We’ve got another exclusive from Diffrent today and Crypticz is involved once again; this time he’s teamed up with label boss Dexta for a banging jungle workout with some serious vocal chop ups reminiscent of Fracture’s anthemic Loving Touch. Check out the original mix below and watch out for the EP dropping Nov 10th featuring two superb refixes from the legendary Danny Skrilla…serious vibes.
To celebrate the impending release of another tidy single for Silent Dust’s None60 imprint, we asked Diffrent bossman Dexta to give us the 4-1-1 on his current record box. In his own words, five essential beats…
When it comes to D&B MCs, you can count those worth hearing outside the rave on one hand (and even those worth hearing inside the rave on a few hands more…). The jump from host in the club to the true lyricism required to spit bars on record isn’t one that all wannabe microphone fiends have the talent for, but thankfully Sense has more than proven himself worthy of the task.
Many years in the making, The Elephant In The Room sees the self-described “illegitimate offspring of a scouse and a cockney” land on Diffrent Music accompanied by some of the best producers in the scene, with a plethora of material spanning D&B and hip-hop, dark and light, hype and chill. There are plenty of highlights in the uptempo region, from the coy and playful rhymes of Lynx-produced Disconnected to the aggy lyrical duel of After Dark, where Sense is joined by longtime friend and equally talented MC Codebreaker.
The lower tempo beats tend towards beauty and introspection, such as album opener Love Is… which muses on romance against an eclectic beat from Frank & Furter that brings to mind Frederick Robinson’s work. Two Planets brings in jazzy influences and rhymes on an intergalactic tip, while Just A Ride closes the album with thoughts on the meaning of life.
Descriptions struggle to do the work here justice; the important point is that The Elephant In The Room is a polished selection of songs with depth beyond the usual hype-man lyricism or catchy verses found on MC-led tracks. We’ve no doubt this is only gonna get better on repeat listens too. Check out some of the tracks below and hit up the Diffrent Store to grab a copy on digital, CD or vinyl…as they’ve been telling us for weeks, #BuyTheAlbum.
Diffrent label boss Dexta is back with a six track EP of his unusual riddims and once again those that like their bassweight a bit less formulaic and bit more wonky are in for a treat.
Kicking off with the constantly lurching swing of the positively undanceable Flaming0 before moving into the deeper and steadier riddims of Secondlife and atmospheric Coma collab Dissolute, there’s plenty of variation to be found here.
Amping things up a bit for a more dancefloor worthy flex, title track SE4 (The Ends) hits heavy with an angular selection of heavy kicks and jungle snares set to an absolutely throbbing bassline; this one is sure to provoke some screwfaces in the rave! Last but not least there are a couple of CD only flavours in the form of hyper-active 170 garage flex Cheater and the stalking, grime influenced vibes of Slew Dub. Wicked stuff.
As usual the EP is available at the Diffrent Bandcamp, but move fast if you want a copy on CD, only four copies left at the time of writing!
Belgian duo Mtwn return to Diffrent Music with a fantastic new release featuring top class production and some really interesting ideas. Embers kicks the EP off with a cracking progression from deep, sombre half-step with a cheeky riff that sounds like a 90s hardcore line run through the washing machine a few times, before morphing into a frenzy of break chopping that brought an instant smile to this reviewer’s face!
The Diffrent family get involved on the oddly titled Tales of a Tonka Truck Driver, with Arkaik, Dexta and Mauoq all lending their studio chops to an angular and moody slice of halftime D&B driven along by super tight percussion. Spinal Groove sees Mtwn continuing that theme, contrasting darker bass and drum elements against soft, ethereal pad sounds to great effect. Last up, Four brings a sparse but effective groove that should get more than a few heads nodding along at the speakers.
The release is out right now via the Diffrent Bandcamp so check the clips below and go grab it!
Dexta returns to None60 with two cracking new beats. Minirave lives up to it’s name, harnessing the sounds of old school hardcore and jungle for a chopped up raved out banger.
The Bunker sees Dexta teaming up with Gaunt for another track with more than a nod to the old school. Shadow Boxing-style basslines and junglist break chops meld with Dexta’s signature production for a nice groove, and a perfect complement to the more up front A side.
As usual you’ll be able to find this on the None60 bandcamp and all the usual digital stores; watch for the release from June 22nd.
January is proving to be the month of deeper beats so far this year, and the new Hidden Element EP for Translation is up there with the best of them. Opening with lush microfunk and seguing through meaty yet melodic dubstep, robotic halftime and out into atmospheric 160BPM liquid, the EP provides a more than ample showcase of Hidden Element’s varied talents. There’s a thoroughly enjoyable Dexta remix thrown in for good measure too, jungling up Hot Panks nicely with plenty of break choppage. Check out the clips below and head to the Translation Bandcamp to pre-order this ahead of the Jan 26th release.
Diffrent Music boss Dexta kicks off his year with a new single for None60. It’d been a while since our last chat, so we figured we’d get caught up on the new beats and all things Diffrent. Check it out…
Diffrent are back with another essential release for those of you who like your D&B on the leftfield end of the spectrum. Kolectiv return to the label after their contribution to last year’s Giraffe LP with their first dedicated release and they’ve brought their A game to the table.
Lead track Immortalis blends influences from hip-hop and footwork with grimey D&B bass and twisted vocals for a crisp, detailed drum workout. Make Me sees Diffrent boss Dexta join the trio for more detailed percussion edits alongside squelchy bass vibrations and a vocal cut that sounds like it was lifted from a classic rave 12″.
Sleeper Cell brings some jazzy influences to the table alongside a militant kick-led beat and a dark, stabbing bassline that should provoke a few screwfaces in the dance. Last but not least for the digital release Kolectiv team up with Mauoq for a hard, nasty slice of dark D&B appropriately titled Killer Instinct; bleak, menacing stuff here.
You can pre-order the album on CD (with two exclusive bonus tracks) from the Diffrent Store now, with discs shipping from November 10th; digital will follow on Juno from the 17th and everywhere else from the 24th.
Fresh from his futuristic bass excursions for Critical’s new Binary imprint, Hyroglifics touches down on Dispatch as part of the latest release in their LTD series. Terra is all about the bass textures, with ominous pads and a solid techstep backbeat providing the framework for a hefty bass growl, powering the tune along with tons of sizzle.
Tize sees Hyroglifics teaming up with Kolectiv for another slice of dark, atmospheric tech business; this time the emphasis is definitely more on the beats with the tune rolling along to a fearsome kick/snare riddim punctuated by weighty sub and all manner of additional bassline stabs.
Last but by no means least, The Fear rounds off the release with another deep dark stepper. This time it’s a huge team at the controls as Kolectiv, Dexta, Maouq and Kyrist all get in on the act. Angular rhythms and more creepy pads are the order of the day here; one for the heads as much as the dancefloor, but weighty nonetheless. Check out the clips below and head over to the Dispatch Store where you can grab this now prior to full release on Monday.