Category Archives: Melodic

Amen, Chill Out, Deep D&B, Ear & Drum Session, Intelligent, Melodic, Old Skool

Shadow Wax 8: 1997 Chilled Intelligence Part 1 – Ear & Drum Session 84

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Back to the golden era of Drum & Bass with this tidy selection from the god father of D&B labels Moving Shadow. This rolls and flows majestically through intelligent amen driven beats and bass from start to finish.

Omni Trio, JMJ & Ritchie, Flytronix, EZ Rollers, Hoax – all the big names are in here and so are some of their biggest tunes. Anyone who can remember far back enough to when The Rhode Tune, Sanctuary and Free La Funk first hit will remember they changed everything.

If these tunes are new to you, you are in for a real treat. If you were luckily enough to be listening to drum & bass back in 97, enjoy this roll down memory lane.

Shadow Wax 8 – 1hr of 1997 Chilled Intelligence

Hoax – Temple Bell
Omni Trio – Sanctuary
Omni Trio – Sancturay (Funky Technicians Remix)
Essence of Aura – So This Is Love
Flytronix – The Rhode Tune
Dead Calm – Searchin’
EZ Rollers – Subtropic
JMJ & Ritchie – Free La Funk
Kudos – Soul Searching
Hoax – The More I See You
JMJ & Ritchie – Beyond Therapy
Mastermind – The Morning After
Hoax – Pipe Dreams (Flytronix Remix)
Hoax – The Mission

2014, Deep D&B, Ear & Drum Session, Liquid D&B, Melodic

Set Adrift – Ear & Drum Session 92

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A second dose of deepness for the New Year, this time with a liquid twist to it. The is one of those smooth rolling sets you can listen to in the background or put the headphones on and get really involved with. Perfect for any sore heads still feeling the jared from New Year’s Eve celebrations. 😉

A lot of the usual suspects I’ve been playing for most of 2013 appear in here, with the notable exception of Klute who finally came good on dropping a new album, The Draft, in October. I’m glad to say it’s his strongest work in a long time and well worth grabbing if you haven’t already.

Other notables are Seba for killing it all year long, Technimatic for coming out of nowhere and making a BIG splash and Calibre for just being Calibre and always coming correct.

Once again thanks for all the support in 2013 and I hope 2014 turns our for you and your ears. I guess you could say ‘Happy New Ears’. 😛

Set Adrift – 1.5hrs of Deep & Rolling Liquid D&B

Sub Focus – Twilight
Paramount – Northstar
Villem & McLeod – The Reason feat. Piathaleia
Breach – Jack (Calibre Remix)
Nitri feat. Grimm – Lies
Medium – The Abyss
Silent Type – All I Want
Greyscale – Impossible Dream
Thesis – Homecoming
dRamatic – Straight Talking
Seba – Shades of Me & You
Seba – Never LEt You Go (Blu Mar Ten Remix)
Calyx & Teebee – Prehensile Dreamer Part 1
Electrosoul System – Traffic
Thesis – Event Horizon
Total Science – See Your Face feat. Riya
Technimatic – The Evening Loop
Greyscale – Horizon
Seba – Under the Sun
Klute – Turn Around
Paramount – Dreamworld
Seba – Can’t Describe
Airstrike feat. Allison Gray – Frozen
Technimatic – Frozen Leaves

2013, Ear & Drum Session, Liquid D&B, Melodic

Horizontal – Ear & Drum Session 88

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It’s been a while since I’ve used the term ‘atmospheric’ to describe a set. But with Good Looking Records on the come-back trail and quite a few liquid producers exploring the atmospheric side of things for summer I thought the time was right. These are proper vibes, with that UK summer sound that always makes me smile.

Horizontal – 1hr+ of Atmospheric D&B

Technimatic – Sheltered Storm
Malaky – Express Your Self
Nuage – Fair Questions
Total Science Feat. Riya – Cold Blood
Hybrid Minds – Meant to Be
Command Strange & Malaky – Regrets
Stereotype – Elephant Shoes
ST Files & Response
Technimatic – Mirror Image
LTJ Bukem – Atlantis (Marky & S.P.Y Rework)
PFM – This Must Be Love
Tokyo Prose & Phil Tangent – Parity (Klute Remix)
Actraiser – Resurrection
MC Fats, HLZ & Chef – True Born Souljah
S.P.Y – What the Future Holds
SJ Marky & S.P.Y – Yellow Shoes (Calibre Remix)
soulTec – I Hear You Knocking
Nymfo – Suddenly
Command Strange & Intelligent Manners – Right Here, Right Now
Actraiser – Haunted Vessel

2013, Ear & Drum Session, Liquid D&B, Melodic

Beautiful Music – Ear & Drum Session 85

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There is so much lush D&B about at the moment that I had to throw together a set of melodic and liquid tunes. Fokuz Recordings and Influenza Media have been smashing out high quality liquid for many a year, but seem to recently have stepped up to a new level of melody magic as has S.P.Y, DJ Clart and Intelligent Manners. Not to be out done Bungle, with his sublime track Aura, has come up with one of the tunes of the year for me so far.

Lots of people deride liquid for being too generic over the last few years, but I think this selection shows that as a genre it still has a lot kick left in the bass bins.

Beautiful Music – 1hr+ of D&B Lushness

Bungle – Aura
Frederic Robinson – Mood Swings
Pluton & Skyer – Cosmic Rain
Naibu – Fireflies (Light Mix)
Nu:Logic – Morning Light
S.P.Y – You
Seba Feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw – Nothing Can Relpace
Bachelors of Science Feat. Ben Soundscape & Kemo – Ainokea
Data – Vice
Intelligent Manners – Move Me
DJ Clart & Reza – The Chances (Vocal Version)
Intelligent Manners – Tonight feat. Command Strange
Phil Tangent – Restitution
Kelle – Eternia
S.P.Y – Future Tense feat. Jo-S
Rowpieces – Cosmic Junk
Shuwa – Inversion
Intelligent Manners & Command Strange – Do It All Night feat. Pouyah
Tokyo Prose – Raised by Wolves
Furney – Charlotte’s Song

All Label Mix, Ear & Drum Session, Intelligent, Melodic

Shadow Wax 7: 1996 Chilled Intelligence Part 2 – Ear & Drum Session 84

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The next installment of the Shadow Wax series sees 1996 era EZ Rollers, Flytronix, JMJ & Ritchie, PFM, Omni Trio, Blame, Aquasky & Carlito all in a single mix. Quality tunes made by quality producers from D&B’s best quality era.

Shadow Wax 7: 1996 Chilled Intelligence – 1hr of Moving Shadow

EZ Rollers – Droppin’ Science Pt2 (EZ Remix)
Flytronix & JMJ – In Too Deep
Universal – Altitude
PFM – Language of Love
JMJ – Gravitational Pull
Omni Trio – The Elemental
JMJ & Ritchie – True Colours
Omni Trio – Trippin’ on Broken Beats (Carlito Mix)
Omni Trio – Soul of Darkness (Promenade 96 Rollout)
PFM – The Eleventh Hour
Omni Trio – Serpent Navigators
Blame – Neptune
Aquasky – Tranquility (Big Bud Remix)
Carlito – Cascade
Omni Trio – Who Are You? (Aquasky Remix)

2013, Bass Music, Down Low Session, Melodic

Introducing Low Profile and the Down Low Sessions – Down Low Session: 001

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As some of you may know I’ve recently moved from Perth to Hobart and had to drop my long running radio show on RTRfm. Having done the show for over 15 years I yearned for something to fill the gap in my life giving up radio in Perth had left me with. So, thanks to the wonderful and talented Guy Andrews at Phuture Frequency Radio I have started up a new monthly radio show/podcast.

It’s a bass music session devoted to the deeper and dubbier side of all things bass, and will feature a lot of different genres including techno, dubstep, house, UK garage to name just a few. I’ll be posting up the older archives here, but if you want to keep up with the very latest then you’ll have to listen via Phuture Frequency Radio or subscribe to the podcast.

The Down Low – Session 001

Utah Jazz – Atmospheric Interlude
Mac Cooper – Harmonisch Serie
Photek – No Agenda
Photek & Pinch – M25fm
Kosheen – Addict
Giriu Dvasios – Trauka
Trevino – Lag
Photek – Signals
FaltyDL – Open Space
Bonobo – Eyedown (ft Andrea Triana & DELS)
Panda – Leaving Amsterdam
Photek – 101 (Boddikas Drum Machine Remix)
DJG – Say Something
Justin Martin – Molokini (French Fries Remix)
Photek – 101
Klute – Torrential Pain
Photek – Quadrant
Photek – Closer

2012, Deep D&B, Ear & Drum Session, Half Beat, Melodic, Minimal

Sub Sampling – Ear & Drum Session 77

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Hitting the deeper and darker spectrum of D&B again this time around. There is some really great deep darkness about at the moment if you know where to look. Shogun Audio and Med School are obvious trail blazers, but some of the smaller labels such as Ingredients, Critical Music & Vibration Records are also punching way above their weight with the help of production talent such as Krakota, Enei, Kasra and Alcrani.

The great thing about this sound at the moment is it’s ability to keep a moody streak whilst still being diverse in terms of influence. Some tracks come at things from a minimal perspective, others melodic and others still with the stripped back half-step MC driven sound but all sound like they were made for each other and make for good fun when it comes to making up a track selection.

Sub Sampling – 1+hrs of Deep and Dark D&B Vibes

SpectraSoul – Coals
Alcrani – Inversion of Control
Krakota – Tunnle Vision
Utah Jazz – Crossing Frontiers
June Miller – Isis (Silent Dust Remix)
Joe Syntax – Bassline Sinker
ASC – Glass Walls
Scott Allen & Deeper Connection – The Need In Me
Silence Groove – Carried By Clouds
Flame – Tragic Kingdom
Craggz & Parallel – Hurt You
Able Danger – Asteria
Kasra & Enei – So Real
Joe Syntax – Pull It
Utah Jazz – Slice of Nature
SpectraSoul – Light in the Dark
Enei & MC DRS – Obsession (Foreign Concept Remix)
SpectraSoul – Shackles
Bass’Flo – Poseidon (Physical Illusion Remix)
Rudimental – Feel the Love (Fred V & Grafix Remix)
Technicolour – We Were Always One

2012, Ear & Drum Session, Liquid D&B, Melodic

A Long Summer Sumthing – Ear & Drum Session 75

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It’s been a long time since I did a long mix and seeing as we in the Southern hemisphere are starting to heat up after a particularly cold winter, and those in the North are seeing the last of their warmer days I though it was about time to drop a mix of Summer tunes from this season. Now when I say Summer tunes I don’t mean Festival & Bass style stuff (not my style), I mean proper Summer rollers with a good vocal or two to sing a long to.

I have to mention some of the big albums of the (Northern) Summer. The very under-rated L.A.O.S released their debut which everyone must have been hanging on because they titled it Finally. Full of big sounding lush liquid tunes this is a belter and well worth the asking price. Next up is Atlantic Connection – Love Connection. I always love their albums as you can be guaranteed a diverse range of music brilliantly produced and with a Cali vibe to it. And last but not least Utah Jazz with his Groove Therapy LP which I have already banged on about on this blog. His Conrad Funk tune of this is my favourite track in this mix and has that amazing old Good Looking vibe with updated production quality meaning it hits even harder.

So set up your sun lounge, get the stereo in the garden and kick back with some rays and enjoy a rinse of a long Summer sumthing.

A Long Summer Sumthing – 1.5hrs of Summer Tunes from 2012

Random Movement – The Note From Next Door
LSB – All Of My Love (Technicolour & Komatic Remix)
BCee feat. Messy MC – Captured In Time VIP
Maduk feat. Veela – Ghost Assassin
Dynamic – Midnight Heat Thing
Atlantic Connection – Warm Regards
Phors – Shining Star
Dynamic – Modal Suite
Hybrid Minds – Leaving
Alix Perex – Contradictions
DRS featuring Lenzman & Jehst A – Holding On
LSB & Sian Sanderson – Overthinking
SpectraSoul feat. Tamara Blessa – Away With Me (Calibre Remix)
DJ Clart – The Grind
Culture Shock – Protection
Utah Jazz – Conrad Funk
Intelligent Manners – Acting, Thinking, Feeling
nClear – Only Way
Contract Killers – The Life Moments (Soundwall VIP)
Undersound & Missy May – Headfirst & Foolhardy
L.A.O.S – Hush Now
L.A.O.S – Break My Heart (LP Version)
Rudimental – Feel The Love (Fred V & Grafix Remix)
Silence Groove – Eat Me Softly
Dynamic – Blueberry Nights
The Burbs – Desire
Rowpieces – On My Mind
LSB – Some Disco

All Label Mix, Chill Out, Deep D&B, Ear & Drum Session, Intelligent, Melodic, Old Skool

Shadow Wax 6: 1996 Chilled Intelligence Part 1 – Ear & Drum Session 72

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The sixth installment in the retrospective Shadow Wax series looks at the chilled out vibes from 1996. No one could touch Moving Shadow during this era of sublime melodies and blissful beats. Artists like PFM, Flytronix, Wax Doctor, Dave Wallace, EZ Rollers and Unit 1 read like a who’s who of top Intelligent D&B producers.

For me these are some of the finest musical moments in Drum & Bass that still sound just as fresh today as when they were made. ’96 truly was a golden era for this sound, so if you like you beats chilled and smooth I suggest you kick back and enjoy the ride.

Shadow Wax 1996: Chilled Intelligence Part 1 – 1hr+ of Chilled out Moving Shadow

PFM – Cruising Detroit
Teqniq – Razzmatazz
Fytronix – The Rhode Tune
Mastermind – The Essence
Hoax – Meltdown
Essence of Aura – So This Is Love ’96
Neil Trix – Revolution
JMJ & Flytronix – Delusions
Wax Doctor – Cool Breeze
Unit 1 – Atlantic Drama
Dave Wallace – Flight
Dave Wallace – Waves
EZ Rollers – The Morning After
Hoax – Pipe Dreams
EZ Rollers – Vintage Moments
Vext – Visions

2012, Deep D&B, Ear & Drum Session, Liquid D&B, Melodic

The Soulution – Ear & Drum Session 70

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So recently on a certain D&B forum a colleague of mine suggested that the problem with D&B was that it couldn’t be fun without being cheesy or chavvy. Obviously hearing is in the ear of the beholder and every body’s idea of ‘fun’ is different, but it did get me thinking about the more fun and accessible D&B I had been overlooking lately. For me the D&B with the widest audience accessibility (ie. stuff that not just the headz would listen to) is the vocal and soul fueled variety. It has the vocals to hook in the ladies and give that sense of fun, it has the soul to get the hips swaying and it still has the beats & b-lines to keep the floor moving. Best of all it doesn’t have to degenerate into the cheesy festival style D&B that is seen as commercially popular.

So in response to my good chum Ocelot Ed’s question I put together this mix to provide a solution to Ed’s problem with D&B. As I said, everyone’s idea of ‘fun’ is different, but for me these types of tunes offer up a good balance of fun without the fromage, and there is still enough D&B grunt to keep the headz happy too.

Props have to go to Komatic as he seems to be all over this sound that’s not quite liquid and not quite deep, but has loads of soul and a real pump to the bass and beats. Other notable exceptions are Young Ax who always brings it with a real live sound to his soulful productions and the usual suspects of Duo Science, Spectrasoul and Technicolour who seem to constantly pump out quality tracks on a monthly basis.

The Soulution – 1hr of Soul Fueled D&B

Komatic – The Open Choice
Mage & M25 – Savanna
Young Ax – High Rollers
Komatic – Earth Turns
Paperclip – Whom I Belong
Anile & Hybrid Minds – Old TImes
Madcap – Our Love
Duo Science Feat. Skyeyes – Let Me Know
Deeper Connection – Quiet Storm
Soulproof – Inna Dem Clothes
Villem & McLeod – Hush
Spectrasoul – In Profile
Technicolour – Winter Rose
High Contrast – The Stand
Technicolour & Komatic – We Were Always One
Soul Culture – Stronger