Calibre – Tenopause/Discreet Dub [Deep Medi]

Calibre makes his second outing on Mala’s Deep Medi imprint; the first was a subtle rolling garage-like affair that had all the hallmarks of Calibre’s sound as well as Deep Medi’s the two are just made for each other. Dubstep and D’n’B have always had a dialog whether it be jungle influencing producers to make the music they do today, all be it filtered through a different prism or people from either scene stepping into the next domain to give their take on the sound. It’s been a fertile area for creativity with the likes of Instra:mental, Breakage and Kryptic Minds all finding their own voice in the dubstep world or Skream, Scuba and Ramadanman playing with D’n’B. Calibre flexes his dubstep tempo muscles here with two diverse productions.

The highlight here has to be ‘Tenopause’, Calibre’s knack for subtle rolling percussive bliss is in full effect. The hi-hats draw you in with their fluid forward motion and when they play off the kicks and that addictive bass line that pulses with a hypnotic energy before flailing off into open space like its ricocheted off a passing space cruiser, you’re into eyes down zoned out head nod territory. ‘Discreet Dub’ is a more spaced out affair, slowing things down to a half step and upping the atmosphere. Deep Medi really is fitting for this one; the bass seduces you into a state of bliss as it shifts amongst the eerie Middle Eastern melodies. Deep Medi bringing diversity in their deepness yet again and Calibre keeps things rolling.

Originally written for Sonic Router.

www.deepmedi.com
www.myspace.com/deepmedi
www.myspace.com/sigrecs1

Rare Villains – Embezzlementals [Highpoint Lowlife]

Atmospheric hip-hop instrumentals from the new Highpoint Lowlife signing Rare Villains, a Dutch duo who make some late night, stripped back stealth mode beats. Embezzlementals is a thirty minuet beat tape that is heavy on the low-end, electro synths and crisp beats. It all sounds so sinister that it could soundtrack a smoky late night cartoon crime thriller.

The open credits start in that fashion as the smoke machine whirs into action on the synth led ‘Anthremedieum’ with its slow deliberate beats and cityscape sensibilities. ‘Last Train’ rolls through with a lob-sided swagger and melancholic darkness. Rare Villains keep it simple, never cluttered. The addictive bass and melodies of ‘Status Angry’ sound like Dr. Dre has been taken down an ally for questioning by a shady organisation on a scene cut from Blade Runner. The eerier jazz-like digi shuffle of ‘Harmony’ oozes into the smeared synths of ‘Dychoned’ and you feel that you should be making your own diabolical plot or make some kind of shadowy shipment.

’26.4.5.91’ and the closer ‘Bonkar’ both come off sounding like a glitch addled broken version of ‘Tortured’ by Coki that’s been found in a NYC back street gutter after a soundclash that got nasty, but the with the high end taken out and added hip-hop swagger. The head nodding bass bump of ‘Prophet’s Walk’ keeps the minimalist funk coming, the snappy snares and gangsta melodies make it a highlight. ‘Villain Steez’ keeps the darkness coming with buzzy synth tones and a moody atmosphere that turns even more sinister on ‘East-Berlin’ with its gritty rumbling undertones.

Rare Villains have created a beat tape that drips in darkness and a subtly menacing atmosphere all made through minimal synth lines, deep bass and snappy beats. You’ll find yourself coming back for more.

Buy: Rare Villains – Embezzlementals [Highpoint Lowlife]

http://www.rarevillains.com/
http://highpointlowlife.com/

Worriedaboutsatan – Heart Monitor

Brand new material from Worriedaboutsatan is always welcome around these parts so the super limited single (100 only) Heart Monitor, which you can grab if you’re quick here, picks up where the fantastic Arrivals left off. Swooping postrock addled minimal techno infused beauty.

The intro ‘Eyes closed’ surges into the main event ‘Heart Monitor’ with ease, a track which sees Worriedaboutsatan use the vocal talents of Greg Hoepffner who emotes the coda, ‘give me your heavy heart’ in a sweet gentle tone over a bed of bubbling beats and bleep that echo the titles message, the wide screen bass tones add another layer of emotion to the record, subtly bringing a mysterious physical feeling into the mix that pulls you with it sucking you into the track. Pulsing electronics and slow progressing melodies make this a tender slice of electronica that just keeps building subtly and aches with raw emotion. This track is a personal favourite for sure.

The single keeps the theme going with ‘Respirator’ with eerie loops of echo drenched breathing and rumbling tones pulsating under emotional female vocals and distant guitars before it all rolls off into nothing. You’ll also find her.eyes.like_static remixing ‘Heart Monitor’ and they do a fine job just like they did on the Arrivals Remixed compilation to ‘You’re In My Thoughts’. They take the original’s tender emotion and flip it into a mass outpour of abrasive, passionate energy. Distorting the melodies and making it screech with raw slow and deliberate power.

It comes in a beautifully put together package with the CD, which also includes the stems for you remixers out there, a badge, cloth print and a page from a 70s cardiology book, which is an interesting read. Worriedaboutsatan keep dropping moving slices of postrock/minimal/electronica that blur the lines of those genres with ease. Heart Monitor is one to treasure.



Buy: Worriedaboutsatan - Heart Monitor

http://www.worriedaboutsatan.co.uk/
http://www.myspace.com/worriedaboutsatan
http://worriedaboutsatan.bigcartel.com/

Xploder Sessions.

Was tonight @ 8:00pm for just over two hours…

Mixing live in my attic… Playing some dubstep, grime, garage, uk funky, house, techno, skweee, hip-hop, electro, beats, bass new and old. You can listen again bellow.

Listen: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6252731

The tracklist goes a little something like this:

Randy Barracuda – Ketamine Strut
Deadboy – If U Want Me
Hanuman - Bola (Atki2 remix)
Hackman – Multicultural
SBTRKT – 20:20
Altered Natives ft. Sasha Williamson – Believe In Me
Cooly G – Love Dub
Joy Orbison – The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow (Actress' Neu Haus So Glo Mix)
Kowton – County Man
Karizma – Drumz Nightmare
Mosca – Square One
MJ Cole ft. Serocee – AO (MJ Open Up Your Gob Dub)
Smith & Mighty ft. Niji 40 – B-Line Fi Blow
Sully – In Some Patern
Pangaea – Sunset Yellow
Joy Orbison – So Derobe
Ramadanman – I Beg You
Hudson Mohawke – Velvet Peel
Kelis ft. Andre 3000 – Millionaire
Instra:mental ft. dBridge – Watching You
Randy Barracuda – Hungry For Another Touch
Scuba – So You Think You’re Special
RSD – Green Hill
Rossi B & Luca – E10 Riddim
Addison Groove – Footcrab
Loefah – Its Yours
Joker – Tron
Terror Danjah – Bipolar
DJ Madd – Reasonz
Quest – The Unknown
Silkie – Test
Mala – Changes
Peverelist – Roll With The Punches
Untold – Stop What You’re Doing
Ikonika - Idiot
Terror Danjah – Air Bubble
Desto – Disappearing Reappearing Ink
Kyle Hall – You Know What I Feel
Shut Up And Dance - Epileptic (Martyn remix)
Headhunter – Sex At The Prom
Mr Lager ft. Alys Blaze - Tell Me
V.I.V.E.K. - Kulture


http://www.ustream.tv/channel/xplodersessions

Pariah – Detroit Falls/Orpheus [R&S]

This 10” has been in the works for a while and sees Pariah drop his first non-remix/original artist works. After his spaced-out garage re-work of indie darlings The xx we get two slices of some of the finest funk and soul driven hip-hop leaning garage hybrids around and his debut release for the legendary R&S records.

‘Detroit Falls’ twists Motown’s soul into a bumping garage ghost, vocals get morphed into chopped up hooks and looped piano samples give the whole track a very hip-hop feel. Subtly bubbling synth melodies top it all off and the whole thing comes together with a bit of funky swagger. The real highlight is the rolling medative soul on show with ‘Orpheus’, it sits somewhere between the spectral garage of Burial and the bumping dance floor styles of Fantastic Mr Fox and the soul of FaltyDL: its deep and introspective but with some serious flex and garage rhythms, not to mention some seriously hypnotic bass tones.

We’re set to hear more from Pariah, with a double 12” to come on R&S to name but one. His soul drenched melodic take on garage really creeps up on you. Pure vibes.

http://www.myspace.com/pariahbeats
http://www.rsrecords.com/

Originally writen for Sonic Router.

Brandy - Angel In Disguise (Fantastic Mr Fox Remix) / Erykah Badu – On & On (Pariah Remix) [ERCA Mystery Projects]

Two hotshot producers take on some seriously soulful R&B tracks and twist them into their own unique shapes. Fantastic Mr Fox comes hot off the back of the brilliant Sketches EP on Black Ache, while Pariah warms things up in anticipation for his R&S material dropping. Both of these artists are very different but share some traits: An off-kilter soulful vibe fed through bassy synth funk and deconstructed garage rhythms, it’s a sound that suits an R&B bootleg down to a tea. FMF takes on Brandy and Pariah goes for Erykah Badu.

First up FMF with a swooning bleep and bass synth workout backed with garage rhythms and ghostly fragments of Brandy vocals. Its super smooth and spaced out, taking the obscured vocal coda that goes something like, ‘I love you when it rains’ and twists it into a twisted hook. Pariah comes with so much soul it’ll make you melt. He takes the original vocals and makes a new backing full of bumping R&B drums and floating synth lines full of melody and morphs it with his own haunted off-centre hip-hop-garage sound.

Both artists make a uniquely off-centre, wistful and melancholy garage-esq take on some R&B big guns in fine style. Not only are they fun counterparts of to artist’s original work but they should also bring some serious soul to the dance floor.

Fantastic Mr Fox – Sonic Router Mix


Pariah – Sonic Router Mix


http://www.myspace.com/fmforigami

http://www.myspace.com/pariahbeats

Originally written for Sonic Router.

Joker – Tron/VIP [Kapsize]

This is a track that can’t be stopped, a certified anthem that has to be unleashed on the public while it’s hot. It’s so hot it can’t be left until Joker finishes his album the track is just too big to be confined and sat on. It’s not to often an anthem comes around that you’ll hear everyone in the dubstep scene and a fair few beyond play out, but ‘Tron’ is one of them and has been for some time, maybe pre-dating the last scene wide anthem ‘Hyph Mngo’ and the latest upstart ‘Footcrab’. At a time where there is so much talk of the scene expanding and bleeding in all directions, ‘Tron’ shows that there is still a united core at work behind dubstep and one with depth too if you take those three examples. So to write words about this track seems almost futile, as you’ve either heard it and even sung along to it’s twisted synth lines, hell you may have even choreographed a dance to it… But if you haven’t heard it, first of all where have you been? And come inside you’re in for a real treat, you’ll be throwing gun fingers from your neon glow bike in no time.

The 5th release on Joker’s Kapsize label is born: ‘Tron’ takes Joker’s hyper addictive synth funk aesthetic and really lets it wile out. It’s smoother than breakthrough anthem ‘Gully Brooke Lane’ but more deranged than ‘Digidesign’. It’s a track that sounds like it’s born out of the last few years of Joker playing bigger and bigger raves, a track that doesn’t hold back. It’s smooth yet hyper-filth all at once, blurring the lines of dubstep and grime along with crunked out hip-hop. The intro springs into action like a hyped up circus/big-top soundtrack and not unlike a grimy vision of Quest’s ‘The Seafront’ before really letting loose. Then you get the drop, THAT drop: pent up energy, compressed and unleashed through vintage synths and hyeprfunk melody lines that burst and flutter as they progress over fat bass tones and punchy drums. The nearest you’ll get to ‘Tron’ in Joker released material is his work with the badman that is Ginz, but if you’ve stepped inside one of Joker’s sets you’ll no doubt know, ‘My Trance Girl’ and ‘There She Goes’ are on a similar tip.

The VIP is a hot one too, smoothing out the edges and upping the funk to create a track that is what you may imagine the rumoured Silkie collaborations to sound like if/when they surface. Smooth supped up late night street soul. Plus it’s a welcome twist up of the original to throw the floor, which is handy when the original is so well played. Joker blurs the lines and leads the way with his dubstep meets grime hybrids. Fitting in with Terror Danjah and Swindle as much as he does Gemmy and Guido, let alone Skream and Benga. ‘Tron’ is finally unleashed it’s a firm declaration of intent by Joker to shake up dance floors.

Joker "TRON" (original mix) by Multiverse

Joker "TRON" (VIP Mix) by Multiverse

http://www.myspace.com/thejokerproductions
http://www.myspace.com/kapsize1
http://www.kapsize.com/

Kyle Hall – The Dirty Thouz EP [Wild Oats] | Kaychunk/You Know What I [Hyperdub]

Two pretty different releases from the young Detroit producer: The Dirty Thouz EP on his own Wild Oats imprint takes a route down the almost lo-fi clockwork techno avenue, a retro leaning spectral take on the Detroit techno sound, full of soul and rolling glitchy hip-hop-esq beats. While the Hyperdub offering is a more straight up techno effort but with a twist.

The Detroit axis of vaguely new artists from the aforementioned Kyle Hall to Omar-S have reunited my love for techno, which has been on the wane slightly in favour of dubstep, UK funky hybrids and hip-hop beats over the last few years at least. These guys almost sound like the Detroit equivalent of what Burial is to garage and dubstep. They channel the ghosts of their cities dance music past, keeping it slightly elusive and a tad nostalgic while still pushing it in new and interesting directions. But Kyle Hall and Omar-S aim more squarely at the dance floors while they’re at it.

The two KMFH tracks from Dirty Thouz, ‘I'm KMFH GIRL!’ and ‘Luv 4 KMFH’ show Kyle at his most soulful and sparse, with woozy winding synth lines and bleep funk bass tones over winding beats that feel like they’re warping like they’re being played off a broken tape deck. They balance soulful warmth with a haunted machine like skeletal existence brilliantly. They fit somewhere between 80s b-boy electro, the twisted hip-hop soul of J Dilla and the ghosts of Detroit’s past.

The opener on the Hyperdub 12”, ‘Kaychunk’ is a rolling techno affair, twisting and flexing in an almost garage-like fashion but sticking pretty firmly to Kyle’s deep funk drenched techno. Bleeping lead lines and squelching bass that really brings the boogie is the flavour here. Reminiscent of DaM-Funk at times but in a KMFH state of mind at all times. But it’s ‘You Know What I’ that see Kyle Hall playing with a dubstep tempo and creating a lush, synth funk techno track that meets somewhere between the purple funk of Bristol or LA, the deep lush techno of Detroit and the spaced out bass-soul of London’s dubstep sounds, its an unexpected and very welcome twist. Both 12”s show a unique side to his productions and re-affirm his one to watch status.

Kyle Hall - EXCLUSIVE fabric Blog Mix by fabric



http://www.myspace.com/kylehalldetroit
http://www.myspace.com/hyperdub

12”

It’s back, the assorted records from my bag post of music I’ve been wanting to chat about but hadn’t got round to it yet… This month I catch up on a few that I’ve not been able to stop playing.

Addison Groove – Footcrab/Dumb Shit [Swamp81]
Anthem of the moment sees Headhunter in a juke inspired beat down. Bass heavy 808/909 drum patterns, chopped and looped vocals and an insane amount of dance floor moving energy. This is so addictive it could do with its own dance routine.

Joy Orbison – The Shrew EP [Aus Music]
He’s back hot on the heels of last years hyped Mngo and the fantasitic J.Doe. This time is a slow burning gem of a release on the renowned techno label Aus Music. ‘So Derobe’ is the pick for me, restrained melodic euphoria over rolling beats, bliss. Actress drops in a subtle rework too.

James Blake – Bells Sketch EP [Hessle Audio]
Following up his insane Untold remix and low-key collaboration with Airhead on BRAiNMATH comes a diverse three tracker of twisted soul infused, blues addled R&B meets dubstep funk. Yeah he’s hard to pin down, but has a sound all his own. ‘Buzzard And Kestral’ is rhythmic joy on wax.

Bok Bok ft. Bubbz/Brackles & Shortstuff – Citizens Dub/Pipey D [Blunted Robots]
Pure party jams from Bok Bok, destroying it with adrenaline fuelled ascending descending bass tones with a grimey electro beast that should give you a big shit-eating grin. The flip sees the label bosses bring out the winding rave gear, keeping it funky and broken.

Altered Natives – Believe In Me ft. Sacha Williamson/(Zed Bias Club Mix)/Raaaatid Einstien [Fresh Minute Music]
Smooth spaced out vocal cut that brings the soulful house vibes coming on a track you get so hypnotised by you don’t want it to stop. ‘Raaaatid Einstien’ ups the hype with a raw energetic funky cut that should keep the floor moving in fine style.

Egyptrixx – Battle For North America EP [Aaahh! Real Monsters]
Bubbling electro infused dubstep/funky hybrids ‘Hexagon Ya’ is THE one with A ‘Citezen Dub’-like ability to twist floors out of proportion with addictive ascending bass tones, builds and drops. The rest is suitably on it and they’ve got a Night Slugs on the way too, killer stuff.

Kuedo – Dream Sequence EP [Planet Mu]
Jamie Vex’d debts’ his Kuedo name with a damaging EP. Taking the off-centre bright synth led hip-hop meets dubstep he’s been destroying it with since his ‘Twitch’ rework and last years In System Travel EP, and shaping it further into his own vision. ‘Star Fox’ is a real gem and makes me nostalgic for my old SNES.

Slugabed – Ultra Heat Treated EP [Planet Mu]
Sluga gets deep down and dirty with his own gnarly hyper coloured vision of hip-hop, like the evil twin to the already slightly deranged Kuedo EP, he makes harsh dance floor noise in the most fun way possible, which shows you can keep it dirty and send it sideways all at once.