Mav’s Scientific Records imprint returns with the third volume of their excellent Chilling On The Couch LP series and we’re extremely pleased to have the exclusive premiere of the album opener! Bop and Oak serve up a delicious remix of Naibu’s Fighting For Attention under their Microfunk Crew alias, crafting a serene rework in their inimitable style. Absolutely beautiful! Look for the album coming September 7th featuring tracks from Mav, Bungle, mSdoS and many more…
Naibu returns to Horizons music for a fresh LP outing following last year’s Case Study for Scientific Records. According to his own words in the press release, “it was time for me to go back to the DJ format and try to make the best danceable album I could”, but thankfully the Parisian producer hasn’t gone all RAM Records on us; while the tracks are all firmly D&B tempo and underpinned by danceable breaks, this is still a collection of material that works as well in the living room as the club.
The softness and organic instrumentation that have long been hallmarks of Naibu’s work are present and correct here, and even darker tracks like The Way You Turn and Traces still find space for those touches in between the tough breaks and throbbing basslines. There’s plenty of variety on show here too, from liquid rollers like Corners and No Return to more experimental numbers. Help Computer plods along at a halftime gate powered by eerie pads and the ominous vocal refrain, while Burning brings together a hypnotic bleed melody and tripped out echoing chimes for an enthralling and faintly psychedelic journey.
Once again Horizons and Naibu proves to be a winning combination of dancefloor chops and musicality, illustrating once again that the depths of what is possible in D&B have yet to be plumbed even twenty years on from the genre’s inception. Check out the clips below and hit up the Horizons Store to grab a copy now.
Mav’s Scientific Records imprint returns with a sublime new album of chilled out electronica from the fringes of D&B. The album lives up to it’s title, providing some effortless musical and entirely un-banging cuts like Bop’s sublime microfunk remix of Mav’s Skylines. Other highlights comes on the jazzy licks of LM1’s remix of Time & Space, and the smooth downtempo of Naibu’s Bird’s Eye View. This one will be best listened to on your most comfortable chair with a warm cuppa; relax and lose yourself in the grooves. Check out the clips below and grab this one from Juno right now.
Mav drops his debut album for Scientific Records, featuring a selection of melody driven D&B tunes and some big remixes to boot. Asides from terrific compositions with tons of character, the album also features a couple of DJ friendly genre-hopping tracks, with Makati Oasis dropping down to a cheeky house-tempo bridge and Trigger the Rabbit flirting with bouncy breaks for an interlude from it’s D&B verses.
Elsewhere there’s a fantastic future-funk amen workout on Break Is The Legend and soaring arpeggios aplenty on The Dolphin and the Bassline. Remix-wise, highlights include Chris.SU’s rolling dancefloor remix of Me Against The Machine, Seba’s deep atmospheric relick of Between Heaven and the Deep Blue Sea and Bungle’s super chilled remix of Skylines. Check out the tracks below and grab this one on vinyl or digital now!
Horizons gear up to launch the 4th in their varied Dream Thief LP series, featuring a selection of cuts from the extended label family crossing the styles of drum & bass. Highlights include Amoss’ excellent MC led stepper Bleed It, DLR’s melodic yet techy Trading Places and the percussive intricacies of The Shield from Gremlinz & Rumbleton.
Elsewhere on Detail delivers possibly the most innovative track in the collection with his sublimely creepy Human Trust; glitchy percussion, deft sub throbs and some fantastic atmospherics combine to create a brilliant slice of leftfield 170. Finally for those who like a bit of deep liquid there are some nicely polished cuts from Eveson, Naibu and Nitri.
Vinyl lovers will find the LP available as a 4 track sampler and a further 8 track LP collection, while the digital buyers amongst you will be able to grab the files from all the usual sources. Check out a selection of the tracks below and head to the Horizons Store for previews of the rest and to buy your copy!
DJ Enorme steps up to deliver the second episode of our exclusive mix series! Enorme started building his rep in the UK scene under the guise of Doom Boy and soon started making regular appearances around the north of England warming up for names like Andy C, Shy FX, Noisia, TC and more at nights including Turbulence, Curves, Bass Militia, Lockdown and the now defunct Syndicate.
Since moving to The Netherlands, Enorme now represents the deeper side of Techstep, holding down a residency at Drum Addict in Amsterdam and presenting the Blackdub podcast with regular mixes from upcoming and established artists alike. For this mix he’s dropped a tidy selection of forthcoming releases alongside some older classics, keeping things simmering nicely with deep but rugged beats. Check it out below and grab a free download from Mediafire, or check out the mix over on Mixcloud.
Chris Octane – Synthetics [Forthcoming CO:RE]
Arclight – Pluroform (Raiden Remix) [Forthcoming AutomAte Tech]
Cern – Hollow Moon [Dispatch Recordings]
Andy Pain & Z Connection – Outsider [Demand Records]
Hybris – Face Of Change [Dispatch Recordings Freebie]
Freeze – Calm Your Ego [Proximity Recordings Freebie]
Nymfo – Air Jacks [Commercial Suicide]
Naibu – Use Of Weapons (Fracture & Neptune’s Astrophonica Remix) [Warm Communications]
Clarity – Cold Blank [Samurai Music]
???? – ???? [????]
Isotone – Trip [Obsessions]
L33 – Ironic [Syndrome Audio]
Icicle – Dreadnaught feat. SP:MC [Shogun Audio]
Cause4Concern – Paranormal [Cause4Concern Recordings]
2Sides & Kije – Black Planet [Structured Music]
Survival & Silent Witness – Speedbag [Dispatch Recordings Freebie]
FD – Blue Sky Research (Sun & Bass VIP) [Sun & Bass Recordings]
Zero T – Tavistock Dub [Nu Directions]
I’ve long been a fan of Horizons for a number of reasons; their commitment to vinyl releases certainly endears them to me, but above all it’s the desire to release drum and bass which isn’t solely aimed at the dancefloor. Music that works as well in your bedroom as it does in a club, and music that is charged with emotion.
Their latest release from Naibu hits the spot in that regard, delivering some deep, melancholy sounds. Opener Just Like You sets the pace with skittering drums, soft pads and a warm vocal from Key. The EP heads for slightly darker territory with Nothing Special and continues to waver between beautiful and brooding from track to track to great effect.
Sadly nearly half the tracks have yet to be previewed publicly (such as the excellent Autumn Comes) but I can leave you with the last track on the EP, a typically classy and well engineered remix from Break. Watch out for previews of the rest of the tracks on the Horizons soundcloud page and look out for the release on three 10″ vinyls on March 11th.