Berlin label Through These Eyes are back with another top quality limited run vinyl release with young producer Yoofee at the controls. Treading in the footsteps of experimental luminaries like Sam Binga and Om Unit, this one combines retro jungle influences with a healthy dollop of grime for a fantastic fusion of new and old. Serious riddim! Watch out for this coming Oct 26th via the TTE Bandcamp…
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.
Premiere time once again as we present the exclusive first listen on Lakeway’s latest slice of experimental 170BPM bass business. Punishing sub and a driving kick rhythm define Fireblast Riddim, combining influences from halftime D&B, trap and footwork for a heavyweight slab of futuristic electronica. The string breakdown in the mid-section is a beauty too!
Look for this one coming on Sweetbox August 31st.
Lakeway:
Facebook → www.facebook.com/LakewayDnB
SoundCloud → @lakeway
Twitter → twitter.com/LakewayDnB
Sweetbox:
Facebook → www.facebook.com/sweetboxmusicuk
SoundCloud → @sweetboxmusic
Few labels in recent memory have started as strong as RUA Sound. Their first release featured future jungle heavyweights Sully and Sam Binga and unsurprisingly sold out in no time at all (c’mon guys, repress…) so we were more than a little pleased to hear of a follow up from promising upstart TMSV.
Continuing RUA’s quest to unearth the best genre-bending sounds from the bleeding edge of the 170BPM spectrum, we’re treated to two weighty cuts with more than enough muscle for the dancefloor but plenty of playful experimentation to boot. Fission Chips kicks things off with an 8-bit grime hook, rapid footwork-style hats and hypnotic arpeggios set to a hefty slab of sub bass pressure; proper head nodding business.
Over on the flip things take on more of a dub/jungle vibe, with classic reggae sounds mixed with a sparse beat and some super tasty snare rolls. Yes please! Another fine release from a label we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on; check it out below and hit up Redeye or Kudos to grab the wax right now.
UK dance music’s cross-pollination of musical styles and influences has contributed to the excitement, longevity and innovation of the scene from the very genesis of rave in the late 80s, with everything from jazz to metal at some point playing its part in the evolution of some corner of the electronic sound. Perhaps the strongest of those influences though is that of dub and reggae, without which it’s difficult to imagine the early Jungle sound ever having emerged at all.
All of which brings us to Sam Binga and his new LP, Wasted Days. To say that Jamaican soundsystem culture informs this album would be a vast understatement; while there are many other elements being smashed into the aural supercollider that is Binga’s sound, the reverberations from Kingston can be felt everywhere from the patois of the vocals to the deep bass hums and beyond.
This isn’t mere cultural appropriation though, but more accurately a fantastic melding of musical styles by one of Critical Music’s most exciting and relevant artists. Bring together the positivity of dub with the urgency of grime and footwork, topped off with the polish and engineering expected within the D&B scene and you have an album that couldn’t feel more potent.
Refreshingly, this also feels like an album engineered for listening rather than for the selector’s convenience. Tracks weigh in at two and three minutes rather than five or six, and you’ll find few yawningly DJ friendly intros amongst the material. Rather than relying on breakdowns to change the energy, the track sequencing changes the pace instead, such as the fantastic switchup as the hyperactive grime of Run The Dance gives way to the beautiful, deep ambience of Hyroglifics collab Dark Day.
Speaking of collaborators, Wasted Days is stuffed with so many featuring credits that the whole thing should probably be credited to “Binga & Friends”. Deft, Chimpo, Om Unit and Hyroglifics all get in on the beats while vocal stylings come from Warrior Queen, Fox, Rudey Lee, Rider Shafique, Romaine, TT The Artist, Slick Don and of course the inimitable Redders. Quite a roster!
Overall this is one of the best albums we’ve heard in a year that continues to prove not only the quality but the diversity of the 170BPM sound. Absolutely essential listening! You can check out a selection of the tracks below (including some fearsome remixes from Ivy Lab available on a special edition 10″) so get yourself a flavour of Wasted Days before you hit up the Critical Store for a copy.
Bristol label Inflect serve up their latest slice of future beats from young upstart producer Crypticz. Whipping together Grime, Halfstep D&B and Footwork into a tasty bass-laced cake, the beats on show here should definitely float your boat if you’ve been enjoying the vibes that the likes of Fracture, Stray and Sam Binga have been kicking out recently.
Magnets leads the charge with skittering percussion and some big bad synth lead action, while Transmission goes in deep enough to need a submarine, opting for dubbed out ambience in spades. Finally French producer and Astrophonica / 31 Records affiliate Moresounds chops up Magnets for a less stomping and more intricate riddim; one for the heads!
Check out the clips below and look for this from May 1st at all good digital stores.
Om Unit and Sam Binga are back, and they’re doing it old school with a self pressed white label release! Their new EP features 3 tracks of their chopped up jungle/footwork stylings and a distinctly grimey number to close the EP, and from the brief clips available bellow it sounds cracking. Vinyl pre-orders have already sold out but you can still nab the digital via Bandcamp and there appear to be copies of the vinyl on Redeye – move quickly before they all get snapped up!
New beats from Binga for Critical mean many things to many people; the man’s unusual take on the 170 sound (and indeed Redders’ vocal stylings) have proved controversial among followers of the scene, some decrying the style as gimmicky or not true D&B while others praise the fun loving vibe and general innovation. Here at the Dojo we fall into the latter camp; anything pushing the boundaries of this music we love can only be a good thing.
The latest round of beats sees two new MC led cuts featuring Redders and two new instrumentals, plus a bonus Enei remix of Lef Dem. The latter proves pretty disappointing, taking the playful vibe of the original and smashing it against a brick wall with a rather unsubtle dose of amens and bass. The rest of the EP however proves much more entertaining, even if the patois/jungle/grime combo of the tracks with Redders is beginning to feel a little cookie cutter. The highlight in our eyes is the joyously swung Elastic, with its big enthusiastic synths and unusual drum groove. Check out the clips below and make up your own mind; this one’s out right now on vinyl and digital at the Critical Store.
Diffrent Music boss Dexta kicks off his year with a new single for None60. It’d been a while since our last chat, so we figured we’d get caught up on the new beats and all things Diffrent. Check it out…