Tag Archives: Samurai Music

Clarity – Hell’s Gate [Samurai Music]

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Samurai warm us up for the impending release of Clarity’s debut LP with a 3 track EP featuring the man’s deep, dark riddims. Hell’s Gate sees T Man take the mic for a gloomy stepper imbued with an appropriately confrontational vocal, while Engineering brings on board regular partner in crime Overlook for an exercise in atmosphere and percussion precision. The bongo rolls and rumbling sub give this a really hypnotic vibe.

Last but by no means least, Hours delivers more ominous, tribal rhythms, with reverb-drenched pads and echoing gongs washing over crisp hats and an insistent kick/snare line. Check out the clips below and head over to the Samurai Store to grab the release on vinyl or digital.

If you want more from Clarity look no further than the latest episode of the Samurai Music podcast where you’ll find an hour long mix showcasing tracks from the EP alongside other selections from the experimental end of the 170 spectrum.

Tokyo Prose – Presence [Samurai Red Seal]

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Living up to the promise of early releases is no mean feat for any artist in any scene. For D&B, it’s not so much the “difficult second album” of rock and pop as the “difficult first album following several great EPs or singles”. The album format may have become more popular in recent years, especially for purveyors of the deeper side of the music, but that makes it no less difficult to do well, and many have released competent LPs which nonetheless either feel too filler-heavy or merely like a collection of singles rather than a coherent body of work.

Thankfully, Tokyo Prose’s debut suffers neither of these criticisms. The quality and depth of the production is breathtaking, and the tracks flow effortlessly together through commonality of tone and spirit. Make no mistake though, there’s more than enough detail and variation to hold your interest across the LPs 13 tracks.

Picking favourites is a difficult exercise as with all top quality LPs, especially with the likes of Lenzman, Synkro and LSB popping in for collaborations. The soft strings of Covet, the effortless downtempo of 16 Bar Cycles and the uplifting piano and reverb drenched vocals of Small Gains all stand out, but this is an album where different tunes are likely to speak to different listeners. One thing is for sure; from the opening  chimes to the beautiful, beatless outro of Dance With You, every new track is a treat and a pleasure. Check out the clips below and grab yourself a copy on vinyl or CD from the Samurai Store.

Horo Vision [Samurai Horo]

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Samurai make an unusual break from their vinyl releases to bring us a retrospective digital release of the previously vinyl-only Horo series. In order to stay true to the series (and presumably avoid angering the vinyl collectors who’ve spent a significant amount of cash collecting the original releases), the new digital compilation only features one track from each of the 12″s; the rest will remain vinyl exclusives.

As fans of the label’s output will expect, the tracks on show are deep, dark and experimental, pushing the boundaries of what D&B is or should be. ASC’s contributions prove varied and excellent as usual, bringing together lush deep-techno and ambient influences with his unusual percussive elements. Other highlights come from Synkro’s Kiyoko alias on the lush downtempo ambience of Track 3 and from Clarity & Overlook on the ominous and angular Rohypnol. Honestly though picking favourites is tough; every track on here is more than worthy of your time and attention.

The limited edition CD being offered has already sold out, but you can still snap up the digital bundle direct from the brand new Samurai web store. Check out the clips below and grab the release now.

Tokyo Prose – Presence LP Sampler [Samurai Red Seal]

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As Samurai prepare for the release of Tokyo Prose’s debut LP next month, the first glimpses have appeared via the LP sampler, and they’re a bit of a treat. Waiting On sees the ever talented Riya stepping up to the mic to deliver her trademark soulful vocals on an effortlessly smooth, piano-led roller. It would be easy to dismiss this as yet another deep tune with a Riya vocal, but while this may not be treading particularly innovative ground the execution is faultless. Perfectly reverbed vocals, soft, warm piano and crisp breaks come together in a perfect storm of mood and beauty.

Over on the flip Ventura proves no slouch either, kicking in with a slightly more insistent break and deep sub bass but keeping the tone somewhat distant; definitely one for the heads. Vinyl addicts can pre-order the 12″ from Samurai’s brand new store (along with pre-order options for the album itself) and the digital can be picked up right now exclusively from Samurai’s Bandcamp.

Sam KDC – Survive / Exist [Samurai Red Seal]

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Samurai Music steal Sam KDC away from ASC’s Auxiliary imprint for a 12″ on their Red Seal arm and as usual it’s a treat. Deep, dubby vibes and plenty of crackly atmosphere pervade the tracks; a lazy description of “Burial makes 170” is tempting, but while apt doesn’t really do the tunes justice. Burial with more punch, perhaps, particularly on the more energetic B-side Erogenous.

As usual the release will be served up on wax for the vinyl collectors out there, with this particular release featuring excellent artwork from the talented Petra Zhivkova. Check out the clips below and watch out for the release dropping from March 17th.

Fre4knc – Tellurian EP [Samurai Music]

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Fans of the tough, dark and minimal end of the D&B spectrum should already be familiar with Fre4knc (that’s pronounced “frequency”, right?). His latest EP for Samurai continues his trend for a sound which mixes darkness and precision to great effect.

Opener Tellurian strikes down with insistent tribal rhythms, while The Source makes great play of an alternation between dubby half-time beats and schizophrenic drum break syncopations as scratchy old breaks are pushed to the limits. Drumfunk heads are in for a treat with this one! Finally Flink rounds the EP off with a mean combination of hefty sub hits, an infectious scattershot lead and crisp, rapid drum rolls.

As usual from the Samurai camp the release is available on beautiful marbled wax and both the physical package and the music contained within are pretty damn stunning. Pre-orders are up now at Surus and the release drops on Monday 10th March.

Indigo – Storm EP [Samurai Music]

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Manchester producer Indigo has been busy lately – he’s signed a deal with R&S offshoot Apollo, released a new album with partner in crime Synkro under their Akkord alias and to cap it all he’s put together an essential new EP for Samurai Red Seal.

The EP sees that trademark cinematic Indigo synth work thrown into a full on soundclash with jungle-hearted breaks and some deft sampling. Dark bass and echoing percussion characterise opener Volta while Versa collab Spirit of the Winds takes a few leaves from the Paradox book of drumfunk with subtle sub taking backstage to the frantic choppy syncopation of the ever changing drum line.

The titular Storm changes gears once again, adopting a more ominous tone on a track characterised by glitchier percussive elements and a sparser composition with a much more tribal vibe. Finally Condition drops the tempo for a slice of reverb drenched deep house. As usual with Samurai you can pick this up on limited edition marbled vinyl or digital from their Surus store – don’t sleep!

Q&A – DJ Presha [Samurai Music]

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With Samurai Music busy gearing up for the impending release of the epic Scope LP, we caught up with label boss DJ Presha to find out all about his passion for vinyl and what else we can expect from the label this year.

DNB Dojo: Vinyl is clearly close to your heart given the care that goes into the Samurai vinyl releases and the vinyl only releases on the Horo imprint. Can you tell us a bit more about your obvious love for vinyl and how that came about?

Presha: I have been DJ’ing in one genre or another since the early 90’s. When I started it was all about vinyl, and I had worked in record stores since I left school basically. One of my first flats was living with a Hip Hop DJ who obviously had a lot of vinyl and I caught the bug. I began distributing D&B, techno, house, garage, and eventually dubstep records in New Zealand around 1997 and over the 15 years or so I did that for, I had my addiction comfortably fed. Since I have stopped that and moved to Europe, Berlin has given birth to a new strain of vinyl addiction, and I hope one day soon I can ship over my collection from NZ to me in my new home 🙂

DD: In the age of digital DJing and Beatport many labels are stopping vinyl manufacture or cutting down vinyl releases compared to digital output, often citing falling sales. How does Samurai cope with these challenges?

P: When we started in 2007, sales of vinyl were really starting to dip, so we approached it as a packaging / art presentation challenge to make our products more desirable. Good music wasn’t enough anymore for people that were happy with digital files, you had to give them something a little bit more. This has carried on obviously and we have continued to adapt and the need for vinyl products to have some unique approach has got stronger. It’s something we really love doing and take pride in as well.

In all honesty D&B is years behind House and Techno in this department and moving to Berlin made me see how they have adapted to the new market and I’ve tried to apply their ways of presenting and packaging to D&B / 170. It has taken D&B buyers a bit longer to become as involved as the buyers in those markets are with the products but that’s changing now. Berlin’s record scene is what’s kicked my addiction into full steam again and I’m trying to use Samurai to lure others into my habit as well. I’m a pusher!

DD: If you had to pick a top five, what are your favourite vinyl records in your personal collection?

P: Oh I miss my record collection in New Zealand very much!

Samhain – Initium – Marbled vinyl edition of 15 black with white streaks
Misfits – Beware – Original UK pressing
Misfits – Walk Among Us – Original red sky pressing
Misfits – Legacy Of Brutality – White vinyl pressing
Source Direct – The Crane

DD: I made the pilgrimage to Sun & Bass this year and caught the Samurai crew throwing down over there, much to my delight. How did you guys get involved with Sun & Bass?

P: I work for ESP agency who have worked closely with Sun and Bass for many years. Alicia and Mark from ESP spoke to Stefano, Martina and the crew of Sun and Bass about me playing there when I was still in New Zealand and they were up for it. I flew over to go to the festival one year in a combined night with Samurai and Alley Cat’s Kokeshi label and it totally changed my life. That was the deciding factor in me moving to Europe and this friendship / collaboration has now blossomed into 4 years of me playing there and 2 years with our own Samurai night. It sometimes seems like a crazy dream, Sun and Bass and what it has done to change my life and how Samurai has progressed. A very good crazy 🙂

DD: How did the concept for the Horo sub-label come about and what made you decide to keep it exclusively vinyl (at least until the CD release of Scope)?

P: The idea came from needing another label for more experimental music, and of course living in Berlin and seeing all these amazing vinyl only house and techno records. The concept came from me doing a lot of research online to find a story that suited my idea. I was signing a lot of music from ASC and it didn’t fit on either of the other labels very well, so this was a deciding factor as well. Then the Fis & Tokyo prose tunes came along and it was time to start. It will be returning to vinyl only after Scope and we have 5 new Horo’s slated already for 2014 as well as the first Horo artist LP from Ena.

DD: Besides the impending release of Scope, what else can we expect from Samurai this year? Given the recent release of Lessons in Depth on Red Seal are you aiming for a label/album hat-trick?

P: Ha ha no its too late for that now. We have 3 definite releases before the end of the year, but we may sneak another one in all going well. They are:

Homemade Weapons & Gremlinz feat. Collinjah ‘After Dark EP (Samurai Music) – also features a J:Kenzo 170 remix
Homemade Weapons ‘Kintaro’ EP (Samurai Music)
Indigo ‘The Storm’ EP (Samurai Red Seal)

You can check out audio from the Scope LP in our previous coverage. Watch out for the LP dropping from September 30th on vinyl, digital and CD and get your pre-orders in at the Samurai Surus store.

Sun & Bass 2013 Review – Part 2

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Our review of Sun & Bass continues with coverage of the second half of the week. Check out part one here if you missed it, otherwise read on…

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Scope LP [Samurai Music]

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Samurai continue their assault on all things leftfield with a various artists LP that delivers a veritable smorgasbord of deep, dark, 170BPM cuts. Highlights include the droning, tribal noise-bass of Kiwi producer Fis, the lush glitchy ambience of Indigo’s Snowfall, and ASC’s Photek-esque Dragnet.

In true Samurai Music fashion the album will be available on five limited edition vinyl plates including a number of vinyl exclusive tracks. Check out the beats below and watch out for the release on September 30th.