Kid Drama – Crimson / Azure E​​P [CNVX]

Jon Convex’s return from the land of all things house & techno to 170BPM pastures recently has been a source of great joy for fans of the Autonomic sound that he helped to craft, and it seems he’s so enamoured with the sound that he’s launching a new sub imprint of his Convex Industries label to deal with some of the output.

The first release on the label melds the atmospherics and unusual percussion of autonomic with sometimes growling bass and shows a talent for progression often unheard in electronic music. Azure pt 1 evolves from nothing but rhythm at the start to a sprawl of lush synthesis by the end, while pt 2 reformulates some of that synthesis into a slightly steadier composition with more of a driving beat.

The two variants of Crimson meanwhile explore darker territory, with more insistent beatwork and dark, filtered bass taking centre stage. Plenty to enjoy here if you like your beats a little unusual – check out the tracks below and hit up Bandcamp to grab the release for the entirely reasonable price of £1.

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In The Mix…Heart Drive

dBridge & Kid Drama (aka Jon Convex) return with the second of their Heart Drive mixes, coyly titled Empathy Reboot. Unlike previous installment Aut0mated L0ve, this time the tracklist is kept entirely secret…we’re guessing the tunes will surface over the coming months, but who can tell? As you’d expect the mix is full of cutting edge experimental beats, ranging from dark and growling to deep and soulful. Check it out below and grab yourself a free download!

Kid Drama – In Mind EP [Exit Records]

After the recent announcement of Heartdrive it seemed inevitable that we’d be hearing more 170BPM productions from Jon Convex under his Kid Drama alias, and the new EP he’s prepped for dBridge’s ever forward-thinking Exit Records delivers more beautiful 170BPM explorations in the spirit of Autonomic.

In Mind kicks things of with lush, melody driven ambience and subtle but insistent beat patterns before What Do You See? switches the tone, opting for dark, throbbing bass and stark half-time drum rhythms.

The deep, dark vibes continue on Retract, which sees Convex teaming up with relatively unknown Australian producer Hands Like Crime to craft a tune that’s all in the detail of the percussion (and appears to make excellent use of a sampled dial tone). Finally the appropriately titled Grind sees him recruiting Om Unit to the studio for a grimey, evil sounding tune full of frantic half-time syncopation and spooky lead synth chords.

Check out the beats below and watch out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital from 18th November.

In The Mix…Heart Drive

The recent release of a Kid Drama remix on the flip of a Jon Convex release gave me hope that the ex-Instra:mental collaborator might be returning to Autonomic sound that revolutionized 170BPM music several years ago and then vanished as Convex and cohort Bodika went on to pursue solo careers in the realms of House and Techno.

Low and behold a few days ago a tidy new mix appeared online featuring tracks from dBridge, Kid Drama and a new collaboration between the two named Heart Drive. The spirit of Autonomic is audible throughout the mix, and it’s fantastic to hear it once more. Check out the mix below and expect big things from this collaboration.