This week’s Damager comes courtesy of longtime Dojo favourites AutomAte who have signed up the rather talented Seppa for the latest single on their Tech imprint. Trojan combines some seriously punchy off-kilter drum programming with a cheeky vocal sample and dangerous bassline for an angular riddim that lands like body blows from the heavyweight champ. This one should have the crowds bobbing and weaving! Check out the clip below and hit up your favourite digital store to grab a copy right now.
Authentic Music are now well and truly back; after a lengthy hiatus from releasing music and a couple of retrospective EP releases, the Czech label returns proper this month with a various artists LP in the form of Art of Deception.
It’s worth noting at this point that I’m not a big fan of compilation LPs. Certain labels have taken in recent years to releasing ever bigger and bigger albums packed with twenty, thirty or even forty tunes loosely bound by rough subgenre and largely lacking in vision or purpose; sure, there are often some good tracks to be found, but who wants to listen through dozens of beats to find the gems? Quality before quantity should be the maxim, but more and more in this ADHD digital age that maxim is being ignored.
Enter Authentic Music, a label that has always striven to provide that all important quality. In the three and a half years of its existence, the imprint has moved slowly but steadily, releasing only tracks which pass the tests of both production sheen and innovation, and thankfully that ethos hasn’t changed for their latest outing.
The slightly old school approach shines through in the release of samplers, a-la vinyl LPs of yesteryear; there might not be wax in the offing, but a handful of tracks have been selected from the main body to lead the pack, and in that fine tradition of samplers they feature some of the LP’s strongest material, with remixes from A-Cray and ArpXP sitting alongside originals from Revaux and Kusp.
Tone-wise most of the album holds true to the Authentic aesthetic; techy vibes fit for the dancefloor but featuring strong sound design and enough of an experimental edge not to be forgettable club fodder. There are some surprises to be found too such as Revaux’s uplifting remix of Mr. Magician and the playful rolling melodies of Dephzac’s sublime Sum Is Wrong.
I could spend time picking out favourites from the selection but with the quality so high you’re better off just listening for yourself. Wicked vibes through and through; hit up Beatport to grab the lot right now.
Agressor Bunx makes his second entry in the Dojo Damager series with another absolute stomper, this time for Bad Taste Recordings! The aptly named Total Destroy is a straight up neurofunk power play, building tension with hammering snare riddims and throbbing bassline gristle before dropping into full roll madness. The scuzz on the low end in this tune is just unbelievably satisfying; get ready for this one to wreck floors!
Total Destroy drops this Friday with B-side Crusader exclusively on Beatport, so check out the clip to wet your appetite and keep an eye out! If you’re hungry for more Bunx action then check out his mix for the Bad Taste Podcast here…gnarly business.
Tuesday rolls around once again so it’s time for another slamming dancefloor selection! This week’s Damager comes fresh from the studios of Virus head honcho Optical and labelmate BTK and as you’d expect it’s gritty, rolling and punchy as hell, all the while buoyed along by an infectious (a-ha) vocal snippet. Not much more to be said; check out the clip below and hit up Beatport to grab the track right now, with general release following from Friday.
Methlab Agency has long been a familiar name for those who keep a close eye on the neurofunk scene but it’s about to become much more prominent, with the crew starting their own imprint in the form of BNKR. Their first release proper (following an initial collaboration with Bad Taste Recordings) drops tomorrow and it’s a strong 4 track selection from Brighton production duo Allied.
The first thing that jumps out about the tracks Allied have put together for this EP is their relative subtlety. In a subgenre where impact is king and technicality is often praised above musicality, sometimes the aggressive midrange and pounding drops can become overpowering, so it’s refreshing to hear a balance being struck between heft (and trust me, these tracks are still hefty) and atmospherics. A bass-line dick-waving contest entry this is not!
The aforementioned atmospherics are another of the release’s standout features; rather than being relegated to intros and bridges and elbowed onto the sidelines once the sub kicks in, tracks like Obscurity and Godspeed make space for interesting pads and tones to float on top of the crisp breaks and throbbing bass, making for a balanced sound that’s full of depth and detail.
While the whole EP is strong, Centaurus A stands out as the Dojo favourite with it’s funky, rolling rhythms and meaty low end combining for an unbeatable groove. Wicked vibes! The Obscurity EP drops tomorrow; check out the clips below and hit up the Methlab Bandcamp Store to grab the vinyl, or head to Beatport to grab the digital. If you’re quick on the draw you can join in the competition on the Methlab Facebook page to win a copy of the vinyl, but move fast; the winner will be drawn tomorrow!
This week’s dancefloor weapon comes from Future Funk Music and Pulsate, who closes out his new EP with a storming remix of Minor Rain’s Villain. Massive pads and shimmering synths build tension on the intro before giving way to a throbbing, hyper-kinetic bassline, cheeky stabs and a hammering drum line. The groove on this one is fantastic and the energy levels couldn’t be much higher; check it out below and grab the EP from the Future Funk bandcamp page right now.
With the slow festive period now over and the release cycle back in full flow it’s time for our first Dojo Damager of 2016! The ever reliable neurofunk powerhouse that is Eatbrain are back with new beats from Ukrainian upstart Agressor Bunx and his Dangerous Materials is Damager material through and through.
Massive beats, crunchy bass textures and a stab lead that gives Audio a run for his money; hefty business. Check out the track below and grab it as part of The Order EP, out now at Beatport with vinyl due to follow in February. Urggggh!
We’ve been a little less active than usual with the posts this festive season so for our very last post of 2015 we’re rounding up the best releases this month which might otherwise have slipped the net. Read on for new beats from Trilo, Was A Be, Sikey and more… Continue reading
Mayan Audio return with their last release of 2015 and it’s a bit of a stomper! New signings Recs step up with the relentless business on Bloodhound, combining heavy percussion with glitchy synth textures in the midrange for an unbeatable groove. Straight up Dojo Damager material; check out the clip below and hit up your favourite digital store to grab this right now.
When names as big as Current Value & Maztek join forces for the first time you know the results will be special! Their collaborative efforts just dropped on Subsistenz in the form of the fearsome sounds of Feedback Echo, and it’s every bit as gnarly as you’d expect. Keeping the beats fairly sparse to give the throbbing, morphing bassline room, this one should induce more than a few bassfaces on the dancefloor. Danger! Check out the clip below and hit up Beatport to grab it right now.