Beats News

Onwards and upwards, Dub Sector perseveres with its fourth physical discharge, welcoming Repulsion to the (vinyl side of the label roster). Taking the reigns in succession of the latest heaters by Dalek One, the following three low-end fiestas are brought to you by the swiftly aspiring producer, his base of operations residing in Oklahoma, US.

Active since 2011, the promising artist has since then put forth a multitude of releases on various esteemed imprints, including two 12" appearances, and digital publications on labels, such as Dubstar Records and Dayzerzo's Vomitspit. Reviewed by the likes of MixMag as well as receiving airplay from Dubstep ambassador Joe Nice and inDepth Radio among others, Repulsion has also joined Denver's SubMission agency roster and is actively involved in various musical projects. His sonic signature is situated within the sphere of Dubstep, embedded in Lo-Fi sampling aesthetics. A refreshing take on modern sound system music, infused with lush vintage flavours, Hip-Hop influenced grooves and swingy basslines.

Much anticipated & supported Grime Trap hybrid finally sees the light of day after support on BBC 1xtra. Accompanied with a haunting remix by JLSXND7RS. This one has been heard in all the dances for the past year. Support from J:Kenzo, Sicaria Sound, Opium Hum (Boiler Room) and many more.

This is the first in a series of remixes of tracks from Dubkasm’s acclaimed 2018 LP, Rastrumentals. The 10” opens with Alter Echo and Zam Zam/Khaliphonic label head E3, who have an impressive list of previous collaborators including Lee Perry, Pinch and The Bug. The Portland, Oregon duo have taken the driving roots energy of ‘Lei Áurea’ and used pounding drums, flurries of aggressive foley and veering synth attacks to flip it into an apocalyptic dancehall banger.

Side B comes courtesy of recent Bristol arrival Om Unit, a truly unique producer and DJ, headlining shows around the world, and collaborating with artists as diverse as Goldie, Joker, and Machinedrum. Always impossible to classify, his remix of LP opener ‘Eco do Jongo’, , dives deep into dub territory, its ethereal, stripped-back nyabinghi drumming, crystallised synths, and a slipstream of horns bringing Ras B’s righteous message to the fore

This release has been expertly mastered via 1/2” tape by Lewis at StarDelta, and is backed and distributed by Unearthed.

Artikal Music welcomes new signing Sabab to the stable with his debut EP entitled ‘Guidance’. Discovered by J:Kenzo on his move to Ireland; Elias Zaidan aka Sabab hails from the beautiful city of Dublin.

Sabab is a prolific producer who draws from his Irish / Lebanese heritage, as well as taking heavy influences from Jamaican sound system culture.

This 4 track EP is a tale of 2 sides, with Sabab showing his talents on both the deep dub side and the dancefloor orientated killers that have been blessing dubstep dances worldwide. EP support from Mala, J:Kenzo, Youngsta & N-Type +more.

Traces have carved out sub-heavy pressure deep within the grooves of their Albion Collective debut. Submerged in mystical koto-strings and underworld 808s, 'Adapt' and 'Renshi' evolve from the origins of dubstep.

The A-side, 'Adapt', respectfully lights each candle of the soundsystem church before rolling through deep and minimal; pin-drop metallic ambience echoes across misty roots.

All-of-a-sudden drum fills and on-the-nail percussion riddle a koto-driven landscape in 'Renshi'. Razor-sharp drums and cascading bass highlights the B-side's martial art movements.

Honouring their label debut, Traces release two forward-thinking tracks, smothered in sub-pressure on Albion Collective.

Take your phone, your tablet and your TV and throw them out the window! That’s the spirit and the idea uniting the eight tracks of the album “Out the Window” by Christopher Schwarzwälder & Iannis Ritter. Listening to this otherworldly piece of downtempo electronica will make you feel relieved and excited, as if you had actually removed your electronic shackles for a little while. This album is light and heavy at the same time, it’s in your room and outside, it is loud and quiet like an extroverted introvert.

The nature of this album is organic and analogue and simply weird - it’s a juxtaposition of well-known, homey sounds and the strange. The intro “Snow Broom” feels like waking up on holiday, where you hear the familiar sounds of your loved ones in the kitchen, however they are in a new kitchen, so it feels alluringly different. The title track “Out the Window” seems to conjure the listener and you will find yourself spacing out as if you were smoking really good sativa for the first time. Electron (feat. Mo) is another highlight, with its different characters it resembles an audio book of “The Neverending Story”. The vocals in “Make things smaller” and “Safe Place” feel hip-hop influenced and ancient, like someone rapping in-front of an open fire.

“Out the window” is an album for late summer, autumn, winter time or any time that you like to look out the window and inside your own mind.

Mala joins forces with Natty and wordsmith Benjamin Zephaniah on new single Word & Sound.

Word & Sound - a reference to the Rastafari terminology, word-sound power - the idea that the vibrations of speech and music impact the world, far beyond both that we can touch and see.

Speaking about the record, Mala said:
'The making of this record happened so naturally, the words inspired me to create the music. Their message and intention was set. Conscious vibrations using words and sounds.'

The single sees the official relaunch of Mala's I&I Music - famed for its limited and much sought-after vinyl only white labels.

Dubz 4 Dancerz EP is Main room Bruk heavy bass music / broken beat meets 2 step garage from Xtra Brux in Sheffield. Having already released on IG Cultures CoOp presents label and other labels such as Dogmatic and Formation Records.

Leon's music has been played on BBC Radio1, BBC Radio1Xtra and BBC Radio 6 throughout his career and has gained club support from DJ's Xpress-2, Fabio and Grooverider, Oliver $, Tom Findlay (Groove Armada), Oris Jay, Mr G, Gerd, Doc Martin, Maya Jane Coles, Darius Syrossian, I.G. Culture, Audiojack, Murder He Wrote, EVM128, Jeremy Sylvester, Afronaught and Simbad amongst many others.

A1. Dubz 4 Dancerz - Heavyweight shuffling broken beat drum patterns with chopped vocals ‘Keep On baby’ that sit nice ontop of a seriously rude bassline that will shake any dance floor! This is warehouse bass music at its finest.

A2. ‘I NEED U’ Straight in with heavy syncopated broken beat / 2 step riddims with chord stabs and bleeping risers entwined with chopped vocals ‘I Need U’ that move in and around a low swung sub bass that you will feel deep in your solar plexus.

B1. More beats on a Bruk tip, some call it Bruk, we call it Raggage! Hush starts with a killer Bruk step riddim again with vocal chops and drops into a mind bending, gut wrenching bassline that will definitely keep your body moving !

B2. Deep Down Inside - Starts with a sweet vocal “Deep Down Inside” and another shuffling Bruk beat with rising arcade arpeggiator before dropping into another dutty Raggage sub bass! Think Jazz meets Garage meets Ragga… TUFF

Fresh from releasing his first artist album for Deep Medi (‘Dark 365’) and overseeing a prolific year in charge of his Navy Cut imprint, J. Sparrow debuts on Coyote Records with two tracks of abstract, excursive pressure. Although long revered as one of dubstep’s core UK innovators, Sparrow has also spent time experimenting with different sounds, palettes and rhythms over the last two years. ‘Single Time’ and ‘VHS’, both written during this period, not only spotlight Sparrow’s willingness to aim for the outer reaches, but also embed themselves neatly within a Coyotediscography defined by the new-gen grime of producers like Last Japan, SilkRoad Assassins and Utah?. Still cut with a rolling dubstep lean, A-side ‘Single Time’ is heavy on the hollowed-out, dubby weight and scything bass jabs, while B-side ‘VHS’ – referred to by Sparrow himself as ‘Egyptian grime in the 1980s’ – is a bleepy, filmic, widescreen stepper that draws from the past as much as it does Sparrow’s take on shiny, sci-fi grime of the future.

clear & black coloured mixed viny

After the start of his Dubs Galore family with 3 massive releases from Hebbe (003), Khanum (004) and Muttley & Quasar (005), label boss Von D returns to his own imprint to introduce 2 very special remixes of 2 already mind-boggling originals.

On the A-side man like Hypho steps up to fuck shit up with some proper "Hardcore Dub music". On the B-sde we have the first 140 Moresounds tune ever, who flips the mighty "Frictions" blessed with Rider Shafique's mesmerizing vocals.

006 is one for the heads, for the floor, for the systems, for the dance.

A brand new, single-sided white label 12” tune from Dutch DJ and producer Mike Kivits, known as Aardvarck. Kivits’ love for every sub-genre of dance music, and for crate-digging, sampling and DJing, is evident throughout his two-decade-long production career, and this newbie ‘Monkey See…’ draws on all that experience.

In late 2017 Hyperdub released 'Diggin In The Carts', a compilation put together by Nick Dwyer and Kode9 of pioneering and rare Japanese video game music from the 1980s and 1990s.
Since then, from Sonar Festival in Barcelona to Liquid Rooms in Tokyo, Kode9 has been touring a live audio-visual set in collaboration with visuals from anime legend Koji Morimoto, who also designed the artwork for the original compilation.Finally, on this first new Kode9 EP since 2014, a handful of these remixes see the light of day.

9 rivets his 80/160bpm rhythms onto these classic 8bit and 16bit melodies, re-animating the Steve Reich-ian arpeggios of Soshi Hosoi, the grimelike horn fanfares of Yuzo Koshiro, the sour pads of Koichi Ishaibashi, and pitching Tadahiro Nitta down into a slow building, frantic low end grind.
Sleeved in artwork by Konx-om-Pax, adapted from the visuals from the live A/V performance

Nomine Sound has always boasted an eclectic roster and for their next release they’ve drawn on grime instrumentalist Boylan to present his 14 track LP project ‘2 hrs Sleep’.

Supported by the likes of UKF and Red Bull, his cross pollinations of jungle, drum & bass, dubstep and grime instrumentals have caught international attention, leading to the top tier collaborations which feature on his forthcoming LP.

With heavyweight names such as Devlin, Slimzee, Riko Dan, Flowdan, Spooky, Logos and Oz making an appearance there’s a range of musicality explored throughout, packaging the sub genres which Boylanhas mastered throughout his career.

Limited Warehouse find !

Vinyl only limited sampler of the forthcoming Clap! Clap! LP premiered by Gilles Peterson on 22nd October.

Clear/red vinyl Edition

2nd Drop Records release 'Seven Lies', the debut album by Felix Manuel aka Djrum (pronounced 'Drum'). Its sounds are inspired by the rawness of urban London, influences of Portishead, DJ Shadow and The Cinematic Orchestra, jungle, minimal techno, classic house, broken beat - all seamlessly segued with a nod to jazz vinyl and film music.
Fans will recognise Djrum's iconic tropes on 'Seven
Lies': widescreen atmospheres, dub chords, dusty and melancholic strings, obscure film samples. But this time its spread over a bigger, more luxurious canvas that dips like an undulating terrain of sound; techno troughs, bumpy hip hop breaks, euphoric
drum and bass, all filtered through the Djrum node.
Felix would admit himself he is a not a prolific producer. Preferring to craft and hone, often allowing music to mutate and diverge down different paths, his tracks often top the 8-9 min marks in
length. However, each track is never at risk of becoming staid or boring, quite the opposite as ideas mutate and evolve, subtle differences and nuances are evoked and explored.
Inspired by the sounds of Ninja Tune's Solid Steel
radio show, Oxford born/London based Felix became....

ONLY 1 LIMITED COPY PER CUSTOMER !!

2x12" Purple Vinyl

Ascendant star of the new global underground, Slikback wraps up his first two digital-only EPs with three killer bonus cuts on a vinyl premiere for Hakuna Kulala, his prized sublabel of Nyege Nyege Tapes.
Hailing from Nairobi, Kenya via Kampala, Uganda, Slikback has rapidly attracted a wave of attention to his undulating mutations of current club styles, as found on the ‘Lasakaneka’ and ‘Tomo’ EPs between 2018-2019. Due to popular demand both those EPs now make their vinyl debut, packaged along with three previously unreleased zingers to weigh in the most significant showcase of Slikback’s acclaimed style and pattern in club circulation right now.
Distilling a range of inspirations from local East African hip hop to Congolese rhythms and Gqom’s cold percussion, plus influence from US trap and footwork, and the subbass common to JA and UK soundsystem cultures; Slikback’s music has arrived at a grippingly powerful sound which, while singular, is also entirely symptomatic of the thrilling styles emerging from Central Africa right now, and after many years of underrepresentation in the shadow of West and South African styles which have been popularised around the world.
On his debut ‘Lasakaneka’ EP Slikback swaggers from icy, robotic dancehall in ‘Acid’ to a gripping fusion of footwork and Gqom with a jungle bent in ‘Bantu Zen’, and dancehall techno drill on ‘Ascension’, along with the palpitating footwork pressure of ‘Venom’, and a nervy new ace in the itchy step of ’Shell.’ The follow-up of 2019’s ’Tomo’ meanwhile represents a mean progression of his sound; exerting a firmer control of his scudding bass rudeness in ‘Sonshitsu’, and the dissonant synth tone of ‘Gemini’, while the syncopated gabber styles of ‘Zuhura’ and ‘Rage’ give way to almighty exclusive joints in the hard seam of trap called ‘Kite’, and the Equiknoxx-gone-psycho styles of ‘Senshi.’
If you’re new to Slikback, trust this 2LP is the perfect place to get acquainted with his lucid, hi-tech madness, before checking for the full frontal futurism of his two new EPs in collaboration with Svbkvlt’s Hyph11e, Yen Tech, and Osheyack. But if you’ve already heard Slikback’s EPs, his Boiler Room at Nyege Nyege Festival, or witnessed his European tour dates, there’s surely no need to overstate the crucial nature of this “early years” 2LP comp.

Virtuoso compositions, subtle synthetic atmospheres, voices oscillating between pure intentions and dreamlike fantasy, a confusion of feelings and desires, time and space...Garden of Love, the 3rd album by electro duo Scratch Massive makes an impression from the first moments that you hear its enigmatic beauty. Like a ghost train moving along a tightrope - between shadow and light, failure and redemption, violence and melancholy - this fourth studio album reaffirms the Parisian DJ/Producer duo style/vibe with their hybrid sounds and sensory experiences. For 15 years, Maud Geffray and Sebastien Chenut have maintained artistic and aesthetic control as they participated in the 'revolution of the dancefloors'. In the early 2000s, 'Made in France' electro became known for its hedonism and as the savior of an entire techno generation ready to fight (or at least on the dancefloor!) for a future that was increasingly frustrating and hypothetical.


On first glance, Garden of Love, appears to be an invitation to love and peace, however, nothing is ever that simple, as the album cover evokes a multitude of interpretations. The lyrics speak to the depths of the soul, covering a range of emotion from love, emotions, and fears ... Garden of Love is for our hearts and bodies to become receptive again: the disenchanted poetry of the Last Dance, the sumptuous opening track set against a backdrop of electro-pop murmured in the light and shadows as painful caress; the psychedelic scent of Sunken (a duet recorded with the complicit and poisonous voice of Léonie Pernet); and the dark-tech shores of "Fantome X" with the evanescent and hypnotic pop clarity of Feel The Void (both magnified by the vocals of Romain Thominot of the Reims pop band Grindi Manberg). Scratch Massive draws the outline of an electronic music in search of redemption - reinventing their icy grooves and confronting it with a naive elegance and a disillusioned romanticism that embodies our time.

Zygos has been non-stop killing it for a good few years now. Every dub he churns out is a madness and he is constantly pushing and evolving his sound for the better. We couldn't be happier to get the man himself back for his third release and second wax outing on the label. His signature techno / industrial influenced sound runs throughout the EP from the twists and turns of Rotation to the deep dark sound designs of Sick as a Dog. Big ups Georgio on this wikid wikid plate!!!

Label boss Von D on DOR005

Here's a little story about this release on my label Dubs Galore:
"When Muttley sent me this tune I though to myself: "Wow what a nice classic from the golden Dubstep Era", so I asked him when this was released - assuming it was, and he said it never was released. I immediately signed it, knowing it's such a great and timeless tune. I asked Quasar for a remix and here we are now, Dubs Galore 005 coming in STRONG!"

New Material On NMG By Wellknown "Kromestar"

Unterton kicks off 2018 sideways with three tracks of high-octane electronics by Mark. 0-160 BPM in 15 minutes. Previous EPs for A Colourful Storm had a conceptual focus: the destructive effects of tech start-ups on Berlin's cultural landscape. Sound-wise, they paired frenetic, experimental d'n'b with musique concrète. On his Unterton debut, Mark continues further down a path of dark and psychedelic beat science. At times tranquil and hypnotic, other times charging forward between cracked whips and whiplash left-turns. 'Comedy is the dog that walks out of the room when you call its name."

Foundation Audio are back at it again dropping this limited 10” gem out of nowhere. Sibla & Teffa make for a perfect combination on the buttons providing those warm vintage tones and classy beats that we’ve come to expect from the duo. ‘Bobby’ is a discordant swaggery monster steeped in jazz with the most concrete of sub heavy grooves. Truly unique stuff from the production dream team.

Gantz debuts on Exit Records with two tracks that set him apart from his contemporaries. This release sits perfectly on the label, Gantz has captured the essence of what Exit Records is whilst also moving his artistry further. He delivers two vocal tracks, Garam ft Amos and Rabid ft. Elif Dikec. Amos is a part of A/T/O/S, a duo with a discography that included an album on Deep Medi, Elif Dikec is a classically trained musician and a producer in her own right.

Our debut vinyl release is a four track EP produced by Tom Chamoun aka SBK (Montreal) featuring collaborations with Ourman (Paris) & Quasar (Paris)

It's quite unbelievable that it is now 10 years in passing that Smokin' Sessions was launched as a Record label and their releases history has been nothing short of magnificent!

To mark the occasion the label is releasing a compilation - The Session - which will aim to consolidate the label's legacy and celebrate the label's future as a key player within the UK- and indeed the world's electronic music landscape.

Expect long out-of-press and highly sought-after classics & recordings from the likes of Djrum, Synkro, Geode, Biome, Versa & Rowl, as well as an abundance of fresh material from the label's new signing Escapism Refuge.

Escapism Refuge also provides us with a stunning DJ mix that accompanies the release that is a magical journey through the labels sound.

2 step beats with loads of shuffle provides the back bone of the Smokin' Sessions sound, with influences of Jazz, Garage, ambient soundscapes and a good serving of Bass to round it all off.

Double pack Vinyl includes Download Card.

Early DJ Support comes from Compa (Deep Medi), J Kenzo (Rinse FM), Synkro (Appolo / R&S), Biome (Levelz / too many to mention) N-Type (Rinse FM), Don Letts (BBC Raio 6Music), Lefto and Tim Parker (Rinse FM) too name some highlight names.

We are super stoked to welcome back 3WA aka The Portuguese Serial Killer aka The Christiano Ronaldo of Dubstep for another fire release on Foundation Audio (this time around getting the vinyl treatment)! Pedro has got many tricks up his sleeves. Here are 4 of his finest. Make no mistake he will nutmeg you, dribble around you, Ronaldo chop past you and handball the finest goal without the ref seeing (and he’ll make it look easyyyy)… What’s more to say? The guys a wizard and makes some of the most interesting music in the Dubstep scene. Get to know if you don’t already!!!

The long awaited answer from the notorious southern-hemispherian sound system, Subtle Sound System. This debut release from their record label aptly named Subtle Recordings is bringing some heavy weight straight out of Christchurch, New Zealand, first up with local legend Headland. Exquisitely imprinted 'no holds bar' by the masterful Optimal Media in a full art sleeve, this 180 gram, vinyl only, no-repress recording superbly ushers in a new beginning for the sound system and is another pillar of foundation to the future sound of bass music.

Headland, with his atmospheric soundscapes, sparatic drums, jarring percussion and punishing basslines, has been taking his unique sound to the world for the past few years and has sequentially been picked up by some of the most forward thinking labels in the bass music scene. From notoriety like Innamind Recordings and Zam Zam Sounds, Headland is one of the most noteworthy artists on the scene today and is a staple in sets from artists including, Samba, Mala, VIVEK, Commodo, Sleeper, just to name a few. Headland's infamy continues on Subtle Recordings debut release with the two outstanding tracks, Quiver and Deathbed.

From a spacious beginning, Quiver quickly builds pressure, manifesting into a track that by the end of, you'll have to regroup your crew as all would have been taken on their own solo journey. Navigate through high level percussion, sonic stabs, sub-temperate basslines and menacing vocals, all encompassed within a 130 bpm landscape where the richters leave you feeling vulnerable and insignificant. Quiver is a force of nature not to be taken lightly. After setting the stage, this behemoth pushes to another level, with erratic note changes and misplaced beats, before opening up to a plateau of relative safety within rolling basslines and familiar haunts. Recollecting yourself, you are once again thrust into unknown territory. A barrage of death blows commences until eventually you find yourself on the other side, disorientated, demoralised, but thankfully unharmed. With support from dons like Gantz, Boofy, J Kenzo, Mr K, Quiver has begun to leave its mark through the next frontier of bass music.

A usually silent, still and chilly affair, Deathbed is anything but, with its uplifting groove, conscious beat scape and warm bassline. But don't get too cosy, cause this assortment of frequencies is cold. Foreboding basslines. Wholesome mids. Trademark Headland accents. Deathbed builds in monumental 140 bpm splendure, in a simplistic formation, that will have you calling home to tell Mum of your triumphant return. Bask in all the glory as the track sheds back into its essential ingredients before collapsing into a well rewarded breakdown. Another confident drop will re-immerse you within the ride, reminiscent of what has been conquered and celebrated in the dystopian sound Headland has crafted in this atmospheric masterpiece. Banging dancefloors worldwide by artists like, Commodo, VIVEK. Deathbed produces the goods for an old fashioned shelling.

Lokane has confirmed himself as a crucial player in the London bass scene in 2015, having already played at Scratcha DVA's ALLYALLRECORDS' Boiler Roomamongst veterans Mickey Pearce and Addison Groove, before even dropping his first record.

Now, after having released his debut EP on Infinite Machine last year, Lokane, akaLoz Caulton, has his next one soon to drop. 'Visions EP' is set to drop on vinyl and digital early in March on his affiliated label, Nervous Horizons as well as a remix ofScratcha DVA and Addison groove's 'Allyallrecords' being released on Hyperdub inMarch.

Lokane first caught attention when key producers and radio dj's began bringing his tracks to light across London clubs and radio stations. Plastician, SBTRKT andScratcha DVA were amongst the first to help build Lokane's reputation within the scene. Having aired guest mixes on Rinse FM for Plastician and Roska, Caulton has since shown us exactly what he's about in his outstanding ID Magazine mix, later followed by his high energy 'On Deck' mix for Vice's, THUMP.

Having progressed a long way from his previous low end, 140 inspired productions, Lokane has since transformed into the electric, Club based artist that we know him as today. With his unique style deriving from a diverse background of genres, you can be sure to expect an explosive merge of Club-inspired, future 808 sounds in his latest work and sets.