Soul Intent – Late Night Sleaze EP [Lossless]

Soul Intent has been really impressing us here at the Dojo lately and his latest work on his own Lossless Music imprint proves no exception to that rule. The Late Night Sleaze EP collects four cheeky rollers imbued with plenty of character and soul, walking a pleasant line between dancefloor chops and musical deftness.

1,2,3,4 kicks off the release, featuring old school hero DJ Tango and a combination of twangy double bass and rolling breakbeats which should put a skip in your step and a smile on your face; low slung and funky as hell. Go Hustle takes things murkier, skuzzing out the bass behind some tasty jazz licks for a solid head-nodder.

Late Night Sleaze continues that jazz theme, with sultry saxophone riffs accompanying another satisfyingly chunky break for a tune that positively oozes class. Eyes might even meet on the dancefloor over this one! Last but not least, Nearly There spaces things way out for an epic downtempo jam, reverb drenched snares echoing out into the distance behind the mournful piano riff for a proper tug at the heartstrings.

It’s always great to hear artists proving that drum & bass can be about emotion as well as just making your feet move, and this EP more than accomplishes that feat. Check out the clips below and hit up the Lossless Bandcamp to get a copy direct from the source on vinyl or digital now.

Grand Royal Vol. 1 [Vandal LTD]

Vandal LTD’s latest release sees them celebrating a collection of tracks at the edge of the halftime D&B sound where the waters begin to get muddy and the influence of hip-hop, footwork and other bass music mutates the sound in new and interesting ways.

Signs, SKS & Skank get together for the EP’s opener, the swaggering and audacious Bliss Flop. This one undoubtedly owes a little to Ivy Lab’s seminal Sunday Crunk, but it’s still a fantastic slice of halftime hip-hop with a grin-inducing bassline and heaps of attitude.

Tim Reaper’s contribution to the EP (alongside Vanar and Mieur) takes things in a totally different direction, with a distinctly techno influenced beat driving along under spooky soundscapes for a hypnotic journey through 5am clubland and into weird early morning psychedelia.

Elsewhere the EP features some nice tracks influenced by the Chicago footwork sound, the best of which is undoubtedly Lumumba’s Exhale. Frantic high hats and rap vocal cut ups may well be overplayed by now but this one is still a hugely satisfying listen, and it’s nice to see this sound spreading and being played with by so many in the D&B community.

The Grand Royal EP is out now at all good stores, so check out the clips below and grab yourself an unconventional selection of beats at your leisure.

Dojo Damager: C4C – Time Stopper (Impak Remix)

Rising neurofunk star Impak brings us today’s Dojo Damager as he delivers a storming new remix of Cause4Concern’s Time Stopper. The new remix makes great use of the 2002 original‘s hypnotic lead but amps the tension right up with futuristic synths on the intro and an absolutely hammering array of sub hits and percussion on the drop. Relentless business! Check out the clip below and hit up Beatport to grab this one right now.

Goldie – Broken Man [Metalheadz]

Metalheadz continue their absolutely stellar run of recent releases with a single from label boss Goldie. Broken Man brings in a heart-wrenching vocal from young soul vocalist Kwabs and generally eschews D&B conventions to focus on a more “song” style composition, with the other sonic elements all serving to lift and empower the vocal in the mix. It definitely won’t be for everyone but for our money this is a cracking piece of music, charged with emotion and not seeking anyone’s approval.

Over on the flip Ivy Lab’s Halogenix delivers a sleek remix that should tick all the requisite boxes for fans of the deep liquid roller, and certainly makes the track a bit more DJ friendly. Expect to hear this reached for late in the night, and possibly the subject of some cheeky double drops with heftier tunes. Top class from Metalheadz once again; check out the clips below and hit up their store to grab it on vinyl or digital now.

Mtwn – Embers EP [Diffrent Music]

Belgian duo Mtwn return to Diffrent Music with a fantastic new release featuring top class production and some really interesting ideas. Embers kicks the EP off with a cracking progression from deep, sombre half-step with a cheeky riff that sounds like a 90s hardcore line run through the washing machine a few times, before morphing into a frenzy of break chopping that brought an instant smile to this reviewer’s face!

The Diffrent family get involved on the oddly titled Tales of a Tonka Truck Driver, with Arkaik, Dexta and Mauoq all lending their studio chops to an angular and moody slice of halftime D&B driven along by super tight percussion. Spinal Groove sees Mtwn continuing that theme, contrasting darker bass and drum elements against soft, ethereal pad sounds to great effect. Last up, Four brings a sparse but effective groove that should get more than a few heads nodding along at the speakers.

The release is out right now via the Diffrent Bandcamp so check the clips below and go grab it!

DNB Dojo Mix Series 22: Mauoq

MixSeries22_Mauoq

Our latest exclusive mix comes from Italian producer Mauoq! With releases on Diffrent Music, Terabyte, Absys, Dispatch Ltd, Nurtured Beatz and his own Mauoq Music imprint, Mauoq has been blazing a trail across the deep, dark spectrum of D&B for some time. He’s put together a quality selection for our latest mix including tracks from his brand new Fabricate EP and dubs from Survey, Last Life, Facing Jynx and more. Yes yes!

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 Google Drive.

Mauoq – Your Own [Mauoq]
Survey – Light Source [Flexout dub]
Last Life – Poisoned [Cylon dub]
Natt – Without Purpose [Clear Conception]
Jaydrop – Underlay [31]
CJ Weaver – Scrolls [Translation]
Tns & Dr Roman – Dancehall Ram (Deleted Soul Remix) [Elastica]
Quadrant, Kid Hops, Iris & Reise – Pleiades [Commercial Suicide]
Mauoq – Fabricate [Mauoq]
J Kenzo – Airwalk [31]
Dbr Uk – Hexton (feat. Skeptical) [Dispatch]
Mauoq – Voids [Mauoq]
Facing Jinx – Never Too Late [dub]
Seba – Jungle Music [Secret Operations]
Metro – Scrap Metal Man [dub]
Lurch – Long Road Back [Flexout]
Bokeh x Lowquid – Jelly Tip [Sweetbox dub]
Mtwn – Embers [Diffrent]
Mauoq – Escalate [Mauoq]

Fade’s Musical Inspirations

The ever prolific Fade just dropped the latest in a steady stream of singles and this time his work has landed on Leipzig label Boundless Beatz. Featuring the instantly memorable futuristic synth play of Taino and deep, tribal percussion of Lo-Fi, it’s another top release from a producer who constantly pushes the boundaries of D&B both on and off the dancefloor.

We wanted to find out a bit more about the inspirations for Fade’s music and what ultimately gets him going in the studio, so we asked him to tell us about it. Read on for the man’s top five in his own words. Continue reading

Dojo Damager: L 33 – Badman

Regular readers will already know that we’re big fans of Addictive Behaviour here at the Dojo and their latest release proved an absolutely perfect fit for this week’s Dojo Damager! Bulgarian neurofunk producer L 33 makes his fourth appearance on the label with the aptly titled Badman; punchy futuristic snares, crunchy bass and tons of energy make this a superbly detailed dancefloor weapon. Check out the clip below and look for this at Beatport from Dec 4th, with vinyl following on the 11th and worldwide digital release on the 18th.