Regular collaborators Enok, Mathis and Sonny G join forces once again for today’s premiere. Blending life instrumentation, jazz influences and a retro aesthetic, this is definitely a bit different, and all the better for it. Imagine a smoke-filled speakeasy crossed with a 90s liquid funk club night and you’ll get a picture of the sound they’re conjuring…or better yet just take a listen! The Noir EP drops April 2nd at digital stores.
Soul Defiance lands on Addictive Behaviour with a sick new EP and we’re hyped to have the premiere of Roller 123! Seriously rude basslines, rolling drums and jazz sax combine for a tune that provides the perfect mix of screwface inducing weight and musical chops. Look out for this dropping exclusively at Beatport from Aug 3rd, with other outlets following Aug 10th.
Detached Audio celebrate five years in the game with the first of a series of EP releases this month, and we’ve grabbed the exclusive on Livid Cheese’s contribution Pretty Simple Music. Featuring some fantastic sound design, the track combines jazz influences and slap-bass instrumentation with warping neuro basslines and hefty drums; putting the funk back into neurofunk! Hit up Bandcamp to pre-order the EP now ahead of the release on Friday 29th.
Liquid vibes once again from the Detached audio camp as Kinaes steps in with a jazzy new roller featuring Sonny G. Warm bass, rolling breaks and those sax licks…lovely stuff. This one drops alongside a new Kinaes remix on Dec 27th!
Slinky business on today’s premiere as we present the premiere of Stabfinger’s appropriately named Tangerine Funk! Taken from the forthcoming Jazzual Experiment LP on Boomerang Records, this is an exuberant blend of acid, jazz, funk, swing and hip-hop, all set to a drum & bass backbeat for maximum energy. Party vibes! Look out for the LP dropping July 5th.
Today’s exclusive comes from the Dojo boss Hex himself, with a new track for Detached Audio. This Snare brings together bright rhodes chords, soft pads, deep sub and natural drums for a jazzy liquid take on the somewhat forgotten drumfunk sound. Watch out for this one coming June 29th on the Delta 002 EP; pre-orders up now!
Today’s exclusive comes from Bologna producer Lizard’s forthcoming album for Liquid Flavours, My Eyes. Blending old school drumfunk breaks with jazzy key melodies, this one is funky, melodic, breakbeat joy. Yes yes! Watch out for the album coming April 18th.
Low:r returns to Such Music and the Dojo spotlight with a seriously funky jam! Over 9000 dials up the energy to appropriately exuberant levels and layers huge brassy synth hits with funk guitar and a bassline packed full of bounce. There’s even some rhodes action for a hint of the Blues Brothers! Something quite different from the usual D&B fare, but still more than big enough to smash up the dance. This one drops at all the usual outlets Feb 4th.
When it comes to genre-defining albums, it doesn’t get much more legendary than New Forms. Propelling underground D&B into the mainstream musical limelight and snatching the Mercury Music Prize for good measure, the album delighted heads and newcomers alike, blending rapid drum programming with influences from jazz and hip-hop to form the perfect fusion of organic and electronic. Despite not setting out to make a crossover, Roni and the Reprazent gang certainly ended up with one.
Twenty years on, the album is getting a four disc deluxe reissue this month with the full original LP remastered, the full set of “Re Forms” remixes and most tantalisingly of all, a fresh disc featuring a live hardware mix of unreleased edits of the best tracks on the album. So how does it stand up after two decades? Pretty damn well it turns out.
The two discs of the original album have been given a fresh lick of mastering paint and are sounding just as exciting as they did in 1997, full of funky drum programming, enticing synths and classic hooks. Anyone who doesn’t get a shiver from hearing the guitar line on Brown Paper Bag just has no soul! The remixes don’t hold up as well to my ears (with a handful of exceptions) but they always felt like messing with perfection given the sheer quality of the original album.
The live hardware mix meanwhile is an absolute joy from start to finish; all of the album’s iconic tracks are there including some of the lower tempo beats and a number have been re-engineered to mash up originals and remixes, often to great effect. The new edit of Share The Fall featuring elements of Grooverider’s Jeep Style Mix proved a personal highlight amongst a thoroughly enjoyable bonus disc.
If you’re looking for the definitive version of an absolutely essential album then this is unquestionably it. Check out the first disc via Youtube below and hit up your favourite store to grab the deluxe package right now.
In a little under two years, US imprint Deconstructed have already carved a solid niche for themselves as purveyors of high quality deep liquid rollers, and their latest EP from Dave Catalyst is possibly their best release yet. From the ethereal and faintly melancholy opener Strong Suit, through the noodling jazz piano and swing vocals of Slim City over to the darker bass-led vibe of Distant Notion and out via the playful, uplifting tones of Room for Manoeuvre, this is a joy to listen to from start to finish. If you like you D&B detailed, melodic and full of soul then this EP is for you! Check out the clips below and hit up the label’s Bandcamp Store to grab it right now.