Q & A – Volatile Psycle [Terabyte]

Volatile Psycle have been making waves lately with their crunching D&B and Glitch Hop productions, with a tidy selection of releases already out and more to come. Ahead of their new single for Terabyte Records, we caught up with the duo to find out a little more about the Norwich scene and their approach to the craft.

DNB Dojo: Hi guys! First up, for those who aren’t familiar can you introduce yourself to the DNB Dojo readers?

Volatile Psycle: Ez! We are Volatile Psycle, aka Dan Lawrence (Volatile) and Jimmy Chick (Psycle).

DD: How did you guys get into the D&B scene? Did you start out as DJs, or producers?

VP: Dan got into D&B through a school friend, and soon built up a collection of tape-packs as his obsession grew. In his late teen’s he started producing music and after only recently teaming up with Psycle has added mixing to his skills.

Jim’s older brother was hugely into his dance music so Jim grew up with D&B, Garage and Hardcore featuring heavily in his daily life. After helping form DSOB (Darker Shade Of Bass) with some other local DJ’s Jim also went to University to hone his production and recording skills.

DD: Given the disparity in tempo between D&B and Glitch Hop, how do you integrate the two styles in your sets? Any plans for DJ friendly cross-over tunes?

VP: We decided on starting a set off with some nasty Glitch, get everyone bouncing, then slam it into D&B and the place goes off. We either use certain tracks that have a tempo change or just chop at an appropriate point which can work wonders as it can catch people out. It keeps people on their toes! But yeah we have a couple of tempo surfing tracks in the pipeline…watch this space.

DD: What’s the scene like in Norwich? Any other local talents hiding out there we should be keeping an eye on?

VP: The D&B scene has always been there in Norwich, plenty of heads get to Rumble or Color consistently. Big shout should go to Matty Perfection (T.I.) for his hard work on that front. DSOB also used to get down big names on a regular basis, I’d say D&B is a winner wherever you are in the country really. Glitch Hop is a sleeping giant at the minute though, whenever we drop big 110bpm tracks out you can see everyone looking around thinking ‘what is this!?’ But its still to really catch hold of a big following among Norfolk’s finest.

Talent wise you have our regular cohort Charged who we’ve made a couple of our big swing influenced Glitch tracks with, the aforementioned T.I. who’s getting releases on DJ Markie’s Innerground recordings and Flat T wh’os doing well in the jump-up scene.

DD: What’s your favourite piece of gear in the studio (hardware or software)?

VP: Reason 7 and the Mackies, we swear by them!

DD: What’s your all time favourite D&B tune? If I had to guess my money would be on something pretty hefty, maybe Noisia?

VP: Such a tough question. So many to choose from, but I would say yeah, Noisia – Program. Jim’s has to be either Noisia & KRSOne – Exodus or The Upbeats and Noisia – Creep Out.

DD: You’ve got a great new single coming out for Terabyte, any other releases you can tell us about?

VP: Yeah, we are really happy with this release on Terabyte, we can both see the label really taking off soon. We don’t often go for the more minimalistic style, dubbed ‘Yard’ round these ways. We have a big techy free release on Nocid the day before our Terabyte debut, and have a few new cross genre tracks which will be dropping before the year is out too….

DD: Do you struggle to avoid the use of comedy Alan Partridge samples in your tunes?

VP: Aha! We have spoken about it before, just can’t really see Alan’s voice fitting in above a filthy reese though!


Check out the beats below and watch out for the single dropping in all good digital stores from September 2nd.

Ed:it – Defects / Ideology [Commercial Suicide]

Klute’s Commercial Suicide imprint returns once again, this time with a techstep 12″ from promising up and comer Ed:it. Fresh from releases for Blu Mar Ten Music, Rooted Records and Alignment, the Nottingham based producer has come correct for Suicide with a pair of dark, rolling tunes with a dash of soul and plenty of character.

Defects leads the charge with an echoing vocal sample reverberating out over the chunky percussion and dark, warping sub bass. Over on the flip Ideology takes the beat to more stepping territory, setting the same warping bass style to calm pad work and a grimier vocal cut.

Both tunes do a great job of showcasing a duality with soft harmonic elements complementing the rough and tough techstep style to great effect. Check out the beats below and watch out for the release dropping September 2nd.

Maztek – What We Bring / Caph [Dutty Audio]

Maztek rolls in heavy with the latest release for BTK’s appropriately named Dutty Audio imprint. The monstrous What We Bring showcases the sound we’ve come to know and love from Maztek, with heavy hitting kicks and snares alongside a twisted bassline and some nice vocal work from Nuclear MC. High energy darkness all the way on this one!

Caph keeps things veritably runnin’ with another display of full-on, sumo-weight tech funk; clattering drum rolls punctuate the warping bass distortion nicely on this one. Watch out for these dropping on September 16th from all good outlets.

Evol Intent – Suicide [Free Download!]

Originally released back in 2005 of the Guerilla Warfare compilation on Renegade Hardware, today’s freebie is a nice little remaster of Evol Intent’s classic darkstep belter Suicide. Tough amens, vicious bass stabs, a healthy dose of glitch and a nicely acid-tinged lead combine to give this tune every bit as much edge as it had eight years ago. Check it out and grab yourself a free download below!

Total Science – See Your Face EP [Shogun Audio]

Scene legends Total Science drop their debut EP for Friction’s Shogun Audio imprint, showcasing a nice variety of sub styles of D&B. The titular See Your Face sees the duo team up with go-to female vocalist Riya for a silky smooth liquid roller, all crisp drums and piano. While the tune isn’t gonna win any medals for innovation, the execution is flawless and the combination of Total Science and Riya isn’t one I’m gonna get bored of anytime soon.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0F03eWF3KA]

Straight into track two the duo switch things up immediately with the deadly vibes of Hush Ya Mouth, clattering straight into energetic territory with a tear-out dancefloor smasher. This one will be doing the damage in the clubs!

Out into the back end of the EP Just Want You provides an interesting juxtaposition of cut up vocal samples with blasting techstep bass set over a pretty cut-up drum line. Finally, Riya gets involved once again with a surprise tempo shift down to deep Garage territory on Suspicious. Something for everyone! Check out the previews and look out for this dropping on vinyl and digital from Monday August 26th.

Callide & Intraspekt – Space Theory / Equinox [The Zoooo Records]

Hot on the heels of their collab for XEX Audio, Callide & Intraspekt return with another pair of absolutely stomping tunes, this time for Crissy Criss’s The Zoooo Records.

Space Theory opens the salvo with a dirty reese bassline that signals serious business. Combining the energy and impact of jump up with the grit and production values of tech and neuro, this tune is a dancefloor weapon to be reckoned with.

Equinox meanwhile does a great job of lulling me into a false sense of security with a lush intro built on piano and guitar licks. Just as you’re beginning to wonder if the duo had a few too many whiskeys in the studio and got a bit emotional the drop busts in like a hundred ton slab of granite to the jaw; clattering breaks and an absolutely pounding bassline combine to absolutely wreck the place. Distorted 808s have never done so much damage.

Watch out for these dropping August 26th via all good outlets.

Altered Perception – Phantom Power / Bricks [BASSordeath]

Terabyte Records co-founder Altered Perception steps up to give us a pair of heavy-hitting techstep rollers for US label BASSordeath. Both tracks display tasty warped basslines and crisp, rolling percussion, with Bricks adding in some apt hip-hop sampling for good measure.

Check out the clips below and watch out for these dropping via all good digital outlets on August 26th.

Philth & Wreckless – Overload / Remember [Automate Tech]

Automate Tech returns with another excellent pair of tunes from the appropriately named Philth. The man goes in solo on the A-side bringing dark, gnarly vibes in the form of Overload. Sci-fi samples, moody pads, skittering percussion and gravelly low end combine to form a belter of a tune that reminds me of old Audio tunes on Subtitles and clearly draws inspiration from a host of the best tech and neuro.

Remember on the flip sees Philth teaming up with Wreckless to deliver a skittering reese tearer with some seriously deft percussion work defining the track. Once again dark and gritty is the order of the day here, with seriously brooding atmosphere on the intro giving way to morphing basslines that are sure to see screwfaces on the dancefloor.

Watch out for these dropping via all good digital outlets on September 16th.

In The Mix…DJ Dara

New York’s DJ Dara gets behind the decks to deliver a concept mix packed full of tunes both old and new, with one underlying theme – memorability. Featuring classic cuts such as Digital’s Deadline alongside modern anthems like S.P.Y’s remix of In The Waiting Line, Dara blends liquid, tech and dancefloor styles to great effect. Check it out and grab a free download below.

In The Mix…T & Sugah

Dutch DJ/production duo T & Sugah drop a tasty minimix featuring a tidy selection of D&B from across the spectrum of sub genres. Tracks from the likes of Black Sun Empire sit in the mix alongside mainroom liquid beats from Netsky and a host of other recognisable anthems from the last few years. Check it out!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLn3cZxRsyU]