Tag Archives: Techstep

Philth & Wreckless – Poison [Automate]

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Bristol’s Automate DnB have been carving themselves a nice little niche as purveyors of dirty tech beats via their Automate Tech imprint and their latest release delivers more of that from big and small names alike.

The A side sees Philth & Wreckless team up for a deep, dark, reese-imbued stepper with some deftly off-kilter breakbeat work that brings to mind some of Skitty’s older releases. Filled with both depth and grit, the track marks out these new producers as ones to watch.

Over on the flip the label scores a remix from the mighty Raiden who puts his touch to Arclight’s Pluroform. Gone are the clattering breaks of the original, replaced with a deeper, more tribal rhythm and some nice bass sweeps, making a great match for the deep and dark of the A-side.

Look out for this one dropping May 6th via all good digital stores!

Mastif – Enter The Dark Rift EP [Mindtech]

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Hungarian up-and-comer Mastif delivers four slices of dark, deadly neurofunk for Mindtech Recordings. Following in the footsteps of the likes of Jade and Mindscape, there’s no messing around on this EP; from the first track it’s straight into heavy, rolling breaks and warped neuro basslines with heavy sub underpinnings. The classic sci-fi vibes present on so many dark drum & bass releases ring through here too, but that’s not to dismiss this as identikit beats; this EP comes from a producer who’s at the top of his game, and it shows in the tightness of production and attention to detail present throughout.

Check out the tracks below and grab the release from your favourite digital outlet, out now!

M-zine, Scepticz & MTWN – Otomy (Mos Beef Edit) [Free Download]

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MTWN team up with M-zine & Scepticz to bring us a tidy freebie in the form of their “Mos Beef Edit” of Otomy. Hip-hop enthusiasts will spot the vocal as lifted from Mos Def & Talib Kweli’s What’s Beef?, and the boys have put it to good use overlayed on a gritty stepper’s beat. Best of all you can grab it for free! Check it out below.

Hybris – The Gravitron EP [Dispatch]

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Dispatch Recordings return with another great EP, this time from Czech techstep don Hybris. The appropriately named Gravitron EP has a really mechanical, robotic vibe to it, eschewing the organic sounds that some artists seek for a hyper-produced digital sound. The pick of the bunch for me is the superb drum-work and sub growl of Losing It. Look out for this dropping on April 1st and grab yourself a pre-order from Surus.

In The Mix…Homemade Weapons

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Up and coming US D&B producer Homemade Weapons brings us a tidy mix for Vancouver bass crew Fractured Technique! This one is all clattering snares and darkness, and with support from the likes of Loxy, dBridge, Skeptical, Clarity, Hybris, it’s no surprise. Check out the mix below and keep an eye on the FT Facebook page for news on their events.

Sunchase – As We Look Remix / Proper Things [22:22]

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Sunchase & Nickbee bring the fire for the third release on their 22:22 imprint! First up Teddy Killerz & Malk are let loose on Moving Shadow classic As We Look for a belting new remix which amps things up a bit while retaining the spirit of the original. Over on the flip the pair deliver a nicely off-kilter grimey stepper in the form of Proper Things which moves seamlessly between full and half-step beats.

As a celebration of the release 22:22 have kindly given away their Proper Harder Things refix of the B side which delivers exactly what you’d expect from the title; beats and bass have both been beefed up to the max to deliver a total smasher! Check it out below and grab a free download, and grab the full release from your favourite digital store now!

Mindmapper & Fre4knc – Martial Manners EP [Translation]

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US label Translation have delivered a great little EP this month from Mindmapper & Fre4knc. Equal parts grit and soul, the EPs tracks combine nice use of melodic overlays and soft pads with growling low end tight drum arrangements, and showcases a variety of styles, from the grimey stepper vibes of Collesius through the floatier vibes of Shutter Angel and out into the offbeat amen-tinged half-step of Mind of Steel. These boys are definitely ones to watch for 2013 and beyond!

Check out the tracks below and grab yourself a copy on vinyl or digital from the Translation Bandcamp page.

Sunaivod – The Wreckage [Free Download]

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I recently came across the rather talented up and coming dutch producer Sunaivod via a friend’s recommendation, and was particularly impressed with the quality of his output. Rugged, hard edged neurofunk is the order of the day here, and better still the man has a tidy freebie up on his Soundcloud page in the form of The Wreckage. Check it out and grab yourself a free download below!

Get To Know…Dispatch Recordings

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Leeds-based Dispatch Recordings have been a steady part of the D&B scene for well over a decade now, with a well deserved reputation for releasing tough, rugged tracks from some of the best names in the scene. Never compromising their integrity in favour of current trends, the label has truly gone from strength to strength over the past few years with a couple of massive LP releases and a slew of singles and EPs to boot.

Early releases on the label saw tunes from the likes of Hidden Agenda, NOS and Q-Project taking centre stage, not to mention a rather tasty collaboration between Chris.Su, Stress Levels and Ant TC1.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXN3P3OssZs]

Having gained this momentum, 2008 saw the label step up a gear with their first release from the mighty Break (collabing with Survival on the Sick/Warnings 12″). From here on in the discography speaks for itself, with a massive selection of great tracks from the likes of Hybris, EBK, Amoss and Octane & DLR (who’s 2012 LP Method in the Madness was widely hailed as one of the albums of the year).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rDt5LiA_nw]

All of this brings us up to the present day and the rather excellent release last month of Survival & Silent Witness’ LP In From The Wild. Every bit as high quality as the Octane & DLR album last year, and lavishly released on both vinyl and CD formats, the tracks below speak for themselves.

So if you don’t know Dispatch, sit down and have a browse of the back catalogue!

Audio Habitat – The Raising [Sidechain]

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Frankfurt based label Sidechain Music and production quartet Audio Habitat are both new names to me, so it was something of a surprise to come across an LP of such quality from names I’m so unfamiliar with.

The LP delivers gritty, well engineered techstep in spades, some tracks like Slow Motion going for deeper, darker vibes while numbers like Reload and Smoking deliver straight up tearing neurofunk. The tunes are deservedly getting support from some big names in the scene, great vibes! Watch out for the full release on March 25th.

As if that wasn’t enough the label are giving away two full tunes for free to celebrate the release – check those out below and grab yourself some tasty free goodness!