London heads Sweetpea and Sicknote team up in the studio for our latest exclusive, laying down a tech-edged drumfunk riddim with tons of atmosphere and seriously tight percussive chops. Sick track! Look for this one coming on Addictive Behaviour’s brand new Rotation Part Three LP; the album drops at Beatport on Monday with full release coming two weeks after.
Today’s exclusive comes from Bologna producer Lizard’s forthcoming album for Liquid Flavours, My Eyes. Blending old school drumfunk breaks with jazzy key melodies, this one is funky, melodic, breakbeat joy. Yes yes! Watch out for the album coming April 18th.
Jungle heads rejoice; dgoHn returns to Love Love for another wicked EP of choppy breakbeat goodness this month. Title track So Be It Lumbricina combines the breakbeat chaos of harder edged jungle with softer elements of drumfunk and ambient D&B for a wonderful montage of the hectic and the serene. Dooky meanwhile takes things in a creepier direction, eerie key chimes and unusual samples lending the track a faintly haunted vibe. Both tracks bring to mind vintage tracks by the likes of DJ Trax and Paradox, but filtered through a jungle/breakcore sensibility for that extra edge on the beats.
Last but by no means least, Rognvald is on hand to remix the title track, amping up the break chopping even further for an absolutely full-tilt, face-melting assault of snare rolls and rapidfire drum glitches. Serious danger on this one. As always you can grab this one direct from the source via the Love Love Bandcamp. Do it!
Leeds imprint Ronin Ordinance continues their steady flow of deeper D&B with their eighth release, and this time it’s Discipline Records co-founder Fortune on the buttons. Gram Negative channels the spirit of old school techstep and drumfunk into a dark landscape of break-switchups, hefty sub and ominous atmospherics; serious business. Check it out and watch for the release dropping 23rd October.
Regular readers will be aware that we’re big fans of the drumfunk sound here at Dojo HQ; something about chopped breaks just gets our feet moving like nothing else. Given that love, it’s probably no surprise that we’re all over the latest EP from Dutch imprint Next Phase; every track is a masterclass in breakbeat manipulation from some extremely talented producers.
Infest & Drummotive kick start the selection with title track To The Generation; mining the rich seam of jungle heritage for some classic reggae elements and switching deftly between harder amens and cleaner break samples, this one seriously bangs! Next up, Earl Grey takes things deeper on Burnt Letters, dialing up the atmosphere to 11 and putting some serious detail into the percussion for a composition that is frantic yet serene.
Moving Shadow legend DJ Trax goes in on a classic slice of b-boy funk on Feeling Deeper. Pure dancefloor shaking sub, an infectious vocal hook and more of those tasty breakbeats…yes yes. Last up, Enjoy give us a decidedly ominous effort named The Shark…dark and foreboding vibes run throughout, from the gloomy bass to the creepy pad tones.
Next Phase are definitely an imprint with their finger on the pulse of the drumfunk sound, and this EP is well worth your investigation; check out the clips below and hit up their Bandcamp Store to grab a copy on vinyl or digital now.
The latest entry in our exclusive mix series comes from a bona fide scene legend as we welcome DJ Trax to the Dojo decks! With over 25 years experience in the scene and releases for the likes of Moving Shadow, Outsider, Paradox Music and many more, Trax has been plying his breakbeat-driven style across the world and shows no signs of slowing down.
For his Dojo mix Dave has gone in with a selection of drumfunk riddims including cuts from his brand new EP for Tempo and forthcoming music from Djinn, Tim Reaper, Ilk and longtime collaborators Nucleus & Paradox. If you appreciate the art of break chopping then this one is for you!
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.
Paws Recordings return with the second of their vinyl exclusive white label releases and we’ve got the exclusive on A-side Nowadays! Taking a leaf from Paradox’s book, this is a stripped back slice of b-boy breakbeat business with an emphasis on crispy drums and a tasty hip-hop style sample hook to give the tune it’s name. Old school vibes! Hit up the Paws Bandcamp to get your mits on this one; the vinyl drops May 26th.
Love Love Records are back with a seriously tasty jungle EP from Richard Wilson under new alias Rognvald. Best known for his eclectic acid output as Beatwife, Wilson’s latest sees him chopping the breaks and drawing on influences from classic jungle, drumfunk and breakcore for a dark and chaotic selection of tracks.
From the outset it’s obvious that any concerns about DJ friendliness or adherence to the common confines of electronica have been chucked straight out of the window in favour of the open ended progressions and freeform danger that makes modern jungle and ‘core so enjoyable. Opener R.O.G.N.V.A.L.D wastes no time in building terrifying atmospheres amid a whirlwind assault of beats, segueing effortlessly into a haunting beatless bridge and back out into more of those crunchy drum chops. Next up, Whistle Posse lightens the mood with a distinctly tongue in cheek ode to classic nonsense jungle; wobbled up bass, helter skelter snares and of course, whistle samples a-plenty!
Out into the second half of the EP, Lowcol Junglist employs spacey pad sounds and distant ragga vocals for a tripped out ride as the beats crash down around the listener’s ears. Once again the pace is breakneck and all the tools in the breakbeat arsenal have been employed with just the right balance of precision editing and low-fi scuzz; mid 90s vibes updated for 2017. Last but by no means least, Asbiorn voyages into intricate drumfunk territory with the beats coming up a little cleaner and crispier. Replete with satisfying drum edits and haunting samples, this one is truly hypnotic.
Love Love are on fine form once again with possibly their best jungle release yet! Check out the clips below and hit up the label Bandcamp page to grab the EP on vinyl or digital now.
UK producer Paradox has just released his latest 12″ single under his more chilled-out pseudonym, Alaska. While Solace is a sparse, sort of liquid drum and bass track with funky vocals and Paradox’s omnipresent jungle-style drums, Earthloop is a downtempo, almost trip hop-like track with slow, jazzy snares and beautiful, wintry synths. Paradox himself calls Solace “a sequence of sad violin loops set the tone over fast breaks and strings”, which is certainly accurate, but Alaska fans should be sure to check out Earthloop as well for its complexity and incredibly clean production.
Paradox as Alaska has created something really special with this release, conjuring a completely different vibe from his more well-known releases, and his continued dedication to high-quality 12″ presses makes this single as highly prized as anything else he’s put out under his main moniker.
The Solace/Earthloop single is already sold out in vinyl form on the Alaska Bandcamp page, but it appears to still be available on the Samurai/Arctic Music Group website. Check out the clips below and go grab a copy while you still can!
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Written by Layla Marino
Blog: (Dropping) Weird Science
Twitter/IG: @dropweirdsci
Andy Skopes is a producer we’ve always rated really highly here at Dojo HQ, and one that sadly we don’t hear enough from! His latest work for Inperspective is the first solo outing this year, and very much feels like the spiritual successor to the excellent True Chord Redux from Utopia Music in 2013 (which incidentally we’re still rinsing hard…)
Combining old school breakbeat manipulations with shimmering atmospherics and cinematic sample snippets creates a fantastic duality between tough beats and softer musical backgrounds, both on the full frontal drum assault of Who Are You and B side Laterality. As is so often the case with Andy’s work, this is all in the drum programming and that craft has been lovingly honed to perfection. Check out the tracks below and hit up the Inperspective Bandcamp to grab the single on digital or 12″ picture disc right now.
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