Author: James Mernagh

Dissident – Apnoea/Anabasis ft. Nordub & Dissociative [none60]

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Dissident - Apnoea/Anabasis [none60]

Dissident - Apnoea/Anabasis [none60]

Dissident gets deep and dark on his none60 debut, Apnoea/Anabasis.

A-side ‘Apnoea’ prowls over an oppressive, pounding sub for the minimal drum & bass equivalent of a psychological horror flick while on the flip things brighten substantially as the producer teams up with Nordub and Dissociative to flirt with daylight after a stint plumbing the depths.

Silent Dust’s none60 imprint is no stranger to the atmospheric, more experimental side of the genre and Dissident’s release slots right in there amongst the likes of Lewis James, The Corpus, Ethos and of course the duo at the label’s helm.

Listen below or head here to buy.

www.soundcloud.com/silentdust
www.none60records.bandcamp.com

MVRK – Dots [Pseudoscience Recordings]

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MVRK - Dots EP [Pseudoscience Recordings]

MVRK - Dots EP [Pseudoscience Recordings]

Hungarian drum & bass producer MVRK muscles his way onto Hybris’s Pseudoscience Recordings imprint, which releases a record not put together by its head honcho for the first time.

Dots by MVRK is the third release, and the first not to come from Hybris – and the label boss has explained the reasoning behind his decision. He said: “When I started Pseudoscience, I wasn’t in a rush to sign other artists, as I only want to release music that I feel absolutely confident about, and I’m a picky bastard.

“But upon first listen to Voyage (on my phone speaker) I told MVRK to lock it down, and the rest of the EP soon followed. MVRK is an exceptional talent from Budapest, who perfectly represents the Pseudoscience sound, and I’m extremely proud to present his debut EP on the label.“

Broadly speaking Dots is a neurofunk workout, but the sheer variety of sounds and arrangements warrants its own genre tag – ‘Voyage’ is sheer chaos, punishing synths running amok over erratic drum hits, while ‘Energizer’ retains the neuro muscle over a madly swung beat.

The title track rips over razor-sharp percussion and the record closes on the nuclear soundscape of ‘Ghost Circuit’, a borderline terrifying track dripping in atmospheric pads and menacing bass.

Listen below or head here to buy.

www.soundcloud.com/pseudosciencerecordings
www.pseudosciencerecordings.bandcamp.com

Quentin Hiatus – I’m Neither Quentin Nor Hiatus Vol. 4 [Free Love Digi]

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Quentin Hiatus - I'm Neither Quentin Nor Hiatus Vol. 4 [Free Love Digi]

Quentin Hiatus - I'm Neither Quentin Nor Hiatus Vol. 4 [Free Love Digi]

Quentin Hiatus is back with more intergalactic goodness with the fourth instalment of his I’m Neither Quentin Nor Hiatus series, doing for drum & bass what NASA did for Neil Armstrong.

From the robotic warmth of ‘To Be Red’ to the full-bodied half-time roller ‘Electro Dynamics’ through more conventional break-led cuts like ‘Unstable Crystal’ and ‘Sense of Loss’ the seven-track record charts a course way out past Pluto, with warm synth washes from Mercury mornings and rumbling basslines from Jupiter’s raging red spot.

Listen below or head here to buy.

www.soundcloud.com/free-love-digi
www.freelovedigi.bandcamp.com

Various Artists – Future Sound of Leipzig [Defrostatica Records]

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Various Artists - Future Sound of Leipzig [Defrostatica Records]

Various Artists - Future Sound of Leipzig [Defrostatica Records]

Defrostatica Records lift the lid on the music which is shaking the foundations of its hometown right now on the Future Sound of Leipzig compilation, an intense basscone workout touching hip-hop, trap, jungle, juke, half tempo and drum & bass across its 17 tracks.

Tempos range from 80 right up to a full-blown 170 bpm as underground artists including Schmeichel, Kiat, Maltin Worf and BRKN1 drop tracks across the full spectrum – expect frenetic footwork one minute (’Nous’ by DJ YumYum) and brain-massage relaxation (see ‘Renaissance’ by Goodkat) the next. Defrostatica have delivered the complete package.

Listen below head here to buy.

www.defrostatica.bandcamp.com
www.soundcloud.com/defrostatica

Urban Wildlife Vol. 3 [Urban Wildlife]

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Urban Wildlife Vol. 3 [Urban Wildlife]

 

Urban Wildlife Vol. 3 [Urban Wildlife]

Back once again with the ill behaviour, Urban Wildlife have dropped volume three in their heavyweight drum & bass compilation series.

Producers from all corners of the globe lay down beefy cuts of 175bpm goodness representing every shade of the genre which Urban Wildlife exists to serve. Tearout jump-up rubs shoulders with molten gold liquid, straight-up nastiness goes hand in hand with clean-cut vocals – if there’s a more detailed, better curated 24-track compilation going, we are yet to see it.

Listen below or head here to buy.

www.soundcloud.com/urbanwildlife_dnb
www.urban-wildlife.com

Schmeichel – Alteration EP [Defrostatica Records]

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Schmeichel - Alteration EP [Defrostatica Records]

Schmeichel - Alteration EP [Defrostatica Records]

Ambitious Leipzig-based label Defrostatica continues to fly the flag for its hometown with the debut EP from Schmeichel, the Alteration EP – a forward-thinking journey through the outer reaches of footwork.

Drawing influences from all corners of bass music, former rock drummer Schmeichel strings together five cuts of explorative electronica with its roots in footwork but its heights almost limitless. Driven by hi-hats and rimshots, the record shuffles and grooves its way through a story, ushering in one of the new generation of Leipzig producers.

Click here to buy or listen below.

www.soundcloud.com/defrostatica
www.defrostatica.com

Lewis James – ‘Searchtower’/’Templar III’ [none60 Records]

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Lewis James - 'Searchtower'/'Templar III' [none60 Records]

Lewis James - 'Searchtower'/'Templar III' [none60 Records]

Lewis James joins the none60 crew for two tracks of deep, atmospheric drum & bass.

Silent Dust’s label snapped the producer up after hearing A-side ‘Searchtower’ played out by Jon1st – the combination of sci-fi pads and sonic artefacts giving way to a hypnotic bassline sucked them in, and that’s no surprise.

On the flip, ‘Templar III’ shows off Lewis James’ background in film and video game sound design with a real Assassin’s Creed dimension to the majestic half-time march.

Click here to buy, and listen below – and for good measure check out Lewis James’ none60 podcast while you’re at it.

www.soundcloud.com/silentdust

 

Bassment Beats Vol 3 [Translation Recordings]

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Bassment Beats Vol 3 [Translation Recordings]

Bassment Beats Vol 3 [Translation Recordings]

Things get dark on the third instalment of Translation Recordings’ pioneering Bassment Beats series, where new artists jump on the label to drop moody cuts of experimental drum & bass.

All abrasive synths and ominous atmospherics, the record starts at full throttle with fierce tracks from Akinsa and Fuj before Mark Kloud lightens the weight but keeps the drums hectic on ‘Coplanar’.

Broken Promise’s tense, urgent ‘Blade’ rips with a snarling mid-bass given life by clattering breakbeats before the record is seen out by Translation Recordings founder RogueState’s staggered slow burner ‘Origins’.

The record is out now, listen below or head here to buy.

www.translation-recordings.com
www.soundcloud.com/translationrecordings

Dirty-D – Feelin’ Moody EP [NexGen Music]

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Dirty-D - Feelin' Moody EP [NexGen Music]

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NexGen Music let chaos reign on latest release Feelin’ Moody by Dirty-D who pushes breaks close to their breaking point – but then again it’s his label so he can do what he wants.

Thankfully label founder D.A – operating here under one of his many production monikers Dirty-D – has impeccable taste and avoids headachy jump-up in favour of four tracks of hectic drum & bass toughness with a real touch of class even in the midst of the speaker-rending bassines of closing track ‘Choppin’ It’.

Veering from a marriage of mental drums and classic rave synths on the title track to the shredded breaks of the jagged ‘Radial Exposure’, the record pivots on the high-energy stepper ‘Do You Love Me?’, which conjures visions of Ed Rush and Optical.

It’s no surprise that the record has a genuine old-school taste to it – it’s put together using unfinished bits from as far back as the late 90’s, buffed up to today’s standards.

Listen below, or click here to buy.

https://www.nexgenmusicgroup.com/
www.soundcloud.com/nexgenrecs

Boomdoc – Lowda EP [Affectionate Grooves]

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Boomdoc - Lowda EP [Affectionate Grooves]

 

Boomdoc - Lowda EP [Affectionate Grooves]

Keeping things strictly bass-bound, Affectionate Grooves play host to the steppin’ house debut from Boomdoc, the infectious four-track Lowda EP.

Bouncing from the off, it’s hard to imagine a better celebration of hitting double figures in releases for the NexGen Music Group sub-label. Boomdoc shakes four walls, the ceiling and the floor with catchy opener ‘Roc Dem Floors’ and keeps things popping off with stinking bass throughout.

Closer ‘Steppin on the Town’ is a glorious nod to ‘golden era’ house and the EP wears its classic influences proudly on its sleeve while packing a hefty low-end kick custom built for dancefloor destruction.

The Lowda EP is out now on Affectionate Grooves – head here to buy or listen below.

www.soundcloud.com/nexgenrecs
www.nexgenmusicgroup.com