Regular readers of the blog will probably already be familiar with Leeds-based upstart Transmission Audio. Altered Perception, Peak and Sanction have been busy over the last year building a fierce catalogue of dark, edgy D&B from up and coming producers like Komatose, Skepsis and Xsetra, and they’ve even found time to start a sister Sub:mission imprint to put out some more melodic beats.
With the labels moving from strength to strength, and the releases dropping all too quickly, the Dojo crew decided it was time for a wee retrospective on the last few releases and what’s to come over the next few months.
Out around two weeks ago, the Transmission’s 8th release saw Xsetra return to the label with a pair of dark rollers worthy of any techstep fan’s collection. Wicked Manifest blends ragga vocals and eastern strings with a stomping drum line and dark, brooding bass hits, while Tensions strips back the more melodic elements for a dark drum workout replete with glitchy FX and mad percussion switchups.
Hot on the heels of the Xsetra single, last week Voyage made his debut on the label for their 9th single. Homage kicks things off with riotous drumfunk programming remeniscent of Paradox or Photek, punctuated with jazzy synth sweeps and all manner of unusual sampling in between. Over on the flip, Valgarian strips things back for a dubby, ominous tune that retains the crisp, interesting percussion but dials back the cut ups a few notches.
Not to be out-done, Sub:mission’s fourth release in May from E-quartermass (and his debut release to boot) proved a treat for fans of the liquid sound, with deep, atmospheric synth work and crisp breaks characterising both Skycity and Entanglement. It’s always nice to hear from producers with at least one eye on the armchair rather than both locked on the dancefloor, and the musicality on show on these tracks suggests a promising talent with plenty more to offer.
So what’s to come for the future? The crew have thusfar been tight lipped on future releases other than to offer the titbit that they’ve signed a new liquid track from Malk, which may prove quite a coup for Sub:mission when it drops. Not content with running two labels, they’re also busy beta testing a new online D&B radio station in the form of Transmission Radio. It seems safe to say we can expect to hear plenty more than the Transmission camp over the rest of 2014 and beyond. For now, check out Peak’s retrospective Transmission vs. Submission mix below and head to your favourite digital store to grab any of their back catalogue.