Tuscon production duo Basic Biology return to Quentin Hiatus’s Free Love Digi imprint with a new EP, and we’re hyped to have the exclusive on title track Compelling! Haunting atmospheres, halftime drum lines and filtered bassline grooves make for a potent brew…look for this coming to digital stores Jan 29th.
Regular readers will know that we’re big fans of US beatsmith Quentin Hiatus and his Free Love Digi imprint, so when they proposed we team up to give away a track from his new EP we jumped at the chance! Unexpected Guest brings together Quentin’s knack for an infectious melody with his hip-hop influences for an atmospheric, hypnotic slice of halftime goodness; bleepy leads and a head-nodding groove on this one. Check it out below and hit up Soundcloud or Google Drive for a free download!
Purveyors of all things eclectic Diffrent Music celebrate their 20th release with a various artists LP featuring a varied cuts from the extended label family. The tone of the material varies greatly, from the beautiful, laid-back beats of Fybe:one and Kolectiv, through the slouching, tripped out dub of Jekyll’s Horcurso and out into the brutalised industrial bass and heavy snares of M-Zine, Skepticz & Mtwn’s Choices.
The common thread is that almost all the tracks on the album eschew the familiar drum patterns of most D&B compositions in search of percussive innovation, the only real exception being Arkaik’s broody stepper Wax. If you’re looking for DJ friendly crowd pleasers this definitely isn’t a collection of them, but it’s proof that the 170 tempo range continues to be a hotbed for experimentation and truly interesting music. Watch out for this dropping via CD and digital from December 9th.
To celebrate the release of the album Diffrent are throwing a party in London this Friday. With a stellar lineup of the label’s best producers and tickets available for only a tenner, those in the nation’s capital should be sure to check it out – details over on Facebook here. As if that wasn’t enough, they’re also giving away a free track from Fybe:One – check it out below and head to the Diffrent Facebook for your download.
Once again Avantgarde live up to their name, hitting us with the cutting edge of 170BPM production. Their third single comes from Bulgarian producer L 33 who serves up two slices of stripped back tech funk with heavy hitting mechanical sounding drums, gritty bass stabs and echoing vocal samples. Both Piedestal and All I Want are steeped in a rich, textured atmosphere and clever use of percussion gives the tunes tons of character.
Check out the beats below and grab the single from your favourite outlet now!
Deep liquid maestro Dominic Petrie returns with the first in a new mix series entitled Modus, exploring the deeper more experimental side of D&B. The mix features a tidy selection from the likes of dBridge, ASC, Instra:mental, Data, Morphy and Photek and is all drawn from Dom’s extensive vinyl collection. One for the heads!
Shogun bring us another eclectic selection of remixes, this time of tracks from Spectrasoul’s recent LP Delay No More. dBridge delivers a respectable leftfield 170 rework of Momento with some nice filtering on the main break and James Zabiela delivers an appropriately catchy house reflex of The Curb, but ultimately the highlights are found in the other remixes on show.
DLR turns in a tidy remix of Sometimes We Lie, fusing the soulful elements of the original with a beat and bassline combo that’s techy enough to move a floor without overpowering the tune. Next up the ever innovative Rockwell gives Echo Park the glitched up trap/juke/hip-hop treatment, creating a fantastic blend of synth euphoria, hip-hop back beat and hench bass stabs. Methinks Mr Rockwell has been listening to a lot of EPROM lately, not that it’s a bad thing!
Lastly CMX (nee Commix) turns in a superbly weird rework of Away With Me, dropping the tempo way down and creating a break from distinctly unconventional samples. In the wake of the ludicrously smooth Calibre remix of this tune that dropped last year, it’s good to see other producers taking a totally different direction. Look out for the EP dropping July 22nd.
Blu Mar Ten bring us the 11th episode of their regular podcast with an unusual all D&B mix featuring tons of cuts from their own label alongside cuts from Technicolour, Naibu and Commix. As you’d expect from BMT this is all things deep and soulful, check it out and grab a free download below.
The legendary Genotype brings his signature brand of deep, futuristic jungle to Samurai Music with an EP that oozes character and atmosphere. From the natural, tribal percussion and dubby hip-hop vibe of Jam That Feel through the oddly cheery classical flourishes of the intro to Financial War and out into the bleak minimalism of Creative Elements, the EP largely defies genre conventions and eschews traditional structures in favour of delivering beats aimed at your head and your heart.
Even when we’re in more familiar D&B territory on The Day After The Night the quality and sound design is absolutely breathtaking, and the track retains a left-field vibe, harking back to old Hardware B-sides. Definitely one for the deep heads, but also possibly the best thing Genotype has ever made…look out for this one on vinyl and digital from June 24th.
Om Unit continues his travels into all things not quite D&B with another pair of excellent 170BPM explorations for Cosmic Bridge entitled Om Unit Edits Vol. 2. Weird and wonderful synths and frantic half step syncopation are the order of the day here, blended into a musical tapestry like only this man can. Check it out and grab yourself a copy from the Cosmic Bridge Bandcamp page.
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I first heard Fearful‘s material via their excellent release for Automate Tech last year and have been keeping an eye on them ever since, and listening to their productions evolve continues to be a treat! Their latest material for Diffrent sees them exploring deep, dark, leftfield territory with beats that deliberately eschew the traditional drum & bass structure while retaining the same tone and sonic pallet.
Tongues hits down with huge sub bass and heavy impact percussion, combined with truly cinematic soundscape work to create a tune which sounds more like the soundtrack to a robotic cult meeting than a piece of dance music. Nostromo keeps things weird and wonderful with a skittering, angular beat and more clever atmospherics.
To celebrate the release the boys have also put together a tidy 30 min mix showcasing the new tracks alongside other deep business from Diffrent, Automate and Proximity along with a bunch of new dubs. Check it out below and grab the release from your favourite digital outlet.