Stealth & Stylus – Homage (Back To You) [ProgRAM]

Stealth’s latest single for RAM sister-label ProgRAM comes hot and heavy! Stylus collab Homage (Back To You) combines hefty bass and rolling breaks with an infectious vocal sample that the attentive among you may well recognise from old Evol Intent favourite The Ladies.

Over on the flip Smash It amps things up even further with an absolute savage selection of bass groans set to a stomping kick/snare riddim. Subtlety is not on offer here, but if you want a big bad belter then look no further! Check out the clips below and grab this on vinyl and digital from your favourite outlet.

Sounds of the Baskerville

baskerville

Cardiff based record store Catapult Records have truly put together a stunning lineup for their Sounds of the Baskerville event in June. The lineup features DJ Marky, Break, Rockwell and Audio headlining a packed event featuring sets from Klute, Dom & Roland, Ulterior Motive, Xtrah and many, many more. Truly a D&B heads paradise! Early Bird tickets are already sold out but you can still grab £75 tickets here. Don’t sleep!

Underground Sonics LP [Critical]

Critical Music are back with a vengeance with the Underground Sonics LP, a various artists compilation straddling all the styles of Drum & Bass via 18 tracks of cutting edge 170 BPM production from the label’s extended family. The compilation sees many artists exploring new territory away from their usual styles, to interesting effect.

Dub Phizix turns in an unusually mellow and unusually rolling beat in the form of The Clock Ticks, while Ivy Lab up the ante compared to their previous releases with a tougher and more energetic beat paired with the musicality we’ve come to know and love from the trio. Foreign Concept teams up with DRS to turn in the dark, skanking, hip-hop influenced halfstep of Falling Stars while Sam Binga and Redders blend trap, footwork and ragga to great effect on Lef Dem.

Elsewhere we’re treated to two surprising collaborations from tech heavyweights, with InsideInfo and Mefjus turning in a surprisingly minimal slice of tribal tech with Repentance while Noisia & The Upbeats put aside their usual aggression for a hypnotic deep liquid roller on Little Fling. Fans of brutal tech need not worry though – Stealth and Phace are both on hand to provide the dancefloor darkness, as are Emperor & Centra with the huge digital exclusive The Saboteur.

Enei and Kasra turn in a selection of characteristically heavy hitting beats, while Stray and Halogenix look to the experimental/hyperactive end of the spectrum with their individual takes on frantic drum syncopation with a footwork bent. Finally Blocks and Escher give Enei’s Thinline the old school tech workover with a huge beat and some serious menace on the low end.

Overall it’s hard to argue with this as the first essential release of 2014. Check out the tracks below and grab yourself a copy now from the Critical Surus store.