Lewis James returns with another exceptional EP this month for no less than Exit Records, and he’s notched up some superb collaborations on the record; dBridge, Alia Fresco and Lorn all feature among the five tracks on show. To celebrate, we tracked Lewis down and asked him for his Top 5 collaborations. Check it out…
Spanish artist Pablo Dread joins the ranks of Beat Machine early next month with an EP packed full of raved up, jungle influenced beats, blending future sounds with retro heritage to great effect. To celebrate we asked him for a quick Top 5 of tunes he’s feeling right now; check it out…
The latest work from Kid Drama for Exit Records sees the man otherwise known as Jon Convex dipping his toes back into the more conventional D&B arena, kicking his new EP off with a distinctly Metalheadz-esque tech roller; super-crisp breaks and a simple array of dark bass stabs bring to mind classic tracks from the likes of Photek, and the groove is unarguably tight.
Appropriately for a release entitled Covering Ground the next track changes tack completely, bringing together glitchy, microfunk style percussion with shimmering melodies for a much more liquid-y number. Skeptical’s collaborative influence can definitely be heard in the drums while the IDM-style melodies of Convex’s excellent Mikarma project float above.
Up next comes Wasted Time, a track that could easily have been at home on the original run of Autonomic releases, playing with the halftime template and unusual synth sounds under a silky vocal from Alia Fresco. Last up, Consequence hops on board for the brooding, cinematic explorations of Shutter.
It’s great to hear Kid Drama collecting a relatively diverse array of material on this release and Exit is undoubtedly the perfect outlet for his aural excursions. Emotional and evocative as always; check out the clips below and hit up the Exit store to grab it on vinyl or digital from today.
After the success of his much lauded Loving Touch EP Fracture returns to Exit with another top selection of raved up riddims which showcase his knack for melding dancefloor chops with intriguing stylistic experiments and varied the results are too.
Makin’ Hype Tracks kicks things off with another ravey smasher in the vein of Fracture’s excellent remix of DJ Monita’s Luv Ta Luv Ya, blending footwork influences with crisp jungle breaks and a tint of the old school. This one will absolutely be doing the damage in the clubs! Black Pearl immediately flips the script, keeping the crunchy jungle-style breaks but setting them to a more liquid-y set of pads and vocal cuts for a blend of the frantic and the serene.
The appropriately titled Acid Claps sees Teklife footwork originators Taso & Spinn on board for a track that lives up to it’s name with squelchy acid lines and tons of 808 clap action. Wonky business! Last up, I Just brings things full circle with another blend of breakneck syncopations and bassweight.
Personally I can’t get enough of Fracture’s work and that of similar producers like Moresounds and Fixate; this blend of the old and the new is absolutely infectious, and long may it last! Check out the clips below and hit up the Exit Store right now to grab a copy on vinyl or digital. Hype Hype!
2015 has been another strong year for the D&B LP in what seems to be a growing trend for more established artists to explore their sound across a full length record rather than just churning out singles. As the year draws to a close, here’s our run down of the then best albums we’ve heard this year. In no particular order… Continue reading
Another month, another massive wealth of new drum & bass! We check out the best of the rest from Conduct, Skeptical, Benny L, Cybin and more… Continue reading
For whatever reason D&B supergroups seem to be making a bit of a comeback at the moment; whether through coincidence or design in recent times we’ve seen the emergence or re-emergence of The Levels, Bad Company, The Binary Collective and now Module Eight. It’s probably not a coincidence that dBridge is at the centre of so many of these collectives new and old either; being one of the scene’s primary innovators for a couple of decades gives you ideas that are worth sharing, one assumes.
Module Eight sees dBridge teaming up with fellow Exit contributors Loxy, Resound, Kid Drama and Skeptical for thirteen tracks collaborated on entirely online (presumably due to busy schedules and Resound’s location in Finland rather than London), and the results are impressive. If the old adage “too many cooks spoil the broth” has any relevance to D&B, apparently five cooks still isn’t too many!
Legacy feels surprisingly consistent for an album with so many producers behind the console; while there are certainly little hints here and there of each producer’s individual style, you’d struggle to put your finger on any one personality dominating any of the compositions. Guessing where one musical mind ends and another begins might prove amusing for the heads, though we’d challenge anyone to come up with any particularly solid conclusions.
Thematically the album is dark and complex, but in the refined way we’ve come to expect from Exit rather than the ADHD hyper-complexity of some of the more dancefloor oriented D&B business. Flickers of the autonomic sound shine through in places, though in general more in rhythm than tone; the lush futuristic synths of tracks like Seems Like are largely absent in favour of creepier, colder soundscapes which evoke urban grit more than future soul. There’s also more than a passing nod to the classic techstep sounds that both Loxy and dBridge helped to develop, particularly on Ghost and Legacy.
With a solid mix of dancefloor appeal and deeper sound design and texture, it’s difficult to fault Legacy, and the more discerning crowd will definitely lap this up. Check out the clips below and hit up the Exit Bandcamp to pre-order a copy ahead of the release this Friday.
Alix Perez’s output has taken on many forms over the years, spanning rolling liquid and hard edged techstep in the early days, through the varied styles of his second LP and on to the more hip-hop and footwork infused beats he’s been producing recently.
His latest release for Exit takes a sharp u-turn from previous material and heads back to the smooth liquid rollers he first made his name with, and while there’s nothing like the innovation found on last year’s U EP the tracks offer depth, warmth and seem to look back fondly on past exploits; even the title Recall & Reflect seems to imply a producer taking a trip down memory lane.
As you’d expect from a producer with the wealth of experience that Perez has built up, the tracks are precision engineered, with those all important liquid breaks sounding crisp, fresh and funky and the mixes as smooth as butter. Sometimes warmth and depth of feeling can be just as important as pushing the envelope, and that’s never been truer here. Check out the clips below and hit up the Exit Store or Bandcamp to pre-order the EP now ahead of the September 18th release date.
We normally find it pretty tough to find space to cover free tracks here at the Dojo but we make exceptions when those free tracks are from the mighty dBridge! The Exit Records boss has apparently been in a generous mood over the last day, slapping no fewer than nine tracks from various periods up on his Soundcloud for all to download and enjoy.
The tracks include end of Bad Company/start of Exit Records-era techstep, Autonomic style cuts and two jungle tinged rollers written specially for the recent Exit vs Headz clash in London. Can’t say fairer than that can you? Check out the tracks below and hit up Soundcloud for the downloads.
