Fearful’s debut LP for Diffrent Music is almost upon us so naturally we had to snatch up an exclusive! Through The Mist goes in deep on an atmospheric tech rumbler powered along by some of the most detailed percussion we’ve heard from Fearful yet…taking a few leaves from the Amoss playbook while retaining his own unique take on the D&B sound, this is a cracking track, and the rest of the album is equally engaging. Look out for the Interference LP dropping tomorrow on vinyl, CD and digital…
Kolectiv & MEDIKA reunite once again on a fresh EP for Diffrent music bringing possibly their hardest hitting collaborations to date. Artillery brings together skittering, off-kilter beat patterns with a huge section of bass weaponry and a generally militant sensibility; seriously dangerous tune! Look for this one coming September 26th at all the usual outlets…
We’re exceptionally pleased to welcome one of our favourite artists of the last few years to the Dojo decks as Lakeway steps up to deliver our latest exclusive mix! With releases for Diffrent Music and Sweetbox and appearances on Hospital and Med School, Lakeway has been at the forefront of a wave of experimental yet dancefloor-focused beats and represents one of the most exciting sounds in the 170BPM arena.
It’s exactly this sort of sound he brings to the mix, blending influences from grime, trap, R&B and bassline with jungle and D&B for a breakneck selection of raved-up, wonked-out beats. Expect plenty of Lakeway bootlegs and productions from the Diffrent stable alongside more traditional bangers and rollers from the likes of Skeptical and Rockwell. Serious selections! As always you can check out the mix via Soundcloud below or head to Youtube or iTunes to stream. You can also grab a download from Google Drive.
Our exclusive mix series reaches the big 60 this month and we’re excited to have London production trio Kolectiv in the hot-seat with a blistering three deck mix! With releases for Dispatch, Celsius, Nurtured Beatz, Vandal and many more, the collective of Kalm, Carera & Keza have proven themselves versatile producers, dishing out everything from liquid rollers to techstep smashers and deep halftime grooves.
For their Dojo mix the boys have gone in with a murky selection, switching things up between rolling selections and deeper steppers. Beats from the likes of Fuj, Alix Perez and Survey sit alongside recent releases and a heap of dubs; serious business. As always you can check out the mix via Soundcloud below or head to Youtube or iTunes to stream. You can also grab a download from Google Drive.
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.
Today’s exclusive comes from Diffrent Music and is undoubtedly the highlight of the new EP from Crypticz, Don’t Need U. The track sees the British musician teaming up with San Francisco producer Iyer for a deep, hypnotic halftime cut centred around an instantly recognisable vocal hook. We’ve been hearing this one in mixes for months so we’re really excited to present the full length track; check it out and hit up the Diffrent store to grab the EP on vinyl or digital right now!
Fybe:one is a producer we’ve had half an eye on for a few years here at Dojo HQ; while his usual explorations tend towards lower tempos, he is nonetheless one of the most interesting musicians in the electronic sphere. Having contributed some downtempo reverberations for Diffrent’s Evolution of the Giraffe LP back in 2013, Dexta’s London imprint was the clear avenue for a move into the 160+ tempo range and the results are top notch.
Fans of the likes of Frederic Robinson and Machinedrum will find plenty to enjoy here; there’s a playfulness and an old school sampling methodology at work with plenty of influence from more “conventional” D&B, but without the music becoming trapped in the confines of the more traditional genre hallmarks. Jazzy synth hits, rapid-fire percussion and unusual rhythms are the order of the day here, and there are some tasty collaborations to boot as Sense MC steps up for vocal duties and the ever talented Hyroglifics comes in to push some buttons on With You.
As you’d expect if you’ve kept an eye on Diffrent, this EP embodies the label’s ethos by doing its best not to sound like anything else out there, and while it might not quite be revolutionary it’s certainly off the beaten track. Combine that with a loving craft and that mix of club-heft and armchair sensibility and you’re onto another winning release from our favourite London giraffe-enthusiasts. Check out the preview mix below and hit up the label Bandcamp page to cop the EP now.
Diffrent’s latest sees a clash of underground heads as production trio Kolectiv team up with Bristol experimentalist MEDIKA for a seriously weighty slice of dark D&B. Echoes of hip-hop punctuate the heavyweight beats and bass on this system-shaking halftime beast. Badman sound! Check it out below and look for the release dropping October 6th via the Diffrent Bandcamp.
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.