Wreckless – As The Cold Hits [AutomAte]

AutomAte return once again with more beats from reliable London beatsmith Wreckless. As The Cold Hits gets the juices flowing with a detailed, rolling drum groove and ices the cake with a big scuzzy bassline and creepy atmospheric pad work; ice cold indeed.

Inhale doesn’t pull any punches either, with an ambient intro giving way abruptly to huge, crunchy bass hits and hard, metallic snares; more of a head-banger than a dancing tune, and fearsome in its intent. Check out the clips below and watch out for this one dropping at all good digital outlets from September 15th.

Break – Coming 4 U [Warm Communications]

Warm Communications return for their 30th release with a top notch double A side from the legendary Break. Coming 4 U brings together beautiful melodies on the intro, that signature Break rolling drum work we all love so much and a warm, sizzling bassline; equal parts dancefloor heft and summery musical shine.

The flip sees Break giving the remix treatment to Mako’s What A Little Moonlight Can Do. Iconic samples from the original are retained but the new remix lends the song a techier edge than the original’s floatier, more atmospheric vibe. Once again the drums here are just pristine! Check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl and digital from September 8th.

Q&A – BRKCHK [fld.Study]

BRKCHK’s latest work for Free Love Digi’s fld.Study sister-label rather piqued our interest here at the Dojo, exploring as it does the mellower end of D&B without falling into obvious liquid tropes. With that in mind, it seemed only right to pick the man’s brains for some insight into his take on the 170BPM sound.

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Trilo – Enterprise / Prozac [Renegade Hardware]

Fresh from contributions to the recent Multiverse and Compound One EPs for Hardware, Trilo delivers his first solo release for the label with three excellent new tracks. Enterprise gets the ball rolling with a crisp break, punchy bass and an emphasis on groove, while Prozac shifts focus slightly with a mildly hyperactive bassline set over another tidy backbone of solid breaks and futuristic atmospheres.

Digital buyers are also treated to another hyperkinetic roller with plenty of b-line character in the form of Barracks. Tons to like here, and tons of potential – we look forward to more from Trilo in the future. Check out the clips below and watch out for the release hitting the streets from September 8th on vinyl and digital.

Hex – Slugproof [Free Love Digi]

Dojo’s very own Hex sneaks another tune out via Quentin Hiatus’s Free Love Digi imprint. Slugproof brings together sharp breaks, bouncy bass and a cheeky vocal sample for a tune with plenty of roll and a side helping of swagger. 10 points if you can spot the classic rap group sampled! Check it out below and grab yourself a free download via the FLD Soundcloud.

Fixate – Pum Pum / System Malfunction [Diffrent Music]

Diffrent continue their excellent trend for pushing the boundaries of 170BPM music with a weird and wonderful new single from Fixate. Pum Pum melts down soca, ragga and dub influences into an infectious head nodder driven along by it’s hypnotic and hyperactive vocal cut. Pum-puppa-pum-pum-puppa-pum!

System Malfunction on the flip explores similar drum patterns and repetitive elements, with a melodic rather than vocal sample taking centre stage to provide the soundtrack to a crazy rave in someone’s mainframe. Pure D&B heads will doubtless hate it, but that’s just how the Giraffe-steppers roll. Check out the clips below and grab yourself a copy from the Diffrent store now!

Friske – Speculate [Metalheadz]

Friske is a name I haven’t heard frequently enough since first coming across his deadly collaboration with Perpetuum, Step Upway back in 2006. It’s good to see him back in the scene and gracing the mighty Metalheadz with new beats, and his new three tracker for the Meth XX series is well worth a listen.

All atmosphere and drum groove, the tracks remind me of Paradox’s work except for with less reliance on classic breaks, the percussion instead taking a slightly more modern approach. This one’s out now on vinyl and digital – check out the clips below and go grab a copy from your favourite outlet.

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.

 

Incognito – Under The Dome / Autopilot [Vandal Records]

Vandal Records continue their run of excellent releases with two solid atmospheric tech steppers from Incognito, who the attentive among you may recognise from his previous releases for Dutty Audio, Proximity Recordings and Nurtured Beatz.

Under The Dome combines lush sci-fi atmospheres with a rolling break and some tasty bass modulations; perhaps not the most innovative track this year, but sure to get your head nodding nonetheless. Autopilot meanwhile goes deeper, with a beat driven along by insistent shakers and a pleasant atmosphere crafted from echoing piano hits and deep sub vibrations.

Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital outlet now.

Foreign Concept – Make Meals EP [Critical Music]

Foreign Concept lands with a new EP on Critical Music featuring a fair variety of styles. Title track Make Meals is sure to garner plenty of attention as the most unusual work on the release, but for me it wears it’s hip-hop and trap influences a little too obviously on it’s sleeve, and the end result is big and boomy but not that interesting.

The EP comes into it’s own elsewhere, with beautiful liquid roller Endless Fade and huge stomping techstepper The Volks proving the highlights. There’s also a solid (if a little tame) remix of Falling Stars from labelmate Hyroglifics, and an autonomic-esque Klax collaboration in the form of Ask Yourself. A mixed bag then, but with some gems; check out the clips below and grab this one from Beatport or the Critical Store now!