Bay 6 have been impressing us a lot lately with their deep liquid output so ahead of their Back To Bay 6 EP we tracked down label owner Amphix to get the lowdown on the new release and the label’s plans for the future.
XCUZMe steps up with the latest for Bay 6 Recordings, and true to the label’s aesthetic it’s smooth liquid vibes all the way. Despite the melancholy title lead track From The Ashes feels entirely uplifting, buoyed along by bright piano, playful bleepy melodies and warm sub.
Over on the flip we get an ode to Tomasso XCUZMe’s home town of Turin, with the cheery tones of the A side replaced by a fiercer and more dancefloor focussed vibe. The floaty pads prevent things from sounding too ominous, leading to a solid subby rollout. Tasty! Check out the clips below and hit up your favourite digital store to grab the single now.
Subscription-based net label Cut are back with another superb deep D&B release, this time from Latvian producer IRONIXX. Super laidback vibes are the order of the day here, giving the overall impression that the work has as much focus on the armchair as the dancefloor.
The tracks here are charge with emotional honesty, from the melancholy soul searching of Bitcrushed Heart through the talkative nuances of Conversations, to the yearning swells of More Than Anything and out into the exhausted-sounding yet blissfully bittersweet Tired But Still Awake. If anyone needed proof that drum & bass can be more than throwaway dancefloor fodder, this EP provides it in spades. Check out the clips below and hit up the Cut website to grab a copy right now!
We’re big fans of Actraiser here at the Dojo so naturally we were pretty excited to hear of a full LP of his lush, melodic tracks coming to the revered Fokuz Recordings, and if you’re into the deeper end of liquid D&B the Lonely Traveller LP should be right up your alley.
There aren’t any particular surprises here in terms of style but the tracks have depth and feeling in abundance, whether focussing on floaty pads, soft piano or some combination of the two. Actraiser has definitely mastered the knack of all great liquid producers to create tracks which are at once insistent and relaxed, energetic yet reserved and beautifully hypnotic.
We could wax lyrical about the album’s sonic qualities all day long but you’d be far better off checking out the clips and losing yourself in the melodies, so have a listen below and hit up your favourite digital outlet to grab a copy now!
Leeds liquid imprint Rush Records is now enjoying it’s third year in the game, with a healthy catalogue of releases and plenty more on the horizon. We figured it was high time we caught the guys for a quick chinwag, so we tapped label bosses Colossus and Transcript for the lowdown on all things Rush.
Vandal’s deeper-focussed LTD imprint are back with a fresh new compilation entitled Modern Soul, and for our money it’s the best summer liquid collection you can spend your hard earned pennies on right now.
The roster features heavyweights like Random Movement, Redeyes and Kabuki alongside rising producers such as Chromatic and a few relative unknowns, but the quality and diversity on show is unarguable regardless of each contributor’s pedigree. DJ Chap & Andrezz are among the crop of new producers turning in shimmering rollers, as are Soulvent co-owners and recent Hospital signings Pola & Bryson.
While picking favourites is tough, there are a few tracks that stood out for us here at the Dojo. Kabuki bucks the melodic trend with a dark yet jazzy flex on Black Byrd, while Random Movement turns in an effortlessly sleek and faintly sleezy roller named Cash Or Credit. Regular grime-slingers Kolectiv are also on hand with a sexy melody and some R&B style vocals, though their usual dutty basslines still make an appearance.
Essential business as usual from the Vandal camp; check out the clips below and look for this dropping at all good digital stores from July 27th.
Technimatic return to Shogun Audio for their first release since last year’s debut LP Desire Paths. As you’d expect, it’s crisp, melodic liquid business from start to finish, and the boys manage to keep it warm and summery without succumbing to anything too cheesy.
Highlights come on the bouncy halftime of title track Flashbulb (more liquid producers should really explore this idea…) and the soft but insistent Remember You, with Secret Smile and Dirty Hands proving capable rollers to boot. Check out the clips below and hit up the Shogun Store to grab yourself a copy right now.
Cut may not be a label you’re familiar with, but it’s certainly one you should check out if you’re keen on the deeper side of electronic music across the genre spectrum. Starting as a free net label but recently changing to a subscription based model, the imprint puts out a wide range of music with an emphasis on emotionality and feeling rather than specific styles or tempos.
Their latest release comes from Blind Mice, a production outfit that I can literally find no further information on at all. Whether deliberately enigmatic or just badly publicised, one thing is sure – he/she/they have a talent for deep, moving compositions and innovative use of sound.
While it’s almost impossible to discuss this area of D&B without name-checking dBridge’s highly influential Autonomic imprint, the music here actually feels like it has little in common with that experiment beyond the halftime-ish tempo and a “deeper” sound. Where Autonomic was still to some degree club focussed, providing a fusion between Drum & Bass, Dubstep and other influences, the work on this EP feels more inspired by downtempo and film scores (and not in that “we love Vangelis” fashion so many producers are fond of either).
Despite the unified feel of the five tracks here, they move through a fairly wide set of tones. Meitene blends floating, futuristic synth washes with soft vocals for a faintly shoegaze-y opening, while Slipped Disk heads for more dubby territory with skittering percussion and reverb drenched vocal echoes. Harbour keeps the dubby vibe, with warm bass and a fairly minimal aesthetic, but Winter Solo brightens things up again, with more insistent beats and bass layered behind shimmering lead melodies. Last up Got A Feelin’ proves to be the most frantic composition, with rapid fire hats and footwork-style repetitive vocal slicing.
Overall the EP provides more proof (as if we needed it) of the near boundless array of musical possibilities within the 170BPM template. I’ll certainly be reaching for it over morning coffee again in the future. You can check out previews of the EP below; head on over to the Cut website to subscribe for the incredibly reasonable price of $2 a month, or if you’d prefer to buy the release on its own you can grab it from their Bandcamp.
The latest release on Red Bar Records comes from aspiring Oxford-based producer Orthodox, who delivers his debut EP with a blend of soulful hip-hop instrumentals and smooth liquid D&B. We hit him up to found out a bit more about the release, his production approach and his plans for the future.
LA producer Eighth Moon comes correct with two upbeat slices of melodic liquid business. A-side Photosynthesis blends soaring, IDM-esque synth melodies with a driving liquid break and warm bass. Over on the flip, Archipelago heads for softer, jazzier territory, dialling back the energy a little to explore playful melodies via synth and piano.
With a melodic flourish that’s reminiscent of brain-dance producers of the Warp / Rephlex arena (Wisp springs to mind) the tracks both have a charm and innocence which is lacking from much of modern drum & bass. Have a listen to the clips below and hit up Eighth Moon’s bandcamp to grab the tracks right now.