Our latest exclusive comes courtesy of Swiss powerhouse Demand Records! Taken from the second volume of their rather tasty Requisites EP series, Bulgarian producer Robustus serves up a wicked roller combining melancholy piano leads with rolling breaks and just enough grit in the bassline for that sweet spot of edge and soul. Requisites #2 is out on Friday; hit up the Demand Store to grab a copy on vinyl and keep your eyes on the usual digital outlets for the virtual copy.
Following a quiet few months, Swiss label Demand Records are back with the first volume of a new EP series entitled Demand Selects. The series aims to showcase new talent and Demand veterans alike, and judging by this debut instalment we’re due for some sonic treats over the coming year!
Taelimb kicks things off with the stripped back, ominous halfstep vibes of Depth Charge, while Bulgarian producers Robustus & Moody switch gears with an understated liquid roller on Falling. Bristol’s Mystic State team up with Dutch wunderkind and Critical signing Signal for the driving, atmospheric delights of Seven, and last but not least Austria’s RoyGreen & Protone team up with Dual for the crisp and playful Ridestep.
Tons to enjoy here with producers from all over Europe stepping up to represent the Demand sound. Check out the clips below and hit up Beatport to grab a copy right now.
IM:Ltd’s latest release sees Pennygiles’ Stories Untold getting the remix treatment no less than three times. Nymfo turns in a dank dancefloor refix which keeps the soul of the tune but bolsters it with a tough break and a hefty wall of sub bass, while the flipside of the 12″ sees Pennygiles teaming up with French liquid producer Redeyes for a typically deep and satisfying roller.
Out into the digital extras, Diffrent Music’s Arkaik twists up Stories Untold into a darker and altogether more angular form, while Robustus turns drops things down even deeper with a half-time rework and some nice glitchy touches. Great work as ever from the IM:Ltd camp – check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl and digital now.
Future Sounds of Sofia are a relatively new Bulgarian D&B team who, having spent the last few years running events and bringing all manner of underground talent to their native land, are now branching out and starting their own label. Their first release showcases 13 tracks from Bulgarian producers spanning a variety of styles, from upfront tech and neuro to deeper minimal and liquid tunes.
Familiar names make the roster by way of tracks from Cooh and L33, who both contribute slabs of hefty, rolling tech funk. Similarly banging beats are available from lesser known producers such as Smartech and Ogonek, who contributes an interesting track bringing together melodic elements with an absolutely rattling drum/bass underpin.
Deeper vibes come from Presize’s minimal drum workout Initial and Underspawn & Robustus’ jazzy liquid roller Scotty & The Sun God, the latter of which stood out for me as a nicely polished slice of deep yet dancefloor oriented beats. You can hear clips of some of the tracks below so check it out and head over to the FSS Bandcamp page to pre-order the album on CD or digital, dropping October 6th.
Violation Music return with another varied array of deep D&B, this time bringing together tracks from four different producers for an EP release that keeps you on your toes. nCamargo kicks things off with a tough, gritty stepper that combines Vangelis-esque synth pads with a belting drum line and twisted, warping bass that gives the tune plenty of movement. Next up, Robustus delivers another industrial sounding beat but with a little more roll to the breaks and some great cymbal work.
DYL comes in with what is for me the stand-out track of the EP, building layers of gloomy ambience before adding in a sparse, glitchy beat full of interesting percussive samples. The whole composition sounds entirely artificial, like the whirring of gears in some weird mechanical device. Finally The Slimerz give us Boulders, characterised by a reverb drenched half-time drum line that sounds like something Instra:mental might come up with if they took a bit too much Ritalin.
Check out the clips below and watch out for the EP dropping 7th October via all good digital outlets.