Beats News

Erupt Records has suffered its first Unrest Hazard. After keeping the lid on a beast this explosive, what did you think was going to happen?

This new series of '4 on 1' EPs from the mighty label, will showcase several of the best producers from the UK (sometimes even beyond!) breakbeat hardcore/jungle scene on 1 record, be they old or new.

The first track from Schoco (Omni Music) is "I Need". Let yourself go to wispy, dream-state synthlines over ferocious breakz.

Track 2 is a bouncy piano anthem for anybody who likes hearing the words "1993" and "happy" in the same sentence. This one is brought to you by After The Zenith. Usually resident cover artist for Erupt, this time he grabs the steering wheel and gears up to present you a bit of his own 'ardcore.

Next up is some brutality from Tactical Aspect. Need no more be said than these lads are one of Australia's finest purveyors of hardcore junglism, with a portfolio including works for Reinforced Records. But, with a recent move back to Yorkshire, and following an initiation into the West Yorkshire Jungle Collective, it only made sense for TA to deliver some unrelenting '93 style breakbeat hardcore brutality to celebrate.

The final track "When Did We Forget" is a get together from the lads at Kool FM, Code and Subbreak, with D-Region. Any time you see these names together, it commands serious respect. This is one for anybody who likes those hazy breakbeat hardcore tracks that tread a fine line between hard and euphoric.

What are you waiting for?

Erupt Records was established in 2016 to cover tougher, faster styles of electronic dance music, with a view of openness towards introducing contemporary influences alongside the familiar; Hardcore that reflects today, not yesterday. The objective? Push the boundaries, keep the drums raw, compromise for noone.

Former Good Looking Records Don - Wes Kyro debuts on VNR with two slices of pure golden era sounds

Lyra Valenza set the tone for their first full-length album ‘Low Gear No Pressure’ with an idyllic ambience, which then tumbles into feisty, heartfelt dance workouts. Across eight tracks, the Danish duo explore the pixellated euphoria of their previous ‘Scan, Deliver’ and ‘Nightshade Edition’ EPs with a more focused sensitivity. At the start of 2020, Lyra Valenza had been freshly nominated by music platform SHAPE. With the pandemic in hand, however, plans changed: instead of playing a slew of festivals, the duo spent weeks in a summer house in rural Sjælland, right at Denmark’s North Eastern coast, making early versions of the tracks in this album. ‘Low Gear No Pressure’ refers to the unusual calmness of that time, away from music industry stress and burnout; inspired by friendship. More than previous EPs, the album is shaped by the duo’s live set, which they’ve been performing in Denmark and Europe for many years now. The album breezes through different modes with confidence and ease, tracks morphing fluidly into one another to create a cohesive listening experience. A cool, expansive breakbeat on track two, ‘True Computer’, hints at the psychoactive journey to follow. ‘Truthwork’ plays with arps over a half time groove: subtle synths which reach their final form in ‘Joy Divided’. These agile swells and drops recall peers-in-precision Minor Science and 96 Back. On the flip, ‘Gameshow’ looks back over one shoulder to eurodance, while ‘Life on the Line’ goes out to the soulful junglists, but with a touches of trance in the samplework. On ‘Who Might Win’, the album’s ecstatic hyperactiveness melts into a slo-mo heartbeat, reminding us there’s a chillout room somewhere in the building. And just when we think it’s time to go home, the album gifts us with “one more tune”, and the soaring pop vocals of featured artist Saltmother on ‘Stretch Your Arms’.

The latest offering from Astral Black comes in the form of the 'Metropolis N' LP, courtesy of Queens, New York's number premier importer/exporter of Jungle & D&B, NIGELTHREETIMES. Having initially garnered a name for themselves as one of New York City's most versatile club DJ's, with the release of their 'Call Of The Void; project in 2020 Nigel also began to build a reputation as a producer in their own right. Resulting in residencies on Rinse FM & The Lot Radio, radio support from the likes of Tom Ravenscroft & Uniiqu3 and press support from Resident Advisor, OkayPLAYER & Mixmag – amplifying their talents throughout New York City and beyond.

With 'Metropolis N' NIGELTHREETIMES distills their eclectic influences through the lens of rolling 160bpm breaks – taking in Jazz, 8-bit game soundtrakcs, science fiction & jump up D&B. Starting off the LP with the rhodes tinged double header of 'TSQ MELTDOWN' & 'EARLY MORNING FROM 103RD STREET', the latter featuring some of the best double bass work heard on a jungle track since 'Brown Paper Bag'. Elsewhere, on 'ROAD2RAILS' and 'PHANTOM SHORES', the producer ditches the instrumentation in favour of oscillated square waves, dubbed out vocal FX & 8-bit melodies, without ever losing site of the projects underlying sense of optimism. On the album closer 'INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION', 3X manages to bring together the influences heard throughout the project, tying together a muted rhodes chords, squarewave basslines, flutters of alien melodies and finely tuned, slices breakbeats into a 5 minute symphony.

The consistency and exacting production skills heard throughout the offering elevate this project from another drop in the digital ocean to a landmark opus, from a producer carrying the torch for this timeless sound and making the project worthy of a spot alongside some of the classics this genre has produced.

'Metropolis N' is available Oct 13th on digital and limited edition vinyl via Astral Black.

His debut EP on Amen Brother and for this release, he went for a different approach to our usual kind of release. This EP has been created to sound like recording of a rave from the early 90’s. Back in the day, tape packs and bootleg cassettes were common place, where raves from all over the country could be enjoyed at home, especially by those of us who were too young to attend. They were like currency, traded with mates at school or sent to friends in other parts of the country by post.

Tony Justice kicks you off at the start of the rave, interlinking all the tracks by extracts of various raves so the release runs smoothly (for the digital we chopped the EP into 4). You are then asked to leave… but quietly. And don’t go looking for any free parties in Bournemouth!

Sit back, light a fat one and let this ep take you on a trip…

Volume 2 picks up where Volume 1 ends, with yet more insanity from Acen.

Moondust is once again in the vein of Opus and really cements the fact that Acen was just living in the future and waiting for the rest of us to catch up! An unreleased track from 1996 that sounds like it will melt your mind!

Black Dawn is a rare 1999 Drum & Bass track from Acen that only saw a limited press back in the day, so it had to be included.

Licka was only ever released on a promo way back when, and it gets its first full outing here. Plus, UK Garage on Kniteforce! Who saw that coming?

To accompany the new box set, Acen said to Luna-C, I have these old demo versions of tracks that differ from the released versions or are just very rare because of limited pressing back in the day, do you reckon you would want to do anything with them? Lol!
Opus, from 1993, just shows how far ahead of the curve Acen really was! I have to keep telling myself, this is from 1993! It is next level insane!

116.7 shows the track in a totally different light too. This is a dark style hardcore hybrid hip-hop track that is so different from the released Drum & Bass version from 1999.

Lazer is a demo track that until now has only featured on a digital release from Acen, Dat Tape Demos 92–97, and needed to be included in this epic vinyl release.

AKO10 presents a special released by the legendary Hidden Agenda.
Hidden Agenda brings a style only they can on their debut release on the label.

2-track produce for the AKO10 label and both take you on a journey.
Dust it’s a beautiful melodic roller that takes you on a journey with beautiful pets and smooth, running breaks with subtle, edits something for the AKO10 fans.

The Cruel Sea – something a little bit different, This track really stands out takes you on a real journey, and keeps building leaving you wanting more, especially when the horns enter!

2023 Reissue

AKO150 arcade returns with two new tracks from Shay & DJ Chromz. Shay returns after his debut track on the defender album and Chromz makes his debut on the AKO label. two amazing jungle tracks we’re both taking you on different journeys. both tracks will teleport you straight back to the 1994 era.

2023 Reissue

Mystery In-Demand Record From the Dansu Discs Back Catalogue!

Dansu Discs has served as platform for some of the most hottest artists in electronic music over the past few years. 9 releases from the catalogue are now available in one pack, along with a mystery record that is either low stock or previously sold out.

Includes. DSD029RP, DSD030, DSD031, DSD033, DSD034, DSD035, DSD038, DSDWHITE001, DSDWHITE002

Lenzman & Redeyes: two friends that connected through a shared world-view and love of jazz, soul and underground rap music. Now, well over a decade since their first collaboration, the duo is now set to release an extended project with ‘Wonder Years’. Building on the vibes from their recent efforts ‘Gotta Change’ and ‘Hold Tight Girl’, the EP sees the duo exploring a sound that temporarily abandons their usual melancholy, and draws inspiration from funked-out jungle grooves. There was never a game-plan, just two friends making music that reminded them of a time that could be called the Wonder Years.

Almost all of the tunes started out on a commodore amiga using Octamed and Protracker, ranging from ruff dancefloor bangers to melodic hardcore vibes all around.

Pure Space Records welcomes a newly emerging Naarm (Melbourne) producer, Dividens with his EP ‘Blueprints’. Across four tracks Dividens masterfully guides us through the fringes of modern drum n bass, eerie Dub and restrained Jungle styles.

Starting strong, ‘Audio Blueprint’ provides a fast and erratic baseline cushioned only by a deep, squelching synth. It’s a textural and delicately refined track, with each sound finding its perfect place with twisted effect.

Completing the A-side, in confidence, is ‘Rollin Smoke’. An acid tinged take on electro, composed with trancey pads and tight percussion.

Flipping over we find ‘Bionic’, luscious pads swirl amongst a deep sub bass rhythm before free-falling into stints of breakbeat. The ominous tone of the track is coloured by the disorienting vocals; lean in and let the bass hold your feet firmly on the ground.

Finally, ‘Tell Dem’ rounds out the release with a tasteful amount of dub. Here a mass of swamp-like synths envelop you completely, while the tight break patterns elevate the energy through to the final moments of the release.

~

Tracks written, produced and mixed by Dividens on Wurundjeri Land. Pure Space and Dividens both acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.

~

Pure Space Recordings is the label venture from the beloved radio show hosted by Andy Garvey, and produced by Mija Healey which has broadcast weekly on Eora Nation (Sydney) radio station FBi Radio for over four years. The label focuses on Australian music both for home listening and that made for the club.

Newton aka Nick Newton aka Nick Rhythm Section. You know this EP is going to hit the spot when you have one of the original members of the first rave super group on production!

Originally released on Rhythm Section Recordings in 1992, this EP will be well known to many who use to got to the big raves of the early 90’s. Every track captures that moment of history, erupting into peak time rave anthems with hooks and riff that imprint into your brain!

The tracks go from the darker side of the scene into full on rave anthems for the hand sin the air crew. You know if it came out on RSR back in the day that it will tick every box and more.

Rhythm Section are still very much friends and still find time to go into the studio together. Watch out for more original material by the band coming out on Vinyl Fanatiks during 2022.

w/ Scrase & Tim Reaper Remixes

The third in the LOVLTD series comes from Laurie ‘Pixl’, a young producer from Cambridge who spins regularly for Jungle Syndicate and the West Yorkshire Jungle Collective, as well as appearing regularly on the Jungletrain radio platform with Hollie Anthwax. On this 12 we get 2 original productions and 2 remixes by Tim Reaper and Scrase.

After a strain of jungle releases, Myor Massiv enters 2017 with two slices of piano infused breakbeat hardcore.

On 'Love Flows' Coco Bryce blends the old with the new by fusing 92-style pitched vocals and piano chords with crisp sounding, stripped down production techniques in the best of post-noughties traditions.'Fools Gold' features a more throwback-heavy approach; gritty rave stabs, filtered gabber synths, a cut-up airhorn and pitched vocals of both the singing diva as well as the rapping tough-guy variant.

Five years in the game marks a very special milestone for In-Reach Records, a label born from a love of drum & bass music and a passion to share that love with like-minded individuals. What better way to celebrate that milestone than a compilation of the sounds and souls that have fuelled the labels journey so far. The artists behind all nine of IRR’s past releases have combined, along with some important members of the In-Reach family, to create this exquisitely emotive VA album.

Heading up the release is a very serious piece of wax dropping in September 2023. The 12” vinyl exclusive album sampler comprises two tracks that have been causing waves in the scene for some time. Kicking off with Kid Drama’s remix of ‘Another Place’, we have an expert re-work of an already awesome track from Sam Binary and Deviant. The hissing bass joins the drum break half way through the intro while the vocal sample repeats its mantra. As expected, a gear change hits on the drop with the entry of sub bass stabs, which take on an increasingly melodic form as they evolve throughout the track.


The legendary Madcap takes on remix duties for the B-side with his take on Greekboy’s & AKA's ‘The Jungle’, which first aired on LTJ Bukem’s Radio 1 Guest Mix in 2021. The stepping drum break enters from the outset, building atmosphere alongside the pads and vocal cries in preparation for the extremely weighty running baseline.

Acens last EP on Kniteforce was KF113 Play 2092 and it sold out, and we ordered a few more, and sold out again, and recently we ordered another repress which have almost all gone already. We have no idea how many we will need of this new EP, but probably loads because its brilliant, which is exactly what we have all come to expect from one of the most legendary producers ever to grace the world of hardcore

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

AKO Major Defence returns with a remix series, first up we have 2 remixes of Jungle Legends Tom and Jerry.

Double O does a rework on 'Mousetrap' and we must say it's wicked and dangerous. Stretch and Threshold take on 'Physics' which rolls with deep bass switches and a rolling amen.

Returning to our 7” Sseries of old skool rave inspired releases comes the Breaking Saints duo, comprising of Dan Lethal & DeeJay Lok. Here they deliver a hefty, vibes a plenty, breakbeat bomber, known as “Swanning About”. They both take a side each and give it their own mix, Dan’s rolling with a tuff rave ready bleepy mash up killer, whilst Lok steps the tempo up a notch and brings the breaks into an early jungle techno style, with rave stabs and more big ass bass dropping in half way through.

As with the last release, from Justice, in this series, the 7” vinyl looks freaky fresh too, tiger styyyle!

Damian’s Ghost returns to Astrophonica and picks up from where he left off - humbly rolling out the most exquisite Atmospheric Jungle tracks you’ll hear this decade. After Life is four blissed out emotional journeys full of classy pads, hazy breaks and ghost-like traces of a cultural past. The origins of this music developed at such a fast pace that some eras and styles were oftenshort lived leaving us questioning what may have become. Damian’s Ghost exists in that great unknown and continues the lineage gracefully towards sonic excellence.

“In this era of rampant clout chasing via social media and a ‘who can shout the loudest competition’ it’s incredibly calming and grounding to have an artist like Damian’s Ghost. His music has everything I look for - it’s unique and has an immediate and strong identity. I can tell a Damian’s track from the first couple of bars” - Fracture

Back in early 2020 I was trying to get in touch with Austin to see if he had any unreleased tracks from the 90's. My mate John Vinyl Junkie has been friends with Austin for years so was able to introduce me. Turned out Austin didn't have any unreleased tracks. However, he was up for repressing one of his early vinyl releases, The Austin EP. Sadly this was one I was missing from my collection so Austin sent me a couple of Near Mint copies I was able to get really good rips from. With the help some superb CEDAR mastering we got these tracks sounding better than ever! So with some amazing 2021 mastering we got this EP sounding better than the original. Due to issues with pressing plants (I should write a book!) this release suffered from delay after delay.

Carbon Music continues its conquest in a special single summoning some of drum & bass' greatest minds, as Goldie & Lenzman make illustrious debuts alongside label pillars Jubei & Submotive.

Two years after their first collab 'Component' (CM002), Submotive & Jubei reforge the foundations upon which Carbon Music was built, in two tracks written with two powerhouses sharing the same ethos.

Goldie reinstills his prowess, linking to form a holy pantheon on 'Game Of The Gods'. 10 years since Jubei released his album on Metalheadz, they collaborate again with a mutual accomplice in Submotive. Reinforcing the core principles, its a celebration of vigour and mysticism; brute force balanced with celestial pads - bringing shared beliefs full circle towards a new golden era.

Lenzman makes his intro on the flip, with a touch of nonchalent class on the effortlessly rolling 'Members Only'. Having all released with The North Quarter and Metalheadz, the trio share a close bond, developed over years of performing and travelling together. Its an innate understanding; a brotherhood; three elements that progress, intensify and naturally form, in a way that no others can.

White / Black Vinyl

Pure old school jungle/breakbeat bicolor weapon !
In the wein of Psycho Audible Warp Phaenomenon and old Amputate jungly tunes.

Masterpiece of an oldschool sound !

Quartz makes his long awaited Rupture debut with 4 stunning futuristic d&b tracks. Quartz's accomplished synthesis and engineering skills make this compelling EP well worth the wait. Welcome to the Hydra!!

Very much at the forefront of the UK electronic scene, since 2001, Shelley Parker has innovated and thrilled with live performances, DJ sets, sound installations, and scores for contemporary dance.

Parker's recorded output is just a small part of her musical orbit. That said, a debut album 'Spurn Point' in 2014 and various singles, remixes and EPs for Hessle Audio, One Little Indie, Honest Jon's, Houndstooth, Structure Recordings and OOH-sounds have whet the appetite for more.

'Wisteria' lands on Hypercolour, and succinctly encapsulates Parker's layered and dense production aesthetic, as a myriad of concrete rhythms, breakbeat science, inner city ambience and industrial strength bass unfurl over eight uncompromising compositions.

‘Wisteria’ by Shelley Parker is available on 2LP/Digital from 25th March 2022 on Hypercolour.

One of the most sought after records from the Jungle / Drum & Bass era. Peshays remix is one of the all time classics from the 90's. Reissue taken from the original masters supplied by Bay B Kane. Take heed from the warning on the front cover.....
WARNING: THE SUB BASS ON THIS RECORDING COULDSERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR SPEAKERS. WHITEHOUSE RECORDSACCEPT NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY DAMAGECAUSED BY PLAYBACK. PLAY AT YOUR OWN PERIL

One from the Skanna vaults again. Another release rescued from the dark depths of jungle history. To say this has been a bloody big effort is understatement! The trouble with all these old Jungle records is everybody who owned a copy purchased it to play, not hoard it for future sale. The few copies that have made it for sale vary in quality from G+ - to VG+ and fetch a hefty price on Discogs in the rare cases somebody parts with a copy.

So when we finally managed to source a nice clean audio file we jumped at the chance. Hours, days, weeks, went by staring in to the abyss of audio restoration tools to finally get a worthy master to hand over to Bob Mac to do his final mastering magic. Topped of with vinyl mastering by Shane The Cutter @ Finyl Tweek we're proper happy with this classic reissue. We have made a comparison of the original 12" and the reissue. We found the reissue to be a have a slight edge on the original with a nice bright high end, and a proper heavy bottom end. That's why we always use Shane! We're proud to have this one available for a reasonable price again.

Some Justice ‘94 / Burnin’ Passion ‘94 EP 12"

Serious history business: 'Some Justice' was the first time Micky Finn and Aphrodite joined forces and launched a partnership that would change drum & bass history. Prior to them linking, Urban Shakedown comprised of Aphrodite and Claudio Giussani who had a run of fantastically euphoric hardcore crossover records during that golden rave era. 'Some Justice' landed in 91 and the instantly goosebumping vocal cut 'Burnin' Passion' landed in 93. Both of them enjoyed these touch-ups in 94, which still sound fantastic today. Feel the burn.

Acen really needs no introduction, as he is one of the most admired and influential artists of his era, partly due to his incredible Trip To The Moon releases. This limited edition 12" contains the much sought after original mixes of the two tracks that made cemented his legacy as one of the most inventive of the old skool legends....