Soft Focus by Vanilla

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Killian

Beat tapes are something im getting increasingly distracted by, not least because of the groove they are offering but because its good to hear influences on people making the beats.

Recently the ‘Soft Focus’ tape by Vanilla has been ever present. Again, its a bewilderment that a 27 track album can be offered up for free or on a name your price basis, especially when the beats have this much soul.

Its clear to hear the influences on UK producer Vanilla and rather point to that I’d like to point at this release that keeps the head bouncing and the inner groove going from start to finish.

Cut up beats alongside warm vocals and grooves conjure up a fantastic brew. Bag it and try to listen from start to finish without rewinding to play, at least, more than one track twice. No chance!

A personal favorite for starters is ‘A Chance’

Inspiring stuff. Grab it.

Scottie Royal – Remixes

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Killian

Once again, searching the web for some killer remixes and/ or productions, I was more than pleasantly surprised to stumble across a young producer from Charlotte, USA. Theres actually 6 pieces to pick up on his Bandcamp page but its this remix album I’ve fallen for.

Scottie Royal crafts Hip-Hop remixes that sit perfectly alongside the carefully selected vocals. I’ve had this on rotation in the car for the best part of a month and it still sounds fresh.

There’s an incredible amount of soul and funk on offer here and more than enough for you to realise that Scottie Royal is a proficient producer who clearly understands his music and his tools.

A personal favorite is the K-OS track, Burning Bridges.

Bag the whole lot and chuck him some monetary rewards because this guy is a badman.

IM:LTD 1209 – Gerwin, Nuage & 2SHY

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Killian

Always on the cutting edge of drum & bass, IM:Ltd returns with a pair of tracks filled with
soulful energy. Preferring to err away from the obvious, the new vinyl release from the
France based label teams intelligent lyrics with stepping rhythms and delicate
instrumentation, lifting the release above a scene saturated with dark beats.
Gerwin & Nuage are one of Europe’s most prolific DnB collaborators and ‘Lying Portraits’ sees them team up with lyrical craftsman 2Shy to bring some beauty to the genre.

Sauntering through jazz influences it switches easily between a deep, emotive bass-driven track and a smooth, attention-grabbing stepper.

“Soul Truth” takes melodic textures and a smooth RnB vocal to create a track filled with
multi-layered beauty. A punchy 808 bass winds its way underneath, bringing warm depths to
carefully spacious percussion and interesting melodic snippets. A tune to relax to.

Gerwin’s ear for delicately devastating bass and percussion has been something of a well-
kept secret for too long. This release captures his need for elegance as well as depth and
rhythm. Listen and learn.

Available to pick up any day now on Triplevision

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Killian

I dont know about you but
the music I have on rotation often emulates whatever musical bubble
I’m currently floating around in. At the moment I’m going in on
deep hiphop and with sites like Soundclound
and Bandcamp having
search bars I honestly feel I don’t have enough time to explore the
amount of good work out there. Thankfully, however, I stumbled upon
Pawcut from
Germany. Lucky for you and me there’s
free downloads in abundance from this guy and the recent E.P,
The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, is
just that. The beats are broken but still keep the head nodding
while the samples twist up your emotions. It’s both melancholy and
straight vibing. Piano licks are in abundace here and there’s
strings that make you forget you’re listening to hip hop.
Incredible work from such a positive producer. Bag this, it’s
beautiful.

Pawcut
music

Robot Bodypop 13.10.12

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Killian

artwork from “Hello, I’m Robot!” by Stanislav Zigunenko (Russian Kids’ Book, 1989)

Flying solo once again with the new format it’s myself Killian selecting from a mixed bag this week. Deep vibes throughout and even taking a small HipHop excursion with Snakehips, Gummy Soul & Fresh as I’ve recently discovered Bandcamp is an absolute goldmine for concept albums from indie producers.
There some deep dub in there, most notably a free track from Djinn, thats a wicked remix of a Numan track so check for that. Some roots vibes in there too from Egoless and Matta checks in with a remix of French producers Niveau Zero & Tambour Battant. Dark and moody vibes from Kode 9 vs Badwai and to fend of the dark theres glorious tracks from our best kept secret, Londy as well as rising talen Es.Tereo. New D&B vibes from Breaks Symmetry label make this show as varied as it’s ever been. Get keen and listen in.

Things She Say – Londy
Den Of Drumz – Kode 9 vs Badwai
Secrets (Djinn RMX) – Numan
Before Dub – Egoless
Big What (Matta RMX) – Niveau Zero & Tambour Battant
Red Sound – Yosi Horikawa & Dorian Concept
Talinn – Kusto
Who We Are – Break
Third Act – Prolix
Pardon Me – Snakehips
Heart – Fresh
4 Better Or 4 Worse – Gummy Soul
Purple Sky – Es.Tereo

Octane & DLR – Method… in the Madness

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Killian

With releases on RunDNB, Audio Tactics and most notably Renegade Hardware and Dispatch Recordings, Octane & DLR are set to drop their long player on the 10th September on Dispatch Recordings. Pushing the limits with their cross-genre vibes has gained them huge support from their peers. Regular radio play comes as a result, as the sound they have spent the last 12 months meticulously carving is ridiculously fresh. The album features mouth watering collabos from Break, Cern and EBK as well as guest vocalists and MC’s Fokus, Kemo, Gusto and Marion.
To whet your appetite catch this preview mix as its absolute FIRE! Just when you thought you’d heard it all before.

Be sure to check out the full dates of each drop

FULL ALBUM RELEASE DATES:
Vinyl album sampler + digital formats drop on 13th of August 2012
Vinyl plate 1 + digital formats drop on 3rd September 2012.
Vinyl plate 2 + digital formats + Full album CD + full album digital (plus extra bonus tracks) drop on 10th September 2012.
Vinyl plate 3 + digital formats drop on 17th September 2012.

Robot Bodypop

Future Beats from 1nejack & Killian

Tag Archives: fresh