Jungle/Drum & Bass - Breaking News, gossip, commentary, etc

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tate

Brown Sugar
Not sure why we wouldn't have one of these too - Stelfox's reservations duly noted.

And I suppose that today's installment of Jess Harvell's "the month in drum and bass" column for pitchfork is as good a place as any to start.

Rather than airing quibbles with Mr. Harvell's piece, I'll just add a few things to the records he mentioned:

Paradox's new LP, under the Alaska moniker, entitled "Arctic Foundations," now out
Amit's LP, "Never Ending," available on promo. label: Commercial Suicide
Fanu's Lightless EP on 13 Music, available as a promo
Promos of Breakage's LP on Bassbin ship in a month
DJ Clever's Knowledge Mag mix, which features all underground producers, is out next Thursday

Some good 12"s also out:

Macc "Proper Trouble/Be Like Water" Outsider
Fracture & Neptune "Boogalou" 13 Music
Fracture & Neptune "Our Sound" / "Hung Up" Inperspective
Macc & dgoHn "15 Bit" Mindrush
DJ Trax "The Drummer is the Heartbeat" / "Slip Away" on Outsider
Nucleus & Paradox "Elusion Theme" / "Music Box" on Paradox Music

And just released this week, two new tracks ("Roads" and "Blob") by the inimitable Martsman, available for free download at Exegene.

"Roads" is the track that Sileni has already remixed; and the remix will appear on DJ Clever's Knowledge Mag mix Cd, aforementioned. Other remixes of the tune are in the works, one of which I have already heard, and love, but am sworn to secrecy . . . the original is definitely worth checking too, and it's free.

My favorite recent release, without question, is Breakage's 12" on Planet Mu, "Drowning" / "The 9th Hand." Old tunes finally seeing release, but utterly gorgeous. 9th Hand sounds especially devastating over a system, I've been playing it out every chance that I get.

Also worthy of mention: Omni Trio's last dnb project, a rmx of "808" by Jason oS. Stunning.
 

bassnation

the abyss
nice one tate - good to see dj trax making tunes again - hightime and we rock the most are a couple of my favourite hardcore tunes.

Tate said:
My favorite recent release, without question, is Breakage's 12" on Planet Mu, "Drowning" / "The 9th Hand." Old tunes finally seeing release, but utterly gorgeous. 9th Hand sounds especially devastating over a system, I've been playing it out every chance that I get.

agreed, this track is wicked, very eerie. starting to pick up on this new stuff again, makes a nice change in tone from all that melancholic dubstep i'm listening to. i will never stop loving jungle (the propah stuff anyway).
 

adruu

This Is It
still trying to get info on this ancient release i have: untold records - back to nam ep

also would like to vote the following as most underappreciated:
dig the nu breed - labello blanco
sound control - andy c (very telling sample imho)
rugged and raw - lifting spirits
d.n.a - d.n.a.
pearls - neil trix

sorry for the nostalgia
 

tate

Brown Sugar
bassnation said:
good to see dj trax making tunes again - hightime and we rock the most are a couple of my favourite hardcore tunes.
You may also want to check Trax's other fairly recent, and rather gorgeous, 12" on Outsider: "Syncopation / The Beat Freak."

The Con.Struct tune "I Feel The Earth Move," also on Outsider, is in a similar vein.
 

UFO over easy

online mahjong
This is definitely a good time for breakthrough drum and bass producers. Breakage has had a ridiculous amount of 12"s out recently and his forthcoming album is CLASS, and Macc is finally getting the attention he deserves.

On a more negative note though, I'm getting more and more disappointed with Paradox's output. It all seems like totally recreations of stuff he's done better in the past. The best example of this is the new release on paradox music. One of those tracks is almost identical to Laberynthine, which was released a few months ago...
 

elgato

I just dont know
What do people think to Breakage's 12 with Jubei (?!) on Emcee Records? Not a massive fan of the A, but im really really feeling the B side 'Still There' - very interesting to hear him work with step programmed beats...it brings a completely fresh, minimal feel. Does anyone know who Jubei is?

For me, man of the moment has to be Martsman, i just cant get enough of his tunes. A little old now, but Ago on the Commercial Suicide/Offshore split is still completely bending my mind. Also heard a dub (coming out on Counter Intelligence in a little while i believe) called Antifunk which sent me wild, so tender and delicate yet completely roughneck at the same time (if thats possible, maybe im just getting confused!).
 

shellshock

New member
i've been a DnB fan since '98, and although i appreciate the resurgance of the choppage/drumfunk sound, are any of you into any other sounds? Martyn, Prode, Limewax and Current Value are putting out some great stuff. do you agree, or do i just need to grow up a bit...
 

UFO over easy

online mahjong
elgato said:
For me, man of the moment has to be Martsman, i just cant get enough of his tunes. A little old now, but Ago on the Commercial Suicide/Offshore split is still completely bending my mind. Also heard a dub (coming out on Counter Intelligence in a little while i believe) called Antifunk which sent me wild, so tender and delicate yet completely roughneck at the same time (if thats possible, maybe im just getting confused!).

Martsman, Sileni and Graphic are probably the most exciting producers in dnb for me right now :) All doing something totally new with an old format.

Antifunk is awesome, and it's coming out with another great tune on the flip - Just Let Go by Cartridge.
 

subvert47

I don't fight, I run away
shellshock said:
i've been a DnB fan since '98, and although i appreciate the resurgance of the choppage/drumfunk sound, are any of you into any other sounds? Martyn, Prode, Limewax and Current Value are putting out some great stuff. do you agree, or do i just need to grow up a bit...

Martyn does good techno

and Limewax is fun :D
 

Don Rosco

Well-known member
I'm really digging the tunes that are around now. It's about as good as it's been for the last 6-7 years I think. Producers seem less afraid to go out on limb than they used to, even some of the bigger names. It has to be said though, there's a lot of stuff that could be good, but is still too lockstepped. I can dig some of that stuff, but not much. It bores me quickly.

Fuckit, still loads of good stuff around. I'm really liking Martyn's stuff as well - there's a lovely detroit vibe off a lot of his tunes. Jonny L is up to no 5 on Mr L, his new label. Every one has been fucking slamming. He's such a freak. Such confidence, he just lashes down a fucked up groove and runs with it, and he's got these mad vocals on a lot of the tunes, real minimal & militant.

Of course, the Breakage album rolls like a motherfucker too. Proper haunting, dub vibes. The Amit album too, then there's the glitchy crew - Martsman, Sileni et al. Proper funk!
 
D

droid

Guest
Still aint heard very much to excite me. The Breakage on Planet Mu is fairly interesting, but the recent Bizzy B was disapointing, and Im still not feelin very much 'funk' in drumfunk... Ive heard a lot of the stuff mentioned here, and little of it excites me at all.

On a more positive (and slightly incestuous) note, has everyone heard the Bassbin @ Ichi One Mp3s? Check out Naphta B2B with Polska, playing all his own material.... This is what I'm into... sample driven, raggatastic without being ironic, and most importantly - no locked down tick-tock 2 steps!
 

bassnation

the abyss
droid said:
On a more positive (and slightly incestuous) note, has everyone heard the Bassbin @ Ichi One Mp3s? Check out Naphta B2B with Polska, playing all his own material.... This is what I'm into... sample driven, raggatastic without being ironic, and most importantly - no locked down tick-tock 2 steps!

i liked bits of the last bizzy release, but its just too dense - hes always been on that tip, but maybe being on planet mu has made him go even more chopped and nutty. its hard to put your finger on exactly what works, but space, funk and eerieness is top of my list. definitely say the breakage tunes have that.
 

Don Rosco

Well-known member
droid said:
Check out Naphta B2B with Polska, playing all his own material....

Fuck! I meant to mention Naphta. His tunes are a lot of the reason i'm optimistic at the moment - he's managed to take the 93-95 'template' and really update it. Totally unique.
 
D

droid

Guest
Don Rosco said:
Fuck! I meant to mention Naphta. His tunes are a lot of the reason i'm optimistic at the moment - he's managed to take the 93-95 'template' and really update it. Totally unique.

Face it Rosco! Theyre the only reason! :D
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
UFO over easy said:
This is definitely a good time for breakthrough drum and bass producers. Breakage has had a ridiculous amount of 12"s out recently and his forthcoming album is CLASS,
Forthcoming album? When? And with who?
and Macc is finally getting the attention he deserves.
Picked up Proper Trouble / Be Like Water at the weekend and it's really rather nice.

Also waiting with interest for the new Alpha Omega album to drop in the UK.

Speaking of which, does anyone else find drum and bass (or other genres of dance music, I suppose) albums to be a bit of a guilty pleasure? I mean, I know full well that 12's are the life blood of the scene and that they're the only way to get really up to the minute tunes and that dance music seldom works that well in album format anyway, but I tend to only get 12's that I'm really excited about because I seldom get around to listening to them after the first couple of weeks, and because I can't put them on while I'm cooking / working / washing up without having to stop and turn them over all the time.

IANADJ, of course, which helps.
 

evergreen

Well-known member
Tate where/when do you spin? I'd love to hear "9th Hand" on a dancefloor...

In addition to some of the aforementioned releases, I'm really looking forward to the next couple on Subtle Audio:

Fanu - I Play It Cooler / Heavenless
Sileni - Pressing Buttons / Failspan / Bouncing Octagonal Fragments
Equinox - Retroism (Where R You?) / Far Away

And Counter Intelligence:

Infuse - Observer / Dak - Nutcase
 

tate

Brown Sugar
shellshock said:
i've been a DnB fan since '98, and although i appreciate the resurgance of the choppage/drumfunk sound, are any of you into any other sounds? Martyn, Prode, Limewax and Current Value are putting out some great stuff. do you agree, or do i just need to grow up a bit...

There are good tunes on Offshore that have little or nothing to do with edits or drumfunk, but which are musical, non-cliched, and still available. A few suggestions:

Mav & Twister "The Tubes"
Deep Blue "Who Got Da Beats?" w/ a Ror-shak rmx of "Do You Do Voodoo" on the flip
The double pack with Deep Blue, Justice, Pieter K, and Graphic is old but very good, very musical.
Martsman "Ago" w/ a Klute & Pieter K collaboration on the flip
Graphic's rmx of Twitchy Droid Leg
Graphic's rmx of Zeke Honig's "Love Session" (sold out I believe, but beautifully glitchy and just barely dnb)

Almost anything by Pieter K promises to be musical, personal, and of high quality.

There is the whole 'techmospherics' thing associated with ASC and his label, Covert Operations. Though no one seems to be particularly happy with the name 'techmospherics,' including ASC himself, they have in fact managed to carve out a little niche production-wise and have released quite a few records in the past couple of years, through their mail order-only program (info and ordering at Tech Groove).
 
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