Deep and rolling is the order of the day. This selection of minimalist and tech rollers hits just the right amount of heaviness and mood for me. A huge shout to Herron Flow for the Do 2 U EP on 31 Recordings. It’s one of the strongest EPs of the year for me, with every single track hitting home. Big up to Radders killer MC tune No Go and Slay feat. Chimpo & SL8R for the hype Dis One.
Buunshin & Idea Days – I’m Okay C:Critz – Panic Radders – No Go Dub Phizix – Blossom I Am Legion – Choosing for You (Forbidden Society Remix) Foreign Concept – China Plate Siloh & Dan Structure – Swivel Intake – Closing Heron Flow – Swear Down Heron Flow – Raging Sea S.P.Y – Night Fury Slay feat. Chimpo & SL8R – Dis One Heron Flow – Serpentine Conrad Subs – Heritage Flipper – Nergal Midik – The White Room Moakz – A New Future (Mineral Remix) Echomatics – Lost Focus Date 3 – String Theory Heron Flow – In Drag
Swedish born Sebastian Ahrenberg AKA Seba has provided some of the juiciest D&B sounds since 96′ when he first debuted on Looking Good Records. Now running his own label, Secret Operations, Seba has crafted a rolling, bass heavy sound that has influenced the scene and made him one of D&B favourite artists.
One label that has taken the Seba sound and twisted it into its own unique form is Offworld Recordings, home of artists such as Nelver, Fishy and Airstrike. I’ve always thought that between Seba the artist and Offworld the label, there would be a killer mix. It turns out I was pretty spot on, this slaps. If I could hear it on a large system with a packed dance floor I’d die a happy man.
Aleyum – Blow Hour (HumaNature Remix) Seba & Digital – Love Story Nelver – Our Time Seba – Nobody Knows Fishy & Freebird – Cause I Miss You Seba & Manos – Evergreen Intake – Closing Seba – Nostalgia Nuvertal – Faith Seba & Paradox – Jupiterize Kyhu – Time-Lapse Seba feat. Jenna G – Sweet Magnolia Shrust – Cocoon Seba & Jnr Valo – Rotate Airstrike & Biak – Karma Seba & Robert Manos – Machine Advisory – End Credits Seba – Piemo for B Airstrike – Radials
Hard hitting D&B has been having a real resurgence in 2022. Stepping away from the loudness wars of the past, producers have been going back to writing tunes that let the spaces in between do the talking to produce a more cinematic feel to them and proving some real flex.
Digital has always had his finger on the pulse, so when he signed up Seba to make the 222 Road to Nowhere EP I just knew it was going to come correct. His tracks Love Story and The Future have that classic Seba roll, but with the tough beats you’d expect from a Function Records release.
Another man who always comes correct Dub Phizix has the Senka Mix Tape out with a swag of impressive tunes of all genres. Most of the tunes on there have been released in long form on various EPs, but Demon Seed, Blossom and Item all have the heavyweight sound. Shouts out to NC-17, Mako and all the rest of the Metalheadz kru who have been keeping it real.
Mako – The Both of Us Added & Cory James – Concentric Seba & Digital – Love Story Seba & Oilskin – The Future Loxy & Resound – Leagues Deep (Resound Mix) NC-17 & Dunk – New Jack Hustler Dub Phizix – Demon Seed Dub Phizix – Blossom Slay feat. Chimpo & SL8R – Dis One DLR – Do I Know What I’m Doing VIP HLZ – Capone Diet Subwave – Mercury (Hyroglifics Remix) Raiden – Fallin Revised Conrad Subs – Dark Set In Particle – Driven’ Me Crazy Dub Phizix – Item Script – Set Up The Set (DLR’s Clash VIP) Grey Code – Illiad NC-17 – State of Grace Silence Groove – Offset NC-17 – Ghost Song
Heading back into Liquid territories again this time with a selection of new choons for 2022. Kicking off with Heron Flow from his very tasty Do 2 U EP on 31 Records, a release where every track hits just right. We’ve also got new material from Dawn Wall in the form of Fears and Judgement along with Calibre & Chelou’s track E SI O and Calibre’s insanely good remix of Dogger & Mindstate’s classic – Broken Home.
PFM and Big Bud represent the OGs with Broken Tears and Miracle (Armaning Remix) respectively. While Dub Phizix’ Suia and Flying High and BCee’s God Fixation and Think U Know fly the flag for their ownSpearhead Recordings and Senka imprints. There’s a lot to love here so slip on the headphones or turn it up and enjoy.
Heron Flow – She Get It HEFT – Timeline Submorphics – Orchestra 313 Dub Phizix – Suia Dawn Wall – Fears BCee – God Fixation Furney – I Vouz Ne Manquez Wardown – Instant Money Dawn Wall – Judgement A-Sides – Lonely Skies Sub Focus – Off the Ground Bop & Subway – Don’t Wake Up (Pola & Bryson Remix) Calibre & Chelou – E SI O Dub Phizix – Flying High Particle – Fall 2 Fast Big Bud – Miracle (Arming Remix) Submorphics – Lucinda PFM – Broken Tears Dogger & Mindstate feat. Liam Bailey – Broken Home (Calibre Remix) BCee & Pat Fulgoni – Think U Know 11 East – Emotive Rinser Shapeshifter – Lightspeed
This one says-what-it-does-on-the-tin with a mix of heavy atmospheric tracks and a few mellower numbers to ease you in at the beginning. It’s awesome to hear this sound coming back again with a distinct early Inperspective Records vibes, which is never a bad thing.
Kicking things off with the Voyager classic Aurora remixed by the man himself. Latyn’s two versions of Dust & Ages then bring the big Amen rinsers, backed up by the ever-green Alaska, Mikal and Echo 1 also bringing the heat. Omni Music feature heavily towards the end with tracks from Eschaton, Freeboard, Cryogenics and Abstract Drumz & Peeb.
With summer well and truly keeping our northern hemisphere brothers and sisters hot and sweaty, I thought now is the perfect time to drop a mix of soulful summer sounds to help keep things chill.
LSB leads the charge with a swag of soulful tunes from his exceptional self titled LSB album on his Footnotes imprint. Alix Perez’s Wairua EP also features more of the tuneful but tuff signature 1985 sound. And Redeyes sees a solid return to form with his To the Falls EP, featuring some tasty collabs with Tokyo Prose and Fox.
LSB – Endless Mystic State – Dreamscapes Motiv – Jupiter MNML & Brainwork – Miracle Mystic – Pieces of My Life LSB – Find A Way LSB – Bell Tune Dogs – Unwritten Freeboard & Toes – Water of Life Fish & Peron – Ascending Reality DRS feat. Need for Mirrors – Running Back High Contrast – Exposé (AI Remix) Bee – The Garden Redeyes & Fox – Wait Ting Alix Perez & Verbz – Stayed the Same Mirrorman – Waiting For You Audioholic – Bottlerockets Alix Perez – Wairua PFM – Broken Tears Redeyes & Tokyo Prose – Yukon
From 97-03 Stakka and Skynet’s Audio Blueprint label took the Tech Step sound of drum & bass and infused it with faster skittering drums, arcing b-lines and a little Techno magic to create what ended up being the blueprint for Neurofunk. While Nuero ended up becoming a formulaic dead-end in a lot of respects by the end of the 2000s, the pioneering sounds of Audio Blueprint at the time was fresh and exciting.
Audio Blueprint ended up with an enviable stable of producers such as Psion, Arcane, Kemal & Rob Data, Skinny & Lynx and the mighty Gridlock. Many of these went on to have long and respected careers in D&B, but it was Stakka & Skynet themselves who really blazed the trail for the sound. Audio Blueprint (and its sister label Underfire Records) were unique with a sound that is seeing a revival today as new artists look back to what truly ended up being an Audio Blueprint for tech-infused D&B.
Whether it is remixing classic older tracks, or taking influence from an earlier sound, D&B is currently living it’s best retro life. Artists like Sam Binga, Chimpo and Conrad Subs wear their love of older styles and retro inspiration on their sleeves, but the rolling and bouncy sound of D&B past is definitely starting to bleed over into more and more producer’s sounds.
There is some BIG remixes in here with Andy C’s Valley Of The Shadows getting reworked by Chase & Status, plus Camo & Krooked & Mefjus doing a drop-less take on High Contrast’s – Return of Forever. There is even an original 96 remix of Die’s classic Clear Skyz which only was released 25 years too late. Special shouts to Soul Intent for his Science Fiction EP released on 31 Recordings which nailed the ‘old but new’ sound perfectly for me.
Still waters run deep as this Liquid rinse out proves. Kicking off with an older tune from 2020 by Fishy & Peron, although if you close your eyes you’d swear it was Marcus Intalex. It is almost as if it was written to mix with S.P.Y’s – Need You from the amazing Together With Ukraine compilation. If you haven’t picked this up, you won’t find a better value release or a better cause to spend your pennies on.
Following Need You is Lenzman & Echo Brown’s – Nokia Days and Workforce’s incredible track Forever. Two more tunes proving that Liquid can have beauty and brawn in a single track. Other stand outs are Champagne feat. Miss Fudge – The Other Side, 11 East – Emotive Rinser and Bop’s VIP rework of Space 2 Breath. Although if I’m honest every tune in here is a winner to my ears.
I’m dedicating this mix to Phil Fortune Cookie for putting me onto Ascending Reality, the best intro tune I’ve come across in ages. Check out Phil’s own mix series Deep and Dreamy over on his Mix Cloud.
Fishy & Peron – Ascending Reality S.P.Y – Need You Lenzman – Nokia Days Workforce – Forever Particle – Fall 2 Fast HumanNature – Stories Champagne feat. Miss Fudge – The Other Side Redeyes – Moon River flowanastasia & Nympho – River Flows 11 East – Emotive Rinser Duoscience – Edge Issue Cross & Wilkinson – Used to This HEFT – Timeline Bop – Space 2 Breath VIP Wilkinson & Ilola – Close Your Eyes Jrumhand – Inside
Rolling deep this time with a mixture of Half Step and Minimal monsters from the likes of Bop, Seba and FX909. The real star of the show here is Shinbu who’s self published stripped back tracks demonstrate that the deeper darker side of D&B is still going strong in 2022. Check his work out on his Bandcamp page.
FX909 – Now (Half Step Mix) Data 3 – String Theory Shinbu – Ski Om UNit – Aqua Roho – Devise Law A.T.5 – Witch Metal Kintsuku – Absent Echomatics – Pushing Back Seba – Public Beauty Bop – Space 2 Breath VIP Quartz – Crescent Moon Spinline – Return Shinbu & Shoujin – Midnight Visit Shinbu – Eka Shinbu – Nightmarchers Redders – No Go Theoretical – Revival Digital – Deadline (Dub Phizix Remix) Khramer – Far Away
