Drum & Bass Recommendations May 2014

Review: With a diverse sound established off some fine drops on Critical, Warm Communications and Blu Mar Ten Music, its little surprise that Stray's 2013 Matchsticks bow on Exit proved so damn popular with the Drum & Bass heads. A return to Exit is most welcome then, and the four tracks on this Chatterbox EP demonstrate Jonathan Fogel's getting to the point where his productions as Stray are becoming untouchable! "Award Tour" is perhaps the straightest cut here, little to do with the Tribe classic of the same name but a righteous dancefloor stepper in its own right and Stray takes it in some interesting directions from here. "Eazy Boy" is marauding, bass heavy hip hop replete with massacred pitched vocals, whilst the deftly edited, classic jungle vibes of the title track ensure it's possibly the highlight of this release. You can easily visualise D Bridge pulling for the final track "Fragile" so it's little surprise to hear he's already been supporting this release along with the likes of Om Unit and Machine Drum.

Review: The D&B superstars from Bristol - the undeniable spiritual homeland of UK dance music - are back, and they've brought out the big guns. This time they aren't going heavy. There's no 'go hard or go home' here, as wilderness sound effects make way for deep lyrics and a spine-tingling bassline to match. "Under Pressure" on the other hand is an all guns blazing dancefloor smasher. We knew they wouldn't hold out on us for long. Packing some serious weight behind heavy bass and hard-stepping beats, there's no doubt this tune will be one of this year's biggest anthems. Pick it up now and stay ahead of the game.

Review: Record Store Day Edition: two of Hospital's most enduring artists on one highly limited slice of purple wax. The result is a timeless D&B document that sounds as good as it did when first released. Logistics' "Together" maintains its 2006 bass purrs and dreamy sweeps while Influx Datum UK's 2002 mix of High Contrast's "Music Is Everything" remains a stark moment in raw D&B soul thanks to its loopy vocal hypnosis. This is exactly what Record Store Day was invented for.

Review: Has it really been over ten years since the last Platinum Breakz compilation? Ahead of Metalheadz dropping Vol 4 of the most revered compilation series in Drum & Bass, a second two track sampler arrives to further whet appetites - as if that needs to happen - with cuts from Artificial Intelligence and DRS and the Rufige pair of Loxy and Resound. Glenn and Zula sound on inspired form with "Warhorse" a powerful, snarling steppers anthem that's made all the more venomous thanks to DRS's vocal contribution. Face down, Loxy & Resound rep the Rufige sound and indulge in some vintage Metalheadz flavours on "Paradigms" which is pitched perfectly between elements of darkness (Reese drops, mangled breakbeats) and light (haunting vocal harmonies and swirling synths).

Review: S.P.Y's last album, the Drum&BassArena Award winning What The Future Holds, was outstanding and surged him to the very top of the D&B table where he's always belonged. Topping that was always going to be a challenge, but naturally he's delivered... And he's done so by going back underground and reminding us of the very stark, dynamic techniques that made drum & bass what it is. From the icy sheet metal muscle and Charlemagne's arresting quintessential D&B vocals on the title track right through to the gritty evils of "Rise Again", S.P.Y's studio command is second to none. An impeccable sophomore that refuses to compromise.

Review: Blackout Music present the first of several vinyl samplers for Eat The Rich, the new album from New Zealand drum and bass troupe State Of Mind. Kicking over the fence between old school sounds and brand new ideas, they've taken inspiration from around the world and thrown it into one of the most accomplished D&B albums released in recent memory. This double pack lifts four cuts from the album with the Black Sun Empire and Perceive collaborations helping to push the State Of Mind sound even further into orbit. Each track is fresh but with a nod to the past that grounds it deep in D&B, making it worthy of the hall of fame.

Review: Survival and Script inaugurate their new low end driven Drum & Bass project Scar with this killer two track transmission for Horizons Music. Lead track "Fair Game" demonstrates Survival and Script operate in perfect studio harmony, focusing on a tight rolling sound that squeezes new forms out of a bass line and will make any dancefloor stand to attention! Whilst it has dark undertones, "Fair Game" sounds positively summery in comparison to what Scar are holding back for the B Side. Horizons state "Later" sound industrial in it's execution and it's easy to see why they do as there's a tangible sense of weight and grinding metallic tones to the arrangement that sounds overwhelming enough on headphones - just imagine the punishment it can do on a Function One!

Review: Hello! Two of drum & bass's most talented young individuals Emperor and Mefjus collide for two firing collaborative originals and two remixes of each other's work. As you'd expect, each one of them kicks like a mule on heat. "Disrupted" knocks from the left-side in a truly unique fashion thanks to its off-beat rhythm and jarred guttural bass while "Void Man Void" goes for that furry little jugular of yours with walloping bass and an array of neuro textures. Meanwhile on the remix tip, Emperor adds an added sense of tear-out grit to Mefjus's "Signal" while Mefjus injects a little more space and spooked out drama to Emperor's "Precursor". Truly outstanding.

Review: Fresh from their appearance on Dispatch, Optiv & BTK can now be found wrecking down the walls of Klute's Commercial Suicide HQ. Clearly unstoppable, regardless of the label they're operating on, it's another case of concentrated dancefloor dynamite; "Breakthrough" charges with those paranoid, detuned synth tremors that The Upbeats have utilised particularly well over the years. "Midnight Nation", meanwhile, is a straight-up ripsnorter. Heads down business thanks to its ominous bass groans and thundering beats, it's yet another triumph for these Brazilian/UK Swiss residents.

Review: Get ready because Hamilton won't send out a warning before "Fire" destroys you. Blistering and bubbling as it tears through years of D&B influences in a matter of moments, it's a fast-paced ride and a half and there's no stopping it. On the other side of the coin, "Be There" is an altogether different kettle of fish. Stepping and squirming like a jack-knifing juggernaut, it's a completely mad combination of boisterous bass and blissful, Nintendo-esque, melodies. There might even be a bit of mellow old Daft Punk vibe in there for good measure. Hear it and believe.

Review: The Dispatch LTD series continues to go from strength to strength, with their fifteenth offering featuring Dispatch debuts for Kolectiv, Dexta and Mauoq. Both tracks here demonstrate the Kolectiv trio, Dexta and Mauoq are more than suited to the Dispatch label and there's an auspicious sense of studio chemistry at play throughout that we hope will lead to more of these collaborative productions. Both "Human Sacrifice" and "Lemonade" work from a stripped back rhythmic framework, and the space allows them to really show off their skills for crafting walls of sound loaded with atmosphere - the taut steppers vibe of the latter just shades it for us.