Premiere: DBR UK – Special Request

DBR UK on the buttons for today’s premiere, delivering a groove-led minimal stepper for the forthcoming Stand Together LP. Tribal percussion, heavyweight sub and hordes of atmosphere…plus it’s all to support an excellent cause. Buy the beats and help fight racism – check it out and be sure to grab the LP when it drops tomorrow.

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Premiere: RDG & DubApe – Decoy

RDG & DubApe drop a weighty slab of 170 business on today’s premiere! Taken from their new EP for Boka Records, Decoy is powered along by tribal drum lines, dub inflections and a massive wall of sub bass pressure…deadly stuff. Look for this coming July 17th at all good stores.

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Premiere: Hydro ft. War – Tribal Times

Unbelievably excited for today’s exclusive as we can share brand new music from Hydro’s forthcoming LP for Utopia Music! Featuring the engineering talents of War, Tribal Times lives up to it’s name with an intricate array of unusual percussion powering the tune along. Far from being just another bongo-powered roller, the depth in the composition here is breathtaking, with eerie synth bleeps, soft strings and a stunning breakdown all contributing to a tune that really rewards repeated listens. Look out for the whole album coming Apr 12th; preorders are up right now on the Utopia Bandcamp.

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Premiere: Heatwave & Akinsa – False Awakenings

Romanian artist Heatwave teams up with Akinsa on the latest release for AGN7 Audio, delivering a dark, tribal workout powered by slow/fast halftime percussion and throbbing sub weight. Sick tune! Look for this one and two Heatwave / Dreadmaul collabs dropping April 19th at digital stores…

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Premiere: dreadmaul – Voodooists

German producer dreadmaul lands in our premiere spotlight again today with a typically creeping, tribal halftime cut. Forthcoming on US imprint Conspired Within Music, this one conjures the spirits with a potent mixture of pulsing sub, skittering breaks and voodoo magic. Dope! Look out for the release dropping April 5th (with another top release from dreadmaul dropping the same day on Ronin Ordinance to boot).

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Premiere: Offish – Vile

Offish lands in our premiere hotseat today with a sick new tune for Krytika Productions. Rapid fire tribal drum rhythms, throbbing sub and hard hitting amen interjections characterise a tune with an absolutely wicked progression, starting slow and building into an assaulting crescendo of dark percussion and creepy pads. Look for this coming Feb 16th at digital stores…

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Premiere: Namarone – Prey

Swiss label Drum Army are in our premiere spotlight today with a top new roller from Namarone. Taken from the label’s forthcoming Drum Anually 003 EP, Prey harnesses tribal percussion fills, deep sub and growling mid swells for an infectious slab of old-school techstep deepness. Wicked tune! Look for the EP coming Oct 25th at all good stores…

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Premiere: Kit Curse & Al Mightee – Übertrieben

Germany’s Kit Curse lands on Ronin Ordinance this month and we’ve got the exclusive on the EP closing track Übertrieben. Hefty halftime percussion and rumbling sub make for an ominous, tribal workout. Sick one! Look for this dropping 21st August…

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Premiere: Ding – Bolt

Atmospheric vibes for your Sunday afternoon on our latest exclusive as we present a fresh slice of experimental D&B from Ding for Tesseract Recordings. Fans of the leftfield beats of artists like Kimyan Law will definitely enjoy this one; unusual percussion and a laid back vibe characterise a tune that’s full of quirky sounds and subtle but satisfying progressions. Look for this one via the Tesseract Bandcamp store very soon…

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War – Invisible EP [Methlab BNKR]

Given their roster of artists one might have expected Methlab’s new BNKR imprint to be dishing out the neurofunk smashers a la Eatbrain, Blackout etc, but so far the label’s output has shown a surprising depth and diversity, much to our delight here at Dojo HQ.

Fans of Utopia Music, Dispatch, Horizons or any of the other esteemed imprints he’s released on should already be familiar with French-born, Bristol-based War. Despite being only 23 years old he’s already made quite a mark on the D&B scene, both with his frequent collaborators Hydro and Mateba and on solo joints like his latest EP for Methlab.

On then to said solo EP, and the first thing that stands out is the drums. Drawing on the long heritage of precise yet organic percussion honed by the likes of Mako, DLR, Photek and so many other producers, the tracks all harness a raw funk so often lacking in today’s 170BPM stylings. This isn’t the over-polished crispness of Hospital’s liquid breaks or the synthetic pew pew lazer snares of modern neuro; this is the sound of the funkiest drum machine out there, channelling breaks, kicks, snares and fills through the mix with a touch of analogue distortion and tons of soul.

If the drums are the first part of the equation that binds these tracks together, atmosphere is the other; from the skittering, tribal halftime of title track Invisible through the hypnotic stabs of The Hundred Lights and out into Metalheadz-esque tech smashed Snow Blind the EP is replete with subtle pads, and a faintly ominous tone, beckoning the listener in to War’s slightly dystopian world.  

Rounding the EP off with another cracking curveball, Methlab have recruited the ever versatile Djrum for remix duties on Invisible, and true to his eclectic pallet he’s twisted it into a throbbing slice of techno well worthy of a dingy Berlin dancefloor. Overall this is a cracking EP for those that like their D&B to tread the line between dancefloor sensibilities and cerebral appeal; check out the clips below and hit up the Methlab Bandcamp to grab a copy right now.