This month Manchester’s Soul:ution returns to Band On The Wall for the second instalment of the bi annual Exit Records residency. With residents including Calibre, Dub Phizix and Marcus Intalex and regular shows across the country Soul:ution is one of drum and bass’ most respected parties. This month sees dBridge, Loxy, Marcus Intalex and DRS taking to the stage.
In the meantime cop a recent mix from Marcus Intalex ft. DRS and Strategy recorded for Austrias La Boum de Luxe, FM4 Radio. Grab is here on Mixcloud or here for a direct download. It’s packed full of badman tracks.
Yeah we’re not there this year either which sucks but in the meantime, stream / download Manchesters own Djinn selecting exclusively for DRS Virus radio. Captures the vibe perfectly of what you can expect from her sets over there this year. Thats right, sets, plural. Lucky sods. Some of Djinns own productions in here alongside some dubs and forthcoming releases and the vibe is deep throughout. Get involved.
eleven8 – Alone
Indigo – Primal
Nanobyte – Ironore
Kryptic Minds – Rule of Language
Razor Rekta – Airborne
Zomby – Liquid Dancehall
Djinn – Something You Know
Thelem – Elemental Fears
Djinn – Deadbeat [tease]
Myrkur – Dancing In The Dark
Quantum Soul – Evocation
The Dub Mechz- Talking To The Gods
Vex’d – Fire
Toasty – The Knowledge
In anticipation of the forthcoming ‘I Don’t Usually Like MC’s But…’ long player from DRS, Soul:R label boss Marcus Intalex teams up with the mic-man himself with a stunning mix featuring cuts from the album. An exclusive to the DataTransmission collective, its a showcase of talents from both DRS and the producers. The LP is set to drop at the album launch party at the ‘Bunch Of Cuts’ night on the 25th August where DRS will feature alongside Marcus Intalex, Dub Phizix, Calibre, dBridge and S.P.Y amongst others. A truly mouth watering line up which serves this release justice. Tune into the mix to see what all the hype is about.
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.
Hotly anticipated on the Estate Recordings label, wordsmith Skittles returns with his second LP. The album features Skittles own productions alongside Chimpo, Dub Phizix and DRS alongside vocals from Mr Fox and Fallacy. A serious recipe for a long player. The album features cuts released previously as a taster such as ‘Tip-i-Cally’, ‘Boys In Blue’ and the monster ‘Dot2Dot’ as well as some fresh cuts like Robot Bodypop favourite, ‘Lying Here’. As Estate Recordings like to put it:
Imagine a piece of classical music, put it in a blender and add some reggae/ska to it, throw a load of broken instruments in the mix and a few proper cold rappers, sprinkle in some grime an a vinyl,add a bit of pop an pulse until smooth, an you will have nothing like what this album is.
Released on the 5th March in Manchester where you can catch the launch party at The Deaf Institute with a worldwide release following on the 12th March. Pick this album up. Don’t sleep.
Silent Dust is the project of UK duo Dan Blishen (originally from Manchester) and Andy Hobbs (hailing from Kent), who produced Drum & Bass together for years under the respective monikers Zyon Base and Hobzee.
Their self-titled debut, ‘Silent Dust,’ brings their signature D&B sound into a different light, drawing from a wide range of influences – ambient, drum & bass, garage, dub, breakbeat and soundtracks. The result is a collection of deep, bass-laden productions that sound like absolutely nothing else, filled with lush arrangements, an array of found sounds (‘footsteps, vinyl crackle, sellotape stretching’), cinematic vocal samples and glitchy, idiosyncratic drum programming. Though it’s driven by experimentation, this is a D&B record at heart: even the ambient tracks were written at 160-170 BPM.
We are well impressed by this debut. Personal favourites are ‘A Million Words’ and ‘Shadows On The Wall’, which features in this weeks podcast. Check previews of all the tracks below, then click a link to buy.
Robot Bodypop 