting tunes to choose from.

Certain classics stand out from the pack, such as the effortless ambience of ASC’s appropriately titled Highbrow, the epic cinematic drumfunk of Fanu’s Footsteps Concealed and Seba’s brilliantly idosyncratic This Is Our House.

All of this brings us up to the present day and hot on the heels of a sublime 12″ from Seba and Blu Mar Ten comes another solo single from Utopia head honcho Mako. A Break From Ritual explores ruff, tough drum programming with a huge mashup of different breaks kicking in and out of the mix over dark bass stabs and samples pillaged from hip-hop, rave and more.

Over on the flip we’re treated to a deep, dubby roller in the form of What A Little Moonlight Can Do, taking things down a notch but still placing the emphasis on intricate drum programming and unusual sampling. Watch out for this one dropping on vinyl and digital from December 2nd.

Misanthrop – Greed of Gain EP [Neosignal]

Posted on 20th November 2013 by DNB Dojo

Neosignal continue their relentless assault on the futuristic 170 sound with another storming solo EP, this time from Misanthrop. Deadlock certainly defies expectations in terms of what we’ve come to expect from the German producer, mixing equal parts techno, dub and minimal D&B to create a relentlessly hypnotic and tribally rhythmic tune.

The titular Greed of Gain treads more familiar territory with a tearing mid-range growls and huge metallic snares dominating the composition after a synthy 80s intro. Out into Catch-22 and Misanthrop is breaking the mould again, combining the usual disgusting basslines with a plodding kick-snare drum line that only gives way to a tumbling full roll in the latter part of the track.

Last up System Crash ends the EP with the highest octane number of all, with stark lead stabs punctuating a maelstrom of full tilt drum breaks and cutting reese lines. Look out for the EP dropping November 25th on Digital and December 9th on limited edition vinyl.

In The Mix…Quadrant & Iris

Posted on 19th November 2013 by DNB Dojo

To celebrate the release of Dispatch’s Transit 2 LP, US producers Quadrant & Iris have teamed up to record a slick mix of dark techstep with beats from Dispatch, Metalheadz, Commercial Suicide and beyond. The tracklist speaks for itself so check out the mix below and head over to Surus to grab your copy of Transit 2.

1. ARPXP & Rexa – No Control (Metalheadz)
2. Quadrant, Kid Hops & Iris – Borealis (Dispatch)
3. Friske – Requisite (Metalheadz)
4. Xtrah – Lost Time (Symmetry)
5. Silent Witness – Ballistix (Dispatch)
6. Fields – Colours (Utopia)
7. Survival & Silent Witness – Noise 3 (Dispatch)
8. Hybris, Quadrant, Dstruct, Iris – Graphene (Dispatch)
9. Acid Lab – Reborn (Breakfast Audio)
10. DLR – 8 bits of 16 (Dispatch)
11. Bulletproof & Optiv – Camouflage (1210)
12. Quadrant & Iris – Depth Sounder (Commercial Suicide)
13. Bone – Dark Eyes (Authentic Music)
14. Kai – Statically Assigned (Violation Music)
15. Quadrant & D-Struct – Sexy Beam (Intrigue)
16. Hydro, War & Mateba – Black Light (Inside)
17. Survival & Silent Witness – Fletcher (Homemade Weapons Rmx) (Free!)
18. Quadrant – Spinout (Commercial Suicide)
19. Quadrant, Kid Hops & Iris – Convervence (Dispatch)

Dom & Roland – Unofficial Jah / Outta Endz [Metalheadz]

Posted on 17th November 2013 by DNB Dojo

When forces as legendary as these collide, you know you’re in for a treat! Dom & Roland touches down on the mighty Metalheadz with a massive 12″ that has been tearing up the dance for months now. Unofficial Jah kicks the release off with some monstrous bass sweeps before dropping into a stomping, sub infused half-step beat that’s reminiscent of Amit’s work on recent singles like Human Warfare. Just when you’re getting comfortable Dom kicks things up into double time with a full rinse oldschool techstep beat…oooft.

Over on the B-side we’re treated to Outta Endz, a track that has seen heads bawling for the rewind time and again. Infectious and instantly memorable, the cut up vocal hook of “Straight Outta London” couldn’t resonate more with the Metalheadz crew. Watch out for this dropping on vinyl and digital from November 18th.

Blu Mar Ten – Famous Lost Words [Blu Mar Ten]

Posted on 16th November 2013 by DNB Dojo

Two years on from the release of the stellar Love Is The Devil, Blu Mar Ten return with their 6th studio album. As we’ve come to expect from the enigmatic trio, the LP is packed from start to finish with soulful, musical D&B and some excellent collaborations.

Seba hops in to the studio to co-produce Hunter, lending some of his trademark epic synthesis to the mix, while Agné Genyté both opens and closes the record on the deep, jazzy Somewhere and the insistent, jungle-infused In Your Eyes. It’s Robert Manos however who completely steals the show on the beautiful, effortless Thin Air.

Elsewhere on the LP we’re treated to some precise, technical D&B on darker tracks like Big Shots and Holding Pattern while Remembered Her Wrong and Night Shift head for more experimental territory. Overall Famous is another exceptional album from a production outfit who continue to excel after more than a decade in the game.

Check out a preview of the LP below and watch out for the album dropping from November 18th.

Komatose & Kermodo – The Grin Reaper / Can’t See [Transmission]

Posted on 16th November 2013 by DNB Dojo

Transmission Audio bring us their first release from newcomers Komatose and Kermodo. The Grin Reaper on the A side kicks things off with a hefty slice of dark, warped techstep, with some serious impact on the kicks and snares.

Over on the flip Can’t See continues the trend, throwing down an infectious groove with some impressively crisp breaks. Check out the beats below and watch out for the release dropping from November 25th.

Kid Drama – In Mind EP [Exit Records]

Posted on 15th November 2013 by DNB Dojo

After the recent announcement of Heartdrive it seemed inevitable that we’d be hearing more 170BPM productions from Jon Convex under his Kid Drama alias, and the new EP he’s prepped for dBridge’s ever forward-thinking Exit Records delivers more beautiful 170BPM explorations in the spirit of Autonomic.

In Mind kicks things of with lush, melody driven ambience and subtle but insistent beat patterns before What Do You See? switches the tone, opting for dark, throbbing bass and stark half-time drum rhythms.

The deep, dark vibes continue on Retract, which sees Convex teaming up with relatively unknown Australian producer Hands Like Crime to craft a tune that’s all in the detail of the percussion (and appears to make excellent use of a sampled dial tone). Finally the appropriately titled Grind sees him recruiting Om Unit to the studio for a grimey, evil sounding tune full of frantic half-time syncopation and spooky lead synth chords.

Check out the beats below and watch out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital from 18th November.

In The Mix…Special Ed & MC Lucid

Posted on 14th November 2013 by DNB Dojo

Special Records head honcho and all around badman of the Scottish scene Special Ed delivers another slick mix with the vocal talents of MC Lucid. Sliding effortlessly from deep rollers to techy bangers, the mix shows exactly why Ed has been in demand as a DJ for 8 years and counting. Check it out and grab a free download below.

DNB Dojo

Drum & Bass News and Reviews

Tag Archives: Deep