DNB Dojo Takes a Break…

I bring you some bittersweet news today…it’s time for DNB Dojo to take a break. In the nine years since the site began it has been my absolute pleasure to help showcase the best sounds in the D&B scene, from big hitters on established labels to unknown artists putting out their first release. After nearly a decade helping to promote other peoples’ music, it feels like time to step back and appreciate the scene as a DJ and a listener, and to have more time to focus on my own productions.

The site will remain online, as will all the content on Soundcloud, Youtube, etc., but for the moment there won’t be any new reviews, premieres or guest mixes, and the monthly podcast will end as announced in episode #60. After a little rest I’ve got plans for a new mix series under my artist name so watch out for that coming early 2022.

I’ll still be keeping an eye on the inbox and listening to everything that gets sent over so please keep sending beats to info@dnbdojo.co.uk – the new mix series will be the place I support releases going forward.

This isn’t the end; DNB Dojo might return in the future. For the time being it’s going into hibernation. Huge shouts to everyone who has sent music to the blog and provided interviews, premieres, guest mixes, and all the other great content we’ve been able to run. Huge shouts also to everyone reading and listening, and to everyone who’s taken the time to send positive messages about the site – you all rock.

If you want to keep an eye on my new releases and the forthcoming mix series, hit up the links below. Take care folks…

Facebook → facebook.com/DJHexDnB
Instagram → instagram.com/djhexdnb
Soundcloud → soundcloud.com/dj-hex
Twitter → twitter.com/DJHexDnB

Villem – Olly LP

Villem has just dropped a new LP for a very good cause, raising money to help a friend’s son in his battle with cancer. Available right now, it’s ten tracks for £10 and all money will go towards helping 10 year old Olly in his battle with the disease. You can hear the man explain it in his own words on Facebook here.

No previews online for this one but trust us it’s full of belters, ranging from dancefloor rollers to dubby halftime and soulful liquid, plus some cheeky bootlegs – check the tracklist below and hit up Villem’s digital store to grab a copy right now.

1. Villem – Can’t You See
2. Mako & Villem – Let Me Be
3. Villem – Do You? I Wanna VIP [Symmetry]
4. Villem – Make Em Bounce
5. Villem – Serve Chilled
6. Mako, Villem & Mcleod – The Blessing
7. Nymfo – Greetings Starfighter [Villem Alternative Remix]
8. Villem & McLeod – Perfect Lover (Perfect Solution x Gifted Lover)
9. Secret bootleg 1
10. Secret bootleg 2

We Move Together

The drum & bass community has been pulling together in all sorts of unique and inspiring ways during our turbulent times recently, and the latest project from Free From Sleep is a fantastic example of that community spirit. Teaming up with Metalheadz, Renegade Hardware, Shogun, Diffrent, Dispatch, and countless other recognisable labels, they’ve crafted a wicked t-shirt design with a simple message; We Move Together.

100% of all profits raised will go to charity including The Stephen Lawrence Foundation, Black Minds Matter UK, The Bail Project & Nederland Wordt Beter. Fight racism, support great causes, and burnish your junglist credentials with some tidy new threads! Hit up the FFS store to grab yours now.

EQ50 Launch Mentorship Programme

Since its inception in 2018, the EQ50 collective have been working hard towards fairer representation within the Drum & Bass scene, and today they’re back with their most ambitious project yet: a mentorship programme for five womxn producers in conjunction with some massive label names – Critical Music, Function Records, RAM, Shogun and V Recordings.

The mentorship program will include A&R sessions, production masterclasses, a dedicated mentor from the EQ50 team, support with DJing and booking agencies, and much much more.

You can check out the full details on the EQ50 website, and if this sounds like something you’re a fit for the application form is here. Please forward to any aspiring womxn producers who are ready to further their career in Drum & Bass!

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Reflections on Blackout Tuesday

I’m dropping the impersonal tone I generally employ in these blog posts on this occasion because this is a personal message from me, Hex. On June 2nd DNB Dojo took part in Blackout Tuesday, and I took time to reflect on the problem of racism, both inside and outside of the Drum & Bass scene. That reflection led me to the conclusion that I have not done enough. Angela Davis said it best when she said “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be antiracist.”

It should go without saying that Jungle and Drum & Bass is a music firmly rooted in Black culture. I’m not going to go into depth on that history here because so many better writers, filmmakers and podcasters have already covered it in immense detail. Rosemary Pitts has posted an extensive list of watching / reading / listening material on the History of Black British Rave Culture over here on Instagram (also available on Facebook here courtesy of EQ50) which I’ll be working my way through over the coming weeks and months. I can already thoroughly recommend Brian Belle-Fortune’s absolutely seminal All Crews as essential reading for the passionate junglist.

Beyond that reading, I’ve been thinking about what I can do both as an individual and as the owner of a platform, albeit a small one. To that end, here are the actions that I’ll be taking going forward:

  • Learn: There are a host of anti-racism resources available which I have not previously consumed enough of. 38 Degrees has a good list here.
  • Donate: I’ve already made personal donations to The George Floyd Memorial Fund, Black Lives Matter UK and Show Racism The Red Card, and I will continue to make contributions to these and similar organisations each month.
  • Educate: Luke Kessler is dedicating four weeks of Classic Track posts to the contributions of Black originators within D&B and Jungle, and the series will continue to ensure Black artists are properly represented as we celebrate the history of this music. You can read the first of that series here.
  • Represent: I will be doing more to find, highlight and celebrate the work of Black artists, DJs and label owners within our scene across all of our content; premieres, guest mixes, interviews, reviews and features.

I’d like to reiterate that this space is welcoming to Black people and indeed people of all backgrounds. I listen to all music that comes to the Dojo inbox, and while I can’t promise to feature everything I will always respond and try and provide honest feedback and creative criticism. If that’s something you’re interested in then please get in touch: info@dnbdojo.co.uk.

An Update on Blackout Tuesday

Yesterday we took part in Blackout Tuesday, standing in solidarity with the Black community across the world. Today we return to what we love to do here at DNB Dojo; showcasing music that excites us from artists across the Drum & Bass scene. But we want to make it clear that this isn’t the end of our engagement with the problem of racism.

Going forward, we’ll be thinking about what we can do to better showcase Black artists within our scene, and how else we can be part of the solution rather than the problem. Expect more on that soon. In the meantime, we understand that not all spaces can feel welcoming to people from all backgrounds, not least Black people, and we want to make it clear that this one is.

We listen to all music that comes our way in the inbox, and while we can’t promise to feature everything we will always respond and try and provide honest feedback and creative criticism. If that’s something you’re interested in then please get in touch: info@dnbdojo.co.uk.

Blackout Tuesday

The violent murder of George Floyd, and the many black lives lost previously are an outrage, and we have a duty to not stand silent in the face of racism and oppression. Please join us as we stand with the Black community, not only in the US but worldwide, to demand change.

On June 2nd DNB Dojo will observe Blackout Tuesday, a day of contemplation in solidarity with all those struggling for justice and alongside the movement across the wider music industry. Going forward, we will be looking at how we can help further, and how we can better support Black musicians within the Drum & Bass community.

#BlackLivesMatter
#TheShowMustBePaused

Some ways you can help:

Drum & Bass: The Movement Documentary

Drum & Bass Arena have put together something that looks pretty special – a feature length documentary about the genre we all know and love and how it has moved and changed over a 20 year period. Featuring some of the best known names including Goldie, Phace, Riya, Andy C, Spirit, Hype and many, many more, this looks like absolutely essential viewing. Check out the trailer below and hit up this link at 8pm UK time on May 25th to watch the full feature!

Stay At Home Festival returns for Part Two

Amongst the thousands of bedroom livestreams currently flooding Twitch, Facebook and all the other platforms, the recent Stay At Home festival raised the bar significantly with a massive lineup of tasty D&B. Part 1 raised a whopping £18K for the NHS to help battle the Covid-19 epidemic. Now Goat Shed & Onyx Recordings are back with Part 2 featuring the likes of Amoss, Kelvin 373, Paul T & Oberon and many more, raising money for Age UK. Check out the full lineup above and hit up this link for all the details. Streams will be live from 10am on Friday 8th May until 2am on Monday May 11th.

State of Bass Book Released!

One for the jungle historians…the iconic State of Bass book has been revised and reissued for the first time since it’s original publication. Written by Melody Maker journalist Martin James and originally published in 1997, the revered tome covers the origins of jungle and D&B and explores the social, cultural and musical roots of the genre we all love so much.

The revised edition bolsters the original content with previously unpublished interviews with the likes of Fabio, Goldie and LTJ Bukem, plus coverage of Roni Size’s Mercury Prize win for New Forms. General release is coming in April 2020 but if you can’t wait til then you can grab a copy right now over at the Velocity Press website.