Skeptical – Something In The Sound [Exit Records]

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It’s not often we cover dubstep here on the Dojo but we’re making a rare exception here for three reasons; Skeptical, Exit Records, and sheer quality respectively. Skeppy’s new 10″ harnesses the spirit of early releases (before the tearout crew crucified the genre with endless wobble and horrible midrange noises) and blends it with the man’s talent for huge booming sub and punchy drums. Think early Tempa or DMZ but with the benefit of another ten years of engineering – formidable stuff.

Something in the Sound carries more energy with plenty of low end muscle and tasty percussion fills to shuffle the track along at as much of a pace as you’d expect for dubstep, while Talk The Talk thins out the drums to let the bass breath through a plodding kick/snare riddim. Check out the clips below and keep your eyes peeled if you want a copy – the release is vinyl only and already appears to be sold out at the Exit Store.

Ronin – Guillotine EP [Free Download]

Ever since I heard the excellent Battledrums EP I’ve been keeping a keen eye out for more releases from the rather talented Ronin. The evolution of his style has been interesting to watch too, and his latest work continues the trend started with the Once More With Venom EP and heads towards fairly D&B influenced territory.

Ronin’s cinematic style remains, as does the obvious influence of hip-hop, and the EP manages to bring together emotive piano and string elements with powerful bass and uptempo D&B-style drum work to great effect. It’s also been mixed for listening, with each track fading directly into the next to form a complete piece of music rather than four tracks with distinct beginnings and endings. Best of all you can grab the whole thing for free from Soundcloud. Highly recommended!

Coleco – Induction EP [Inflect Audio]

Bristol producer Coleco returns to his own Inflect imprint with a five track EP spanning a varied spectrum of uptempo electronica. Induction and Typtamine both explore the 170BPM domain, with the first characterised by weird rhythms and metallic snares while the latter goes in hard with a heavy hitting drum beat and big old school bass stabs; the influence of early Renegade Hardware shines through here.

The back end of the EP lowers the tempo for dubbier vibes; Micro provides a solid slice of deep, bleepy dubstep while Twenty One And Beyond experiments with the “purple” synth sound popularised by Joker. Last but no means least, Cluster combines funky soca-style drums with all manner of unusual FX and more than a hint of dub. Check out the clips below and look for this one at digital stores from October 1st.

Nuage – Prints Of You [Translation Recordings]

Nuage returns to Translation with the first glimpse of material from his forthcoming LP for the label. Lifestyle sees him teaming up with Gerwin for a deep, mellow slice of 170BPM electronica aimed firmly at the living room rather than the dancefloor, while Prints Of You drops the tempo and explores similarly lush territory; soulful influences abound and the musicality is breathtaking.

The release also features some excellent remixes, with Silent Dust turning in a hyperactive footwork rework of Sunday Morning and Planet Mu alumnus Ital Tek turns in a skittering, bleeped up mix of Prints Of You.

Clips of a fair bit of the rest of the album’s tracks have also now surfaced, the highlight of which for me is another Gerwin collab; Slow Moves brings together shimmering synth work, a laid back drum shuffle and some suitably manipulated vocal snippets for an effortlessly cool slice of downtempo electronica with a housey switchup after the breakdown. That housey theme gets explored further on Indigo Girl and Keep Me Warm, among others, with plenty of smooth melodies and head nodding kick-lines. It seems like lower tempo beats will dominate this record which is a shame given Nuage’s talent for deeper D&B, but the quality of material on show here is still great.

You can pre-order the vinyl sampler or the CD/digital version of the album via the Translation bandcamp – physical copies will be out in the wild on September 8th with full digital for the album following on September 29th.

 

Various – Enforcement EP [Authentic Music]

2014 seems to be the year of A-Cray as the budding producer storms a variety of labels with innovative, heavy hitting beats. His latest work graces Authentic Music’s 10th release as the opening track and busts some seriously unusual rhythms, with relentless kicks and unusual percussion taking centre stage in a composition that has little need of melody.

Elsewhere on the EP Epidemic gets on the remix, turning in a dark, rolling rework of Dreadmaul & MC Kryptomedic’s Mill City. Fans of the 140 sound will also find a two slabs of dark, cinematic dubstep from Hemoglobin and Architech. Can’t say fairer than that eh? Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet now.

Tiuu – All Good Things [Blu Mar Ten Music]

Blu Mar Ten Music continue their catalogue of top notch leftfield electronica with a new single from Russian producer/singer Tiiu. Fans of Synkro’s brand of “is it Dubstep, is it D&B or is it a film soundtrack” type beats will definitely appreciate the work on show here, but that’s not to say it’s a copycat job. Oozing atmosphere with its reverb drenched pads and natural sounding percussion, All Good Things is so slow as to be practically ambient, and fantastic for it. The ghostly vocal echoes are a particularly deft touch in amongst the tapestry of sounds.

Tiiu teams up with fellow Russian producer Faib to craft a slightly more beat driven Dubstep composition on the flip; the same warm atmospheres are employed here but with a little more insistence to the drums than on the positively soporific pace of the A side. Simple but effective bassline reverberations reminiscent of Distance’s growling, sludgey style provide a nice counterpoint to the more musical elements of the tune.

Check out the clips below and grab this one on digital from Blu Mar Ten’s online store now.

Snake & Wolf – Lost & Found [Free Download]

It’s always interesting to hear what the mainstays of the D&B scene get up to musically when they’re not thrashing out 170, and the latest set of uploads to The Upbeats’ Soundcloud page showcase exactly that. Lost & Found proves a rewarding collection of breakbeat, house, dubstep, hip-hop and other assorted electronica. Better still it’s all absolutely free, so have a listen and grab the tracks via Soundcloud.

Amit – The Parallel EP [AMAR]

Amit presents the second release on his own AMAR imprint, once again teaming up with Rani for vocal duties and presenting his signature style at both 170 and 140. I’ll Cut You Down treads a similar path to Human Warfare, with chunky half-step beats and tons of atmosphere, while Mr Clark goes dark and hypnotic, combining heavy sub, an old school reese lead and intricate, syncopated percussion.

On the flip side the 140 tunes come out, beginning with the classic dub sounds of Your Native God. Horns, sirens and sub are all in full effect here but the whole thing still has that signature Amit creepiness. Fans of The Bug’s King Midas Sound project should enjoy this one. Last but not least, Daaku strips things back to the bare essentials and gets that old school lead back on the go for a tidy slice of modern dubstep.

Check out the clips below and watch out for this one dropping on vinyl and digital from March 3rd.

Nian Dub – Aftermath EP [NB Audio]

Manchester’s NB Audio collective bring us another deep, dark EP this time from Nian Dub. Fans of Dub Phizix’s style of bashment influenced beats will definitely enjoy the opening track Aftermath – heavy kicks and deep sub combine with the unmistakable vocal stylings of Fox for a deft lesson in minimalism.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db0ZNeszbXQ]

Elsewhere on the EP we’re treated to dark Jungle rollers (Deliverance) rolling techstep (Antaeus), minimal steppers (Jazz Craft) and even a touch of Dub reggae and dubstep at the end of the EP – clearly Nian Dub is a man of versatile talents. Unfortunately no other tracks are online for preview, so you’ll need to pick it up to hear the rest – head to your favourite digital outlet to grab a copy.

Frustrate – Chaos Elevator EP [Chaos Audio]

Up and coming producer Frustrate unleashes his debut EP for Chaos Audio, showcasing range and versatility for someone comparitively new to the game. Alongside D&B rollers like the titular Chaos Elevator and the deep and dubby Digital, we’re also treated to Breakbeat and Dubstep beats before Endloop brings things to a close with some nice techy business.

Check out the EP below and grab yourself a copy now from your favourite digital store, out now.