Tag Archives: Techstep

Fade – Kolokol / Feed The Beast [Free Love Digi]

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Free Love Digi return with an absolutely monstrous single from Ukranian badman Fade. Kolokol brings the classic neurofunk vibes with a heavy break and an absolutely tearing reese line, with atmospheric pads and bleepy melodies providing the icing on a dirty bass-laden cake.

Feed The Beast dials things back a notch but keeps the energy levels rolling along, with morphing bass and a ton of deft little percussion edits for another tidy tech workout. Anyone who needed convincing of Fade’s abilities in the studio needs look no further than this! Check out the clips below and watch for this one dropping at all good digital stores from November 10th.

Locksem – My Love & I (Despicable Youth Remix) [Lockdown Recordings]

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Lockdown Recordings return with an excellent new single featuring the beats of Cardiff producer Locksem. The A side sees Despicable Youth on remix duties, reworking My Love and I. The intro features some top notch sound design work, with textures crackling over the mix before the beats drop and start building the tension. Creepy vocals and heavy sub bass give the tune a nice mixture of heft and atmosphere, which is no mean feat in the often sterile world of tech D&B.

Chaos Theory on the flip aims for more predictable dark dancefloor tech territory, and succeeds amiably in creating a big, stomping roller with plenty of detail. The use of dramatic strings on the build ups is a nice touch too. Check out the clips and look for this one at your favourite digital store from November 3rd.

Basis – Graveyard EP [Icarus Audio]

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US label Icarus Audio drop their 13th release from new collaborative project Basis. Featuring the talents of four Cardiff producers, their debut release is a fearsome statement of intent; showing a talent for dancefloor worthy but still musical D&B.

Hold On Tight opens the EP with a deep yet heavy hitting combo of beats and bass and the melancholy vocal talents of Wednesday Amelia. Demon Rocker switches things up, taking the sound in a crisp, minimal direction with a hint of ragga flavour from the vocals of Flinty Badman. The titular Graveyard serves up a similar vibe, with punchy drums and dark, filtered bass alongside more ominous vocals and sorrowful strings. Last but not least, Submerged closes the EP with a hefty riddim and some judicious amen chopping.

Basis seem destined for big things based on this EP! Check out the clips below and grab the release on vinyl or digital from your favourite outlet now.

SCAR – Old Ground EP [Metalheadz Platinum]

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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.

Odd Harmonics – Traveller EP [Roughmind]

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Berlin label Roughmind serve up their latest release from London based producer Odd Harmonics. The EP shows off a nice variety of musical styles, with influences from across the spectrum of D&B showing through. Reflekt betrays an affinity with the chopped up beats of drumfunk producers like Paradox, while False Positive serves up a skittering, brooding halfstep beat set to twisted bass growls and soft, atmospheric pads.

The latter half of the EP takes things in a techier and more stripped back direction, bringing to mind early Octane & DLR productions like Back In The Grind. Both Routine and Traveller bring a nice blend of warped bass, crisp beats and creepy overlays to the table.

You can also find a nice little promo mix to go with the release featuring beats from Odd Harmonics alongside cuts from Calibre, Loxy, G.H.O.S.T., Paradox and more. Check it out below, and watch out for the release dropping from October 24th at all good digital stores.

Break, Mako, Fields & Villem – Shadowlines [Utopia Music]

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The Utopia dream-team combine forces once again for a predictable but nonetheless satisfying slice of rolling tech-funk. Fans of the crew’s output will know what to expect – crisp breaks, grimey bass and the kind of production values that 40 odd years combined experience brings to the table!

Over on the flip Mako has signed up something distinctly mellower in tone from rising liquid producers Chromatic, who turn in a blissful slice of melodic D&B which is smooth as silk as it washes over the eardrums. Once again, maybe not the world’s most original stylings but the execution more than makes up for it, and the warmth and groove are up there with the best of the scene. Check out the clips below and look out for this on vinyl (which you can pre-order now at Redeye) and digital from 27th October.

Audio – Nil By Mouth EP [RAM Records]

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Anyone concerned by Audio’s move from Virus to RAM and the implications for his sound needn’t have worried if this latest EP is anything to go by – his signature high impact sound is in full effect and hasn’t softened at all at his new home on Andy C’s imprint.

All four tracks provide gritty hard-edge D&B in spades, but my favourites come on Break It and Gotham, the former making great use of ever shifting drum samples and some old school reese bass business while the latter brings the more angular, menacing beat patterns that fans of Audio’s older work for Freak Recordings will remember fondly. For the sample spotters amongst you, this isn’t the first time Audio has lifted dialogue from a Batman movie – see his excellent Power of Fear release for Subtitles for another nice bit of cinematic appropriation.

The nil by mouth EP drops on vinyl and digital from all good stores from Sunday 19th October – head to the RAM Store or your favourite outlet and grab it!

Survey – Object Relations EP [Protect Audio]

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Protect Audio return with a top new EP from German production outfit Survey. Fresh from releases on Invisible and Authentic, Survey are slowly carving themselves a rep for crisp, techy beats and this latest EP sees their style and talents honed once again.

Collapse kicks things off with a smooth slice of rolling techstep which brings to mind early Ulterior Motive productions for Subtitles Music. Jumpat gets in on the action for 9814, which keeps the grimey bass texture but switches the drum rhythms up in favour of weird, tribal syncopations aimed more at your head than your dancing shoes.

The tone and detail continue through Fragment and Inhale, both harnessing a darkness and industrial quality which may well be inspired by the atmosphere of Survey’s current home, Berlin. Check out the clips below and watch out for this dropping on CD and digital from October 20th.

Classic Track: Noisia – Vanishing Point

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vanishingpoint

Wind back to 2004 and Noisia are far from the titans of the electronic scene they’ve become over the past decade; at this point they’re beginning to enjoy their first successes, turning heads in the scene with 12″s for Nerve, Subtitles and Citrus. Vanishing Point saw them building on their success with a release for Mayhem’s influential (though now sadly defunct) Shadow Law imprint.

The tune is a masterclass of relatively restrained but still dancefloor worthy tech – heavy breaks, tasty atmospherics and weighty sub bass all coming together to produce a recognisable roller. The drum roll and bass hits before the main drop followed by the infectious synth stabs always make me smile, and the little details in the progression of the tune make all the difference. Snap it up if you see a copy on vinyl!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KPcgootqBw]

Theory of the Avantgarde – Cosmos LP [Avantgarde Recordings]

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Dabs and Grotesque’s have brought together a fierce selection of tracks for their Avantgarde Recordings imprint’s first LP, and fans of the deep but techy end of the D&B spectrum will definitely not be disappointed with the result!

Highlights include M-zine, Skepticz and Matt Pulsa’s tight, techy workout on Fumes, Fade’s big, bad reese bass driven business on Swarm and the grimy minimalist stylings of Kush T, who teams up with Serge on Hyperspace. Sadly only a few of the clips are only so far, but keep an eye on the Avantgarde soundcloud for more, and watch out for the LP dropping from October 20th. We’ve also lined up an exclusive mix from some of the Avantgarde crew so hold tight for that one soon!