Seba & Paradox – Delusions [Secret Operations]

Seba and Paradox reunite for their first collaboration in a while, dropping via Seba’s Secret Operations imprint. Delusions strips things right back to the bare essentials, with weighty sub, classic breaks and an ominous sliver of melody lending the tune b-boy flavour and menace in equal proportion.

Future Now keeps the bassweight and spooky vibe but swaps out the relatively steady break of the A side for a far more chopped up affair, snares and cymbals landing all over the place as the low frequencies wobble away beneath. Dangerous! Check out the clips below and look out for this on vinyl and digital from December 8th.

Escapism 2 LP [Liquicity]

Liquicity return with a sequel to their successful Escapism LP and they’ve upped the stakes with another big selection of melodic liquid D&B featuring well known names and newcomers alike.

Highlights come on the ultra deep, hypnotic vibes of Seba’s Lose Control, Maduk & Champion’s tasty relick of Future Prophecies classic September and the soft, understated melodies of Rameses B’s Memoirs VIP. The LP also features plenty of uplifting rollers from the likes of Logistics, Loz Contreras and Fliwo; dancefloor liquid fans definitely shouldn’t sleep on this.

For a flavour of the tracks on offer you can head to the relevant Soundcloud or Youtube channels, or check out the promo mix from Hugh Hardie below. Head on over to the Liquicity store to grab this on CD or find the digital at your favourite outlet now.

Mav – Sounds of the Deep [Scientific Records]

Mav drops his debut album for Scientific Records, featuring a selection of melody driven D&B tunes and some big remixes to boot. Asides from terrific compositions with tons of character, the album also features a couple of DJ friendly genre-hopping tracks, with Makati Oasis dropping down to a cheeky house-tempo bridge and Trigger the Rabbit flirting with bouncy breaks for an interlude from it’s D&B verses.

Elsewhere there’s a fantastic future-funk amen workout on Break Is The Legend and soaring arpeggios aplenty on The Dolphin and the Bassline. Remix-wise, highlights include Chris.SU’s rolling dancefloor remix of Me Against The Machine, Seba’s deep atmospheric relick of Between Heaven and the Deep Blue Sea and Bungle’s super chilled remix of Skylines. Check out the tracks below and grab this one on vinyl or digital now!

Seba – Mesmerism EP [Secret Operations]

Seba follows up on last year’s Identity LP with a varied new EP for his Secret Operations imprint. Mesmerism gets the EP off to a fine start with a skanking half-step beat and lilting, spacey leads over dubbed out low end. Next up Physickl shifts the tone with rich synths and playful acid sounds building up to an insistent stepping beat layered over an irresistibly stark hook.

Of course it wouldn’t be a Seba release without at least one trademark deep liquid tune, and Life Is delivers that sound we’ve come to know and love – understated melodies and warm, deep sub bass. This one isn’t quite up there with Under The Sun’s masterclass in liquid euphoria but it’s still a worthy addition to Seba’s impressive back catalogue. Finally Science Fiction heads for darker territory with detailed, angular percussion on a tune that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Fracture set.

Once again Seba and Secret Operations proves to be a force to be reckoned with. Check out the teaser below and look out for the release dropping very soon.

Sun & Bass – 10 Years Selection

Sun & Bass continue their tradition from last year and release another stellar compilation featuring cuts from the festival’s regular DJs, with a host of big names on board. The first half of the compilation leans heavily in the deep liquid direction, with a collection of rollers and steppers from Triad, Fracture & Mark System, Seba, Alite & Arp XP and more. Tokyo Prose steal the show for me with the sublime, twinkling piano and crisp breaks of Goodbye Hands…truly a tune you could lose yourself in.

The second half of the selection sees the heat turned up with harder beats from Klute, Chris SU and Nymfo, Dom & Roland and more. Ulterior Motive turn in a strong, squelchy stepper with Fragola Invisible and Audio Habitat collaborates with Mad Vibes for a good old fashioned dirty roller. The LP closes up with a few more soulful numbers from dBridge, Code 3 and Zero T for good measure.

Check out all the beats below and watch out for the release dropping on digital from December 16th. Don’t forget you can also pick up the sublime Calibre/Paradox remix 12″ from Surus now!

Sine Language LP [Subtitles]

After something of a period of hibernation in the wake of Calyx & Teebee’s latest album for Ram Records, Teebee’s Subtitles imprint returns in style with a massive compilation album representing all the styles of D&B. While not all the tracks are outstanding (Ulterior Motive’s Gang Rule is a bit of a let down compared to most of their material), there are more than enough top class beats here to be worthy of your attention.

Among the best tracks are the warped, hefty tech of Calyx & Teebee’s Human Reptile remix, the atmospheric drumfunk of Fanu’s Rendlesham and the epic, majestic beauty of Seba’s Under The Sun (which is without a doubt the best liquid tune you’ll hear this year). There’s also plenty on show for the deep heads, with tracks from ASC, Blocks & Escher and Mark System all tripping the leftfield path.

Check out the beats below and grab yourself a copy on vinyl, CD or digital from Surus now.

Sun & Bass 2013 Review – Part 1

After too many years of staring at the lineups and wishing I was there, 2013 was finally the year for a pilgrimage to Sun & Bass. Held in San Teodoro on the beautiful island of Sardinia, the festival offers eight nights of the best D&B DJs in the world. If you don’t believe it, have a gander at the lineup. Given the length of the event, this review will be split up into separate posts. Read on for part one…

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Seba – Shades of Me & You [Warm Communications]

Seba and Blu Mar Ten tunes hold a special place in my ever expanding collection of D&B records. Both artists have proved time and again across decades of production that while other artists in the scene may only be interested in the drop and much of D&B is aimed at the dancefloor, there is space in the genre for true musical expression. More than that, they prove that melody can be used without “doing a Fresh” and heading straight for cheese-tastic euphoria territory.

Predictably then, the latest 12″ on Warm Comms went straight onto my “must buy” list (if only labels would send me vinyl promo…a man can dream). Seba sets the tone on the A side with absolutely lush pad work over a soft, deftly syncopated beat and a warm liquid bassline that you could curl up in for the winter. Vocal snippets echo in and out of the mix to provide the final icing on a beautiful liquid-funk cake.

Not to be outdone, Blu Mar Ten turn in a shimmering remix drenched in reverb and characterised by their signature melancholy synths. Something about BMT’s mellower tracks is almost trance-inducing; the hypnotic combination of rolling yet muted beats and minor key chord progressions with wholesome sub bass always hits the spot.

Check out the previews below and watch out for this dropping on vinyl and digital from August 26th. You can even pre-order a copy from surus. Go on, you know you want to.

In The Mix…Paradox [Samurai Music]

To celebrate their 20th release from the mighty Paradox, Samurai Music have convinced the man himself to present their official podcast, and he comes correct with a quality selection of drumfunk including both sides of the aforementioned 12″, Crate Logic / Scorpius. With funk drum programming so under-represented on the scene these days, it’s good to see Paradox is still flying the flag and resisting the temptations of other more fashionable sub styles. Check out the mix below and look out for the limited edition marbled 12″ from 25th Feb on the Samurai Surus page.

Seba Album Sampler [Secops]

Swedish Drum & Bass maestro Seba is winding up to release his latest album on his own Secret Operations label, and in preparation he’s got a 12″ sampler in the works. Too Much Too Soon delivers a nice slice of warm vocal driven liquid but for me it’s all about the crisp snares and acid style bass of Say You Love Me. Watch out for the release on December 17th!