CIA are back on our latest exclusive as we present the premiere of deep roller Solar Meditation from Bristol producer Phaction’s Signature Moves EP! Crispy beats, warm bass with just enough edge and samples we can only imagine have been lifted from some kind of self-help CD combine on a typically polished release. Sick! Hit up the CIA Bandcamp to grab this one from May 5th.
Today’s exclusive comes courtesy of Surreal who continues his excellent run of releases for Fokuz sister label Celsius Recordings. Hahaha comes from his Going Disco EP and brings to mind classic Zinc rollers from the early 2000s; crispy beats, kinetic bass and bucketloads of funk. Look out for the EP dropping May 8th at all good digital stores!
In 2015, the legendary DnB label Metalheadz embarked on a project to re-master and re-release all of its classic tunes from the 90s and beyond. This was presumably done for DJs, to give high-quality downloads of early-era songs to those who have updated their equipment but not their tastes.
What it has effectively done on top of that, however, is to expose younger generations of ravers to the wonders of the Metalheadz archives, as well as to producers and sub-genres which, if not forgotten, were buried in the record crates of first-and-second-generation junglists and D&B heads. Now even the grumpiest vinyl-loving old school heads can listen to a crisp, clean WAV of Marcus Intalex’s My Soul on their computers if they so choose.
The most recent release from the “Re-Mastered” project is of 2002’s MDZ.02. Just released on Friday, this 11-track retrospective contains classics from the likes of Klute, Teebee, Loxy & Ink and a special Usual Suspects track called Tribute, an homage to the influential D&B MC Kendo, who’d recently passed at the time the track was released.
2002 was an interesting transitional time for drum and bass. Beats became much faster, samples started to be influenced by hip hop, R&B and rave, and jungle and drum and bass structures started to merge in ways that many felt were unthinkable. Metalheadz was right on the forefront of this change and its surrounding controversy, riding the crest to emerge as the well-established and cutting-edge label it is today.
MDZ.02 2017 isn’t up on Discogs yet, but it can be purchased in a number of formats on the Metalheadz website and clips can be streamed on Soundcloud.
Written by Layla Marino
Blog: (Dropping) Weird Science
Twitter/IG: @dropweirdsci
Austrian DJ ConVuse steps up to the Dojo decks for our latest exclusive mix! As co-founder of the Sound In Motion promotion crew, ConVuse has been bringing the vibes to the scene around Gmunden/Vöcklabruck/Salzkammergut since 2010, booking the likes of Phace, Mefjus and Octane & DLR and throwing some of the country’s best parties.
For his Dojo mix Stefan has dug deep with a selection of rolling beats spanning tech and liquid styles with tracks from the likes of LSB, S.P.Y, Phentix and Spectrasoul. Classic D&B vibes! 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.
Super smooth liquid vibes on today’s exclusive as new York label Terra Firma present their second release from Polish producer Radicall! Something More combines hints of jazz and a catchy hip-hop style sample hook with a familiar rolling breakbeat for an effortlessly euphoric ride. Tasty stuff; look out for the release at all good digital stores from April 5th.
From time to time a piece of music comes along that reminds you why you got into D&B in the first place, and here at Dojo HQ the new single from Mr. Frenkie hits that spot in a big way. Bringing together crispy modern production techniques with the influence of early neuro, the two tracks on show here are absolutely dripping with that funk that’s often absent from the hyper-clinical sounds of 2017.
Respawn kicks things off with a rolling break layered over a fantastic array of stabs, squelches and growls that bring to mind early Black Sun Empire; high octane licks with a hint of trance in the atmospheres and plenty of low end sizzle. Over on the flip Tire Fire drops a classic 2-step beat with some cheeky amen switches and a snarling reese line straight out of the Dom & Roland playbook. Distorted hits and tons of cymbal action complete another effective homage to a classic sound.
While the tracks here certainly have one foot in the past, the production is razor sharp and the vibes are strong. Fuck the future; take us back to 2004 and bring on more of these beats! Check out the clips below and hit up Beatport to grab this one right now, or Bandcamp for the vinyl; full digital release follows from March 6th.
The legendary John Rolodex steps up to the decks for the latest episode of the DNB Dojo Mix Series! Boss of the impressive Machinist Music imprint and a talented producer to boot, John’s productions have seen release on Dread Recordings, Tech Itch Recordings, Metalheadz, Hospital and more.
John has come correct with an hour of rolling techstep punctuated by a few more experimental switchups, and the vibes are strong all the way through. Look out for tons of dubs from the man himself alongside beats from Owneath, Kolectiv, Goldie and HLZ. Serious business from a serious selector; check it!
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.
Our latest exclusive comes from Delta9’s forthcoming From The Streets compilation LP and London producer Abstrakt Vision. Samurai brings together hypnotic, relentless percussion with gloomy atmospheres and hefty sub bass for a deep, dark and ominous roller. Tough riddim!
Whether it’s in their capacity as label curators or as artists in their own right, we’re big fans of Blu Mar Ten here at DNB Dojo. In a time when so much music, drum & bass included, is a packaged commodity designed to appeal to a very specific marketplace and lacking or devoid of originality, BMT stand as a beacon of the creativity and inspiration that makes the best music so exciting. If you subscribe to the adage that 99% of everything is rubbish, then these guys are the 1% of the 1%.
Enter Empire State, the team’s seventh studio album and their fourth for their own Blu Mar Ten Music imprint. Picking up pretty much exactly where Famous Lost Words left off, the album plays like a love letter to all the facets of D&B, focusing on the deeper and more melodic side of the music but with some unashamed dancefloor rollers thrown into the mix. More experimental tracks like Monologue and Fall From Grace dial back the beats, allowing Blu Mar Ten’s knack for shimmering synth work to shine through, while straight up rollers such as Immortal Beloved provide that uptempo euphoria the duo do so well.
Robert Manos makes a welcome appearance on the effortlessly crispy Keep It Together, while the rest of the album’s vocal-led tracks feature the enigmatic strains of Kite, a female vocalist that we can literally find nothing about anywhere. The pair clearly have a talent for spotting gifted singers; as with Agnė Genytė’s contributions to their previous LP, Kite lends raw emotion and a less obvious style of delivery to the vocals here, and the album sounds fantastic for her presence.
Empire State probably won’t convince the naysayers of the merits of the more melodic end of D&B, nor is it packed full of cutting-edge, genre-bending or trend-setting material. If however you want an album featuring some of the most finely crafted D&B and a ton of depth and feeling, Blu Mar Ten deliver in spades. As always. Check out the previews below and hit up the BMT Store to grab a copy on vinyl or digital now.
Fast-rising Swiss duo QBig & Zenith B land on Iridescent Music for their latest outing, bringing together classic techstep vibes, crispy modern production and a dose of hip-hop swagger. The result is a grimey roller sure to mash up the dance! Check it out and watch for this one dropping Feb 13th alongside flipside No Need and a remix of the flip by new producer N3ptune.