Beats News

What is music about? It can be about anything, I guess, but that's not what we are talking about. That's not why we are here. What makes the difference is if music, any music, is worth it. Then it's something else. Like this piece, Juho's solo album. What I suggest as a simile to music on this vinyl, is the experience of sauna. Savusauna (smoke sauna) to be exact. The thing about savusauna is that because of the method of heating, the room gets really hot, and the smell of smoke is all over. Google it. But if you want to understand it, try it. When you enter the sauna, you need to surrender, in order to enjoy. A good savusauna is best when it is over 100 celsius. The heat is intense, but don't let yourself feel affronted. Feel embraced. The heat is your vessel. You are transported, just by sitting down. Breathe in, feel the steam, it becomes you, breathe out. This is the way to approach the music on this vinyl. Leave your opinions behind, like you do with your clothes in sauna. You will have them back later, don't worry. But while you listen, don't take anything with you, just focus: on sounds, on your body, on your mind. They will be the same thing for the time being. After being heated up, take your time to cool down. Dip in a lake, if you can. Feel the pulse in your body, like the rhythm of the music. Glance up, float silently. In due time, your body will calm down. By the time you are put to bed, the music will continue inside you. This is what music is about, when it is worth the while. Taneli Viitahuhta

Plate 2 from Kromestar's remastered My Sound LP on Deep Heads.

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Deep Heads in association with Dubstar records are proud to present the 2021 Remaster, Vinyl edition special, of the seminal album ‘My Sound’ by Dubstep legend Kromestar.

Originally released in 2009, with high critical acclaim, the record is no doubt one of Kromestar’s most celebrated and recognised albums he’s ever created. An absolutely timeless collection of music, the album was groundbreaking at the time and still holds up as a quality album from start to finish in 2021.

Plate 4 from Kromestar's remastered My Sound LP on Deep Heads.

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Deep Heads in association with Dubstar records are proud to present the 2021 Remaster, Vinyl edition special, of the seminal album ‘My Sound’ by Dubstep legend Kromestar.

Originally released in 2009, with high critical acclaim, the record is no doubt one of Kromestar’s most celebrated and recognised albums he’s ever created. An absolutely timeless collection of music, the album was groundbreaking at the time and still holds up as a quality album from start to finish in 2021.

A word from the label - "LiBL are proud to present the imprint's second iteration from Lakumer & Z Axis. 4 tracks channelling a variety of styles, influenced by Aquarian Foundation, STL, CV313 & Marcellus Pittman. Not forgetting the love and pain of tinkering with analogue sound until the equipment fails and you're back to square one! Perseverance, finding old tapes and acquired time through a global lockdown helped these tracks finally see the light of day.......and we are ever so pleased they have.

This record is a momentous occasion for me as it is the first release that I have signed from a member of my production tutorial website. This is something I was quietly hoping would come to pass when I started the project but I never knew if it would actually happen. Liebus was sending me tracks to critique as part of a feature on the site and after a batch of them came in that I not only didn’t have any critique for but actually I wanted to ask him how he made them instead, I knew I was onto a winner.

I can’t quite believe this is his first release as the tracks sound so mature and incredibly produced but I was never going to think twice about putting them out.

All five tracks are subby, drummy, mind bending workouts from start to finish. Proper cavernous vibes with a dose of potentially too strong an LSD trip mixed in for good measure.
Not for the faint hearted...

OK enough of my blather. Go and listen to the damn things yourself and decide if you like them, rather than trying to work it out from reading a bloody press release you weirdos.

All four tracks are produced and sculpted for the club. They want big sound systems and dark rooms.

Close your eyes, hold hands and experience transcendental space flight...

7" flexidisc vinyl

Dub Tree is a sine wave heavy bass line trip. Pads and light rave pianos keep this track both heavy and light at the same time, delivering a track with serious punchy kicks that'll keep any raver stomping wildly thru from beginning to end.

Pads and light rave pianos keep this track both heavy and light at the same time, delivering a track with serious punchy kicks that'll keep any raver stomping wildly thru from beginning to end.

German musician Mary Yalex debuts on A Strangely Isolated Place depicting a storied transition from our recognizable surroundings, into a vision of the future.

With releases and music styles across a variety of labels over the years, it has been Yalex’s more experimental ambient work that has stood out amongst her catalog, and in Fantasy Zone, we find Mary fine-tuning this sound to reflect the work of a true architect of storytelling, mood and atmosphere.

Drawing influences from her day-to-day surroundings, Fantasy Zone begins with more vivid pieces; softer melodies and clearer instrumentation, represented as much in song titles such as Air, After Rain Comes Sun, and Half Light of Dawn. The second half of the album transitions into a future state, as Yalex draws on darker manifestations - perhaps intrinsically influenced by the state of the world, and in particular her love of nature, we play witness to more storied, haunting atmospheres, distant voices and slowly shifting gravitational chord movements. Dystopian-bound or pure fantasy, Yalex depicts a future that mirrors some of the more poignant, thought-provoking work of great synthesizer soundtracks of the past.

Nervous Gender’s legendary synthpunk LP Music From Hell burbles up from infernal depths to resurface on Dark Entries. Confrontational, unhinged, and unabashedly queer, Music from Hell is an unholy grail for fans of the strangest underbellies of post-punk, minimal synth, and early industrial music, and is presented here newly remastered and on expanded double LP.

Nervous Gender (de)formed in LA in 1978 at the hands of Phranc, Gerardo Velaquez, Edward Stapleton, and Michael Ochoa. Phranc, the androgynous embodiment of the band’s name, left in 1980. Following her departure, a wide cast of LA freaks would find themselves drawn into the band’s orbit, including Alice Bag of the Bags, Paul Roessler of the Screamers, the Germs’ Don Bolles, and an 8-year old drummer named Sven Pfeiffer. In 1980, Nervous Gender appeared on the seminal Live at Target compilation alongside Factrix, uns, and Flipper. With the band’s notoriety cemented, Music from Hell followed in 1981 on Subterranean Records (as no LA label would touch this material).

Side A, dubbed “Martyr Complex”, presents a more punk-forward sound with live drum salvos and slabs of aggressive synth. These twitchy, unsettling shockers ooze with the kind of snotty misanthropy that will endear them to fans of the Screamers or Crass.

Side B, known as “Beelzebub Youth”, is a live performance the band labeled "an electronic bruto-canto dissertation on the banality of spiritual transcendence." Mutant melodies cede way to synthesized clangs, whirs, bleeps, manipulated tapes, and howls of despair.

In addition to all the material from the original LP, we’re treated to a full disc of the band’s demos, the material from the Live at Target compilation, and early live recordings. Included are unrecognizable covers of Carly Simon and Lou Reed, and the Sex Pistols that are so despairingly skewed they fall into the void. This reissue of Music From Hell includes a 36 page lyric booklet, foldout poster, and gatefold sleeve with photos, flyers, and news-clippings designed by Eloise Leigh. Tackling taboo issues like sexual kinks, mental illness, drug use, and childhood molestation, Music From Hell is still surprising – even shocking - over 40 years after the album’s release. Nervous Gender stand as one of the most genuinely anti-establishment outfits in underground music, a colossal fuck you to social norms from religious strictures to gender essentialism.

The fourth instalment of the FDX Black series sees label boss Skitty reunited on wax with long time production partner Nolige aka SB81, who's in fine form after his well received cutting edge remix of J Majik's 'Your Sound' for Metalheadz. This plate is an essential purchase for any fan of the trademark Foundation X style, perfectly bridging the space between head nod rolling Drum & Bass, and vintage jungle breakbeat edits.

Coming correct with a strain of UK informed club music shot through a US prism, Patrick Brian makes his first appearance on Sneaker Social Club with six beats that show how much space for exploration there still is within the Hardcore continuum.

Transmitting out of LA and bringing some undeniable West Coast influence to his productions, Brian breaks a momentary hiatus after a knockout run of singles on Plastician’s Terrorhythm label circa 2014-15 and occasional stealth drops on the likes of White Peach.

From the covert creep of ‘Flooring It’ to the tense pressure of ‘Cry-Baby’, the square wave bass flex of ‘Giant’ to string-stab drama of ‘Ill Wishes’, Brian’s sound is razor-sharp and loaded with detail. Crucially, the productions are agile and weighted and certified by DJ Oblig who’s caned them regularly on his Rinse FM shows.

Sounding distinct from the OG London sound while still nailing the fundamentals, Brian’s generous drop for Sneaker Social is a must for anyone devoted to the progression of Grime and Drill.

All music was written, mixed, and produced by Pedro Vian & Raül Refree in Barcelona. Special thanks to the Blancafort family for providing the positive organ for the recording of the album. Also thanks to Mar, Gina, Teo, and Balthazar for the support.

Western Lore is proud to present 'We're All Disturbed', the debut long player from Mancunian brothers, Response & Pliskin.

Throughout a dreamlike sequence of 10+ minute epics that further blur the boundaries of jungle & techno, the duo explore themes of violence, corruption, tyranny & propaganda; Painting a stark vision of a present day dystopia lurking within the cracks of society.

3 x heavyweight (180g) black vinyl, shrink-wrapped & housed in a full art gatefold sleeve.

Neither Scratcha DVA, nor any of the tracks on this release, really need an introduction. Grime fans will instantly recognise these legendary tunes from radio, raves and mixtapes.
DJ Support
Dream Eater 007 has been supported on radio stations including Mode FM, Rinse FM, Subtle FM by several DJs including Spooky, Scratcha DVA & Nights,

Skins is a producer/DJ based in Leeds with an active history in dance music that goes back over 10 years. He cut his teeth DJing regularly at the legendary former Oxford nightclub The Cellar. He played here as part of the Subverse Radio collective as well as for other favourite local promoters, alongside a regular radio show on the aforementioned station which he co-founded. After moving to Leeds in 2016, Skins focused his attention on music production and self-released a string of white-label techno EPs which garnered support from artists such as Djrum, Jane Fitz and Mike Schommer of Deepchord.

More recently Skins has moved away from the dub techno sound with which he had become associated, with an EP from speed garage newcomers Spin City on heavy rotation with DJs including Evan Baggs, Andrew James Gustav and Sugar Free. His latest explorations have found him returning to the futuristic jungle stylings which originally drew him into the world of electronic music in his teens.

Whether it’s in the studio or behind the decks, Skins draws on a wide range of influences from hip hop, deep house and techno through dubstep and grime to jungle, with a preference for playing vinyl over three turntables. He has performed alongside the likes of Willow, Batu, Answer Code Request, Levon Vincent and Ben UFO.

Foundation X's white label 'Amenizer' project returns with volumes 4 & 5.

Both landing at the same time, each feature heavily requested Foundation X classics previously only available digitally but now available on wax!

Jack Hamill’s Space Dimension Controller project has delivered some of the most enduring electronic music in recent times. Via single and album releases for the likes of Ninja Tune, Royal Oak, Dekmantel and Aus Music, SDC has thrilled with a certain timeless sound that has embodied science fiction swirling tones, glitchy and granular beats and a nostalgia for electronic music that always sounds futuristic.

On the ‘Cro2ma’ EP, SDC serves up a trio of intoxicating productions for the Hypercolour label. Highly accessible, yet detailed and intricate in design, Space Dimension Controller soaks all three tracks with sanguine melodies and bass blippy frolics that make for an exemplary release from the seasoned producer.

Sometimes, things "just happen". For months, we’d been working away on various projects and then, without really thinking about it, The Black EP just happened. It seemingly appeared from nowhere.

We’d been talking about the old days; making music with friends and dodgy kit, renting small practice rooms and using makeshift recording studios. It was such a common thing back then, you could pick a dusty space in a half-derelict building for as little as £25 a month. In those days, the Cabs and Human League had studios with posh-sounding names, but in reality, they were the same old workspaces long abandoned by the industries they were built for. Nevertheless, the grand names made them sound magical.

Sheffield had thousands of these spaces, and some still exist today, but their abundance and low-cost made Sheffield a very active place. Someone was always doing something. They’d exploded onto the scene in a flurry of excitement before disappearing just as quickly.

There’s something about these little mesters (workshops) that we believe lives in the very consciousness of Sheffield. It’s one of the reasons we never really had big scenes like Manchester or Leeds. The Hacienda would've never been built here.

We don’t really do big gangs or have that kind of mentality. We tend to exist in little pockets, often leaving each other alone. It would be 30 years before any member of The Black Dog talked to Cabaret Voltaire. Sure, we’d stood outside their practice room as kids, trying to listen in, but never felt any reason to approach. Sheffield is like that.

Once we had the first two tracks of the Black EP, we set off to see Jon at Do It Theesen, where he manually cut the tracks to an extremely limited set of 7" singles using a vinyl lathe. It just felt right to go back to the old ways; a small gang creating something special in workshops and sheds. There’s something very satisfying about it, a perfect circle, if you will.

We pushed further by adopting old practices, working with one synth per person and limiting the use of our computers. We only stopped short of putting everything on beer crates. It seems like madness these days, but there is raw creativity within these confines. Pretty much every band started this way. Depeche Mode travelled to the studio on the London Underground for their first appearance on Top Of The Pops, all lugging a synth each. That's how we approached the creation of this album; stripped back, raw and minimal - it just felt so right.

And then there’s the competitive element that was influenced when the original Human League split and became Human League MK II and Heaven 17. Both continued to use the same studio to write what became the albums "Dare" and "Penthouse and Pavement". There is something about that drive that is very Sheffield, just making stuff and hoping everything falls into place.

In Sheffield, we do things differently, because that’s how we are built. away on various projects and then, without really thinking about it, The Black EP just happened. It seemingly appeared from nowhere.

The Bird Flew High Through The City Between The Tall, Towering Buildings. It Could Not See The Mess Which Lay Down Below Amidst The Streets For It Was Surrounded By The Deep Blue Glow Of The Morning Light And The Mirrored Reflections Of The City Skyscrapers Which Stood Tall Like Monsterous Dinosaurs Atop The Sprawling Landscape. There Was Not A Cloud In The Sky Today As The Smacky Dove Left London For The Last Time. It Would Travel South Above The Sea To A Place Of Warmth Far, Far Away.
Trinity Carbon Continues The Breakbeat And Rave Revival With A Four Track Ep In What Makes Up The First Art-e-fax Release. This Was Our Favourite Cut From The New Release Which Features Beautiful Strings And A Rugged But Steady Beat.
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Dj Support
Ltj Bukem, Laurent Garnier, Doc Scott, Dario Zenker, Octo Octa, Ruf Dug, Silva Kastel, Deadboy, Ratpack, Bleid, Chaos In The Cbd, Adam Shelton, Barely Legal, James Zabiela, Hrdvsion, Candy Pollard, Tom Trago, The Maghreban, Anastasia Kristensen, Photonz, Extrawelt, Rsd, Ciel, Nick Craddock, Kornel Kovacs, Dj Guy, 2 Bad Mice, Soundbwoy Killah, Addison Groove, Etch, Qzen, Franklin De Costa, Asok

Cantina Cuts welcomes Eruption FM's DJ Uplift to the label with four heavy jungle and hardcore tracks.

Having previously released music via Soundway Records and Five Easy Pieces, South London based producer XOA (AKA Nick Tyson) caught the ears of Gilles Peterson, DJ Mag, Boiler Room, Red Bull, XLR8R (and more) with his use of rich analogue sonics, steeped in the electronic sounds of London’s musical underbelly, blending vibrant textures and cosmic melodies, melding afrobeat and jazz sensibilities with house and techno.

Re-emerging last year with a new direction and meaning: hard hitting Jazz with big analogue electronic sounds, along with a four-person outfit (which features Tyson (Bass & Electronics) joined by Johnny Tomlinson (Synths / Fender Rhodes), Josh Arcoleo (Tenor Saxophone) and Joost Hendrickx (Drums). Their previous release ‘Program Change', took the listener on a warp-speed kaleidoscopic journey through space and time, and gained support from Jamz Supernova, Gilles Peterson, Clash, Bolting Bits & more.

Forthcoming release ‘After Burner’ gives a fuel injection to the outfit, elevating XOA’s music to new and dizzying heights. From the rich tones of lift-off of the intro ‘Drawing Light’, through the intricately composed textures of ‘Invisible Shapes’ to the driving and pulsating title track ‘After Burner’; culminating in the vast and contemplative finale of ‘Final Ascent’

Feeding on their collaborative energy of four musicians going hell for leather, XOA have created an urgent and enthralling sound - one which perfectly captures the lightning-rod tenacity of their live performances. The release will be the second on Tyson’s own imprint Outervisions - a label which embraces creatively driven artists blending the sounds of Jazz and electronic music from London and beyond.

Slammin' drum & bass.

Massive rave Ragga drum. Feat the total hit Bombaklot remix.

The second release from Wax Ninja, a Moscow-based record-shop-turned-record-label, is the longed-for gem cut by Artem Xio, the humble leading light of the local underground scene. Can't Stop Now EP is a universal musical weapon, perfect for a DJ bag in which a variety of genres - from hip-hop and jungle to garage house and techno - coexist peacefully. Each side reflects Xio's stages of formation: not only as a collector, DJ and artist, but primarily as a an educated listener with a sensitive ear. The title track Can't Stop Now was written in 2010 to be rethought 10 years after and become a house banger powered by emotionally charged vocals. The dramatic opus that is Crucial Moment pleases with its Detroit-style anguish, while the U Took My Love, an ode to electric organ, gives out some proper Jersey house vibe. Raw and heavy, True School was born out of an unreleased remix for the local rap group, and finally Now U Know takes you back to the beginning of 00s thanks to Cream Soda d'n'b rework. In other words, this "unstoppable" EP is a true delight both for nostalgic old school heads and for those who expect some quality time on the dancefloor.

DJ Feedbacks: (please find all feedbacks in the pdf sheet)
Laurent Garnier: “GREAT EP -- Love the whole thing”
Tensnake: “can't stop now is big thanks”
Robert Owens: ''cool tracks!"
Ka§par: "“For me the house tracks are fun and all, but it's the
Cream Soda jungle mix that's got me into this release,
thanks!”
Anja Schneider: “Great thx .”
Portable: “Wonderful summer vibes post lockdown!”
Black Madonna: “Nice!”
Moodsetter: “Damn Yeaaah !!!
This is classic New York underground sound...
what a vibe !!!
I just L. O. V. E. I. T !!!

Warehouse Find!

repressed !

Hot on the heels of AUS' recent releases from Breach, Huxley and Bwana they ready their next offering from Irish duo and long term label affiliates Bicep. Aptly timed for the festival months, their 'Just' EP follows up a series of self-released titles which include collaborations with Ebony and Midland and is an impassioned bundle of broken beats, shimmering synth lines and rapturous piano chords. The title track kicks things off and suffuses a broken kick and snare combo with a poignant sequence and heart-rending synth strings. A vocal refrain drops in and out throughout a lucent breakdown before () lays a soft, filtered croon over a swelling piano motif. Tension is astutely balanced, never quite boiling over and keeping the listener pinned before () drives a tough, gravelly kick under gentle flecks of acid and rich sweeping pads.

1 strong Breakbeat / 1 ragga drum

Ragga Jungle from Canada.

The next EP on Blank Mind comes from DJ ojo. His first fully- fledged EP is the result of a mission to find balance between warmth and weirdness, structure and disorder; resulting in dripping, humid tracks with presence and a subtlety that holds sway well beyond the edge of the dancefloor.

From the crisp percussion, and elastikated synths that form ‘Coiled up’ to the furtive corridors of dubby drums and space of ‘Precise device’, there’s a staggering level of detail at work in ojo’s microcosms. Funkiness abounds in the accents on the grooves and the garnishes which quiver in and out, and quite
often you’ll hear motifs which call to mind something classic, but rendered wholly new. Take the steppas impressions drizzled into dislocated soundsystem flambé ‘Skip top’ on the B2 - a prime example of how to trigger a dopamine response without repeating someone else’s trick.

Tokyo based producer and City-2 St. Giga label owner DJ Trystero arrives on Incienso with his debut LP “Castillo”. Over nine tracks Trystero explores uniquely spontaneous modes of rhythm and sound - turning ambient, breakbeat, electro, techno and house into blurred sonics that expand on their own time.

Hot stuff !! Experimental Hardcore in a Flashcore feeling,... Rolling rolling rolling... HAN !
Loud & speedbass, flashing sounds !

Space travel !