Beats News

Jacques Greene returns to LuckyMe with the Phantom Vibrate EP, featuring his signature style of R&B infected house music, 'No Excuse' opens the release with a phantom vocal spread over a melancholy deep house groove, a hugely promising start for what looks to be one of the biggest 12"s this summer

This super limited edition 400 press is mastered by renown mastering veteran Beau and housed in the reverse-board Trigram house bag. The Trigram series marks it's halfway point with the debut release of Bosnia & Herzegovina's Zentash Gigawatt. Raw, unadulterated tribal bass music with a deep roots foundation. Zentash Gigawatt deliver two earth rocker tracks with unparalleled primeval intensity. This is the sound of Trigram.

300 screen printed and hand stamped/numbered. No repress.
Niteshade Inc finally unleash Stragos subaquatic beast 'Nautilus' with a heavyweight rework from Denmark's RDG.

The next release on Tempa marks the return of J:Kenzo, with Urban Gorilla, the dubstep firebrand's first release since last year's crushing Magneto 12'.

Kenzo remains one of the leading lights of the genre's current generation: his tracks are thrilling exercises in futuristic, synapse-scrambling minimalism, but still deeply rooted in the community-led sound system attitude that inspires them.

Lead track 'Urban Gorilla' epitomises that aesthetic - it features the tough, ruffneck yet dextrous vocals of Ghost crew member Juiceman, famous for his loping chat on El-B's perennial 'Buck 'n' Bury'. Here he's on incendiary form with a beat to match, with his deep baritone looping around percussion and bass that slinks and scuttles - equal parts dub soundboy fury and tense dystopian nightmare.

'Expansion' trips still further into the dark, with its whiplash bolts of sub-bass and eerie, two-note refrain instantly recalling the characteristic immersive, physically powerful sets of scene lynchpin Youngsta.

The EP closes with the instrumental version of 'Urban Gorilla' recast as 'Technoid', drawing out the track's contours in sharp, brusquely metallic relief. Tough yet fluid, they're potent reminders of the force coiled within J:Kenzo's music.

Bassy Breakbeat, minimal and electro, full of dubstep newskool influences...

* Mumdance & Logos present 'Proto', Tectonic's first major release of 2015, set for release on 16th February.

* Recorded by the duo over 2014, 'Proto' is a collection of 10 future-facing club tracks that, against the
odds, also provides a deep and involving experience for the listener.

* 'Proto' focusses on the very brief sparks of innovation when new scenes were just forming and genre
rules and paradigm were still grey areas; the early bleep track days when imported American techno was
starting to be appropriated by the UK, the 93-94 proto era when hardcore was morphing into jungle and
later when the darker sound of tech-step reared its mechanical, dystopian head.

* All of this is underpinned with 'Wot U Call It' grime sensibilities and Mumdance & Logos' trademark sonic disortientation. Mumdance & Logos concentrate on taking the moods and colours created by these leaps forward in sound and twisting them into something new; keeping in line with the futuristic visions of the originators.

* Both producers had a banner 2014, launching their new label Different Circles and spearheading a
movement of "spatially untethered club trax" coined Weightless. Mumdance took up a residency on Rinse
FM, went B2B with Tectonic boss Pinch on their acclaimed mix release ("no one else is putting music
together quite like this" - RA 4/5) before being selected for RBMA Toyko. Logos, aside from appearing
with the Boxed crew across London, had a new track 'Metropolis' top Keysound stable comp 'Certified
Connections' and had 2013's debut 'Cold Mission' LP checked in FACT's 100 best albums of decade so
far.

Radioactive Man: "Dub has always been a major influence in my music, mainly roots a la King Tubby, Marley, Lee Scratch, King Jammy etc. I used to religiously tune into the Manasseh show on Kiss FM on Saturday nights after Coldcut, that introduced me to the massive amount of Roots Reggae and Dub that was made in the 70's. I always loved the fact there was two versions, a vocal and a dub, which was always played in that order... The original remix music i guess.

"I remember taking my good friend Si Brown to a 'dance' in Camberwell, South London. I think it was Aba Shanti sound system. Proper thunderous. Anyway, he reluctantly came along, he always thought reggae was a chill out music... After 5 or 10 minutes he was up dancing - blown away by the sheer power of the bass. You couldn't put your drink down cos it was bouncing with the bass! It's so powerful - that's the way to hear that music properly.

"2005, I'd just got a new bit of kit, a Korg Electribe SX, much fun to be had with the new toy... I'd been meaning to make some real dub style vibes, but with electronic sounds... Something we'd touched on doing the Two Lone Swordsmen stuff, Andrew Weatherall also a huge dubhead. "So some of these tunes have been sitting on my hard drive for about 8 years. I played them to my friend Lukey Roots QC, him being a massive dub fiend, we talked about releasing them... So, after many moons of discussion and plans, here's a new record label, UNA sound, dedicated to the Dub side. "There's more than a bit of On U sound vibes going on, Adrian Sherwood being a producer I've always loved. It's a kind of 4/4 steppers vibe on some of them, I like to think they've stood the test of time... They are quite rough and raw, and that's how I like it. "'From the Dub Vault' will be a series of 12"s... so far in three volumes. As always, it's a work in progress, it's just that progress has taken years... Well, you can't rush these things can you So very happy to have them on vinyl, too. I cut them myself, something I've been learning over the last year, and that's a great pleasure: cutting and mastering my own tunes."

27. The Journey Part I Ramos & Supreme

Kryptic Minds don't mess about, with yet another huge release on Osiris. Follow Me VIP ishypnotising dubstep at its finest. On the flip Rubberman is deep and nasty in equal measures. DJ support from: Youngsta, Skream, Distance & N-Type.

A new release from Matt-U receiving big support around the world on the dubplate scene, 'Empty Inside' backed with 'Unforgiven' on Osiris Music, proper bass weight.

collecting for a repress!
only 1x per customer!

Breatyfull IDM core, very musical and melodious, distorted and dancefloor, Electro and symphonic... All these contrasts brings a solid space for imagination. Successfull experimentations !

Overdrived electro beats, downtempo and very electro, with a solid IDM melodious feeling. Totally original and very confortable still for a mix. A very musical produce autoproction from germany. Strange Groove selecta !

In the bustling world of instrumental grime, Mr. Mitch's 'Peace Dub' phenomenon - initially a concept aimed squarely at flipping grime's 'war dub' complex on it's head - has fast become a reputable sub-genre all of it's own. With a series of his own peace edits garnering plenty of recognition online over the course of 2014, Mitch has enlisted a trio of new-school producers to assist him in re-contextualising four unconventional classics and with it, christen a new series of peace-themed white label 12's. Simply titled PEACE001, Mitch is joined by Gobstopper signees Strict Face and Loom, as well as elusive beat-making trio Silk Road Assassins on the label's first ever physical record - a body of work that takes instrumental grime even further into unchartered territory. Kicking off with the brooding heartache of Mitch's fuzzy, emotionally charged re-rub of Dru Hill's 'How Deep Is Your Love', there's also space for Strict Face to turn an icier, washed-out hand to the peace aesthetic on 'Alice' - his beautifully mellow, minimalist rework of Alice Deejay classic 'Better Off Alone'. Latest signee Loom opts to take a deconstructionist route through Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' as glitchy melodies, ushered reverb and pitched-up vocal loops meet harsh, industrial sampling in unerringly dystopian collision of ideas, whilst Silk Road Assassins sign off with their take on T-Pain's 'Im Sprung'. Trickling, iced-out melodies and pitched-down vocals are laid over dark, menacing bass rumbles in a tribute to the sound that has already earmarked the trio as refreshingly slick sound designers.

'West'

* Tribalistic drums and vocal hums set this track off, accompanied by square wave bleeps that resonate and lead. When the bass drops on this track you feel it with a full body rumble. The space within the drum groove becomes a key element and adds to the swing of it all. The vocal mid way through the track is the icing on the cake, stamping yet more definition and character to the overall piece.


'Honne'

* Feonix Teams up with LSN member Joe Watson to create this wonderful cinematic experience, From the moment the track starts it creates an atmosphere so cold and deep. Haunting male vocal chants, perpetual stabs and fizzy reverbed reese work takes shape and starts to lay down the foundation for this creepy roller. The break down is incredible too; yet more vocal progression and the tribal percussions with chilling effect. Mandatory goosebumps will be felt.

'Central'

* Eyes down, head space, full body mediation, ..... this track takes you on a journey into your mind.
Another collaboration, this time with Daniel Jones, also a member of LSN really show off the production skills with their resonated modulated sub bass and key component signature drums. Waves of audio passing through you and captivating your attention as it chants and builds up. Unusual percussion positions and intelligent song structure add to what makes this a stand out track, reinforcing the versatile armoury of Feonix's incredible long player yet further.

Limited Pink Vinyl!. Kokeshi changes the tempo this time offering two tunes from Russia's Bulb. 'Tenderness' comes with an 80s Vangelis vibe that offers the emotional aesthetic that Kokeshi is known for. With its non 2 step beats it won't be recognisable as drum'n'bass despite having the same tempo as most d'n'b tunes. For the DJ's, catch the flip side which offers a dance-floor friendly yet uber deep feel from the d'n'b tune 'Heartless'.

A well known Berlin artist goes undercover and makes his Horo debut with a showcase of brooding tech funk and blissful ambience. Features a Felix K remix. Limited edition 12" marbled vinyl only

First solo release from Leon Switch. 3 slabs of bass weight that wont disappoint.

Improvised, outsider dance music from the Baltimore duo featuring the former drummer of Upsilon Acrux and the music director for Merce Cunningham'svavant-garde, dance company.

'A noisy, wildly chaotic, buzzing swirl of progged out electro, with vocodered vox buried beneath thick throbbing synths, and what sounds like real acoustic drumming, and percussion, all draped in a psychedelic murk, the production super tripped out and experimental... funky enough for the dance music crowd, but seriously freaked out and fucked up enough for everybody else. So good! - Aquarius Records

'Italian Piezo and belgian Clearlight join forces on this five-track EP for the danish vinyl-only imprint Circle Vision.
Despite none of them being born in eastern europe, this release has a post-soviet touch: the EP tells the story of the Chernovbil nuclear disaster and its aftermaths on the near town of Pripyat (now a ghost city) with a unique approach to dub and bass music, characterized by a meticulous use of sound-design.

The weird euphory of 'Pripyat Dub' is followed by a dark storm of destruction on 'Scourge'.
The spirits of the victims cavort on a spastic tribal rhythm ('Fallen Soul'), while an acid rain starts falling and floods Pripyat ('Here Comes the Toxic Rain'): its dubby ethereal melody anticipates the final re-birth, described by the soundscape climax of 'Punharbava'

Franco-Mexican artist, singer, instrumentalist and producer ANDREA BALENCY follows her breakthrough 2014 with a brand new EP entitled Volcano, demonstrating a growth in style, experience and quality beyond that which she has already earned.
Balency treats her new forays into sound and melody as research - that is, she experiments and builds a mesh of unfound soundscapes from scratch to achieve a rare sui generis. Each track on this new EP expresses a high resolution of sounds entwining as if it were easy, even on the at times seemingly sparse arrangements. With such a detailed level of consideration, in an avant-garde genre no less, her inherent talent is undeniable, and puts her in the same musical league as Cocteau Twins, Bjork and Jessy Lanza.
Take for example her unrecognizable cover of John Martyn's already inimitable 'Please Fall In Love With Me'. The extra sentiment Balency is able to pack into the classic is a true feat. Elsewhere, the progression from her debut EP is perhaps most obvious in her vocal work. Having stood out for, and built her persona in, the 'cutely-breathy-females scene' (The Guardian), Volcano demonstrates a much more rich, more mature, more strong, vocal ability.
This new EP marks not only a continuation of her achievements so far, but a build towards even more refined material. You can expect another single collaboration with Airhead in the summer; her debut album very soon after, and a more abundant and emphatic live presence than ever.

Jungle are based around a core musical duo of lifelong friends known simply as 'J' and 'T', who expand to a thrilling seven piece live, and make mesmeric, kaleidoscopic modern soul that's unmistakably born in the UK but has true global appeal. The album was recorded between the band's own home studio in Shepherds Bush, London and the XL Recordings studio in nearby Ladbroke Grove.

Dark and steppa Dub... second realese on this autorpoduced quality label, navigating between electro dub in the French tradition of it (High Tone), with some Dubstep tricks... Nice sound.

Superb realese, picture disc,printed sleeve... Here the dubstep goes Dark and industrial. Structuires are alive and ritch, loads of variations and a complex struicture, bringing a dancefloor solid effect. This was pressed at MPO new Picture disc process... witch gives a good production interest to this EP Also to notice, this is not distributed in England... escaping the classic Dubstep routines... SUPERB Realease... Need to be pushed ! ENJOY !

* Mixmag Album of the Month (Feb 2015)
* FACT magazine - '20 albums coming out in 2015 that we actually give a shit about'.

* The Mainframe is the bold new vision from Joker, a conceptual piece produced as a cohesive body of work as opposed to a collection of standalone DJ weapons.

* The sophomore LP from the man who spawned the electronic music sub-genre purple, which is now galvanised internationally with artists such as Flume, Ganz and Djemba Djemba all drawing inspiration from productions of the 26 year old Producer / DJ .

* The Mainframe is a listening album as much as a dancefloor album it and hints at what a Joker produced mainstream artist album would sound like with moments like 'Wise Enough' feat Zak Abel, 'Lucy' feat Sam Frank and 'Love' which features, winner of Dutch X Factor, Rochelle.

* Since releasing his last LP The Vision, Joker real name Liam Mclean has released a slew of productions to set the scene for this release including the Masato Nakamura inspired 'Joker Drive', Swindle collaboration 'Let It Be Known' and perhaps the biggest insight as to what to expect from this album, 'Digital Mainframe'
The Mainframe is designed to play like a digital dream with each track bleeding into the next pulling the listener deeper into the imagination of the Bristolian futurist in similar fashion that Robin Wright is pulled into an acid trip world in the Ari Folman flick, The Congress.

* 'I want everybody to listen to it once from start to finish, in their whip, in their yard, in their studio, going for a run whatever... cos that's how I intended to bring people into my world. After that pull it apart however you want, put specific tracks in your playlist that suit your mood, your lifestyle cool but this is my A/W 15 collection, take it in as a whole and you'll be able to get more from the individual pieces' - Joker

* In a world of increased immediacy the legitimacy of the album is being questioned in any domain that dinosaurs would consider mainstream or popular culture. Inversely, the internet and cheap travel is allowing underground communities and their ethics to penetrate and shape the mainstream more rapidly than ever before. Whilst the LP is still a valid format in the underground, The Mainframe provides a multicolour glimpse into the mind of Joker and future of modern pop music.

Ahead of the release of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, the 5-headed instrumental cyclops STUFF. kick things off with a hand-stamped 7-inch white label, featuring the opening track 'Even Horizon'. Believers are amongst others PLAID, Kutmah, Lefto and Jamie Woon
"STUFF. is what you would get when Hudmo and FlyLo would give Alt J their MDMA before going on stage, telling them to sound like instrumental Beastie Boy's Check Your Head, with Nicolas Jaar at the mixing console." (Fan Quote)

The fifth release on Liminal Sounds is the 'Fruit Crush' EP by Melbourne-based DJ and produced Air Max '97. The new record follows his 'Progress and Memory' EP, which received DJ support from Eclair Fifi, Nina Las Vegas, Brackles, Distal, Logos and Teeth amongst others. Tracks from the EP got airplay on Rinse FM, NTS and Triple J as well as positive reviews from such publications as Dummy Mag, Mixmag, The Fader, The Guardian, WIRE.

The three-track 'Fruit Crush' EP is brimming with the same off-kilter energy and crystalline melodies that characterised his aforementioned debut, while showcasing a clear progression in his sound. The EP also features a collaborative effort with fellow Australia-based producer Strict Face who has been receiving praise for his melodic and emotive take on grime, as heard on recent releases for Gobstopper Recs, Tuff Wax and Different Circles.

"There are plenty of producers stretching the boundaries of club music, but Air Max '97 is one we're keeping our eye on." - FACT Magazine


"There are plenty of producers stretching the boundaries of club music, but Air Max '97 is one we're keeping our eye on." - FACT Magazine

"These tracks are built for pure HD hedonism, any party that plays them is one worth checking out." - Trap Magazine

"Fearless tracks, what the club needs!" - Dreams (Private Selection)

"STRONG ep and big start to 2015 for all involved." - Gage (Crazylegs)

"Great!, thanks for sending this through, sounds wicked :)" - Soda Plains

"Beautiful." - Victoria Kim

Reviewed by XLR8 and received 8/10

Features Jay Wilcox who appeared on Joker's first album "The Vision"

Upbeat mainstream radio sound

Boomarm keeps on surprising us... Pure beauty it is.

Los Angeles meets Chicago on this infectious, energetic 12. 6 tracks from a mysterious producer going by the name of Druguse inspired by juke and footwork sounds. Mini LP...
A more drugged out Cali sun drenched hazier version of the Chicago sound, but there's barely time to catch your breath for that bong hit as this 12 baits along with the same frenetic pace and energy of its the Mid West inspirations. All anchored by vocal hooks, there's a strong hip hop feel to this quirky and original 12.

Future Brown greifen auf Themen wie digitale Interkonnektivität, globale Reisen und eine vitale weltweite Künstlergemeinschaft als Inspiration zurück. Von regionalen US Rap-Varianten zum UK Grime, von Dancehall bis Reggaeton - Future Brown spinnen eine zutiefst durchdachte Ästhetik, die intuitive Verbindungen zwischen diesen eigentümlichen Sounds aufbaut, um dann den individuellen Kollaborateuren eine Stimme zu geben. Kollaborationen wie mit Shawnna, Kelela, Johnny May Cash oder Sicko Mob schlagen Brücken über musikalische Grenzen und Klüfte hinweg, während Future Brown zur selben Zeit den eigentlich geographischen Abstand zwischen den einzelnen Künstlern bewusst machen wollen.

For those who've been paying attention Cutline have been one of 2010's most successful new acts. They have already released a collaboration with Barbarix on High Rankin's 'This Is Suicide Dub' compilation LP and remixed The Qemists, J Majik & Wickaman, Nick Thayer and Mindflow, the latter of which smacked into the Beatport charts at #3 and had the support of 125 A-list DJs worldwide (Paul Van Dyk surprisingly included).