A pair of new producers by the name of Macca & Kreed caught my ear recently with their track Walk With Me, forthcoming on part 1 of the Warp Speed LP for Lifestyle Recordings. The track is a beautiful piece of deep, rolling liquid with some jazzy samples and some nice vocal echoes; enough movement for the dancefloor but chilled enough for your living room. Here’s hoping for more from these two in 2013!
Renegade Hardware have been kind enough to put up a live set from Italian neurofunk don Maztek for free download from their soundcloud. Full of hench tunes and unreleased dubs, the set has exactly the vibe we’ve come to expect from both Hardware and Maztek; hard snares, rolling beats and dirty reese basslines all the way. Check it out below!
It’s always interesting to see what D&B artists can produce when they foray off into other genres, and few do so as often as the prolific ASC. When he’s not exploring the possibilities at 170BPM he’s been known to dabble in ambient, dubstep and techno. His latest work for US label Pushing Red sees him exploring the latter, with warm low end and insistent four to the floor beats being the order of the day.
Both tracks see rich, textured explorations of the classic techno build-ups and breakdowns that fans of the genre will be familiar with, and the ever-so-slightly sci-fi sounding synths combine well with the methodical drum lines to produce a seriously hypnotic effect. Check out the tunes below and look out for the release on digital and vinyl on Jan 28th.
LTJ Bukem‘s legendary Good Looking Records has been somewhat dormant for a few years now, despite continual promises from Bukem that the label will be making a resurgence. However it seems the man has finally made true on said promises, as the last couple of months have seen the first releases on the label since 2009. The latest of these is a rather tasty rework of Bukem’s classic Music by deep liquid maestro Technicolour (of Technimatic). The rework aptly captures the spirit of the original but brings the tempo up a little in line with more modern D&B releases. Smooth vibes all the way.
Over on the flip the original has been repressed, and for anyone who might have missed the 90s heyday, here it is in all it’s 10 minute long glory! Go grab yourself a copy of the release on white label from the Good Looking Store.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TppFL2LV2Zc]
Blu Mar Ten opened the doors of their label to outside talent at the end of last year to widespread acclaim, and their latest release from Stray shows a continuing commitment to releasing the best in leftfield drum & bass.
A side When It Rains is elegant, ambient, so minimal it can barely even be called drum & bass, and perfect for it. All echoes and reverb, a sculpted soundscape in every sense of the word.
Thumbprint on the flip delivers a totally different vibe, with utterly glitched vocals layered over an off kilter beat and some dark bassy stabs to create a robotic, angular sound that’s reminiscent of some of Rockwell’s tunes, if rather less angry.
Watch out for the release on Jan 28th.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere since 2006 it seems unlikely that you won’t have heard of Lifted Music. Starting early with a succession of classic releases from the likes of Spor, Evol Intent Ewun and Apex, the label had a quiet patch for a bit but has recently had all guns blazing once again with a slew of great releases over the last few months and plenty more to come.
Late last year the label came out with a seriously tidy EP in the form of From Roots To Wings. Featuring massive, futuristic tech-funk from Aeph, Memtrix, Neonlight, Receptor & Infuze, the release was all about dancefloor stompage and it delivered that by the spades.
Not content with that, Lifted squeezed out a 4 track EP from Neonlight just before Christmas with more heavy yet melodic tunes. Computer Music in particular has barely left my sets recently.
Not content with dominating the drum & bass scene, Lifted have just dropped a high quality Dubstep release from Meta with his second EP for their Lifted Dub arm. Delivering far more melody and production value than much of the over-saturated 140 BPM market but still retaining that futuristic Lifted sound, this is definitely worth a look.
Just in case you needed any further encouragement, here’s a classic from the back catalogue, Spor’s Knock You Down from LFTD001. Check it out, and grab the releases from the Lifted Store!
Marcus Intalex‘s much esteemed Soul:R imprint had an excellent 2012 and it seems that 2013 is gonna be no different. To open up the release schedule they’ve got a stunning release from Brazilian producer Bungle, and one which Intalex himself has described as ‘the best Soul:R 12″ there has been for a long time’. For once the fine words of Flava Flav are wrong – believe the hype!
Astral Travel on the A side is a beautiful understated roller than brings to mind Calibre’s best work, with simple, warm synth lines and a crisp, clean break combining to almost ethereal effect. Aura on the flip keeps things deep but changes pace slightly with an ever so slightly angular beat pattern, but again combined with superb uplifting synth leads and piano to create something simple and elegant.
Check out the tunes below and watch out for the release on Jan 21st!
The legendary Renegade Hardware label turns 18 years old next month and they’re celebrating by bringing a truly ridiculous lineup to Cable in London.
Room 1 sees Hardware bringing nothing but B2B techstep & neurofunk with scene stalwarts like Audio & Cause4Concern playing alongside newcomers such as Memtrix and Maztek. Expect heavy, heavy dubplate vibes.
Room 2 meanwhile will be playing host to deeper vibes with sets from the likes of Loxy and Skeptical and what’s sure to be a breathtaking live set from Amit.
Check out all the details here and grab yourself an early bird ticket while the getting is good!
French label IM:Ltd have been going from strength to strength recently and their latest EP Junction 12 is no exception. Due at the end of the month, it showcases the sort of depth and versatility we’ve come to expect from the label, from dark steppers like Kantyze’s Tough Breaker and Quartz’ Armour King to slightly more leftfield vibes like Es.tereo’s autonomic-esque title track.
Check out the tracks below and watch out for this one dropping January 28th!