DNB Dojo Mix Series 09: Alex Seva

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Fresh from his brand new release for Deep Field Audio neurofunk wunderkind Alex Seva steps up to deliver the latest in our exclusive mix series. Packed full of rolling neurofunk from Citrus, Renegade Hardware, RAM Records and beyond plus a host of exclusive dubs, this is a half hour of pure power. Stream via mixcloud below and grab a download from Dropbox.

00:00 – Rregula & Dementia – Fallin [Citrus]
>>> L33 – Sybaritic [Rise Audio]
04:50 – ??? – ??
05:56 – Maztek – iMaz [Renegade Hardware]
08:47 – ??? – ???
>>> ??? – ???
10:16 – ??? – ???
11:34 – Black Sun Empire – Potemkin  (S.P.Y Remix) [Blackout]
13:23 – Audio – Blackhole [Blackout]
14:50 – Royalston – Jungle Gone Down [Medschool]
>>> Calyx & Teebee – Heroes & Villains [RAM]
17:34 – Kove – Iodine [Program]
>>> Optiv & BTK – Understand [Shogun]
20:45 – Calyx & TeeBee – We Fall Away [RAM]
21:51 – Alix Perez & Foreign Beggars – ???
23:44 – Skream & Friction – Kingpin (Calyx & Teebee Remix) [Shogun]
25:21 – Royalston – Lunar [Medschool]
26:29 – Kove – Stellar [Viper]
29:00 – Rregula & Dementia – Turning Point [Citrus]

Friction Vs. Volume 1 [Shogun Audio]

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Friction gets his collab on for the latest single on Shogun Audio. The A-side features a rather forgettable dancefloor roller from the label boss and Total Science, but ultimately this release is all about Battle Scars on the flip. Fourward bring their growling bassline expertise to the table and the instantly recognisable vocal stylings of MC Jakes ice the rolling, techy cake. Check it out below and watch out for this dropping from June 8th on digital and June 23rd on vinyl.

Various – Multiverse EP [Renegade Hardware]

Hardware continue their unstoppable onslaught of neurofunk batterers with a fresh new EP of collabs from some of the biggest names on their roster. Maztek & Cern team up for the titular Multiverse, dropping big beats and a disgusting, squelchy set of bassline modulations. Next up regular duo Optiv & BTK get together with Cold Fusion on a techstep roller that harnesses the spirit of 90s sci-fi influenced D&B to great effect.

The pick of the bunch for me comes on Dose & Cern’s irresistible One At A Time – rolling breaks, tight atmospheres and a memorable vocal snippet combine for a lethal dose of dancefloor tech with some tasty drum edits for added flavour. Finally the label’s upstarts get together to close out the EP with a solid slice of glitched up neurofunk from Subtension, Trilo & Minor Rain. Check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl and digital from June 9th.

As an added bonus, Subtension has recorded a cheeky studio mix to promote the release and it’s packed full of fresh dubs from the man himself alongside tracks from the EP and cuts from the wider world of D&B, all with a rolling techy vibe. Check it out!

Zero T & Script – Guessing Games (Bailey Remix) [Dispatch Recordings]

Dispatch Recordings get busy with a big 12″ featuring a pair of techy dancefloor rollers from some of the biggest names in the game. Bailey makes a rare production appearance to remix Zero T & Script’s Guessing Games, taking the atmosphere and heft of the original and turning in a tougher relick. Those drums! Punchy business.

Next up production wonder-duo SCAR return to Dispatch with Spectre, aiming for the chest with a rolling break and savage bass hits. This one’s sure to provoke a few gun fingers on the dancefloor!

Those of you who’ve kept your eyes on the Dispatch Store may already have snagged a (now sold out) advance vinyl copy. For the rest of you, check out the clips below and watch out for the full release dropping from June 23rd.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX8sA240PoY]

Vector Burn – Ghost Maps LP [Internet Recordings]

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]

Alex Seva – Era / Twisted [Deep Field Audio]

Alex Seva brings his brand of dark, snarling drum & bass to Deep Field Audio for their 6th single. Era opens up with half-time drums and ominous, brooding growls before dropping into precise, rolling percussion and a gargling, industrial reese line. Twisted keeps the tone pretty grimey but palces the emphasis on heavy kicks and snares with the bass taking a back seat.

Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet now!

Detail – Detached / Shiver [Vandal Records]

Vandal Records continue their seemingly endless onslaught of releases with a new single from Detail. Detached opens the salvo with epic synths and marching drums on the intro giving way to rapid fire bass stabs and sawtooth moans set to a staccato drum line with tons of energy and character.

Shiver takes things a bit more minimal but continues the punchy vibe with both beats and bass hitting like quick punches to the gut, in and out before you know where you are. The rhythm of the track strikes a nice balance between angularity and roll, never feeling abrupt but never soothing either. Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet now.

Superior Selectionz – Cold Heart EP [Lockdown Recordings]

Superior Selectionz latest release for Lockdown Recordings sounds like a love letter to the sounds of Techstep a decade ago; the influence of early Ed Rush & Optical and Photek records can be heard in the darkness and groove of the compositions on show here, but updated with the modern production tricks of 2014 to great effect.

The titular Cold Heart is all about the punchy, memorable bass hook and crisp breakbeats, while Eyes Open oozes atmosphere from the pads and backs it up with a simple but effective set of bassline modulations. Backlash takes things back to the old school with a classic rave-stab riff and Mercury rounds off the EP with a deep, subby roller. All four tracks show an emphasis on groove over hyperactive detailing, setting them against the mould of some modern techstep D&B.

Check out the clips below and look out for the tracks dropping from May 26th.

Enei – Goliath EP [Critical Music]

Enei returns to Critical Music with a great new EP featuring six dynamic new cuts straddling various styles of D&B. Goliath opens the EP with a jungle-break workout imbued with a great DRS verse and some nice bass and FX stabs. The Artefact proves an entirely different beast, opening up with soundscapey pads and a tribal kick beat and evolving into a morphing landscape of bass and breaks which seems to have been crafted for love rather than any kind of dancefloor sensibilities, and is all the better for it.

Prometheus on the other hand certainly has both feet planted firmly on the dancefloor; bass swells and a hypnotic melody build tension on the intro before we’re hit with a stomping beat and a fuzzy bassline. While possibly the least interesting composition on the EP, there’s no arguing with the heft and groove of it.

Hotplate switches things up once again, keeping the trademark Enei eery synths but placing the emphasis on frenetic loop chopping and drum edits a plenty; imagine Stray’s recent material for Exit but with a techier edge. Woodrunner slaps down an infectious full-roll beat with some interesting percussion samples over a simple but effective sub line. Last but by no means least, Get Low combines hefty sub drops with a plodding trap-style drum line, filling in the gaps with skittering jungle loops.

Check out the clips of the EP below and head over to Surus to grab the EP on vinyl or digital now! Worldwide release will follow from June 9th.

Brand New World LP [Nurtured Beatz]

Nurtured Beatz have been carving a nice little niche for themselves since the label’s inception in 2013 and their 5th release sees them upping the ante with a 15 track Various Artists LP featuring up and coming producers alongside scene stalwarts like Genotype, all turning in deep dark 170BPM business.

Highlights come in the form of the kick heavy drum lines of Kolectiv & Incognito’s Circle Of Sound, the gloomy half-time atmosphere of Mystic State’s Street Talk and the menacing distorted snares and 90s techstep vibe of Paragon’s Detractors. Check out all the LPs tracks below and grab a copy from your favourite digital outlet now!