Break brings us a tasty stocking filler just in time for the festive season! Temptations is all about groove, providing a funky but minimal D&B jam that lives up to the usual quality of the man’s productions. Right Now heads in a totally different direction, harnessing the spirit of 90s jungle for some serious break chopping. Ruuuuude business! Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite store right now!
Ingredients latest release sees Eveson unveiling his new Dead Man’s Chest project and dropping the tempo to the distinctly old school 160BPM region for a four track EP of future jungle shenanigans. Combining the old school bass and breaks of the early 90s jungle sound with modern production techniques and the talent for melody and composition Eveson’s fans already love, the EP is an exciting new direction and something I definitely hope to hear more of next year.
The tracks accomplish to blend influences from jazz, ambient, dub, liquid and who knows what else into a hypnotic, psychedelic jungle stew that draws you in to its warm sonic temptations with ease. Check out the clips below and watch out for the release dropping from December 8th.
New material from Luke Vibert’s Amen Andrews aka is always a treat for jungle lovers and after a fairly lengthy hiatus he’s resurrected the project for an EP on Falty DL’s Blueberry Records. As you’d expect the four tracks on offer feature plenty of break chopping, random samping and a few IDM-tinged melodies, and those jungle snares are proving as irresistible as ever. Check out the first track below and head over to Bleep for full previews and purchase options.
Om Unit is a name that we just can’t get enough of over here at the Dojo and his latest work for Metalheadz could well be his best yet. Apparently Goldie himself went digging in the vaults and handed over some DATs as sample material for these tracks, and the EP definitely carries an old school ‘headz feel, combined with Om Unit’s future-jungle stylings.
You can check out a minimix of the tracks below; head to the Metalheadz store to pre-order the release on vinyl or digital now, and look out for release from Nov 17th.
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]
Exit Records continue to push the experimental sounds on the edges of 170BPM territory with a brand new EP from Manchester MC/producer Chimpo. Restless Leg Syndrome kicks the EP off with rapid fire footwork infused beats and vocal snippets, paired up with a cheeky rave stabs and hefty sub hits – bouncin’ stuff. Haymaker heads for darker and slightly less frantic territory with warm bass growls and a half-time rhythm, while title track Out An Bad sees the man providing vocals in his usual playful style over a tasty beat which owes some of its stylings to the LA Bass scene.
The EP also finds space for two collaborations with Diffrent alumni Fixate, both of which play with a fusion of dub, soca, trap and hip-hop to pretty stomping effect. Overall fans of the “slowfast” 170 style currently gaining traction in the scene will definitely enjoy this EP; check out the clips below and grab it on vinyl and digital from your favourite store now.
Anyone who keeps an eye on the Grime scene (or indeed, just the likes of FACT magazine) will probably be familiar with last years War Dubs contest. Over the last few days a new war has begun, but this time it’s Jungle producers clashing over Soundcloud; amens at the ready then! What started as Epoch calling out Sully and Etch has rapidly escalated into a massive clash with the likes of Om Unit, Fre4knc, Moresounds, Amoss, Dexta and many more. You can hear a few of the Dojo favourites below, and if you’re keen to hear more head over to Soundcloud where you can find well over 300 jungle war dubs! All credit to DSZ intel for compiling the playlist.
Mako continues to cement his position in the scene with a new EP for Dispatch Recordings featuring four tracks inspired by the classic sounds of 90s D&B origins. Utopia Music alumni and frequent collaborator Villem brings his studio skills to the table for the first track, bringing tonight intricate break-work, atmosphere and bass heft in the style that Mako exercises so well.
Planet Physical takes things in a darker direction, blending modern techstep bass and production sheen with the helter-skelter drum patterns of jungle. Vocal snippets interspersed in the track explore Mako’s obvious interest in philosophy; maybe a few ravers might scratch their heads in the dance a bit for good measure. Ya Know What I’m Sayin continues the drum workout, with simple sub hits and a driving energy giving the composition tons of pace.
Last but by no means least, There’s Nothing We Can’t Be brings huge reverbed snares and atmospheric synths for a softer, more melodic track full of quirky samples and musicality – a great swan song to an EP that feels like Mako really settling into his abilities as a producer and experimenting freely with the flexible form that is D&B. Check out the clips below and head over to the Dispatch Store to grab an early copy before the general release on July 7th.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-9LvJsaYIw&list=PLRcyxRjocmcCtoPBHd9sOtLmas0pnGnhR]
Enei returns to Critical Music with a great new EP featuring six dynamic new cuts straddling various styles of D&B. Goliath opens the EP with a jungle-break workout imbued with a great DRS verse and some nice bass and FX stabs. The Artefact proves an entirely different beast, opening up with soundscapey pads and a tribal kick beat and evolving into a morphing landscape of bass and breaks which seems to have been crafted for love rather than any kind of dancefloor sensibilities, and is all the better for it.
Prometheus on the other hand certainly has both feet planted firmly on the dancefloor; bass swells and a hypnotic melody build tension on the intro before we’re hit with a stomping beat and a fuzzy bassline. While possibly the least interesting composition on the EP, there’s no arguing with the heft and groove of it.
Hotplate switches things up once again, keeping the trademark Enei eery synths but placing the emphasis on frenetic loop chopping and drum edits a plenty; imagine Stray’s recent material for Exit but with a techier edge. Woodrunner slaps down an infectious full-roll beat with some interesting percussion samples over a simple but effective sub line. Last but by no means least, Get Low combines hefty sub drops with a plodding trap-style drum line, filling in the gaps with skittering jungle loops.
Check out the clips of the EP below and head over to Surus to grab the EP on vinyl or digital now! Worldwide release will follow from June 9th.
For anyone who’s wondering what DJ Trace has been up to lately, it seems he’s been busy founding a new label in the form of 117 Records. Apparently having tired of the neuro sound he’d been championing for over a decade at DSCI4, he shut that label down and started 117 with a view to releasing a slew of music from producers who have been harnessing a more old school sound in combination with modern production techniques.
The label’s latest output is an absolutely gigantic LP featuring D&B and Jungle cuts which are dark and at times techy but definitely a shade different to the neurofunk sounds that defined DSCI4. The two LP bundles available are split between 8 tracks in a vinyl only bundle (available at Redeye here) consisting of 4 limited edition clear 10″s, and a 24 track digital bundle.
Particular highlights from the vinyl bundle come on from Kid Lib with the manic jungle syncopations of The Rifle, Gremlinz & Homemade Weapons absolutely menacing Scar-H and the equally brutal roll of Genotype’s aptly titled Aggression Snare. The digital bundle meanwhile plays host to some treats such as the hyperactive amen cut ups of X Nation’s remix of Trace’s Never Felt This Way, the distinctly old skool stabs and breaks of Fade’s Phobia and Trace and Nico’s clattering Monkeys.
The whole LP is well worth a listen so check out the clips on Soundcloud and pick your own favourites.