Sun & Bass are returning with their fourth release on the festival’s sporadic but well respected label offshoot, and this time the beats come from longtime conspirators FD and ArpXP. To find out a bit more about his history with Sun & Bass and the new EP, we tracked down FD for a quick chat…
Zero T has been a busy man of late, with an album out on Dispatch, a track on the new Soul:R EP and now the Dice Game EP for Fokuz. The title track fires straight in with a rolling techstep vibe, while flipside Thirty Four heads for more melodic territory with warm, inviting synths and hints of jazz in the mix. Tasty stuff from a producer at the top of his game! Check out the clips below and look for this one on vinyl and digital from October 23rd.
To celebrate the release of his brand new EP for Ingredients Records we’re excited to welcome Monika to the ranks of the DNB Dojo Mix Series! The London-based producer has compiled a fantastic hour long selection of tracks featuring exclusive dubs alongside cuts from the likes of Om Unit, Tokyo Prose, Sam KDC and of course beats from the Observatory EP.
As usual you can check out the mix via Soundcloud below or head to Mixcloud, Hearthis.at or iTunes to stream. You can also grab a download from Dropbox. If you’re enjoying the mix then be sure to hit up the Ingredients Store to grab Monika’s new EP right now!
Monika – ???
DjRum – What I Was Doing When I Was Doing What I Was Doing
Indigo – Condition
Nasty Habits – Shadow Boxing (Om Unit Remix)
Monika – Dusk Till Dawn
Stray – Queen
Alix Perez – Recall & Reflect
Tokyo Prose – Knucklehead
Halogenix – Soulide
Monika – ???
Tenor Fly – Rude Boy Talk (Toddla T & Melé Remix)
Data – Vice
Monika – Observatory
Clarity – Surge
Sam KDC – Erogenous
Theme – Scene 4
Monika – ???
Monika – Jaguar Knight
Monika – The Pulse
Regular readers have probably noticed that we’re big fans of Seba here at the Dojo. The man’s ability to bend classic breaks to his will and layer them over fantastic synth backgrounds, combined with a versatility that sees him producing everything from dark amen smashers to beautiful rolling liquid has cemented his position as one of the finest names in the scene.
On to today’s #TBT feature then, and the fantastic news that Seba’s 2008 debut LP Return to Forever is being given the digital remaster and reissue treatment via his own Secret Operations imprint following the demise of its original home, Combination Records.
From the uplifting euphoria of Blaze & Fade Out through the driving darkness of Special Ops and out into the hypnotic syncopations of Crocket, Seba’s debut sounds as fresh now as it did seven years ago and punchier than ever thanks to the new mastering treatment.
The high energy tracks are broken up nicely by jazzy downtempo number Silicone and a Jesper Dahlbäck techno remix, and for an added bonus we get the slightly different 12″ mix of Blaze & Fade Out included too. Can’t say fairer than that! The LP is out right now via all good download stores so go grab a copy at your leisure.
Plasma Audio’s latest comes from Dutch producer Proxima, who the attentive may already be aware of as Icicle’s cousin and a respected force in the now rather waning dubstep community. His new single sees him exploring 170BPM territory with a little nod to his roots, and the results are pretty darn good!
Crane brings together a heavy halftime drum line with deep, dubby bass and a cheeky bleeped out melody that brings to mind classic dubstep tracks like Skream’s 2D and Pinch’s Motion Sickness. The slightly industrial feel of modern halftime D&B combines well with the dubby elements here for a track that feels at once heavy and hypnotic.
Over on the flip Jibber brings things up to a more insistent full-roll tempo for a crisp (if slightly “by the numbers”) neuro workout. Punchy bass and precision drums mean this should roll out nicely in the dance. You can grab this one from Juno right now so check out the clips below and get to it!
This week’s Dojo Damager comes from neurofunk production stalwarts InsideInfo & Mefjus who lay down the absolutely stomping riddims of Pulsation for Viper Recordings. Eschewing the hyper complexity of some of their previous output, this one is all stripped-back punch and groove, tailored with that impossibly crisp production the pair have made such a name for themselves with.
The simple staccato melody on the intro builds tension beautifully before the gut wrenching drop starts landing alternating body blows from the sub and snares. Sheer heft! Check out the clip below and look for this on vinyl or digital right now.
October has seen an unbelievably large amount of music land in the Dojo inbox, so we picked out our favourite of the pack of recent and shortly forthcoming releases. Read on for new beats from Seba, Stoner & Dotter Poison, Moresounds and more! Continue reading
Tokyo Prose is a rare producer in the scene, a man whose creations never fail to put a smile on my face. While Sam Reed certainly wasn’t the first to ply the deep, melodic style of Drum & Bass, he’s certainly developed his own voice over the years and his latest work is amongst his best.
Following last year’s Presence LP was always going to be tough given the quality and diversity of that record, but the Dawn Chorus EP feels perfectly pitched in that regard; lesser in scope but finely crafted and showcasing that warmth and emotion that makes his work so special. Whether on the beautiful string section of Dawn Chorus, the effortless downtempo of Vanishing Point or the bright chimes and crisp breaks of Windtalkers, the instrumentation remains beautiful and evocative.
Anyone yet to be persuaded by the gentle depth of the liquid sound may not find anything new to change their mind here, but if you appreciate the more musical side of Drum & Bass then the Dawn Chorus EP provides four tracks you will lose yourself in again and again. Serenity and bliss, softness and speed, feeling and thought, all lovingly packaged at one hundred and seventy beats per minute; it doesn’t get much better than this.
Check out the clips below and hit up the Samurai Store to grab a copy on wax before it inevitably sells out.
We’ve got another exclusive first listen for you all and this time it’s coming from Quatermass and Terabyte Records! Blending the Chicago Footwork sound with jungle breaks, rave horns and smooth, sultry pads, this is a chopped up rollercoaster of a track. Check it out below and watch out for the release dropping via all the usual digital stores from Oct 19th.
US party starters Evol Intent have been at the forefront of the hard D&B scene for over a decade with their pioneering mix of gangster rap, glitch and balls to the wall D&B. With the generous trio dropping yet another dangerous freebie it seemed only right to name Scavengers Paradize this week’s Dojo Damager!
Mashing up previous Evol tracks Scavenger and Paradize City, this is an infectious blend of NWA samples, G-Funk synths and a massive, hard hitting D&B backbone. Sprinkle in a few shotgun clicks and you’re good to go! Check it out below and hit up the Evol Intent soundcloud to grab a copy right now.