Ronin Ordinance return with another essential 12″ release this month, and we’re hyped to have the exclusive on Athena. Scene veteran Ink teams up with up and comer Loomis for a deep, atmospheric ride through bleep melodies, halftime drums and amen choppage. Wicked stuff; hit up Bandcamp for pre-orders ahead of full release November 9th.
In 2015, the legendary DnB label Metalheadz embarked on a project to re-master and re-release all of its classic tunes from the 90s and beyond. This was presumably done for DJs, to give high-quality downloads of early-era songs to those who have updated their equipment but not their tastes.
What it has effectively done on top of that, however, is to expose younger generations of ravers to the wonders of the Metalheadz archives, as well as to producers and sub-genres which, if not forgotten, were buried in the record crates of first-and-second-generation junglists and D&B heads. Now even the grumpiest vinyl-loving old school heads can listen to a crisp, clean WAV of Marcus Intalex’s My Soul on their computers if they so choose.
The most recent release from the “Re-Mastered” project is of 2002’s MDZ.02. Just released on Friday, this 11-track retrospective contains classics from the likes of Klute, Teebee, Loxy & Ink and a special Usual Suspects track called Tribute, an homage to the influential D&B MC Kendo, who’d recently passed at the time the track was released.
2002 was an interesting transitional time for drum and bass. Beats became much faster, samples started to be influenced by hip hop, R&B and rave, and jungle and drum and bass structures started to merge in ways that many felt were unthinkable. Metalheadz was right on the forefront of this change and its surrounding controversy, riding the crest to emerge as the well-established and cutting-edge label it is today.
MDZ.02 2017 isn’t up on Discogs yet, but it can be purchased in a number of formats on the Metalheadz website and clips can be streamed on Soundcloud.
Written by Layla Marino
Blog: (Dropping) Weird Science
Twitter/IG: @dropweirdsci
Time for another roundup of the best releases in the underground D&B scene; read on for new releases from Renegade Hardware, Flexout, Warm Communications, Invisible and more…
October has seen an unbelievably large amount of music land in the Dojo inbox, so we picked out our favourite of the pack of recent and shortly forthcoming releases. Read on for new beats from Seba, Stoner & Dotter Poison, Moresounds and more! Continue reading
A mere five years old but still one of my favourite slabs of vinyl, Ink & Perpetuum’s Jungle Book harks back to a simpler time in D&B despite its relatively tender pedigree. A tough but loose break, weighty but relatively simple bass and an instantly recognisable stab sound make this a bit of a dancefloor weapon. Check it out below and grab a copy from your favourite digital outlet (or hunt down a vinyl copy on Discogs).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H8laA1N4V0]
Today’s classic track selection sees us winding the clock back to 2001 for DJ Ink & Dylan’s seminal Need You. Back when times (and tunes) were a little simpler, the tune is pretty sparse compared to modern productions, but the irresistible vocal hook, rolling breaks and catchy stabs combine for an instantly recognisable tune which still rips up dancefloors. For the dedicated D&B historian, there’s also a very respectable Calibre remix that came out a year later. Vibes!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVxwCBKFWoI]