With winter rapidly escaping and another two weeks of the year down, it’s time for another roundup. New beats from Response, Lenzman, Metro, Ayshot prod and more… Continue reading
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Tag Archives: Old School
Fanu – Polar
Prolific and dedicated break chopper Fanu is back with a new LP that sees him returning to his roots to some extent. As with much of the work that he first made his name with, Polar focuses on break chopping, dark aesthetics and a b-boy sampling style that’s very much cut from the same cloth as Paradox and the other originators of the drumfunk sound.
In terms of originality the album isn’t treading any particularly new ground but as a love letter to the versatility of the funk break it’s a thoroughly enjoyable and accomplished piece of work. Sometimes it’s more than enough to provide a well honed example of a specific style and Fanu is definitely up there with the best when it comes to chopping up drum loops and picking evocative samples.
You can hear the whole LP below via Soundcloud, and better still it’s available on a “pay what you want” basis from Fanu’s Bandcamp page. Crank the volume and enjoy those jungle textures the way they were always supposed to be!
Dead Man’s Chest – Nautilus EP [Ingredients]
We really enjoyed Eveson’s previous jungle explorations under the Dead Man’s Chest alias so news of a second EP (and indeed a third to come) was met with enthusiasm here at Dojo HQ.
The sound he pioneered on the Dreamscapes EP is very much continued here, with more crusty breaks, old school-style sampling and an open minded approach to musical textures. The whole thing plays like a love letter to the scene that Eveson experienced through his treasured collection of rave mixtapes. Liquid ’94 provides a perfect example, keeping things airy and almost ethereal in the first half before flipping round for an entirely darkside bassline on the second drop; an appropriate homage to the shifting tones of the original jungle raves.
The freedom and experimentation of early 90s dance music is present, with less concern for the rigid formulas that can make modern D&B a little sterile. The mixdowns too, punchy though they are have that warmth, crackle and general imperfection that is sorely missing from the perfectly engineered electronic music of today.
Overall it’s another thoroughly enjoyable selection, and we’re looking forward to the next volume already! Watch out for the release dropping on beautiful marbled vinyl (and digital) from August 7th, and if you can’t wait hit the Ingredients Store for preorders.
If you want a bit more from Dead Man’s Chest be sure to check out his latest mix to promote the release. Tracks from both EPs appear alongside classic selections from J Majik, Doc Scott, Dillinja and Omni Trio, and the results are absolutely delicious.
Threshold – The Sticky Planets EP [Vivid Sounds]
Brand new label Vivid Sounds kicks off their release schedule with a four track EP of sci-fi imbued jungle from Threshold. The tracks here have plenty of the old school to them, with crusty breakbeats and entirely unshiny mixdowns making a welcome change from the mass of over-polished modern D&B about at the moment.
Fans of leftfield jungle explorations from 90s IDM composers like µ-Ziq should find plenty to enjoy here; the beats aren’t as chopped up but there’s definitely a similarity in the synth work and the general vibe. Check out the clips below and look for this one from July 24th at digital stores.
Cool Hand Flex – Burn It Up [Default Recordings]
The latest from Default Recordings sees a true Junglist soldier returning to the label’s output. Cool Hand Flex has a discography stretching back to 1991 and he’s picked up some knowledge along the way, to say the least.
Burn It Up and Thru The Storm both carry an old school production style, bringing to mind old Full Cycle records and early Metalheadz. Aptly chosen samples, simple but effective basslines and chunky breaks are the order of the day here, and the results are pretty tasty. Check out the clips below and look for this at digital stores from July 13th.
DJ Monita – Luv Ta Luv Ya (Fracture VIP) [Astrophonica]
Astrophonica’s latest sees Fracture going in on a huge VIP of DJ Monita’s rave classic Luv Ta Luv Ya. If you enjoyed Loving Touch this should be right up your street; it’s a joyously chaotic chopped up jungle bouncer, and no mistake! Hit up the Astrophonica bandcamp to grab this on 10″ vinyl and digital right now.
Fracture x Chimpo – From Early / Hard Food [Metalheadz]
Leftfield D&B innovators Fracture & Chimpo land on the mighty ‘headz imprint with a fresh new 12″ showcasing their unusual take on the 170 sound. From Early taps into the swaggering half-time sound with more than a hint of LA bass, but for us at the Dojo it’s all about the old school stylings and fantastic drum work of Hard Food. Check out the clips below and head to the Metalheadz store to pre-order a copy now, with full release due from March 16th.
Spirit – Reality / Babylon Call [Warm Communications]
Warm Comms bring us a great new 12″ from Spirit, who some of you should recognise as Digital’s regular partner in crime on their Phantom Audio imprint and beyond. A side Reality brings the old school techstep vibes with crisp drums and a big bad old school bassline that is sure to shake a few sound systems nicely.
Babylon Call on the flip dials down the aggression but keeps things on a retro tip, with some nice old school hoover action and a deep, dubby vibe. Check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl or digital from November 24th.
Voyager – FAQ [Tempo]
Tempo Records return with a brand new 12″ featuring three tracks from Pete Parsons aka Voyager, a name which older heads may recognise from his releases on Good Looking and Creative Source including the classic Hypersleep.
After something of a break from the scene Pete is back with tunes that embody the classic era of ‘intelligent’ D&B while embracing modern production techniques. FAQ certainly has Good Looking written all over it, with classic rolling breaks layered with simple sub bass and beautiful chord structures.
LuvBLoved takes the listener on quite a journey, swapping rolling breaks for a more chopped up style of beats while retaining soft, mellow synths and vocals to create a soundclash between the harder edge of jungle and the softer edge of IDM. Finally Big Picture drops the tempo for a lush slice of downtempo, piano led ambience.
Have a gander at the Tempo Records page to see the man describe the tunes in his own words. Check out the clips below and look out for the single dropping on vinyl from December 10th and digital from December 24th.
Default Recordings Q&A
Following on from our catchup with QST we caught up with the Default Recordings crew to hear about their plans for the label.
DNB Dojo: Biggups on your first release! What made you want to start a label, especially given how many small D&B imprints already exist out there?
Default Recordings: Default Recordings first came about back in 2003 whilst Flapjack was experimenting making tunes with Coolhand Flex and vocalist Cat Knight in his home studio and getting advice from them on music production. In the early days they made many tunes together but never actually got round to releasing them. Flapjack already had vinyl releases back in 1997 on Dj Rap’s label Proper Talent (Dj Rap & Flapjack Rumble Remix) and sub-label Unique Muzique (Gulfbreeze/Lucid Dreams) and Desire’s label S.U.S. Recordings (Final Solution/Reverb) and thought the next step is to have his own label and continue to hone his producing skills.
Flapjack set up Default Recordings to have an avenue to release our music without having to conform to the restraints of other labels and also having more control over what we released and when. For a while Default Recordings was on hold as Flapjack had a full time job and not much time on his hands but always had the intention to re-launch the label at some point in the future. Flapjack recently met up with Piercey and found out he produced tracks, he then got introduced to IDC and he saw a lot of potential in them both. With this in mind and the other artists he had on the label previously (Coolhand Flex, QST & Cat Knight) he decided to re-launch the label with Piercey & IDC lending a hand.
Having two others on board has helped a lot financially and in spreading the workload. Over the past couple of months we have all worked hard in getting the label up & running again. Having a few of you with the same goal works really well as you can bounce ideas off each other to do with the label and also when it comes to producing music.
DD: I understand the Default crew hails from Milton Keynes, what’s the scene like there?
DR: The scene in MK has always been a bit quiet in terms of D&B, maybe with it being so close to London, people tend to look to the music and clubs down there instead. Not many nights are put on here and when they are, there isn’t much of a turn-out unless you get hold of some big names to get people out. Years ago, there used to be a big presence in the city with the likes of the Sanctuary and various other large clubs which unfortunately are no longer, they are all shutdown to make way for too many of these cheesy bars/pubs which don’t really cater for D&B and more towards house and RnB.
The only real place at the moment for DnB nights is the SnoBar which put on regular DnB nights with the likes of Steppers and Jungle Massacre. These are run by the boys behind Filthy Business and Delicate Beats, a couple of other labels which have been born in MK. When the label gets more established we will look to getting a regular Default night up and running in the area as it need something new and fresh for the people of MK who are into the scene. They just need to come out and represent the music!
DD: What are the plans for the label? Any upcoming releases you can tell us about?
DR: The main focus for Default recordings is to not stick with one DnB sound. Default wants to reflect the whole 360 degree spectrum of DnB and hopefully you will see that coming through with our future releases. We don’t want to be pigeon holed into having one style. All our artists presently on board have their own individual style, so with each release you can expect something different from the last.
The plan for the label is to keep releasing tunes on the regular. Hopefully people will like our stuff and the label will grow and mature over time. We are always looking for new and interesting artists to get on board, so if you have any demos please get in touch with us via our Soundcloud page. We listen to all demos and will give feedback..
Our release schedule over the next few months looks a bit like this: DEF002 will be from the legendary Coolhand Flex with Master and Soundboy. These 2 tracks are very different from our first release. If you know Flex from back in the day, this is his sound all over, truly a couple of dance floor smashers! This should be released early July. DEF003 will see the debut release from IDC. From there, we have releases coming from Piercey and also DSP. We will also be looking to have a label launch party sometime in June/July. The venue and date are still to be confirmed. Details will be available on our website. All the Default artists will be appearing alongside a very special guest….so keep an eye out for that.
DD: Any plans to release tunes on vinyl, or is the label sticking to digital only for now?
DR: For now, we are looking to keep the releases available through download stores only. Hopefully if the demand is there in the future then sure, we would love to release our tracks on vinyl. At the end of the day, all our artists come from vinyl backgrounds and that would be our ultimate goal. Nothing beats vinyl, but you have to move with the times…
DD: If you could sign a tune from any artist, who would it be?
DR: There are too many to mention. I simply couldn’t list them all. Someone like Calibre would be amazing. The guy is a genius.
And for those who need something more than words, here’s a mix from Default-er IDC which shows off the label’s vision with a tidy mix of smooth liquid. Check it out and grab yourself a free download!