Compound Two [Renegade Hardware]

Renegade Hardware return with the second part of their Compound series, showcasing more fresh talent from the worldwide neurofunk scene. Disprove provides two hulking bassy steppers for the first half of the EP, including a dangerous collab with young upstart Signal.

Out into the back half rising stars Volatile Cycle take things seriously dirty with the twin pairing of Switchblade and Backlash. The tracks provide vicious bassweight in equal measure, with the former narrowly emerging as our favourite. Expect some serious screwfaces on the floor when these get dropped! Check out the clips below and grab yourself a copy from the Hardware store right now.

L 33 – Scream EP [Eatbrain]

Following on from big releases last year for Addictive Behaviour and ProgRAM, Bulgarian producer L 33 drops his latest work for Jade’s Eatbrain imprint. As we’ve come to expect from Eatbrain the release is packed full of energetic dancefloor-focused beats, though it stops short of the tearout mayhem we’ve seen from the likes of Kung in the past.

The tracks on show have much of the precision and rapidity that makes Phace’s work so compelling, though that’s not to say the tunes feel copycatish; a solid homage perhaps. All four tracks should do the damage on the dancefloor with the punchy drums and filtered mids of Digital Sound proving the Dojo favourite. Check out the clips below and look for this dropping at Beatport from March 23rd, with general release to follow from April 6th.

Phace – Shape The Random [Neosignal]

Following on from last month’s sampler release, Phace’s brand new LP Shape The Random is upon us! Featuring 14 new tracks from the German neurofunk mastermind, the album stays true to the signature Phace sound but still manages to throw in a few surprises.

Empty Talk yields the first of those, achieving the same kind of high energy that his tracks are known for via a relentless staccato rhythm. Emphasis here lies in the sub and highs, mostly eschewing the aggressive midrange that has become somewhat predictable across the neurofunk style. The album’s single collab provides another surprise; with Mefjus in the studio one might have expected a tearout banger, but The Mothership proves to be a creepy, suspense laden exercise in relative minimalism, packing a punch but exploring unusual percussion and FX over sheer aggression.

There’s still plenty of space for the precision, high impact neurofunk Phace has become well known for, as evidenced by the likes of Fraktal TotalBite The Edge and the titular Shape The Random to name but a few. Exit Plan rounds the album off nicely with a another punchy, groove-laden and faintly robotic track. Phace remains at the top of his game and the cutting edge of the scene! Check out the clips below and pick up the album from the Neosignal bandcamp now!

Ten Years of Vision Recordings

Noisia’s Vision Recordings imprint is among the pack of esteemed D&B labels celebrating its 10th anniversary, and to mark the occasion they’ve remastered a host of top tracks from the Vision back catalogue which they’ll be releasing on CD, USB stick and digital download alongside two new tracks exclusive to the compilation (both of which you can preview below).

For the merchandise-hungry there are also bundles available featuring a 10 years of Vision t-shirt and a rather tasty (if somewhat expensive) 12″ artwork book featuring full size, full colour artwork from every single release on the label. Head over to the Noisia store to pick up one of the bundles now, or cop it from your favourite digital outlet.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ws8eUTGgsw]

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXriboWgHDY]

Forbidden Society – Throne Crusher [Forbidden Society Recordings]

Forbidden Society kicks off 2015 with a big new LP filled to the brim with upfront hardstep and neurofunk stylings. Anyone looking for subtlety need not apply, but if you’re looking for a stomping selection of dancefloor D&B with a tough edge you could do far worse than this!

Highlights come on the driving, riffy Boycott, the old school reese madness of Stay True To The Game and the skittering breaks of Paradise. There’s also some weird glitch-hop madness in the form of Ion Engines and Enter, alongside a wealth of other aggy D&B business. Check out the clips below and look for this on CD, vinyl and digital from Feb 2nd.

Release – Sektor [Nurtured Beatz]

Nurtured Beatz start their year with a bang as Release steps up to drop two rough and tough techstep bangers! Sektor leads the charge, featuring a cheeky Mortal Kombat sample and a dangerous assortment of kicks, snares and bassline rumblings. This one is sure to destroy a few dancefloors!

Step Off sees the Manchester-based producer teaming up with Lao Wai to cook up another rumbling number; hefty sub, groaning mids and skittering breaks are the order of the day here. Check out the clips below and head to Bandcamp to grab this now, with general release following at all good digital stores from Feb 2nd.

Billain – Binary Vol. 3 [Critical Music]

Bosnian neurofunk producer Billain steps up to deliver the third instalment in Critical’s digital only “Binary” series, with three slices of heavy hitting D&B primed for the dancefloor. Macula opens the salvo with a punchy, rolling break and morphing bass modulations combined into a non-stop assault on the senses; not for the faint of heart!

Subduction follows suit, keeping the energy levels high with a mean, distorted bassline and another pedal-to-the-metal break, leaving only Conflicted to explore less aggressive territory with its choppy drumstep stylings. The production quality on show on the tracks is unbelievable (as usual for Billain) – check out the clips below and grab this one from the Critical Store now.

Audio – Nil By Mouth EP [RAM Records]

Anyone concerned by Audio’s move from Virus to RAM and the implications for his sound needn’t have worried if this latest EP is anything to go by – his signature high impact sound is in full effect and hasn’t softened at all at his new home on Andy C’s imprint.

All four tracks provide gritty hard-edge D&B in spades, but my favourites come on Break It and Gotham, the former making great use of ever shifting drum samples and some old school reese bass business while the latter brings the more angular, menacing beat patterns that fans of Audio’s older work for Freak Recordings will remember fondly. For the sample spotters amongst you, this isn’t the first time Audio has lifted dialogue from a Batman movie – see his excellent Power of Fear release for Subtitles for another nice bit of cinematic appropriation.

The nil by mouth EP drops on vinyl and digital from all good stores from Sunday 19th October – head to the RAM Store or your favourite outlet and grab it!

Son of Kick – Hours (SPL Remix) [Midication]

Long ago, before Dubstep, before the rise of “EDM”, Samuel Pool aka SPL made a name for himself making vicious darkstep D&B with releases on Freak Recordings, Evol Intent Recordings and Tech Itch Recordings, among others. In recent years he’s mostly been preoccupied with lower tempo flavours but his latest remix for Son of Kick sees the LA based producer returning to the monstrous 170 sound he first made his name with.

Playful breaks and pitched up vocals on the intro set the tone before the main event; a huge portion of growlingly filtered bass and the sort of balls to the wall breakbeat assault that will absolutely slay a dancefloor. This one is dangerous! There are also respectable lower tempo mixes from Marshall F and Two Fresh which you can check out over here. Check out the remix below and grab it from Beatport now – other stores should get the release from October 12th.

Prolix – Transcendent EP [Trendkill Records]

Fans of Prolix will know what to expect from his latest output – the Transcendent EP sees him teaming up with some of the biggest names in the neurofunk scene for an all out assault on your senses, and the results are pure dancefloor destruction. Highlights include the supreme midrange aggression of the titular Transcendent (with Neosignal’s Misanthrop), the hard snares and off kilter riddims of Vital Condition (with MC Coppa on vocals) and the big gnarly stomper that is Next Level (featuring Offkey alumni Meth).

Check out the clips below and grab this one from Beatport now.