March Roundup

We round up the best of the rest once again! New music from Shogun Audio, Hospital, Soul Trader, Lockdown, Terabyte Records and more…

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Top 10 Albums of 2015

2015 has been another strong year for the D&B LP in what seems to be a growing trend for more established artists to explore their sound across a full length record rather than just churning out singles. As the year draws to a close, here’s our run down of the then best albums we’ve heard this year. In no particular order… Continue reading

October Roundup Part Two

Once again we’ve had too many good releases dropping into the inbox so here’s part two of our roundup for October featuring Arcatype, Silent Witness, Rockwell, Dub Berzerker, Soul Intent and more!  Continue reading

Premiere: Quadrant, Kid Hops & Iris – 206

The Seattle production trio of Quadrant, Kid Hops & Iris have been blazing quite a trail for themselves recently with releases for the likes of CIA, Dispatch and of course Commercial Suicide. Klute’s much revered imprint are poised to drop the 206 LP next month, and we’ve got the scoop on the title track!

With a pressure-cooker progression, crisp breaks and a pounding bassline, 206 sees Q, K & I with all eyes firmly rooted on the dancefloor for a throbbing groove that should propel any crowd into a sweat-drenched, fast-moving mess. Check out the track below and look out for the full LP dropping on October 16th.

Dojo Damager: Quadrant, Iris & Cease – Wirecutter

This week’s Damager comes courtesy of Seattle-based husband & wife team Quadrant & Iris. The duo and their regular collaborator Kid Hops are set to release their debut LP through Klute’s ever excellent Commercial Suicide imprint and the first few tracks dropped via the LP sampler last week.

While the sampler (and doubtless the forthcoming album) plays host to a varied selection of styles, one of the highlights comes on the unashamed rollout of Wirecutter, produced in collaboration with Chris Cease. Harking back to the golden era of techstep and eschewing the hyperactivity of neurofunk production, this is a straight up punishing groove with heavy drums and a low, pulsing bassline. Perfectly executed, and guaranteed to destroy a dancefloor. Yes yes!

Total Science, Quadrant & Iris – Pushin Your Luck [CIA]

CIA are back, and that means only one thing – rollers! Label owners Total Science team up with Seattle production duo Quadrant & Iris for a weighty, old school roller on Pushin Your Luck, which wins zero points for innovation but 10/10 for being big, bad and generally dangerous!

Over on the flip Obsolete gets the VIP treatment, retaining the spirit of the original but adding some cheeky little rhythm and bass tweaks to dust the cobwebs off the track; worthy, but unlikely to trouble the A side for our money. Check out the clips below and grab this one from the CIA bandcamp right now!

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Intrigue 11 [Intrigue Music]

Bristol-based label and club night Intrigue Music celebrate 11 years in the game with a tidy selection of tracks from some of the most well respected names in the game. Highlights come from Break, who remixes The Insiders’ Wonder Why with typical flair, Random Movement who dishes up a smooth jazzy refix of The Insiders’ The Rhythm and Quadrant, Kid Hops & Iris who deliver a masterclass in rolling tech on Don’t Call It Anything.

Elsewhere the release features a selection of musical yet dancefloor friendly cuts from the likes of Survival, RoyGreen and Protone, Joakuim and Eveson. Check out all the tracks below and watch out for the release dropping from Feb 24th.

Quadrant & Iris – Spinout [Commercial Suicide]

US duo Quadrant & Iris have been busy lately with releases for Dispatch, Intrigue and Avantgarde and now the duo grace Klute’s Commercial Suicide imprint with a new 12″ featuring their signature style of rolling beats and weighty bass.

The titular Spinout sees Quadrant on a solo outing, delivering a tight, techy roller embellished with some floaty synth action in the breakdowns. Next up the pair collaborate on Depth Sounder, featuring an insistent bass riff and super detailed percussion which is sure to have you nodding along. The EP wraps up with a deeper, halftime number featuring the additional talents of Calculon and Homemade Weapons, filling in the sparser beats with twin basslines and echoing vocal snippets.

Check out the clips below and watch out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital from December 16th.

In The Mix…Quadrant & Iris

To celebrate the release of Dispatch’s Transit 2 LP, US producers Quadrant & Iris have teamed up to record a slick mix of dark techstep with beats from Dispatch, Metalheadz, Commercial Suicide and beyond. The tracklist speaks for itself so check out the mix below and head over to Surus to grab your copy of Transit 2.

1. ARPXP & Rexa – No Control (Metalheadz)
2. Quadrant, Kid Hops & Iris – Borealis (Dispatch)
3. Friske – Requisite (Metalheadz)
4. Xtrah – Lost Time (Symmetry)
5. Silent Witness – Ballistix (Dispatch)
6. Fields – Colours (Utopia)
7. Survival & Silent Witness – Noise 3 (Dispatch)
8. Hybris, Quadrant, Dstruct, Iris – Graphene (Dispatch)
9. Acid Lab – Reborn (Breakfast Audio)
10. DLR – 8 bits of 16 (Dispatch)
11. Bulletproof & Optiv – Camouflage (1210)
12. Quadrant & Iris – Depth Sounder (Commercial Suicide)
13. Bone – Dark Eyes (Authentic Music)
14. Kai – Statically Assigned (Violation Music)
15. Quadrant & D-Struct – Sexy Beam (Intrigue)
16. Hydro, War & Mateba – Black Light (Inside)
17. Survival & Silent Witness – Fletcher (Homemade Weapons Rmx) (Free!)
18. Quadrant – Spinout (Commercial Suicide)
19. Quadrant, Kid Hops & Iris – Convervence (Dispatch)

Eastcolours – I Don’t Know Why (Dabs Remix) [Avantgarde]

Avantgarde Recordings returns with their third release which features some tasty beats from producers around the globe. First up Dabs gives the remix treatment to Eastcolours’ I Don’t Know Why, combining some tidy low end growl with a nice crisp break and some subtle vocal echoes.

For the second track US producers Quadrant and Iris team up to deliver a really nice slice of sci-fi influenced techstep, evoking favourable comparisons with old Virus Recordings material. Trippy, atmospheric pads echo in and out of the mix on the intro before the main break drops with some throbbing low end. The use of spoken samples in the mix is a nice touch too, adding to the cinematic quality of the track. Look out for these dropping June 10th.