Premiere: Resound – Stone Cold

Straight Up Breakbeat have been digging in the vaults for today’s premiere, as they present tracks from the Resound archives! Originally produced back in 2009 Stone Cold, is a vintage D&B roller custom built for dark rooms…weighty bass, rolling breaks and a moody aesthetic, need we say more? Look for this on vinyl and digital from Sep 25th, alongside a new remix and the frequently requested Loxy & Resound classic New Age. Plus if you want more unreleased Resound goodies be sure to check this mix!

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Premiere: Nuage – Shining (The Levels Remix)

We’ve got something a little different for your ears today as we present the premiere of The Levels stunning new remix of Nuage – Shining. For anyone not familiar with The Levels, it’s the collaborative project of Loxy, Resound and Alia Fresco, and their take Nuage’s original blends pop, R&B and years of D&B experience for a shimmering and understated rework with tons of soul.

Watch out for this dropping from August 5th alongisde remixes from Blu Mar Ten, Bop and Nuage on Translation Recordings, vinyl and digital.

The Levels:
Facebook → www.facebook.com/thelevelsmusic
SoundCloud → @thelevelsmusic
Twitter → twitter.com/thelevelsmsc

Translation Recordings:
Facebook → www.facebook.com/translationrecordings
SoundCloud → @translationrecordings
Twitter → twitter.com/translationrecs

May Roundup

Time for another roundup of the best releases in the underground D&B scene; read on for new releases from Renegade Hardware, Flexout, Warm Communications, Invisible and more…

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The Untouchables & Resound – Seperate Reality EP [Translation]

Esteemed US imprint Translation returns with a fantastic new 12″ EP from crafty dubslingers The Untouchables, with a couple of guest appearances from the equally crafty Finish Beatsmith and collaborator extraordinaire Resound.

If threatening, dubbed out minimalism and tribal rhythms are your bag then you might as well just stop reading and buy this right now; the EP delivers in spades on that front, and the halftime fanboys / room 2 train-spotters are doubtless already salivating over this release. Rightly so; the material here carries that blissful combination of hefty bassweight, crisp but spacious beats and terse atmospherics that made the early dubstep sound and the thriving deep halftime scene so satisfying.

This EP isn’t full of surprises by any stretch but the hypnotic echoes and resonating sub pull you in over and over, like a warm blanket of sound encasing you completely. Those that find the halftime rhythm slow / boring aren’t likely to be any more sold based on this outing, but it’s their loss; one for the heads that know! Check out the clips below and hit up the Translation Store to grab this on vinyl or digital right now.

Module Eight – Legacy [Exit Records]

For whatever reason D&B supergroups seem to be making a bit of a comeback at the moment; whether through coincidence or design in recent times we’ve seen the emergence or re-emergence of The Levels, Bad Company, The Binary Collective and now Module Eight. It’s probably not a coincidence that dBridge is at the centre of so many of these collectives new and old either; being one of the scene’s primary innovators for a couple of decades gives you ideas that are worth sharing, one assumes.

Module Eight sees dBridge teaming up with fellow Exit contributors Loxy, Resound, Kid Drama and Skeptical for thirteen tracks collaborated on entirely online (presumably due to busy schedules and Resound’s location in Finland rather than London), and the results are impressive. If the old adage “too many cooks spoil the broth” has any relevance to D&B, apparently five cooks still isn’t too many!

Legacy feels surprisingly consistent for an album with so many producers behind the console; while there are certainly little hints here and there of each producer’s individual style, you’d struggle to put your finger on any one personality dominating any of the compositions. Guessing where one musical mind ends and another begins might prove amusing for the heads, though we’d challenge anyone to come up with any particularly solid conclusions.

Thematically the album is dark and complex, but in the refined way we’ve come to expect from Exit rather than the ADHD hyper-complexity of some of the more dancefloor oriented D&B business. Flickers of the autonomic sound shine through in places, though in general more in rhythm than tone; the lush futuristic synths of tracks like Seems Like are largely absent in favour of creepier, colder soundscapes which evoke urban grit more than future soul. There’s also more than a passing nod to the classic techstep sounds that both Loxy and dBridge helped to develop, particularly on Ghost and Legacy.

With a solid mix of dancefloor appeal and deeper sound design and texture, it’s difficult to fault Legacy, and the more discerning crowd will definitely lap this up. Check out the clips below and hit up the Exit Bandcamp to pre-order a copy ahead of the release this Friday.

The Levels – The Levels EP

Long time collaborators Loxy & Resound have teamed up with vocalist Alia Fresco to form a new project called The Levels, and their first selection of work shows plenty of interesting ideas. Blending hints of soul and R&B with years of beat making expertise and a dash of pop sensibilities, the trio could yet turn out to be the Autonomic legacy’s Magnetic Man.

Great use is made of Fresco’s voice, leading the tracks nicely but allowing the music to breathe and fill the remaining space. Perhaps the best example of this comes on We Could Be, fittingly made in collaboration with dBridge. The EP closes out with a more conventional D&B beat on Right Here, giving a nod to Loxy & Resound’s musical roots, but to be honest the slower tempo productions are far more interesting.

The EP is out right now via The Levels bandcamp; check out the tracks below and keep your eyes peeled for more material from the trio very soon.

Not Your Idol EP [Renegade Hardware]

The news that the legendary Hardware would be shutting it’s doors in February next year came as an unpleasant surprise here at the Dojo, but it seems that the label is planning to go out in style with plenty more releases on the books between now and next year.

Their latest EP presents four fresh tracks with something of an old school tinge to them, harking back to the golden era of techstep that Hardware played such a big part in. BTK & Cold Fusion play with soulful lyrics over a monstrous bassline on Not Your Idol, while Battery serves up a clattering roller propelled furiously forward by Photek-style bass stabs.

Elsewhere Loxy & Ink keep things gritty with old school break chops set to a throbbing low end and creepy high-end atmospherics, leaving it to NC-17 to close the EP with another massive roller, tinged with classic jungle samples. Massive business as usual from Hardware; check out the clips below and hit up their store to pre-order a copy now.

Versus LP [Free Love Digi]

US label Free Love Digi have been making moves recently with some top releases from both homegrown stateside talent and other producers worldwide, and their latest project sees them bringing together 17 tracks from the extended label family for a massive compilation showcasing all the styles of D&B.

Label boss Quentin Hiatus contributes a few tasty collabs, including a spacey footwork-tinged venture with Resound and the quirky rhythmic groove of The Struggle 2 with Sinistarr. Elsewhere there are chunky rollers from Fade, theStandard and Kaset, liquid from Stunna, and gritty halftime from Goreteks and Dominic Ridgeway.

There’s even space for some lush downtempo from AE on Forevergreen and Ghast on the absolutely serene New Lust. Overall it’s a fantastic selection of tracks, showcasing the breadth of FLD’s artists and the scene as a whole. You can check out all the tracks via Atic’s promo mix for the LP below; watch out for the release dropping July 20th at all good digital stores.

Ever the generous bunch, FLD have also teamed up with D&B Arena to give away a free track from Ghast to celebrate the release. Check that out below and head over to D&B Arena to check out their interview with Ghast.

North Base & Stapleton – Can I Live [Nation of Shopkeepers]

Long time D&B rhymesayer Stapleton teams up with Manchester bass slingers North Base for his latest work, and they’ve recruited a weird and wonderful array of remixes for the release. The original combines Stapleton’s swaggering UK hip-hop flows with a hint of wompy dubstep for a cheeky little ode to slacking off and fucking about, but the remixes are where the release really shines.

Need For Mirrors delivers a tripped out, tough edged roller, turning the playful vocals to an altogether more ominous vibe. Resound switches the vibe again, crafting beats with a hint of Trap but keeping the synth vibes airy to the point of near-ambient stylings. Last up, Signs come with a bizarrely angular and thoroughly enjoyable half-time flex. This one was definitely not the aggy neuro remix I was expecting! Check out the clips below and grab this one right now.

Future Beats – The Album [31 Recordings]

The relaunch of Doc Scott’s 31 Recordings imprint has been the cause for much celebration across the scene, and the label’s output has been absolutely stellar. Rounding off 2014 in style, they’ve unveiled a massive 24 track compilation featuring artists from across the D&B spectrum, and frankly pretty much all of it is excellent.

The huge selection takes in half-time beats from Sinistarr and Ital Tek, future jungle from Moresounds, liquid rollers from Bungle and Calibre, rowdy techstep from SCAR and plenty more besides. Special mentions have to go out to the broody, militant syncopations of House of Lanterns’ Take Control, the ethereal atmospherics of Hidden Turn’s Dream of Tron and the bleepy, atmospheric vibes of Gremlinz Forlorn, but honestly the whole LP is of such a high standard that picking favourites is pretty tough. Check out clips of all the tracks below and head over to the 31 Recordings store to preorder the compilation on vinyl or digital now – the release drops on December 15th.