Monthly Archives: October 2014

Aeph – Fall For You / Seadrome [Lifted Music]

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Italian future-funk don Aeph returns to Chris Renegade’s Lifted Music imprint with a cracking double-A side featuring more of his high energy neurofunk beats. Fall For You opens things up with a full-on hands in the air intro featuring the vocal talents of Tasha Baxter before dropping into a big gnarly bass workout that never stops shifting. This one has main-room written all over it, and it’s a bit on the cheesy side, but the engineering is undeniable, and sometime s a big cheesy banger is just irresistible.

Flipside Seadrome treads similar ground but dials the cheese-factor back a little in favour of a heavier hitting combo of big breaks and squelchy bass morphs, with an insistent chord progression adding to the energy. Dirty vibes! Check out the clips below and grab this one from your favourite digital store from October 27th.

Dispatch Dubplate Series

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Dispatch have been making waves once again with the launch of their latest project, the Dispatch Dubplate series. Featuring new tracks, remixes and VIPs from the Dispatch Stable (including one vinyl exclusive track per release) and a limited press of 300 copies per release, vinyl fans will need to be quick off the block to lay hands on these!

The theme from the series so far has been no nonsense rolling techstep, with the first release featuring a big dirty Break remix of DLR, Hydro, Mako & Villem’s The Formula and DLR & Xtrah’s long sought after Direct Approach. Vol. 2 is no slouch either, with Survival serving up the Outlook VIP of Dub Soldier and the flip featuring two fresh cuts from SCAR, including a vinyl only VIP of Call To Arms.

Volume 1 has already sold out on the Dispatch store and volume 2 looks set to follow, so head over to Redeye or the Dispatch store swiftly if you want to pick up the vinyl releases; digital is set to follow from November 10th. The latest news from the Dispatch Facebook feed has unveiled the tracklisting for Vol.3 including Break & DLR’s Murmur VIP, a new VIP of DLR’s Tugboat and a fresh new DLR track in the form of Regeneration, while Ant TC1’s latest mix for Bassic reveals that Zero T & Alix Perez’s 2007 banger Ladders is set to finally receive a release via the Dubplate series.

Here at the Dojo we’ve enjoyed the first two releases so much we decided to put together a cheeky vinyl only Dispatch Dubplates mini-mix; check that out below (or directly on Mixcloud here) and head over to your favourite outlet to grab the plates while you still can!

[mixcloud http://www.mixcloud.com/DnBDojo/dispatch-dubplate-minimix/ width=580 height=300 hide_cover=1 hide_tracklist=1]

Maduk & Nymfo – Motions EP [Fokuz Recordings]

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Maduk & Nymfo’s occasional collaborations are always a treat, as anyone who checked out last year’s 12″ for Allsorts will know. Their latest work touches down on Fokuz later this month and features three top notch emotive rollers, all with one eye on the melody and the other on the dancefloor. Deep, hypnotic euphoria is the order of the day on Motions, with similar vibes on the nicely guitar embellished strains of Approaching Me.

Tatta Ganja meanwhile proves the surprise of the bunch, bringing together garagey stabs and dub horns with a jungle-tinged break for a skanking slice of dubwize business. Anyone looking for something a little less aggressive but still with plenty of bounce should look no further! Check out the clips below and watch out for this dropping on vinyl and digital from October 27th.

Odd Harmonics – Traveller EP [Roughmind]

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Berlin label Roughmind serve up their latest release from London based producer Odd Harmonics. The EP shows off a nice variety of musical styles, with influences from across the spectrum of D&B showing through. Reflekt betrays an affinity with the chopped up beats of drumfunk producers like Paradox, while False Positive serves up a skittering, brooding halfstep beat set to twisted bass growls and soft, atmospheric pads.

The latter half of the EP takes things in a techier and more stripped back direction, bringing to mind early Octane & DLR productions like Back In The Grind. Both Routine and Traveller bring a nice blend of warped bass, crisp beats and creepy overlays to the table.

You can also find a nice little promo mix to go with the release featuring beats from Odd Harmonics alongside cuts from Calibre, Loxy, G.H.O.S.T., Paradox and more. Check it out below, and watch out for the release dropping from October 24th at all good digital stores.

Kiyoko – Fragments EP [Samurai Horo]

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Synkro & Bering Straight’s Kiyoko project returns to Samurai’s vinyl-only Horo imprint with another lush EP of downtempo beats. Fans of the duo’s work will know what to expect – effortlessly beautiful compositions with massive, sweeping pads, soft percussion and a decidedly “less is more” approach. The whole EP is stunning but the achingly beautiful echoed guitar melodies of Lost Object stand out in particular. Check out the clips below and head to the Samurai Music store to grab this one now.

Pennygiles – Stories Untold Remixes [IM:Ltd]

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IM:Ltd’s latest release sees Pennygiles’ Stories Untold getting the remix treatment no less than three times. Nymfo turns in a dank dancefloor refix which keeps the soul of the tune but bolsters it with a tough break and a hefty wall of sub bass, while the flipside of the 12″ sees Pennygiles teaming up with French liquid producer Redeyes for a typically deep and satisfying roller.

Out into the digital extras, Diffrent Music’s Arkaik twists up Stories Untold into a darker and altogether more angular form, while Robustus turns drops things down even deeper with a half-time rework and some nice glitchy touches. Great work as ever from the IM:Ltd camp – check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl and digital now.

Dub Berzerka – Call Girl / Anubis [Such Music]

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LA’s Such Music return with a great new single from Mannheim producer Dub Berzerka. A side Call Girl proves a jazzy, soul-tinged roller with a warm undercurrent of wobbly sub bass and a cheeky guitar hook that should put a smile on everyone’s face…let’s just hope it’s not secretly about Mr Berzerka’s love of prostitutes!

Anubis keeps things crisp and rolling but heads for deeper territory with big, floaty pads and a less summery, more hypnotic vibe; definitely one to lose yourself in on the dancefloor. Check out the clips below and pick this one up from your favourite digital outlet now.

Break, Mako, Fields & Villem – Shadowlines [Utopia Music]

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The Utopia dream-team combine forces once again for a predictable but nonetheless satisfying slice of rolling tech-funk. Fans of the crew’s output will know what to expect – crisp breaks, grimey bass and the kind of production values that 40 odd years combined experience brings to the table!

Over on the flip Mako has signed up something distinctly mellower in tone from rising liquid producers Chromatic, who turn in a blissful slice of melodic D&B which is smooth as silk as it washes over the eardrums. Once again, maybe not the world’s most original stylings but the execution more than makes up for it, and the warmth and groove are up there with the best of the scene. Check out the clips below and look out for this on vinyl (which you can pre-order now at Redeye) and digital from 27th October.

Low Profile – Distance Awareness [Reserve Audio]

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RSRV004LP cover art OK

As regular readers may have noticed we always love getting sent something unexpected, and the Distance Awareness LP provided a pleasant surprise when it fell into our mailbox recently.

Fans of the deeper and more atmospheric end of D&B and it’s crossover with other forms of electronica will definitely enjoy this one, as the Prague based duo take us a journey spanning ten tracks and taking in influence from dub, hip-hop, minimal D&B and beyond. Favourable comparisons with Kryptic Minds’ dubstep outings and the sort of half-time beats coming out of the Samurai Music stable spring to mind, but that’s not to say this is mere copycatting; there’s plenty of originality to be found here.

Ultimately the music is always best left to speak for itself, so check out the tracks below and grab the LP from Bandcamp now!

Audio – Nil By Mouth EP [RAM Records]

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Anyone concerned by Audio’s move from Virus to RAM and the implications for his sound needn’t have worried if this latest EP is anything to go by – his signature high impact sound is in full effect and hasn’t softened at all at his new home on Andy C’s imprint.

All four tracks provide gritty hard-edge D&B in spades, but my favourites come on Break It and Gotham, the former making great use of ever shifting drum samples and some old school reese bass business while the latter brings the more angular, menacing beat patterns that fans of Audio’s older work for Freak Recordings will remember fondly. For the sample spotters amongst you, this isn’t the first time Audio has lifted dialogue from a Batman movie – see his excellent Power of Fear release for Subtitles for another nice bit of cinematic appropriation.

The nil by mouth EP drops on vinyl and digital from all good stores from Sunday 19th October – head to the RAM Store or your favourite outlet and grab it!