Sometimes a track perfectly lives up to its name and that’s definitely the case on today’s premiere, Cryptographic’s aptly titled Light & Darkness. The light side presents itself via elegant melodies before a mid-verse switch to those dark, twisted basslines we know and love. Watch out for this coming Apr 23rd at Bandcamp with other stores following Apr 30th.
Dojo boss Hex lands in the premiere spotlight today with a track taken from his new single for Nurtured Beatz! Phosphorus blends growling basslines, halftime drums and sci-fi sampling for a deep, dark workout, progressing to a breakbeat switchup at the second drop. Check it out below and look out for the release coming Oct 23rd at Bandcamp – all other stores follow on Oct 30th.
Unreal Project lands on Nurtured Beatz with an epic new slab of tech-edged goodness…PTSD invokes the spirit of classic early 2000s neuro from the likes of BSE and Jade; dancefloor chops and trancy synth pads. Look for this coming to digital stores from Mar 27th…
Quantum Mechanix are posied to drop their debut LP for Nurtured Beatz so naturally we had to snap up a premiere! Let The Drums Take You builds up with the ravey euphoria and an infectious vocal hook before dropping into a dirty tech roller punctuated with amen fills…wicked little tune! Watch out for the LP coming Aug 2nd…don’t sleep on this one.
Nurtured Beatz return next month with a very special release as the London imprint presses their first vinyl EP! Longtime label regular Kolectiv deliver a sick new remix of Withdraw, Hyroglifics’ gritty halftime stepper from the 2014 Brand New World LP, and the new flip has a tidy rolling groove while retaining the stark, techy sensibilities of the original. Super keen heads can grab white label test presses right now; full artwork vinyl drops at Bandcamp March 29th, other stores April 5th, and the digital will be available exclusively at Bandcamp on Apr 26th!
Our latest exclusive guest mix comes from up and coming producer Lao Wai as he prepares to drop a fresh new EP for Delta9 Recordings. Following on from cameo appearances on DSCI4, Nurtured Beatz and Horizons (alongside Manchester’s Release), his recent solo EPs for Blu Saphir and Avantgarde have won him plaudits across the scene, notably from UKF who named him among their 18 to watch for 2018!
For his Dojo mix Lao Wai keeps things deep and rolling, blending liquid and tougher tech tunes from Monty, Calibre, Marcus Intalex, Submarine and more, and of course there are some brand new dubs from the man himself thrown in for good measure. Wicked stuff!
As always you can check out the mix via Soundcloud below or head to Youtube or iTunes to stream. You can also grab a download from Google Drive.
Interline returns to the realms of D&B this month after a bit of an absence from the scene, but he’s back with a tight selection of new beats on Nurtured Beatz. We caught up with him to find out about his time away, his approach to production and what 2018 has in store, plus we’ve got the exclusive premiere of Red Army’s remix of Mentality from the new EP. Check that out below and read on for the interview…
Our exclusive mix series reaches the big 60 this month and we’re excited to have London production trio Kolectiv in the hot-seat with a blistering three deck mix! With releases for Dispatch, Celsius, Nurtured Beatz, Vandal and many more, the collective of Kalm, Carera & Keza have proven themselves versatile producers, dishing out everything from liquid rollers to techstep smashers and deep halftime grooves.
For their Dojo mix the boys have gone in with a murky selection, switching things up between rolling selections and deeper steppers. Beats from the likes of Fuj, Alix Perez and Survey sit alongside recent releases and a heap of dubs; serious business. As always you can check out the mix via Soundcloud below or head to Youtube or iTunes to stream. You can also grab a download from Google Drive.
Watching the drum & bass community come together in the face of tragedy and adversity is one of the most heartwarming aspects of being involved in this scene. Whether it’s specific, personal responses like those to the deaths of scene legends like Marcus Intalex, or wider campaigns like Drum & Bass Against Racism, a huge number of figures in the scene are always pushing to make our world a better place, one beat at a time.
On that very tip, our pals at Nurtured Beatz couldn’t simply sit by and watch as survivors of the Grenfell tower disaster were left high and dry by their local authority, so the label bosses responded with what they do best; a charity LP featuring no less than 18 tracks by a cracking selection of underground producers. Label regulars like Kalm & Spindall, Genotype, Interline and Kolectiv bring some gully business to the table alongside other producers like Mitekiss, DBR UK and Mystic State, and there’s even space for hip-hop from Django Mancub and the legendary Chester P, plus an accoustic swansong from Blake Bastion.
We’d be recommending this album even if it weren’t for such a good cause, but given that it is also providing support for people who desperately need it this is a must buy. Hit up the Nurtured Beatz Bandcamp to grab a copy now.
We’ve got another tidy exclusive from our pals at Nurtured Beatz today as we present the title track from the new Quantum Mechanix EP Dirty Tricks. This one is a groove-driven techstep roller with a classic beat and a wicked morphing bassline; infectious business. Look for this dropping June 12th at Bandcamp and June 19th everywhere else.