Back in the early days of Critical Music and back when Breakage still made music at D&B tempo, Kasra’s then fledgling imprint offered up the veritable amen smasher that is Staggered Dub. Breaks that are tougher than aged leather, massive dub bass and that oh so memorable vocal snippet make this every bit as much of a weapon as it was ten years ago on release. Shake ya hips!
It’s not often we cover dubstep here on the Dojo but we’re making a rare exception here for three reasons; Skeptical, Exit Records, and sheer quality respectively. Skeppy’s new 10″ harnesses the spirit of early releases (before the tearout crew crucified the genre with endless wobble and horrible midrange noises) and blends it with the man’s talent for huge booming sub and punchy drums. Think early Tempa or DMZ but with the benefit of another ten years of engineering – formidable stuff.
Something in the Sound carries more energy with plenty of low end muscle and tasty percussion fills to shuffle the track along at as much of a pace as you’d expect for dubstep, while Talk The Talk thins out the drums to let the bass breath through a plodding kick/snare riddim. Check out the clips below and keep your eyes peeled if you want a copy – the release is vinyl only and already appears to be sold out at the Exit Store.
The Utopia family return with a silky smooth liquid roller from bossman Mako alongside familiar partner in crime Villem and his erstwhile sidekick McLeod. Inner Revolution is pure bliss! Over on the flip Villem & McLeod go in deeper, swapping the uptempo breaks for a downtempo half-time beat but retaining the lush synth work and soulful vocals of the A side. Musicality and feeling all the way on this one. Hit up Redeye to grab this on vinyl right now, with digital release to follow very soon.
Soul:R warm up for the impending arrival of DRS’s sophomore LP (following up 2012’s rather excellent I Don’t Usually Like MCs But…) with a new single showcasing the first of the album’s wares. Jubei provides production on dancefloor stomper The Puppeteer on the A-side while Marcus Intalex brings the dubby vibes on Emergency on the flip. Check out the tracks below and grab them exclusively from the Soul:R Bandcamp now; full release following from Jan 19th.
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Leeds based liquid imprint Rush Records celebrate their 20th release with a 12-track compilation featuring a host of new tracks from the extended label family. There’s plenty to enjoy here, with highlights coming on the deep, understated melodies of Monrroe’s Elation, Altered Perception & Imprint’s melancholy Heartbeats and the unusual, autonomic-esque riddims of Solo’s Sun. Check out the clips below and head to your favourite digital store to grab this one now!
It’s always good to see grassroots enthusiasm within the scene and the Love The Drop podcast is a great example of exactly that – two guys with a love for the music, sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm about all things junglistic. To find out a bit more, we gave the guys a quick Q&A, check it!
Kritix return to Mayan Audio with a stomping new single featuring the vocal talents of MC Coppa. Drop It provides a decent slice of synth-led neuro action but really it’s all about Traction on the A side here – no holds barred D&B energy flows through this tracks veins in ample quantities! Head over to the Mayan store to pre-order this one now, and watch out for Beatport release from Jan 12th with full release following from Jan 26th.
The recent release of Shogun’s 10 Years compilation reminded me of one of my favourite tracks from their back catalogue (and one of the most worn 12″s in my collection). 2010’s Gangsta is a straightforward roller, but one that bears the hallmarks of some of the best producers in the game. Proof that less is often more, this one has serious groove and an instantly identifiable break/bassline combo. Certified dancefloor killer!
Having contributed releases for both Mosaic LPs, collaborated with dBridge and of course played a part in the seminal Marka single, it seemed only a matter of time til Skeptical dropped a solo release for Exit. Fans of all things dark and minimal in the 170BPM sphere will be glad to hear that that time is now, with young Skeppy dropping four new beats for dBridge’s esteemed imprint in the form of the Imperial EP.
The titular Imperial opens things up with a tight, percussive groover with a tribal vibe; with the exception of some fairly sparse strings this track pretty much entirely ignores melody in favour of a wall of sub bass and a hypnotic drum line, rattling away in a trance inducing fashion. Don’t bother listening to this on a pair of iPod headphones; you’ll need some fairly serious speakers to give it a fair hearing.
Playground Chat Back keeps the minimal aesthetic but strips the beat back and plays with some pretty robotic bass hums; once again the low end heft is definitely gonna induce a few screwfaces in the dance. Instant Reflex ups the energy a bit with tons of movement in the bass samples and massive kicks and snares driving the track along nicely, while Delusions of Grandeur closes things out with a growling, angular half-stepper. Watch out for these dropping January 19th on vinyl and digital, and arm yourself with some low end weaponry!
Oliver Yorke delivers the latest release for Vandal Records’ LTD imprint with a four track EP of spacey, atmospheric, experimental D&B. Into The Void provides the perfect intro, with trance inducing melodic touches and intricate beatwork building suspense as to what the rest of the collection might hold. On Your Mind keeps things deep, with pads and reverb laying the ground work for a twisting, echoing journey set to a half-time riddim. You could get lost in this one with ease.
Celestial Shadows provides the EP’s darkest track, focussing on rumbling sub and gnarly bass growls over a backbone of intricate percussive touches, though the temptation to turn this into a dancefloor smasher has been avoided – this is still a pretty deep composition, even with the extra bass weight. Last but not least, Cerebral heads back into space with arpegiated melodies and a splash of the autonomic vibe.
Overall this EP has incredible depth and vision, especially for a producer in a relatively early stage of their career. Check out the clips below and look for this dropping from Jan 12th.