Seattle’s toastercookie drops a huge selection of dancefloor oriented D&B to celebrate his appearance at the city’s Bottom Heavy monthly club night. With cuts from the likes of Break, Enei, Calyx & Teebee, Logistics, Netsky, Noisia & Phace all featuring, the mix moves effortlessly through tech and liquid styles with an emphasis on rolling beats and upbeat vibes. Check it out and grab a free download below.
Russian super-producer Enei returns with his first fresh cuts for Critical since the release of the excellent Machines LP. Opener Liberation sees him team up with Welsh rising star Emperor to craft a tidy stepper with some serious bass heft; warm, squelchy low end and that classic helter-skelter Enei percussion are both on show here to great effect.
Not content to merely tread familiar territory, track two immediately sees a switch of styles, with Enei teaming up with Chimpo to deliver a track that’s distinctly Dub Phizix-esque. Huge sub, half-time kicks and a distinctly trap influence all pervade the mix on Headtop.
Elsewhere on the EP Sam Wills provides some nice vocals on the dark but soulful roller Circles, and we get a couple of straight up techstep belters in the form of Mosquito (with its rather appropriately insect-like bass swoops) and the hard hitting percussion-led vibes of The Bonebreaker. Check out the whole EP below and look out for the release on June 24th.
Dominic Petrie (previously known as Y2D) brings us a superbly deep and soulful mix featuring tunes from Bungle, Tokyo Prose, Enei, Alix Perez, Paradox and more, and a sneak peak of his latest work Valid Invalid – look out for this one dropping on Nookie’s Phuzion imprint sometime soon! Smooth vibes all the way.
It seems like Critical Music can do no wrong right now. This year has seen the label release a slew of quality tunes from top flight producers (including the positively anthemic Oblique) not to mension label boss Kasra‘s induction to the Fabriclive mix family. Not content with that, Critical are now stepping up to the plate once again with the debut album from Russian producer Enei, and it’s pretty stunning. 2012 has already been quite a year for drum & bass albums with great releases from Octane & DLR, BCee, Symmetry Recordings and DRS to name but a few, and Enei’s debut sits alongside and perhaps even a little above the efforts of his peers.
From the soulful liquid of Runnin to the face smashing basslines of Centrifuge, through the dark jungle cutups of Saligia and off into the rolling grime of Cracker VIP the record oozes production quality left right and centre, and should feature something for everyone. There’s even a cheeky old skool throwback in the form of Rotate and a tidy deep house number in the digital exclusives.
Better still the label have teamed up with the Surus store to offer a bundle of CD, 2×12″ vinyl, 1×10″ vinyl, posters, bag and digital download for the frankly ridiculous price of £20. Vinyl heads should be rushing over here for that one. Check out the previews and watch for the album dropping on November 12th.
MCs in dance music; often a contentious topic. And one that has been prominent in the drum & bass scene in recent times, with the rise of MC-led (or at least MC-imbued) tracks, particularly in the wake of the huge success of Dub Phizix’s smash hit Marka. So despite the excellent track record DRS has in the scene, I must admit I was a little ambivalent when I heard that he was doing a full length album of solo material. Would there be the necessary variation here to justify a solo LP, or would this merely amount to 14 similar tracks chucked together to cash in on the current trend for MCing over half-step D&B beats?
While the initial single from the album was promising, it was treading familiar ground for the MC. Thankfully the album doesn’t disappoint in any way – lyricism and production (from the host of guest producers including dBridge, Lynx & Genotype) are both top notch, and most importantly the album shows real variation in tone and musical style.
The first welcome surprise of the album comes on Autonomic, bringing the tempo down to the 120 range for a slice of stripped back but supremely funky hip-hop. “This beat’s so autonomic, automatic, supersonic” goes the chorus, with DRS settling into a beautifully laid back yet insistent flow that instantly has the head nodding. It Ain’t Easy provides another, with a pleasant cross between grime-esque 140 beat patterns and warm, soulful synth lines.
Even when the tunes are occupying more familiar drum & bass led territory there is a good selection of different offerings, from soulful liquid funk affairs like Star Voyager and Keep the Faith to slightly predictable but nonetheless high calibre grimey half-steppers like Play With Fire.
If MCs are stepping up to become a bigger feature of the drum & bass scene, on record as well as in their more natural habitat of the club, then DRS has certainly set the bar for what an MCs album should be on every level. Watch out for the full release via Soul:R on Monday – and to whet your appetite you can check out a teaser mix below.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFxZRcu-TJI]
Marcus Intalex‘s Manchester based Soul:R imprint is gearing up to release the debut album from MC DRS, and ahead of that they’ve put together a quality 12″ taken from the album. The A-side sees DRS teaming up with Russian producer Enei, with tight rhymes over a classic “steppa”-style D&B beat. Over on the flip is Holding On with Lenzman, Jehst & Riya, an altogether more soulful, liquid-funk affair with a warm, uplifting chorus.
DRS has also put together a youtube playlist of his influences which features a wide variety of quality tunes from the likes of Goldie, Otis Reading and The Pharcyde – well worth a listen!
Check out the video for Count to Ten below, grab the single (out Monday on Soul:R from all good outlets) and watch out for the album over the next few months.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm5gB3Yk9hI]