Xenon lands back in our premiere spotlight with a driving slice of techstep goodness. Eerie bleeps and acid tinges characterise a track with an exemplary dark groove, harking back to the classic era of dark rollers on labels like Offkey and Citrus. Wicked tune! Look for this coming Nov 27th via Humanoid Berlin!
Jubei returns to Metalheadz. What else do you need to know? All joking aside, fans of the man’s work should know what to expect by now – crisp, rolling techstep with tons of low end weight and an old school ‘headz vibe. It’s all about Cold Corner and Out of Sight on this release for us.
Check out the clips below and pick your own favourite; the EP is available at the Metalheadz store right now.
It’s been quite a year for SCAR – with singles for Horizons, an EP and a limited edition dubplate for Dispatch and appearances on Metalheadz Platinum Breakz 4 LP the duo have burst onto the scene with gusto. Their latest work sees them bringing a solo EP for the ‘headz camp and as you’d expect it sees them at the top of their game.
So Suddenly leads the EP, showing off an obvious affinity for tough, techy D&B. Ruby meanwhile has more of a classic ‘headz vibe, bringing to mind the sound of some of their 90s releases with more old-fashioned synth work and crustier break chops. Old Ground brings a combination of skittering drums and sub bass menance to the table, leaving Old Time Metal to close out the EP with dubby samples and hard, metallic snares.
Excellent work once again from the SCAR camp! Check out the clips below and head over to the ‘headz store to pre-order this one on vinyl or digital – full release drops from October 27th.
London label Dark Manoeuvres return with a new four track EP showcasing some bright new talents from various corners of the scene. nScape turns in a tough but still melody-tinged roller, bursting with cheeky amens and warm sub, while Beaton turns to slightly moodier territory on the ominously named Cavern.
Altitude keeps the grimey flavour going with a dark stepper which alternates between sparse minimalism and hectic break choppage, all set to a background of creepy pads and warping bass texture. Victor Norman rounds off the EP with a tribal halftime number which fans of None Decay and the like will definitely enjoy. Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital store now.
Warm Communications return for their 30th release with a top notch double A side from the legendary Break. Coming 4 U brings together beautiful melodies on the intro, that signature Break rolling drum work we all love so much and a warm, sizzling bassline; equal parts dancefloor heft and summery musical shine.
The flip sees Break giving the remix treatment to Mako’s What A Little Moonlight Can Do. Iconic samples from the original are retained but the new remix lends the song a techier edge than the original’s floatier, more atmospheric vibe. Once again the drums here are just pristine! Check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl and digital from September 8th.
Need For Mirrors return to Horizons for a follow up to their excellent Rotor EP. She kicks things off with rolling breaks and a wonky, squelching bass riff. It’s difficult to tell exactly what the titular feminine persona of the track might be up to, but it’s certainly something energetic. Food takes the octane down a few pegs for a deeper vibe, all sub and tribal vibe over another crisp, rolling break.
Oscillator 3 flips the vibe once again with bizarre vocal echoes, bass stabs and surreal FX punctuating a tight kick/snare riddim. Pedestrian meanwhile has a really ominous tone to it with the bassline stalking along through the tune like some strange, menacing character not quite on screen. Last but by no means least Kink comes in as a digital-only bonus providing another stripped back subby roller.
Check out the beats below – this one’s out now on digital and the vinyl will be available very soon via the Horizons store.
It’s a rare treat to get a full album for free and doubly so when that album is a massive 46 track career retrospective! US producer Vector Burn gifts his final collection of never before released tracks to the world for free, having exited the D&B scene in favour of other musical pastures some years ago. Featuring tracks that were destined for the likes of Rumble, Defcom and Renegade Hardware, the collection stands as a testament to the golden age of Techstep production, with tracks from 1999 through to 2007 painstakingly retrieved from hard drives and arranged in chronological order.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8MrWK4T5Xw]
There are so many tracks to choose from here it’s difficult to pick a mere handful to embed in the post – do yourself a favour and head over to the Internet Recordings page to read the history and grab the full set. While you’re there you could do worse than to check out the album sampler and have a gander at their back catalogue, featuring early releases from Mefjus, Zardonic and Acid_Lab.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4Thr6vSYFw]
Mav drops his debut album for Scientific Records, featuring a selection of melody driven D&B tunes and some big remixes to boot. Asides from terrific compositions with tons of character, the album also features a couple of DJ friendly genre-hopping tracks, with Makati Oasis dropping down to a cheeky house-tempo bridge and Trigger the Rabbit flirting with bouncy breaks for an interlude from it’s D&B verses.
Elsewhere there’s a fantastic future-funk amen workout on Break Is The Legend and soaring arpeggios aplenty on The Dolphin and the Bassline. Remix-wise, highlights include Chris.SU’s rolling dancefloor remix of Me Against The Machine, Seba’s deep atmospheric relick of Between Heaven and the Deep Blue Sea and Bungle’s super chilled remix of Skylines. Check out the tracks below and grab this one on vinyl or digital now!
Default Recordings return with another themed single release, this time from QST in collaboration with newcomer Phrase. Dusk proves to be a nicely detailed deep roller with tons of character and groove, while Dawn heads for more euphoric territory with big trancy synthwork that feels uplifting without straying into utterly cheesy territory. Check out the clips below and look out for this one dropping from May 26th.
Cambridge producer Actraiser returns to Dutch imprint Fokuz Recordings with four tracks of warm, melodic and bassy liquid D&B. All four tracks are excellent in their own way but the pick of the bunch for me is the rapid melodic chimes, infectious groove and huge sub bass of Without You. Check out the clips below and watch out for this dropping at all good digital stores from May 19th.