Versus LP [Free Love Digi]

US label Free Love Digi have been making moves recently with some top releases from both homegrown stateside talent and other producers worldwide, and their latest project sees them bringing together 17 tracks from the extended label family for a massive compilation showcasing all the styles of D&B.

Label boss Quentin Hiatus contributes a few tasty collabs, including a spacey footwork-tinged venture with Resound and the quirky rhythmic groove of The Struggle 2 with Sinistarr. Elsewhere there are chunky rollers from Fade, theStandard and Kaset, liquid from Stunna, and gritty halftime from Goreteks and Dominic Ridgeway.

There’s even space for some lush downtempo from AE on Forevergreen and Ghast on the absolutely serene New Lust. Overall it’s a fantastic selection of tracks, showcasing the breadth of FLD’s artists and the scene as a whole. You can check out all the tracks via Atic’s promo mix for the LP below; watch out for the release dropping July 20th at all good digital stores.

Ever the generous bunch, FLD have also teamed up with D&B Arena to give away a free track from Ghast to celebrate the release. Check that out below and head over to D&B Arena to check out their interview with Ghast.

Goreteks – Secrets EP [Free Love Digi]

If you like your D&B grimey and militant, pay close attention! Goreteks, another of Denver’s rising crop of D&B production outfits, bring their wares to Quentin Hiatus’s Free Love Digi imprint and the EP is deadly from start to finish.

No Mercy kicks things off with a stomping halftime beat full of hard snares and cheeky drum fills, while the filtered bass roams in and out of the mix in an entirely threatening fashion. Silence is Golden ups the ante, showering down kicks and snares amongst the sea of dubbed out echoes and distorted bass. This one recalls some of SPKTRM’s best material, and it sounds like the soundtrack to a distopian warzone, brutal business.

Secrets continues the menacing vibe; shades of Amit can be heard here, but with extra grit and angst. The percussion fills on this one really make the track, and the use of space makes the composition all the more powerful. Last but not least, Louder dials back the aggression a little for a tribal, echoing exploration with plenty of dubby twists and turns and a general air of simmering danger.

It’s been some time since producers I’ve never heard have impressed me this much on a first listen. Check out the clips below and go pick this one up now!