Gerwin & LaMeduza – Life Cycle [Dust Audio]

Dust Audio present their fifth release with three great new tracks from some of the best producers in the scene. Gerwin teams up with vocalist LaMeduza for a soft liquid stepper tinged with grimey bass in the inimitable liquid-tech hybrid style that I always enjoyed from the French producer. Next up rising star Trilo delivers a typically militant slice of rolling tech D&B, with crisp breaks and dark, dirty bass the order of the day.

Last but not least, the mighty Break steps up to remix Gerwin’s A-side, upping the energy on the beats and lending the tune a more dancefloor-friendly vibe while retaining the soul of the original. Check out the clips below and watch out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital December 15th!

Boston – Go With Me / The Little Things [Symmetry Recordings]

Symmetry Recordings welcomes a fresh new talent to the roster with a great release from Cardiff producer Boston. A side Go With Me recruits singer-songwriter Solis for an absolutely mesmerizing deep liquid roller, tinged with sorrow and feeling. The soft vocals and shimmering guitar work on this are outstanding.

Over on the flip The Little Things touches down in jazzier territory, with another rolling break and a plethora of understated guitar and sax work providing the appropriate melodic chops. A fantastic debut release from a young producer who doubtless has tons more to offer! Check out the clips below and grab this on digital from Monday October 27th.

Intelligent Manners – Special Night EP [Celsius Recordings]

Fresh from his rather excellent Miracles EP for Fokuz Recordings, Russian liquid maestro Intelligent Manners presents his latest work for Fokuz sister label Celsius. Once again the order of the day is clean, melodic liquid with a dancefloor edge and plenty of musicality and all the quality you’d expect from the Fokuz family.

All four tracks have plenty to offer but for me the hypnotic, understated melodies of Dreaming stood out; the combination of soft synth hits, warm bass and insistent breaks combine to create the sort of muted euphoria you can lose yourself in again and again. Check out the tracks below and grab this on vinyl or digital now.

Rowpieces – Recollection EP [Expressions Recordings]

Fokuz Recordings present the latest release from their Expressions sub label with a new EP from German liquid producer Rowpieces. Engineers of our Future kicks things off with a dense but perfectly balanced assortment of rapid breaks, synth swells, strings and rapid arpeggios.

Artemis’ Temple feels like classic Good Looking Records territory with soft, swirling pads and a classic break forming the backbone of the tune over which funkier elements are added; the result is a mellower composition but still with plenty of depth and energy. Last up comes An Intense Moment; true to the name the track carries an intensity of feeling while aiming for a mellow vibe musically; again the influence of GLR and the classic “intelligent D&B” of the past shines through here.

Check out the clips below and watch out for the EP dropping September 22nd.

Break – Coming 4 U [Warm Communications]

Warm Communications return for their 30th release with a top notch double A side from the legendary Break. Coming 4 U brings together beautiful melodies on the intro, that signature Break rolling drum work we all love so much and a warm, sizzling bassline; equal parts dancefloor heft and summery musical shine.

The flip sees Break giving the remix treatment to Mako’s What A Little Moonlight Can Do. Iconic samples from the original are retained but the new remix lends the song a techier edge than the original’s floatier, more atmospheric vibe. Once again the drums here are just pristine! Check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl and digital from September 8th.

Q&A – BRKCHK [fld.Study]

BRKCHK’s latest work for Free Love Digi’s fld.Study sister-label rather piqued our interest here at the Dojo, exploring as it does the mellower end of D&B without falling into obvious liquid tropes. With that in mind, it seemed only right to pick the man’s brains for some insight into his take on the 170BPM sound.

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Nuage – Prints Of You [Translation Recordings]

Nuage returns to Translation with the first glimpse of material from his forthcoming LP for the label. Lifestyle sees him teaming up with Gerwin for a deep, mellow slice of 170BPM electronica aimed firmly at the living room rather than the dancefloor, while Prints Of You drops the tempo and explores similarly lush territory; soulful influences abound and the musicality is breathtaking.

The release also features some excellent remixes, with Silent Dust turning in a hyperactive footwork rework of Sunday Morning and Planet Mu alumnus Ital Tek turns in a skittering, bleeped up mix of Prints Of You.

Clips of a fair bit of the rest of the album’s tracks have also now surfaced, the highlight of which for me is another Gerwin collab; Slow Moves brings together shimmering synth work, a laid back drum shuffle and some suitably manipulated vocal snippets for an effortlessly cool slice of downtempo electronica with a housey switchup after the breakdown. That housey theme gets explored further on Indigo Girl and Keep Me Warm, among others, with plenty of smooth melodies and head nodding kick-lines. It seems like lower tempo beats will dominate this record which is a shame given Nuage’s talent for deeper D&B, but the quality of material on show here is still great.

You can pre-order the vinyl sampler or the CD/digital version of the album via the Translation bandcamp – physical copies will be out in the wild on September 8th with full digital for the album following on September 29th.

 

Hex – Grey Skies / Weightless [Sub:mission Audio]

DNB Dojo’s very own Hex touches down on Sub:mission Audio with a pair of deep liquid rollers. Grey Skies sets a moody tone, the sound of rainfall on the intro giving way to deep sub and a crisp, rolling break, with a halftime switchup in the second half providing a change of pace. Weightless shifts the vibe into sunnier territory, with rapid arpeggios and warm, shimmering synths set to a a classic liquid style beat.

To celebrate the release, Hex has put together a tasty mix full of deeper D&B from the likes of Tokyo Prose, Seba, Technimatic, Blu Mar Ten and LSB. Check that out below, and grab the release from your favourite digital outlet now!

Betafuture – Void EP [Free Download]

The latest freebie to grace the Dojo inbox comes from Spanish duo Betafuture. Recently relocated to Bulgaria, the pair have just released their latest work in the form of the Void EP, featuring four tracks of crisp, atmospheric liquid D&B. Morning Sun brings a cheerful vibe with rolling breaks and soft, melodic synths. Breathless takes the energy down a little, focussing on bass texture while retaining atmospheric elements.

Sonder meanwhile brings in natural bass guitar and distinctive high frequency synths over another crisp set of breakbeats. Finally Distance drops the tempo for a more chilled out, melancholy slice of piano-led electronica. Check out the clips below, buy the release on iTunes, or just grab it for free here.

Task Horizon – Ocean Of Sound / Dharmakaya Light [Evolution Chamber]

Task Horizon drop not one but two releases this week on their Evolution Chamber label. By far the most interesting is the Ocean of Sound single. The titular A side features the soft ethereal vocals of Ingrid Lukas, and channels influences from melodic drum & bass together with IDM style drum glitches that could be straight from Aphex Twin’s Richard D. James Album. The effect is mesmerizing, and makes me wish they’d apply themselves to this more melodic style more often.

Dharmakaya Light on the flip doesn’t disappoint either, bringing the same soft synths and warm musicality to the table with an infectious set of melodic chords and twinkling arpeggios. The drum pattern is a bit more club friendly on this one, with a rolling break characterised by reverb-drenched clap samples and rapid hi-hats.  Watch out for these dropping at all good digital outlets from August 11th.