Oliver Yorke – Digital Native / Lose Yourself [Retrospective]

RTS003 (2000X2000)

It’s always a pleasant surprise when fresh new beats arrive in your inbox from a producer and label you’ve never heard of, and a doubly pleasant surprise when they’re as good as the latest release from Oliver Yorke for Italian imprint Retrospective Recordings.

Digital Native delivers intricate percussion in spades, set to a dark, brooding bassline and gloomy industrial soundscape work; minimal in tonal pallet but maximal in both impact and depth. Lose Yourself on the other hand goes in deeper, switching the hyperactive percussion out for a simpler groove with a little more roll and adding a tightly wound sub line with a touch of wobble for character.

Check out the beats below and watch out for the release dropping September 30th.

Om Unit – Sleepwalkers [Metalheadz]

Om Unit’s conquest of the 170BPM spectrum continues with a stunning EP for none other than the mighty Metalheadz! Blending Jungle and Footwork with influences from Dubstep and Hip-Hop to great effect, the “not quite D&B” style of previous releases is only getting better.

The Hand kicks things off nicely with a super beat; the backbone is a half-time kick/snare routine but every conceivable space has been filled in with frantic hat and snare syncopation to create a fantastic duality between the relatively slow speed of most aspects of the tune and the breakneck drum fills.

Grey Skies Over Chicago amps things up a notch with a huge, angular drum line battering down the door to a background of ominous, futuristic synths soaked in reverb and oozing character. Finally Sleepwalkers nods the head to 90s techstep with a skittering beat and stabbing bassline that could well have been written by Photek back in the day. Serious business.

Check out the beats below and grab yourself a copy on vinyl or digital now!

Scope LP [Samurai Music]

Samurai continue their assault on all things leftfield with a various artists LP that delivers a veritable smorgasbord of deep, dark, 170BPM cuts. Highlights include the droning, tribal noise-bass of Kiwi producer Fis, the lush glitchy ambience of Indigo’s Snowfall, and ASC’s Photek-esque Dragnet.

In true Samurai Music fashion the album will be available on five limited edition vinyl plates including a number of vinyl exclusive tracks. Check out the beats below and watch out for the release on September 30th.

Mechanical EP [Violation Music]

mechanical e.p cover

Violation Music return with another varied array of deep D&B, this time bringing together tracks from four different producers for an EP release that keeps you on your toes. nCamargo kicks things off with a tough, gritty stepper that combines Vangelis-esque synth pads with a belting drum line and twisted, warping bass that gives the tune plenty of movement. Next up, Robustus delivers another industrial sounding beat but with a little more roll to the breaks and some great cymbal work.

DYL comes in with what is for me the stand-out track of the EP, building layers of gloomy ambience before adding in a sparse, glitchy beat full of interesting percussive samples. The whole composition sounds entirely artificial, like the whirring of gears in some weird mechanical device. Finally The Slimerz give us Boulders, characterised by a reverb drenched half-time drum line that sounds like something Instra:mental might come up with if they took a bit too much Ritalin.

Check out the clips below and watch out for the EP dropping 7th October via all good digital outlets.

Mindstorm – The Descent / Escape Route [Mindstorm]

Mindstorm’s latest release sees the label boss going in deep. The Descent brings together ethereal, almost ambient synths with a glitchy half-step beat and some hefty dark bass work; equal parts atmosphere and teeth.

Escape Route on the flip takes things even deeper, with a tribal percussion line taking centre stage in a tune that minimal D&B-heads are sure to love. Check out the beats below and grab a copy from your favourite digital retailer now!

In The Mix…Ortokore

The ever enjoyable Automate podcast series returns after a slight hiatus with a deep and dark mix from Venezuelan producer Ortokore. With releases for Raiden’s now sadly defunct Voodoo Music and Automate’s Deep imprint, Ortokore draws on a wide range of influences to produce experimental, tribal D&B, a sound which is hugely present in the mix. Check it out and grab a free download below.

Skittles – In For Me Remixes [Estate]

Manchester MC Skittles (who you should recognise from his huge collab with Dub Phizix I’m A Creator) gets the remix treatment on the latest release from Estate Recordings. Jubei delivers a sub-heavy stepper in his rework, while Need For Mirrors go leftfield with a dark, skittering rework; tribal drum bizness. As if that wasn’t enough Manchester newcomer Metrodome delivers a tight, bassy hip-hop rework which is well worth a listen.

Check out the first two remixes below and look out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital from August 26th.

Seba – Shades of Me & You [Warm Communications]

Seba and Blu Mar Ten tunes hold a special place in my ever expanding collection of D&B records. Both artists have proved time and again across decades of production that while other artists in the scene may only be interested in the drop and much of D&B is aimed at the dancefloor, there is space in the genre for true musical expression. More than that, they prove that melody can be used without “doing a Fresh” and heading straight for cheese-tastic euphoria territory.

Predictably then, the latest 12″ on Warm Comms went straight onto my “must buy” list (if only labels would send me vinyl promo…a man can dream). Seba sets the tone on the A side with absolutely lush pad work over a soft, deftly syncopated beat and a warm liquid bassline that you could curl up in for the winter. Vocal snippets echo in and out of the mix to provide the final icing on a beautiful liquid-funk cake.

Not to be outdone, Blu Mar Ten turn in a shimmering remix drenched in reverb and characterised by their signature melancholy synths. Something about BMT’s mellower tracks is almost trance-inducing; the hypnotic combination of rolling yet muted beats and minor key chord progressions with wholesome sub bass always hits the spot.

Check out the previews below and watch out for this dropping on vinyl and digital from August 26th. You can even pre-order a copy from surus. Go on, you know you want to.

In The Mix…Dominic Petrie

Deep liquid maestro Dominic Petrie returns with the first in a new mix series entitled Modus, exploring the deeper more experimental side of D&B. The mix features a tidy selection from the likes of dBridge, ASC, Instra:mental, Data, Morphy and Photek and is all drawn from Dom’s extensive vinyl collection. One for the heads!

Mosaic Vol. 2 [Exit Records]

It feels almost redundant to be reviewing this but just in case anyone has somehow slept on what is definitely one of the best compilations of 2013, then feast your ears on Mosaic Vol. 2. Bringing together some seriously deep and innovative cuts from thirty different producers and spanning four plates of vinyl for the wax enthusiasts, Exit have truly outdone themselves.

Among the standout tracks (and this is a tough choice given the quality on show from all concerned) are the glitchy madness of Rockwell’s *)*[808], the lush halfstep liquid of Synkro’s The Way and the classic Fist Level 2B from Insta:mental (only been waiting three years for this one guys…)

Elsewhere Kryptic Minds deliver a fantastic slice of moody halfstep with Burnt To Ashes (a rare return to the 170 tempo since their exit to Dubstep realms several years back), Om Unit and Sam Binga collab on some deeply hip-hop/footwork influenced business, and Fracture & Dawn Day Night bring us the sounds of the ghetto on Sick Wid It. Check out clips of every track below and watch out for this one dropping on digital July 29th with vinyl following on August 5th.