Cern – Nostromo EP [Renegade Hardware]

Cern turns in his latest EP for the mighty Renegade Hardware, serving up a slice of dark, brooding techstep steeped in atmospherics. Opener Nostromo keeps the foot off the gas and the rhythms leftfield, with fantastic half-step (three-quarter step?) percussion and some great cymbal rings laid over ominous bass growls and eerie pads. Into Organism Cern brings things up to full pace with a rolling break and some twisted bassline business; the spirit of ’97 techstep brought out in 2013’s production quality.

Formless sees Cern teaming up with Russian producer Receptor for a hypnotic techno-influenced stomper that evokes memories of Raiden’s productions for Offkey. Finally When The Time Comes closes things out in style with a deep, subby roller. Not the usual hard as nails style from Hardware, but still bearing their mark of quality, this EP is one for the heads. Watch out for the release dropping on vinyl & digital from October 28th.

 

Pennygiles & Phil Tangent – Stories Untold / We Don’t Talk Anymore [IM:Ltd]

IM:Ltd bring us a split single dedicated to breakups from Pennygiles and Phil Tangent. The A-side sees ‘giles delivering an impassioned deep liquid roller that’s characterised by soft pads and tough-edged breaks.

Over on the flip Phil Tangent conjures up lush, bountiful atmospherics with a hint of jazz on the intro before diving in deep with crisp, rolling breaks and warm, inviting sub bass.

Watch out for this one dropping on vinyl and digital from November 25th.

The Qemists – No More [Ninja Tune]

The Qemists aren’t a name I’ve paid a huge amount of attention to over the years – the last time their work excited me much was 2007’s Stompbox, and it was the Spor remix I rinsed out the most. Their rock-infused take on D&B, while undeniably stomping has always felt a bit lacking somehow.

New single No More sees them treading fairly familiar ground stylistically and while the original mix is a bit too “cheesy rap-rock” for my ears the VIP has the heft and grit that I always loved about the Spor remix of Stompbox. Unfortunately you can’t hear it yet, so check out the teaser video below and keep your eyes peeled for the clips when they drop later in the month.

In The Mix…Esion

Automate head honcho Esion gets on the 1s and 2s to deliver a stomping 75 minute mix of wall to wall neurofunk bangers. The tracklist speaks for itself really with beasting tracks from the likes of Prolix, Black Sun Empire, Break, The Upbeats, Noisia, Spor and Ed Rush to name just a few. Check it out below and grab yourself a free download in 320!

L 33 – Piedestal / All I Want [Avantgarde]

Once again Avantgarde live up to their name, hitting us with the cutting edge of 170BPM production. Their third single comes from Bulgarian producer L 33 who serves up two slices of stripped back tech funk with heavy hitting mechanical sounding drums, gritty bass stabs and echoing vocal samples. Both Piedestal and All I Want are steeped in a rich, textured atmosphere and clever use of percussion gives the tunes tons of character.

Check out the beats below and grab the single from your favourite outlet now!

Mefjus – Contemporary EP [Critical]

Critical return with an EP of techie beasts from Mefjus, the Austrian pretender to Phace’s neuro-bass throne. The titular track sees the man pairing up with scene stalwart Icicle to create a warped, tearing smasher imbued with skittering, intricate percussion and some ridiculously exacting bassline modulations. Next up comes the riffy basswork and sharp, synthetic snare work of Dissuade, which takes it’s name from the robotic sample pleading “please don’t do that”.

Out into the digital bonus tracks Leakproof adopts a glitchier aesthetic with an angular beat pattern punctuated by stabs of melody, bass and FX to create a track that will keep the listener guessing. Finally Mob Rule builds up with synth swells to a stomping half-time beat with a singing, 8-bit tinged synth section at the very top end giving the tune character.

Check out the beats below and watch out for the full release dropping October 28th on vinyl and digital.

Classic Track: Ganja Kru – Super Sharp Shooter

Today’s classic comes straight outta 1995 with Zinc’s classic hip-hop/jungle fusion tune Super Sharp Shooter. From the now legendary use of samples from LL Cool J and Method Man to the innovative use of half-time beats on the slouchy, dubbed out intro through the double-time jungle breaks and wobbly bass of the main verse, the tune still oozes class almost twenty years on.

The breaks might sound scratchy compared to modern beats but this one has character by the bucket load and always gets the floor bouncing. If by some miracle you don’t know it, get to know. For the rest of you it’s time to sit back, relax and reminisce on a simpler time.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2KZoWLot0g]

FIS – Homologous [Void Coms]

Kiwi producer FIS continues to push the boundaries of weird, experimental electronica on the fringes of the D&B scene with his latest release for Void Coms. The tracks display a deft appreciation for sound design and unusual rhythms, along with a complete disregard for conventional song structure.

This is not the work of an artist looking to churn out DJ friendly singles or be tied to a genre or style of someone else’s creation; rather, the record sounds like an attempt to fuse the atmospherics and deep bass of experimental D&B with the more free-form compositional style of ambient music and noise.

Deeply cinematic, so leftfield it’s off the pitch and doubtless not everyone’s cup of tea. Check out a preview of the EP below. Go on, challenge yourself.

NJC – Bipolar State [Ambiel]

NJC turns his pop sensibilities to the drum & bass craft with Bipolar State, a nice slice of dancefloor 170 with more musicality than most. Deft breaks nod the head to Jungle and some nice synth work gives the tune an infectious melody without resorting to overly cheesy euphoria. Last but by no means least the tune packs some tidy bass heft after the drop.

Check out the official video for the tune below and watch out for the single dropping from 4th of November with a VIP edit on the flip.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jddoBRVL2W4]

Klute – The Draft [Commercial Suicide]

After hearing the sampler for the album a few weeks ago I couldn’t wait to get my grubby mits on the full copy of The Draft. The handful of tracks on the sampler held the promise of an album that would be far more than just 12 tracks of back to back drum & bass, and the body of work delivers on that promise in spades.

From the epic, beatless serenity of intro track Sober Light of Day through the eastern vibes of Turnaround and into the deep liquid and unusual vocals of Seperation, Klute’s varied listening on the “creative vacation” he took before writing this album shines through in the compositions. Hints of everything from Brian Eno to Pink Floyd are present in the music, and some of the tracks like Last Words and Our Pretty Lives accomplish a kind of psychedelic texture seldom heard in electronic music (and I’m not talking about the cheap “trippy” psychedelia of psy-trance either).

Elsewhere Klute delves into beautiful, playful IDM on House of Maciver, takes a few tips from the garage school of melody on My Black And White and explores deep, soulful liquid on Gaze Into Your Eyes. There’s even space for a couple of good old fashioned hard-edged rollers in the form of Sick Drive and Best Bits Not Over. Overall the record not only sets a new benchmark for variety and quality within a D&B album but it proves that the genre still has so much space for exploration; that high tempo and traditional breakbeat patterns do not pigeon-hole an artist stylistically.

Check out clips from the album below, pre-order a copy on CD, vinyl or digital from Surus and watch out for the full release on Monday.