Klute – You Won’t Like It [Commercial Suicide]

It’s always a good day when fresh beats from Klute land in the Dojo inbox, and it seems we’ll be hearing plenty from the Commercial Suicide boss this year as he celebrates 20 years in the game with a slew of singles and EPs leading up to an album at the end of the year.

The first of those single releases sees Tom exploring his more musical side, with all the tracks bringing melody to the fore rather than focussing on bassline danger. The coyly titled You Won’t Like It (a finger flip to the haters?) fashions a groove from all sorts of unusual FX and synth sounds, producing D&B with more than a hint of IDM and experimental electronica to it.

Rays brings the lush synth work and beautiful melody that Klute does so well and layers it over a backbone of tough breaks, providing the single’s most dancefloor friendly track, leaving Be Good To The Ones (You Love) to close out the release with a bouncy rhythm and beautiful chiming melody that gives the track an almost chidlike innocence and enthusiasm.

It’s great to hear that Klute hasn’t lost his ability to innovate even over two decades of production! Check out the clips below and watch out for this dropping on digital and vinyl from Jan 23rd – preorders are available now via the Commercial Suicide store.

If you’re itching for a bit more Klute then look no further than his recent mix for the Bassic Agency – an hour of impecable selections spanning all the styles of D&B.

Top Tracks of 2014

Following our run down of our favourite albums of the year, we felt it was only right to put the spotlight on our top tracks. These are the ten tunes that haven’t left our record box since their release…

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Mindscape’s Favourite Remixes

Commercial Suicide have brought together the great and the good of the neurofunk scene to remix tracks from Mindscape’s Martin Chronicles LP. To celebrate the release of part 1 (and the impending release of part 2), we asked Mindscape to pick out his 5 favourite D&B remixes. Read on for his choices!

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Q&A – The Invaderz

The Invaderz have had a busy year, the highlight of which is undoubtedly their debut LP for Commercial Suicide. Showing off the trio’s varied production styles, the album covers all the different flavours of D&B from mellow liquid rollers through grimey tech business and out into full-on bangers.

To find out a bit more about the album we caught up with the gang for a quick Q&A about their creative process and how the LP came to be. Read on…

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Optiv & BTK – Breakthrough / Midnight Nation (2am Remix) [Commercial Suicide]

Optiv & BTK come correct with the latest in their seemingly endless slew of singles, this time for Klute’s Commercial Suicide imprint. Breakthrough builds atmosphere on the intro with lush synth work before hitting down with a rugged drop and tons of energy.

Over on the flip the 2am remix of Midnight Nation follows a similar pattern, building things up with tasty pads on the intro before the crisp drums and kinetic bassline kick things into gear, with the echoing bleeps in the bridge proving a nice touch. No nonsense dancefloor business! Check out the clips below and grab the release on vinyl and digital now.

Klute – My Black & White (Calibre Remix) [Commercial Suicide]

Commercial Suicide’s release schedule shows no signs of letting up with another essential 12″ following hot on the heels of the recent Dose LP Sampler. The legendary Calibre gets behind the controls for a rolling liquid refix of My Black & White in the mould of his previous remixes for Spectrasoul and TEED; this one hits the spot in the same way his productions always do.

Over on the flip CS boss man Klute dishes up the fresh (and oddly titled) Speak No Fish. Soaring melodic bleeps lead the tune over a backbone of techno-esque rhythmic sub bass and a sturdy, rolling break. This is definitely a tune with enough bounce for a dancefloor but enough beauty for the living room. Check out both tunes below and watch out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital from March 31st.

Dose – Mind The Future LP Sampler [Commercial Suicide]

Commercial Suicide wind up for the release of Kiwi producer Dose’s debut LP with a 12″ of his best work since his two singles for Subtitles in 2012. Both tracks provide the sort of heavy hitting dancefloor techstep that Dose has always excelled at manufacturing, and will doubtless get a few floors bouncing over the coming months.

It’ll be interesting to see whether the album holds any surprises, but even if it’s more of the same it should be a blast! Check out the clips below and watch out for the sampler dropping on digital and limited edition vinyl from March 17th.

Detail – Time Stretching / Pressure [Commercial Suicide]

Commercial Suicide rounds off a great year with a single from Ukrainian producer Detail. Showcasing the balance of technicality and musicality that fans of the label have long appreciated, Time Stretching lulls you into a false sense of security with mellow guitar licks before the deadly sub stabs hit you in the chest.

Over on the flip, Pressure builds the tension with a dubbed out, haunting intro; to call this moody would be the understatement of the year. The drop kicks the tune into gear with angular percussion, heavy sub and little else, proving that sometimes less is definitely more. Watch out for this one dropping on vinyl and digital from December 16th.

Quadrant & Iris – Spinout [Commercial Suicide]

US duo Quadrant & Iris have been busy lately with releases for Dispatch, Intrigue and Avantgarde and now the duo grace Klute’s Commercial Suicide imprint with a new 12″ featuring their signature style of rolling beats and weighty bass.

The titular Spinout sees Quadrant on a solo outing, delivering a tight, techy roller embellished with some floaty synth action in the breakdowns. Next up the pair collaborate on Depth Sounder, featuring an insistent bass riff and super detailed percussion which is sure to have you nodding along. The EP wraps up with a deeper, halftime number featuring the additional talents of Calculon and Homemade Weapons, filling in the sparser beats with twin basslines and echoing vocal snippets.

Check out the clips below and watch out for the release dropping on vinyl and digital from December 16th.

Klute – The Draft [Commercial Suicide]

After hearing the sampler for the album a few weeks ago I couldn’t wait to get my grubby mits on the full copy of The Draft. The handful of tracks on the sampler held the promise of an album that would be far more than just 12 tracks of back to back drum & bass, and the body of work delivers on that promise in spades.

From the epic, beatless serenity of intro track Sober Light of Day through the eastern vibes of Turnaround and into the deep liquid and unusual vocals of Seperation, Klute’s varied listening on the “creative vacation” he took before writing this album shines through in the compositions. Hints of everything from Brian Eno to Pink Floyd are present in the music, and some of the tracks like Last Words and Our Pretty Lives accomplish a kind of psychedelic texture seldom heard in electronic music (and I’m not talking about the cheap “trippy” psychedelia of psy-trance either).

Elsewhere Klute delves into beautiful, playful IDM on House of Maciver, takes a few tips from the garage school of melody on My Black And White and explores deep, soulful liquid on Gaze Into Your Eyes. There’s even space for a couple of good old fashioned hard-edged rollers in the form of Sick Drive and Best Bits Not Over. Overall the record not only sets a new benchmark for variety and quality within a D&B album but it proves that the genre still has so much space for exploration; that high tempo and traditional breakbeat patterns do not pigeon-hole an artist stylistically.

Check out clips from the album below, pre-order a copy on CD, vinyl or digital from Surus and watch out for the full release on Monday.