London DNB Heads Up

Monday 25 January 2010 at 18:17
Just a quick one. If you're gonna be in London on February 20th, hit this.

http://wodnb.com/events/wodnb-sessions-london/


A tasty line up, sure. Plus, it's at the Den. But have a look at the MCs.

WARREN G! The hip hop legend is gonna be making an appearance spitting his G-funk style over drum and bass. Legendary.

Tunes of the week 18/01/2010

Thursday 21 January 2010 at 17:00
This week I've got 4 tunes cos I know it's a bit late.

First one came out just over a week ago, its Calvertron's take on Teed Off by Donald Glaude [320]

Second one is by one half of what used to be Stupid Fresh; Nom de Strip - Flapjack [320]

Third one is Claude von Strokes take on Put Your Hands up by the legend Fedde, always listen to this before I have a heavy night out [225vbr]

Last one is an absolute electro beat! It's Rock Massive - You Know Why (PH Electro Mix) [320]



Stay updated!

Lets talk 2010 Drum and Bass

at 16:43
The 'noughties' (yeah, it's an awful name but nothing else really works....) saw the revival of drum and bass. Jungle was losing it's momentum at the end of the 20th century, vinyl sales were gradually dropping and rude boys everywhere were looking for something else to blast out of their tanked up fiestas.

But what a come back! Jungle may have been a dying idea but the niche genres it split in to as drum and bass have clearly kept it afloat. Jump up, liquid, neurofunk, darkstep, and deep/atmospheric (to name a few) all have loyal followers in terms of record labels, producers and fans.

Anyway, a new decade and a new year is upon us, so here are a cupla heads up shouts on what's lookin to be big this year.

The Brookes Brothers
They've already made their mark with arguably the biggest anthem of 2008; Tear You Down. Added to that a huge collab with Danny Byrd (Gold Rush), remixing the remix of the Chemical Brothers classic Star Guitar (reworked by Japanese electro-god Shinichi Osawa) and the mighty Dawn Treader ft Futurebound, Dan and Phil Brookes are firmly established players.

2010 Prediction: Crossover kings. Their forthcoming album will be released on BBK, who pushed the now (in)famous Pendulum to huge commercial success. Paperchase, the follow up collaboration with Danny Byrd has been repeatedly hailed in top 10 lists for months, and Fresh has been dropping hints in interviews about the impact he expects the record to make. As drum and bass is gaining more and more attention from clubbers, radio (Radio 1 has been pushing the sound massively, even in daytime playlisting - Chase & Status's Pieces was virtually on repeat in November) and the press, an easily accessible 'jump up' album should get the attention it expects to.

DJ Fresh
Following on with the BBK camp, Fresh's album apparently titled 'Kryptonite' is set to blow up alongside the Brookes. If we can take the samplers of the anthemic Hypercaine (which even got a video - surprising for a drum and bass release) and sub bass ridden Heavyweight, Fresh has grown up his sound since Escape from Planet Monday.
2010 Prediction: All killer, no filler. A more than solid drum and bass album with something for everything.

Camo and Krooked
Already favourites at True Mess Head, these boys are straight 0utta Austria. Grooverider, Zane Lowe and London Elektricity are all huge fans, and believe me, you should be too. Vampires VIP was featured on the Drum and Bass Arena Anthems 2009 compilation (well worth a look) and I defy you to not like it. It's seriously that good. Their strength is in their compatibility though - they have jump up tracks, rinseout tracks, liquidy anthems and still find time to work with labels like Viper, Renegade Hardware and Sudden Def. If you were at Hospitality at Matter a few weeks ago, you'll have heard their stuff; Skyline was euphoric. Buy their Edge of Mind EP.

2010 Prediction: Breakthrough. Although they're still not a household name, by the end of the year I'll guarantee they will be.

Sick Music 2
Hospital Records are currently riding high as a drum and bass flagship. Winning both Best Promoter and Best Club night for Hospitality, they have the artist roster and the know-how to put on the best nights in the country. Hospital Podcast is over 100 episodes old and is an essential look into the hottest dub plates incoming. And following the ridiculous success of Sick Music, the follow up seems inevitable. Apparently a Camo and Krooked track is already signed to it.

2010 Prediction: Compilation of the year. I can't see anything else coming close.

Eastern Bloc Drum and Bass
Whilst drum and bass has been a predominantly UK scene - nearly every major producer / DJ / MC / label operates from England, europe has been catching up. More importantly however, is the rise of dnb in the former Soviet Bloc. Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia to name a few all have thriving scenes. Just youtube 'drum and bass step' and you'll find hundreds of videos of breakbeat mad kids stepping all over eastern europe. B-Complex, responsible for the smash Beautiful Lies is Slovakian, Bop and Electrosoul System from Russia. Hospital themselves have so much faith in the scene there that they distributed The Future Sound of Russia with a full NHS release, instead of marginalising it with a Med School release to which it's sound might actually suit more.

2010 Prediction: Anything could go, but I have my money on a ton of new producers bringing fresh ideas to the table.

Here are a coupla downloads for reading alla that!

Numbers (Camo & Krooked Remix) - John B
(320)
- everyone needs to know about this
Devil - D.C. Breaks (320)

Tunes of the week 11/01/2010

Tuesday 12 January 2010 at 14:31


Back again with 2 more tunes of the week. Gonna keep it simple and let the music do the talking!


Little Jinder - Polyhedron (Black Holes Remix) [320]

The Subs - Mitsubitchi (Tea Time Remix) [320]



Time to get rollin'

Tune of the week 4/01/2010

Tuesday 5 January 2010 at 17:16

First tune of the week of the year. This is a dubstep bomb released on the album The Best Of Stupid Fly Records Volume 1 which is amazing and can be purchased here.

Overall it's a pretty decent album, but not one you can listen to over and over, it's more the sort of thing that can be played in background.

My favourite song is Dash Exp - Dried Up (Joint Forces Remix) which can be found here [320]
I love the lyrical sample in it!



BuyBuyBuy!

Rhythm Code

Monday 4 January 2010 at 15:17

Here's a quick slice of techno for you - a centrepiece to Brodinski's Suck My Deck mix.

Throbbing, driving and progressive. The attention to detail in this is unreal.

Rhythm Code - Scorpion
(320)

Riva Starr

at 14:49

Riva Starr is set to start 2010 with a bang! He is about to drop his album If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade on Jesse Rose's Made to Play label. This offering is sure to be a hit with its infectious amount of bleeps and wobbles layered to some fine tech house. It will include the single I was Drunk featuring Noze. What a hypnotic tune!

Riva Starr will be landing in the city of Steel on the 9th January @ PLUG. It's his album launch so expect to hear fresh exclusives from it in his set. It's only a fiver on the door so do it!

Here's the link to the event: