Featured in this fortnight’s mix we have included some particularly spicy weight-laden Dubstep from Estonia. Kusto has already proved himself as a producer on his debut Pyongyang EP, and this release is living up to his previous successes. Brash, jarring and bristling with dubwise samples, ‘Klaaatz’ terrorises the dance like an angry pit bull. Grab it now before it bites you!
Brand new sounds from Chrissy Murderbot with his ‘Friendship EP’ absolutely smashing it out of the park this month. Whilst everyone else appears wrapped up in what ‘Trap music’ is and isn’t, the Murderbot pushes forward with his own steroid injected Juke sound. Here he breaks the underground out into the open with R&B samples, epileptic beats and hyperspeed synth work. Comes highly recommended, and if you listen to the tracks below you will see why.
The second release from the Solace camp comes from Eleven8, one time Drum & Bass and now deep Dubstep producer with an ear for haunting intro’s and scurrilously dirty beats. Here he is talking about this release in an interview he did recently for KMag.
Preview the full release here:
Out July 23rd on Solace Recordings.
You can also pick up Eleven8‘s recent podcast for Solace free from their Soundcloud, or of course right here.
Utopia Music are set to drop their latest single on Monday 23rd July and the new release sees Fields on production. With releases on Mars, Symmetry and Ingredients already under his belt, Fields breathes life into D&B with this double A side.
‘Elemntal’ is a progressive roller with harmonic stabs that set the pace for a smooth vibe with atmospheric pads taking you up. The track builds beautifully and carries you right through. A head nodder and a dancefloor track.
‘BTC’ on the AA side is a dark and techy number that eases you in before attacking with sonic hits and twisted bass.
Label boss MAKO certainly knows what direction he wants Utopia Music to go in and its refreshing to know people still want to step outside the norm and formulaic to make drum and bass that sounds this good.
Bag it.
I first met DRS skateboarding in Manchester. Albert Square was a plaza for wheeled talent and Del used to drop by with Matt Harfield. This was back in the 90’s and I still remember being shocked that this friendly and humble guy was also the voice of LTJ Bukems Progression Sessions alongside Conrad. Fast forward a decade and more and DRS has firmly rooted himself within Manchester’s history. Del is a musician, producer, MC & illustrator and his new long player ‘I don’t usually like MC’s but…’ is about to drop and from a punters point of view it’s one of the most anticipated releases of the year. As well as his hard work with Broke ‘N’ English and the Estate Recordings camp, DRS has managed to put together an album which both himself and his peers are incredibly proud of. The debut single ‘Count To Ten’ ft. Enei is making serious waves most notably since Kasra featured it on his Fabric Live release.
A testament to the albums quality is it’s release on Marcus Intalex’s Soul:R label. ‘Count To Ten’ with ‘Holding On’ featuring Jehst, Lenzman and Riya on the flip is out to buy on 23rd July at any retailer worth its salt.
DRS talks about the forthcoming single:
A. Count to Ten
“This is the second of a trilogy of tunes me Alex (Enei) and Kasra have put
together. Its a play on the count to ten technique used to hold down a bad
temper, which not a lot of people know I do have. I manage to tame it most of the
time but people who are close to me have seen its very ugly face! This tunes
about how I feel before I lose control!! I am not glamourising this in anyway, but
a heavyweight tune came out of telling the tale. Its the part of my character I’m
most ashamed of. If my music is anything its honest.”
AA. Holding On
“This is the first of the two Lenzman collabs. Another sumer roller, driven by a
hip hop piano. It reminded of some old UK hip hop sample, thats what gave me
the idea to get my mate Jehst on this riddim (making his dnb debut). I put my
verse down first, an insight into the actual logistic of life on the road and the
bullshit that comes with it. Jehst followed suit. and desecrated the tune. While
he was recording his verse I came up with the hook. I put it down and we sent it
to Lenzman. He suggested getting Riya to sing along with my hook! oof! that was
the icing on the cake. Bleak,but at the same time feel good. some how??
Bag the single and prepare for the LP and in the meantime you can roll through Del’s influences via the Youtube playlist below. Hardly surprising that its full of warm harmonies and pinnacle tracks.
Clearly a man who understands his music and is right on the cutting edge of whats new, DRS is making himself a ridiculously hard act to follow. Inspirational and aspiring are two words that spring to mind. People have tried to tell me that Manchester is stuck in the past & trying to hold onto the music that made the City famous. It’s people like DRS that give us ammunition in countering those ridiculous arguments.
Jacques Greene and Koreless return for their second collaboration to date, this time on the Vase Forever label.
Koreless comes minimal and mellow as we would expect on the title track – a percussion track is hinted but those waiting for the ‘drop’ will have a disappointing time here.
Jacques Greene strikes a more rhythmic balance to the release with his particular set of skills on the remix ensuring a healthy future for this 12″ in many a club circle. We look forward to many more collaborations from this unlikely duo, who knows what they will come with next. An album maybe? Let’s see.
Robot Bodypop 