Breed 12 Inches bring us two new slices of pristinely crafted, high octane neurofunk from Sheffield-based producer Cruk. Valhalla leads the charge with epic breakdowns and future funk synth work underpinned by a pretty tearing bassline and a percussion section primed for maximum impact.
Over on the flip Bring The Ruckus takes absolutely no prisoners with low end that’s been scuzzed to the max and some choice Wu-Tang sampling. Danger! Check the clips below and hit up Beatport to grab this now.
We’re big fans of both Aeph and Lifted here at the Dojo so naturally news of fresh material piqued our interest! Ahead of the next crop of Lifted releases Aeph has been on the 1s and 2s and recorded a fresh mix showcasing a horde of tasty new dubs. The mix is available on Soundcloud and Bittorrent, and as a bonus you can pick up the whole Aeph / Lifted discography from Bittorrent for a pay what you like basis! Can’t say fairer than that. Check out the mix below and go give the man a buck or two for his previous tunes.
Spor’s recent return to the D&B scene via a prodigy remix and his impending (and long promised) LP has prompted much reminiscence on his past glories, so we felt a Classic Track post was only fitting! Back when Lifted Music was riding high and Spor was a mainstay of the scene, Stoppit rocked clubs across the world with it’s minimal yet effective neurofunk stylings. Stopping short of the tearout madness of some other Spor material, there’s still more than enough punch from the drums and the instantly recognisable squelchy bassline to move a floor. Check it out below and hit up the Lifted store for a copy!
Italian future-funk don Aeph returns to Chris Renegade’s Lifted Music imprint with a cracking double-A side featuring more of his high energy neurofunk beats. Fall For You opens things up with a full-on hands in the air intro featuring the vocal talents of Tasha Baxter before dropping into a big gnarly bass workout that never stops shifting. This one has main-room written all over it, and it’s a bit on the cheesy side, but the engineering is undeniable, and sometime s a big cheesy banger is just irresistible.
Flipside Seadrome treads similar ground but dials the cheese-factor back a little in favour of a heavier hitting combo of big breaks and squelchy bass morphs, with an insistent chord progression adding to the energy. Dirty vibes! Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital store from October 27th.
Aeph returns to Lifted Music after the storming success of the Black Hoax single with a five track EP of futuristic neurofunk belters. As with previous releases the level of production detail on show here is staggering, and the balance between musicality and dancefloor sensibilities is finely tuned.
ETV builds tension nicely with orchestral samples and arpeggianated leads before dropping heavy snares and massive growling bass, teasing with a half-time beat in the first half before building up to a full tempo drop in the second. True Motion concentrates more on bass modulations, while still letting the synth leads peak their head into the mix for character.
Back To The Jungle showcases Aeph’s obvious affinity with 80s synth work, with a distinctly Night Rider-esque lead on the intro giving way to more warped neurofunk at the drop. Crusade dials things back slightly for a more groove-based approach, with rhythmic sub hits really driving the tune underneath catchy, bright synth work. Finally Aeph Is Dead drops the tempo for a surprising slice of funky electro house complete with slap bass!
Check out the tracks below and watch out for this dropping from March 24th.
With February now upon us it seemed like time to round up the best mixes that have been on the DNB Dojo stereo over the last month. First up, Philth’s epic length 2 hour retrospective of his favourite tunes of 2013 delivers the goods and then some. Focusing on the dark and techy but with nods to the best liquid and experimental tunes of the year alongside plenty of the man’s own productions, this one is a treat from start to finish.
Next up we’ve got a half hour guest mix from Stray for Rockwell’s BBC Radio One show. Unsurprisingly given Stray’s recent output the mix is full of experimental, highly syncopated beats with hordes of material from Exit Records included as well as some tasty dubplates.
Finally Lifted’s Chris Renegade rounds up the best neurofunk of 2013 with a heavy selection of tunes from the like of Aeph, Memtrix and Chris.Su. Nice!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xku73eTsGIQ]
Lifted Music sister label Breed 12 Inches return after a lengthy hiatus with a storming double-A side from two producers who are sure to become big news over the coming year. Rusty K steps up on Riot, hitting that signature Breed sound in a big way with a huge synth lead and equally massive warped bass action; full on main room destruction.
The flip comes from Centra, who some of you may recognise from his collaborations with Emperor. Collide heads for darker territory, stripping things back to drums, bass and minimal atmospherics. For all this may lack in catchy synth leads it more than makes up for it with punchy, heaving hitting snares and an evil sounding bassline. As we’ve come to expect from the Lifted/Breed camp, this is absolutely essential neurofunk business. Watch out for the release dropping at all good digital outlets from Jan 27th.
Neonlight return to Lifted Music with another EP of their signature synth-led, 80s tinged drum & bass…putting the funk back into neurofunk, one might say. The EP kicks off with Power Hour, a track which rides high on a current of appropriately powerful and catchy melody underpinned with hefty sub and high impact drum lines.
Next up comes Basso Continuo, which sees faintly salsa-ish rhythms on the intro giving way to a driving sub bass line decorated nicely with FX and synth flourishes, and topped off with a nice little synth melody just before the breakdown which sounds very Castlevania-esque. The 8-bit tinged sound which Neonlight pursue continues to endear their work to me!
Finally we’re treated to the “Rock & Roll Edit” of Sprech Funk, which proves to be a no-nonsense slice of precise, rolling tech-funk. Three cheers for German engineering! Check out the clips below and grab the EP from your favourite digital outlet now!
With so many good mixes touching down over the past few weeks it seemed only right to do a wee roundup of the best we’ve heard here at the Dojo. So in no particular order…
Joe Ford presents the 41st episode of the London Warehouse Events mix series with a short, sharp selection of dark techy D&B from the likes of Noisia, Maztek, Mefjus and Nickbee, including some new (and unlisted) tunes. JF dubs perhaps?
Mikal celebrates the impending release of his Immaterial EP for Metalheadz with a 30 minute promo mix featuring tracks from the EP alongside beats from Jubei, DLR, Villem and more. Watch out for the release dropping from December 16th.
Chris Renegade presents the 23rd episode of the Lifted Music podcast featuring brand new cuts from Aeph, Memtrix, Prolix & Gridlok and more, alongside a new dub from Inward Phase, a classic from the Konflict vaults and plenty of random half-cut banter.
While actually recorded back in October the audio from Fracture’s appearance at the Boiler Room Machinedrum special has recently surfaced on Soundcloud, and as usual it’s an eclectic treat. Definitely one for the deep heads to scope out.
To celebrate the recent release of his M-Theory EP for Renegade Hardware, Maztek brings us a 30 minute mix packed full of top class techstep and neurofunk belters.
Warm Communications head honcho EHL has recorded a nice mix of all things deep ahead of the labels latest release from Mako.
Finally The Upbeats celebrate their recent appearance at Japan’s Hangover D&B night with a mix full of tidy D&B belters and a few unexpected surprises.
Hot on the heels of Memtrix’s excellent Numbers single comes the latest from the Lifted Music camp with a pair of tasty tunes from Italian producer Aeph. Maksim (who Lifted fans will recognise from his contribution to last year’s Struggle and Pain) steps up to provide vocals on Black Hoax, vibing off the distinctly glitch-hop into nicely. You’d be forgiven for thinking Lifted was toning things down…til the drop hits; huge squelchy neuro bass and synth stabs give the tune it’s character while synthetic drums drive things along at a hefty pace.
On the flip Hudson Hawk keeps the energy high with another rolling drum break and some seriously 80s synth action on the intro; Night Rider on speed? Bass modulations a plenty give the tune movement and weight in equal measure and the vocal sample adds bite before the tune drops into euphoric chords on the bridge. Aeph has mastered his craft on this release, treading that neurofunk tightrope with finesse; high production values while retaining grit, and tons of energy without descending into Skrillex-esque hyper-wobble.
Check out the clips below and grab this from your favourite digital outlet now!