Tag Archives: Hard

Nickbee – Animal Rage EP [Eatbrain]

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Jade’s Eatbrain imprint continues the assault on your ears with another EP of fresh neurofunk beats, this time from Ukrainian beatsmith Nickbee. Apollo 18 kicks things off with a heavy hitting roller; tasty sci-fi atmospherics on the intro give way to squelching bass action and hard snares, with a few echoing chord stabs thrown in for good measure. The titular Animal Rage builds suspense on a long intro with swelling pads, cymbals and strings all adding to the tension before a growling bass drop kicks things into gear.

Gain The Energy delivers more techie sci-fi business with a hypnotic lead that fans of Black Sun Empire are sure to love, before Nickbee throws us a curveball on Blackline, dropping the tempo down to 130 for a nice chunky breakbeat track with more teeth than the average. Neurobreaks? Whatever, it’s awesome. Check out the beats below and grab a copy on vinyl or digital now!

As if the hefty release wasn’t enough, Nickbee has also put together a slamming mix for episode 10 of the Eatbrain podcast. Check it out and grab a free download below.

Black Sun Empire – Variations on Black [Blackout]

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Black Sun Empire return with yet another essential release for neurofunk fans everywhere as they open up their back catalogue for remixes from a selection of the biggest names in the scene. Among the best released so far are Noisia’s epic rework of Arrakis, State of Mind’s rolling rework of Don’t You and Chris.SU’s typically heavy hitting yet melodic rework of Fever. There are many more yet unheard tracks so keep an eye on soundcloud and youtube over the coming weeks rolling up to the release on November 18th.

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In addition BSE have teamed up with Beatport to allow folks the chance to win a bunch of Novation gear and a spot on the album by remixing their classic Noisia collaboration Hideous. Head on over to Beatport for the details and get to work!

Tol-Man – Planets Part 2 [Brain Network]

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Brain Network hit us with their latest digital single from Tol-Man who delivers a pair of hard hitting neurofunk belters. Saturn opens the salvo with trancey synths and plenty of atmosphere on the intro before a heavy hitting bass drop and massive synthetic snare hits knock the tune into gear.

Over on the flip the sci-fi theme continues with the rising synths and filtered breaks of the intro giving way to another another huge drop; fans of Audio and the Virus sound should definitely check this one out. Check out the clips below and pick up a copy from your favourite digital outlet.

Current Value – Stay On This Planet [Subsitenz]

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Those who like their Drum & Bass hard and nasty should already be familiar with Current Value; the German producer has been belting out rugged Hardstep for the likes of Position Chrome, Evol Intent Recordings, Barcode, Offkey and Tech Freak since the late 90s and shows no sign of slowing down! Most recently he’s gained some exposure for his excellent remixes of Noisia’s Soul Purge and various tunes from Bjork’s Biophilia project, not to mention his collaborations with Dean Rodell as Machinecode.

His seventh LP release for Berlin based Subsitenz sees him dialling the aggression back ever so slightly compared to some of his more brutal releases, but make no mistake, the album still has more than enough edge. Highlights include the savage modulated tearout bass of The Arrival, the robotic technoid of Weirdo and the mutant drumstep of the titular Stay On This Planet. If ever evidence was needed that hard D&B can still have plenty of depth and variety, this album provides it in ample quantity.

You can hear a number of tracks from the album in Current Value’s latest Subcase mix below, and the album drops on vinyl, CD and digital from September 2nd.

Reanimation EP [Renegade Hardware]

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Hardware bring us another selection of sick techstep cuts with a remix EP featuring contributions from the biggest and best in the scene right now. Taking pride of place is InsideInfo’s update of the legendary Usual Suspects belter Killa Bees. This one has been destroying floors across the world for months, and for good reason; retaining the vibe of the original but updating it nicely with modern production values and that trademark InsideInfo synth detail, this is setting a benchmark for modern updates of classic tunes.

Elsewhere on the EP Maztek turns in a typically gritty refix of Optiv & BTK’s Inception, with the duo dropping a huge rework of Maztek’s Limber in return. To be honest I think Optiv & BTK won this round, but both tunes are well worth a listen.

Finally Verb has been let loose on another classic, putting the modern polish on Future Cut’s Whiplash. This still sounds as eery as it did way back in 1999 and fans of the original will be pleased to note that the absolutely tearing drum-line has been faithfully recreated and reinforced. Watch out for the full EP dropping on vinyl and digital July 15th.

Rockwell – Detroit / Back Again [Shogun]

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The inimitable Rockwell delivers yet another slice of top notch D&B for Shogun that is as innovative as it is infectious and absolutely pounding to boot. Blending influences from Techno and Ghettotech, the appropriately named Detroit brings a distinctly booty-bass vibe to D&B with a sub line that will knock your socks off. This is possibly the biggest tune of 2013 so far…expect rewinds on this one.

Back Again takes the bass down a notch and brings a glitchier, juke-ish vibe to the fray; think Fracture on meth in a foam party with DJ Funk and you’re somewhere in the ballpark. Watch out for these two dropping June 10th on Shogun Audio.

In The Mix…Dieselboy

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Anyone who’s had the pleasure of seeing Dieselboy throw down in a club will know that this man is an absolute monster behind the decks. Armed with an arsenal of fantastic tunes and with 20 years mixing experience, Dieselboy’s sets are threateningly good. So when one of his incredibly professionally constructed mixtapes drops, you know you’re in for a treat.

His latest mix Beyond the Black Basssline is no exception, throwing together 75 tracks in 83 minutes to cover the full spectrum of current D&B (with an emphasis on the hard and nasty end of things). Packed full of huge tracks from the likes of Phace, Enei, Xtrah, Prolix and Evol Intent, it doesn’t get much more rugged than this! Stream or download below, and strap yourself in for the ride…

In The Mix…Raiden

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To celebrate his forthcoming appearance at Tech:nology Raiden has recorded an hour long mix of D&B cuts featuring some heavy amen business and rolling techstep, including some excellent edits and mashups, of which the Amen Edit of Lion VIP is definitely one of the highlights.

Check out the mix below, and look over here for details of the event – you can catch Raiden alongside Prolix, Xtrah, Trace, Survival & Silent Witness and Dom & Roland at Techn:nology on May 4th at London’s Hidden Nightclub.

Billain – Boogie [Bad Taste]

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Billain’s production has been going from strength to strength over the past few years as witnessed by ripping releases like his remix of Optiv’s Krakpot and the mighty Batbots 12″ which came out last year on Bad Taste. Never one to rest on his laurels, the Bosnian producer has returned with a storming new tune for Bad Taste in the form of Boogie.

Intricate percussion work and old-skool style rave sounds build atmosphere on the intro before giving way to a furious neuro-bass infused lead-in to an absolutely face-smashing drop…serious thunder from the hyper-compressed kicks and snares and the ultra-kinetic warping low end alike. Bad tune! Grab yourself a pre-order and watch out for this one dropping on March 25th.