Quentin Hiatus – Chocolate Cosmos EP [Free Love Digi]

Free Love Digi continue their steady onslaught of releases with a fresh EP from label boss Quentin Hiatus. Pushing the boundaries as ever, Quentin explores more weird and wonderful takes on the 170BPM sound. The Struggle melts down influences from techno and beyond for a psychedelic and potent slice of 4×4 D&B, while Chocolate Cosmos hits those slouching, hip-hop style halftime riddims that Mr Hiatus does so well.

One Way Or Another goes into deep space, harnessing the power of dub for a tripped out, reverb drenched jam. Last but not least, Understatement ups the ante a bit with angular percussion and an ominous, robotic vibe. Check out the clips below and watch out for this dropping at all good digital outlets from Feb 23rd.

Generous man that he is Quentin is also giving away a nice little freebie to promote the EP in the form of Lucy. Treading similar ground to The Struggle, this one’s got more than a hint of techno to it; check it out and grab a free download from Soundcloud.

Nutekk & KnowKontrol – Let You Go [Free Love Digi]

FLD continue to push the boundaries of the 170BPM sound with a new single from Nutekk & KnowKontrol. The Lithuanian producer blends tough drum beats with floating synth lines and ethereal vocals to create an entirely unusual take on the established D&B sound. Cinematic vibes! Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet from Jan 26th.

Kid Drama – Crimson / Azure E​​P [CNVX]

Jon Convex’s return from the land of all things house & techno to 170BPM pastures recently has been a source of great joy for fans of the Autonomic sound that he helped to craft, and it seems he’s so enamoured with the sound that he’s launching a new sub imprint of his Convex Industries label to deal with some of the output.

The first release on the label melds the atmospherics and unusual percussion of autonomic with sometimes growling bass and shows a talent for progression often unheard in electronic music. Azure pt 1 evolves from nothing but rhythm at the start to a sprawl of lush synthesis by the end, while pt 2 reformulates some of that synthesis into a slightly steadier composition with more of a driving beat.

The two variants of Crimson meanwhile explore darker territory, with more insistent beatwork and dark, filtered bass taking centre stage. Plenty to enjoy here if you like your beats a little unusual – check out the tracks below and hit up Bandcamp to grab the release for the entirely reasonable price of £1.

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Respite [Audio Plants]

Russian imprint Audio Plants offer up a superb selection of beats from the fringes of 160 and 170BPM electronica, taking in influences from ambient and downtempo on a wide variety of sonic excursions. Highlights come on the bleak atmospherics of Torn’s Believers, the soaring melodies of Thankee & Urban Trip’s The Absyss and the ominous autonomic microfunk of Hidden Element’s How Can I Trust You, but the standout track is the manic 160BPM garage infused beats of Drillcut’s Snow Walk. Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet now!

Skeptical – Imperial EP [Exit Records]

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Having contributed releases for both Mosaic LPs, collaborated with dBridge and of course played a part in the seminal Marka single, it seemed only a matter of time til Skeptical dropped a solo release for Exit. Fans of all things dark and minimal in the 170BPM sphere will be glad to hear that that time is now, with young Skeppy dropping four new beats for dBridge’s esteemed imprint in the form of the Imperial EP.

The titular Imperial opens things up with a tight, percussive groover with a tribal vibe; with the exception of some fairly sparse strings this track pretty much entirely ignores melody in favour of a wall of sub bass and a hypnotic drum line, rattling away in a trance inducing fashion. Don’t bother listening to this on a pair of iPod headphones; you’ll need some fairly serious speakers to give it a fair hearing.

Playground Chat Back keeps the minimal aesthetic but strips the beat back and plays with some pretty robotic bass hums; once again the low end heft is definitely gonna induce a few screwfaces in the dance. Instant Reflex ups the energy a bit with tons of movement in the bass samples and massive kicks and snares driving the track along nicely, while Delusions of Grandeur closes things out with a growling, angular half-stepper. Watch out for these dropping January 19th on vinyl and digital, and arm yourself with some low end weaponry!

Oliver Yorke – Into The Void EP [Vandal Ltd]

Oliver Yorke delivers the latest release for Vandal Records’ LTD imprint with a four track EP of spacey, atmospheric, experimental D&B. Into The Void provides the perfect intro, with trance inducing melodic touches and intricate beatwork building suspense as to what the rest of the collection might hold. On Your Mind keeps things deep, with pads and reverb laying the ground work for a twisting, echoing journey set to a half-time riddim. You could get lost in this one with ease.

Celestial Shadows provides the EP’s darkest track, focussing on rumbling sub and gnarly bass growls over a backbone of intricate percussive touches, though the temptation to turn this into a dancefloor smasher has been avoided – this is still a pretty deep composition, even with the extra bass weight. Last but not least, Cerebral heads back into space with arpegiated melodies and a splash of the autonomic vibe.

Overall this EP has incredible depth and vision, especially for a producer in a relatively early stage of their career. Check out the clips below and look for this dropping from Jan 12th.

Kiril – Disturbed Images / XXX [Alchemic Breaks]

Alchemic Breaks return with their second release from Italian producer Kiril who brings two rough and tuff tracks to the label. Disturbed images harnesses the power of classic jungle breaks with a some tidy percussive reinforcement on the kicks and snares and a throbbing bassline that drives the track along underneath a siren wail lead.

XXX takes things to more footwork influenced territory with a cut up, pitched vocal snippet dominating the intro before the drop nails in with a a plethora of bass and beats set to a decidedly wonky riddim. Fans of Sam Binga and the new school of wierd and wonderful 170BPM beats will definitely be vibing on this one. Check out the clips below and look out for the tracks dropping at all good digital outlets from January 10th.

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Tephra & Arkoze – New Blood / The Gunman [Nurtured Beatz]

Nurtured Beatz round off a great year with another impressive release, this time from Tephra & Arkoze. Sticking to the label’s MO for deep, dark, innovative beats, both tracks bring together detailed percussion, growling low end and a talent for atmospherics for a pair of tracks that should shake a few room 2 soundsystems over the coming months. Check out the clips below and grab the release from your favourite digital outlet now!

Ghast – The Drake Equation EP [Free Love Digi]

Free Love Digi bring us yet another essential release, cementing the label’s reputation for cutting edge 170BPM sounds. Nootropics opens the salvo on Ghast’s latest work, showing a clever progression from the raging tech of the drop into the mellower and more atmospheric tones of the second half of the track. Retrovertigo sees this atmosphere flowing onwards into glitchy, half-time drums and deep, rich synth leads and atmospheres.

The Drake Equation brings the tone to a darker place again, with creepy synths and frenetic, jungle-infused drums clattering away as the tune drives along. Last but not least Vice Versa brings together twisted jazz licks, eastern vocal cut ups and a slouching, hip-hop-ish beat for the EP’s most “far out” track. Truly innovative stuff. Check out the clips below and grab this from your favourite digital store from December 1st.

Kolectiv – Immortalis EP [Diffrent Music]

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.