Category Archives: 2022

160bpm, 2022, Atmospheric, Ear & Drum Session

Ear & Drum: Session 229 – Killah Deep

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Back to 160bpm, but with a D&B instead of a Jungle focus this time around. As previously mentioned, this speed is ideal for letting Amen breaks breath. But there are also a lot of artists now winding back the BPM clock for other breaks to give their D&B productions that extra bit of depth.

Acid_Lab & Coco Bryce are the first artists that spring to mind, but with more than half of the tracks in this mix being from Omni Music, who’s atmospheric sound lends itself perfectly to the slower tempos, Eshaton’s killah label is worth a special mention here too. They have an amazing pool of talented producers bringing a greater depth to tunes by pushing D&B’s original tempo.

You can find all of the Omni Music tunes in this mix (plus 100s more) over at https://omnimusic.bandcamp.com/

Killah Deep – 1hr of 160bpm D&B

The Vanguard Project & Jemima Reed – Stitches (Coco Bryce Remix)
Grey Code – Primrose
Coco Bryce – Dial M for Mayor
Clothcutter – You’ll Know Me
Cryogenics – Haunted
Acid_Lab – Conquest of Space
IMANU & The Caracal Project feat. Josh Pan – La Fournaise
Added – Before Your Eyes
Dan Guidance – Creating Waves
Conman, Evasion & Mod:Co – Lifestyle
Woken Balance – Atlas 6
Mineral – Separated Attitude
Antony G – Lockdown
Moakz – Distant Waters
Mineral – Old School 2022
Dust-e-1 – One on One
The Vanguard Project – Want U Back (Coco Bryce Remix)

2022, All Artist Mix, Ear & Drum Session, Intelligent, Melodic, Uncategorized

Ear & Drum: Session 228 – Doctor Who?: 2nd Regeneration

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Heading into the golden era of the mid-90s for the 2nd installment of my Wax Doctor series. Since declaring this a three part series I’ve discovered a few more Wax Doctor tracks squirreled away in my vinyl collection under different names. So I’ll be adding a 4th mix to the series just for good measure.

A lot of these tracks are Wax Doctor collaborating with Alex Reece under the Jazz Juice and Unit 1 pseudonyms (later to become Fallen Angels), or as Bounty Killaz with Ashley Browne AKA DJ Pulse. There are definitely different moods to the sound depending on who the good Doctor teamed up with, Unit 1 being a lot tougher than the jazz inspired Jazz Juice for example. But in the end all of these tracks are pure quality and more than worthy of getting another spin.

Doctor Who?: 2nd Regeneration – 1hr of Wax Doctor (and friends) from 1995-97

Wax Doctor – All I Need
Jazz Juice – Detroit
Jazz Juice – Jazz Juice
Unit 1 – Untitled
Unit 1 – Love Me
DJ Pulse – Stay Calm (Bounty Killaz Remix)
Jazz Juice – Move Your Body
Wax Doctor – Step
Bounty Killaz – Silent Voices
Bounty Killaz – Do it Now!
Bounty Killaz – Killa Instinct (Alex Reece Remix)
Model 500 – I Wanna Be There (Wax Doctor Remix)
Wax Doctor – Cool Breeze

2022, Ear & Drum Session, Hard D&B

EAR & DRUM: SESSION 227 – Bruised

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Been a hot minute since I’ve dropped a heavier set, but this one is coming out swinging. The ruff D&B sound has been having a BIG resurgence lately with quality tracks hitting hard and fast.

First up Breakage dropped his At the Controls Vol.2 EP which featured the killer Lickshots for Headtops and Untitled Dubplate. When Breakage is on form not many can touch him. Blocks and Escher’s – Shot In The Dark EP finally dropped after what seems like years of the title track being played by everyone, although This One is my pick of the bunch from the release. And one of my favorite artists, Klute has remastered some of his classic remixes in the form of Digital & Spirit’s – Remote Control (Klute Remix) and Concord Dawn’s – Morning Light (Klute Remix) so I couldn’t pass up dropping these in even though they are a little long in the tooth.

Extra special shouts to Offish for his moody AF – Pareidolia [Intro] track and Mister Shifter for his massive Murder One drop on Straight Up Breakbeat. Seeing all my online Dogs coming correct gives me huge amounts of joy, so big up ya chest to all involved.

Bruised – 1hr of Tuff D&B Beats

Offish – Pareidolia [Intro]
Disrupta & J Select – Tequila
Breakage – Untitled Dubplate
Mister Shifter – Murder One
Digital & Spirit – Remote Control (Klute Remix)
Concord Dawn – Morning Light (Klute Remix)
S.P.Y – Nebula
Blocks & Escher – Shot In The Dark
Noisia – Incessant (IMANU Remix)
Conrad Subs – Dark Sets In
DLR – Make My Mind Go
Sub Focus – Deep Space (Data 3 Remix)
Roho – Deviuz Law
Breakage – Lickshots for Headtops
Blocks & Escher – This One
Silence Groove – Offset
Silence Groove – Feel
Inja – Soul Silhouette (feat. Singing Fats)

2022, All Artist Mix, Ear & Drum Session, Intelligent, Melodic

Ear & Drum: Session 226 – Doctor Who?: 1st Regeneration

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Wax Doctor is a producer who has always been close to my heart. He was a breakbeat pioneer who blazed a melodic trail in the early 90s, along with the likes of Omni Trio and Alex Reece, that defined a generation of music. He had two records in the first ten Metalheadz releases, more pseudonyms than you can poke a stick at, and was in high demand as a remix artist in D&B most formative years.

This is the first part of three mixes I’m putting together to celebrate the life and works and of Wax Doctor. Starting out in 1993 with some of his earliest Breakbeat Hardcore tracks and moving into the mid-90s, where he found his musical feet and started making serious waves in the D&B scene.

Doctor Who?: 1st Regeneration – 1.5hrs of early Wax Doctor

Kev Bird & The Wax Doctor – T.B.N (Tough But Nice)
Kev Bird & The Wax Doctor – Dark Matter ’93
Wax Doctor – Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels – Hello Lover (DJ Hype Remix)
DJ Pulse – Let You In (Wax Doctor Remix)
Wax Doctor – The Step
Model 500 – I Wanna Be There (Wax Doctor Remix)
Wax Doctor – Cool Breeze
Wax Doctor – The Spectrum
Unit 1 – Atlantic Drama
Alex Reece – Basic Principals (Wax Doctor Rollout)
Fallen Angels – Taken Over
Bounty Killaz – Do It Now! (DJ Pulse Remix)
Sounds of Life – Release the Bells (Wax Doctor Remix)
Alex Reece – Acid Lab (Wax Doctor Remix)
Wax Doctor – Kid Caprice
Lunar Funk – Spacewalk
Wax Doctor – Never As Good

2022, Ear & Drum Session, Liquid D&B, Melodic, Uncategorized

Ear & Drum: Session 225 – Memorandum

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This is the first mix of the new year to feature actual 2022 tracks in it. It’s a pumping little Liquid number featuring some of the genre’s best including KSR, DRS & Need for Mirrors, Seba, Mystific and S.P.Y. Extra big push for Furney and his new LP ‘Under Below’ which is an absolute belter and for the return of NZ favourite live D&B sons (and daughters) Shapeshifter and their new album ‘Rituals’.

Memorandum – 1hr of Liquid D&B

HLZ – Orbit
MNML & Brainwork – Miracle
Shapeshifter – Lightspeed
Mystific – Pieces of My Life
Collette Warren, DJ Marky & Tyler Daley – One Exception (Pola & Bryson Remix)
KSR – Life, Money
Degs – Unwritten
Seba – Public Beauty
Furney – Lunar Tunes
Furney & Lady Emz – Travel in a Day
DRS feat. Need for Mirrors – Running Back
Bungle – Forms
FLM – One Time (Euphorics Remix)
Hiraeth – A Time When
HLZ – How I Feel
S.P.Y – Dream Fragments
Flowrain, Pulsaar & Devon – Blue (Decon Remix)
Furney – Bengo
Mystific – Space Cadet
Subrix – Direction
Particle – Fall 2 Fast

2022, Bass Music, Down Low Session, Melodic

The Down Low: Session 052

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Back to the lower BPMs for a hot minute with a selection of Garage, House and Bass tunes. Don’t ask me for the micro-genres because it is all broken beats to me. Like most of my Down Low mixes, I like to still keep a solid ear on D&B artists doing interesting things at different BPMs.

Some highlights for me are GLXY’s – The LP Track, which is Garage at its catchiest from a guy who normally rolls out D&B. Nelver, another D&B wizard shows off his 130bpm chops with Show You and Wait for Me with BORKA FM. Moby proves he still has it with his track Rufuge and make sure you keep an ear out for the spine tingling sample lifted off Ed Rush, Optical & Fierce’s classic Locust / Cutslo in Kastle’s Garage 2 stepper 4 Real.

Down Low: Session 52 – 1hr+ of 130bpm Broken Beats

Minor Science – Second Language (Intro)
Aspect – Little Bitta Bass
GLXY – The LP Track
Goldie – Inner City Life (Binary State Remix)
Jack Michael – Think Twice
Monika Ross – Cloud Steppin’
Nowheretobefound – Giving Up
Aka Zeb – Deep Discovery
Nelver – Show You
Nelver feat. BORKA FM – Wait for Me
Trudios & BLK JCK – Hold Tight (Massive)
Symbiosis – Protocol
DJ Tone – Breath Again
Pepe – Lemon Fanta
David Kochs – Heart Transplant
Moby – Refuge
Scuba – Never Forget
Natasha Atlas – One Brief Moment (Klute Remix)
Bioritm – Balkal
MindOfaDragon – Hype M8
Kastle – 4 Real
DJG – Say Something

2022, Atmospheric, Ear & Drum Session, Jungle

Ear & Drum: Session 224 – Ruff with the Smooth

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To many the Amen break is the defining beat of D&B and Jungle. And even though it is one of the original breaks to define the genre, it still persists today as a whole new generation bring Jungle back from it’s 90s slumber.

Those old enough to remember will recall the days when D&B sped up from 160bpm to its 172-76bpm limit it has today. One thing that got lost in this translation was the ability to let the Amen flex and breath, as those all important spaces between the breaks almost disappeared in the race to faster paced music.

For me, one of the best thing about the recent Jungle revival, has been the return of the 160bpm tunes that don’t rely on pace, but rather feel to provide the energy in the music. This is a collection of some the best new (and some old classic) 160bpm tunes that are driving a return of the Amen with serious flex and feel to to beat.

Ruff with the Smooth – 1hr+ of 160bpm Jungle and Atmospheric D&B

J Majik – Red Moon
Acid_Lab – Combination Dub (Tommy Badman Mix)
Dead Man’s Chest – Open Your Eyes
Digital – Down Under
Acid_Lab – Trip 2 Mars
Acid_Lab – Interstellar (Kodama Remix)
MJT – Panacea
Stunna – Last September
Carter – Twenty One Thoughts
Rainforest – Villalongin
Dilinja – The Angels Fell
Bug Kann & The Plastic Jam – Made in 2 Minutes (Origin Unknown Remix)
DJ Swift & DJ Zinc feat Steve B – It’s Time
Fracture – Chessington
David Holmes – Gone (PFM Remix)
Future Bound – Sorrow
Bjorn – Inside My Soul
Dust-e-1 – One on One
Source Direct – Black Rose