REVIEWS

IFAN DAFYDD – TREEHOUSE/TO ME

Posted by RICHARD AKI

The digital of Ifan Dafydd‘s highly anticiated Push & Run release dropped yesterday, a week after the vinyl version. Stream the preview of the two tracks below, and cop the mp3 release here and the 12″ vinyl here.

Ifan Dafydd – Treehouse/To Me

DISCLOSURE – TENDERLY (REMIXES)

Posted by RICHARD AKI

Disclosure‘s recent output on Make Mine, ‘Tenderly/Flow,’ has definitely been one of my favourite releases of the year so far and today has been given the remix treatment. Both Melé and Kidnap Kid have re-worked ‘Tenderly,’ with Melé‘s effort being given away for free via Annie Mac Presents! Pick up the original here, and check out the remixes below.

Tenderly (Melé Remix) – Disclosure (Free Download)

Tenderly (Kidnap Kid Remix) – Disclosure

SOUTH LONDON ORDNANCE – FJORD

Posted by RICHARD AKI

On reaching 250 likes on his Facebook page, South London Ordnance gave away ‘Fjord’ via his soundcloud. Download the tune below and like his page if you haven’t already.

(‘Fjord’ has now reached its soundcloud download limit. You can now get it from here.)

South London Ordnance – Fjord

GRAPHICS – MACGRACKLETON

Posted by RICHARD AKI

Graphics follows up his ‘Mama Grizzlies EP’ with a free download of new tune ‘MacGrackleton.’ Buy the Made To Play released EP here, and stream/download new track below.

BRAINFEEDER SAMPLER

Posted by RICHARD AKI

“Download a free 12-track Brainfeeder sampler, with tracks from Thundercat, Martyn, Samiyam, Tokimonsta, The Gaslamp Killer, Jeremiah Jae, Taylor McFerrin, Teebs, Austin Peralta, Matthewdavid, Mono/Poly, and an exclusive download from Lapalux.”

Download here.

FROTH/MERCY

Posted by RICHARD AKI

A date has finally been confirmed for the next Boddika & Joy O release. ‘Froth/Mercy’ is set to be the first issue of the collaborative series on the pair’s new label ‘Sunklowun,’ and will be available on vinyl from February 21 (preorder here). If the two mixes of ‘Swims’ on Swamp81, and these two tracks are anything to go by, 2012 will see Sunklowun continue to release some of the UK’s best deep yet heavy-hitting techno. Stream the two tracks below.

Boddika & Joy Orbison – Froth

Boddika & Joy Orbison – Mercy

SCUBA – ‘PERSONALITY’ LP

Posted by RALPH

 

Scuba is the production and DJ alias of Paul Rose, the curator of Hotflush Recordings, a label, which having released some of the most important tracks of the formative period of dubstep, has grown into a leading player in the wider world of electronic music. A celebrated and influential DJ, Scuba was voted #25 in Resident Advisor’s 2011 poll of the world’s Top 100 DJs and has also been nominated for several categories in DJ Magazine’s Best of British 2011 Awards.

Earlier last year Scuba released his ‘Adrenalin’ EP, picking up radio plays from Zane Lowe, Annie Mac, and Rob Da Bank, illustrating how his sound has mutated into previously unexplored areas. Alongside ‘Adrenalin, Scuba also released his addition to K7!’s DJ Kicks series which has made notable appearances on several “Best of 2011″ lists.

On the 27th February, Scuba will release his third album through Hotflush. Entitled ‘Personality’ and featuring 11 brand new tracks, it takes in a wealth of genres across contemporary dance music, proving once again Scuba’s place at the cutting edge of the electronic music scene. Preceding his LP will be ‘The Hope’; pushing on from the tense atmospherics of previous Scuba material, the single fizzes with claustrophobic bass pressure and menacing narration. Backed by an exclusive non-album cut ‘Flash Addict’, ‘The Hope’ will proceed the album on the 6th February.

 

Scuba: ‘PersonalityLP
Hotflush Recordings
Release date: 27th February 2012

CD Tracklist:
01. Ignition Key
02. Underbelly
03. The Hope
04. Dsy Chn
05. July
06. Action
07.Cognitive Dissonance
08. Gekko
09. NE1BUTU
10. Tulips
11. If U Want

Vinyl & Download format & tracklist TBC

GHOST MUTT EP: SWEAT MODE

Posted by RICHARD AKI

Aswell as being the first I’ve ever heard of Ghost Mutt, this is one of the best free EPs I’ve heard in quite a while; download it from Donky Pitch‘s bandcamp page or listen below.

JONTI – ‘SINE & MOON’ FREE DOWNLOAD

Posted by RALPH

Multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and vocalist, Jonti, began assembling music after his departure from South Africa to Australia. Spending countless hours studying records like they were books, processing each song, this became Jonti’s music school, testing his theories on a 4-track recorder. Jonti has now recorded with Mark Ronson and Santigold, to name but a few and the release of his debut album ‘Twirligig’ in October of last year saw him produce a beautiful album with summery and floaty styles. My favourite song from the album ‘Hornet’s Nest’ features a live version of this track in the music video, fans of Stones Throw Records and Eglo Records must check!

The ‘Sine & Moon’ album comes courtesy as a free download as a result of his popular appearance on the Stones Throw Podcast, a collection of earlier songs he’d recorded on 4-track. In the months since the mixtape, he’s been hit up with requests for the individual tracks, and so Sine & Moon came about.

Download it here: http://www.stonesthrow.com/news/2012/01/jonti-sine-and-moon-album-free-download

INTRODUCING: DETBOI

Posted by RICHARD AKI

If you haven’t heard of Detboi already, carry on reading; because he is undoubtedly one of the artists I have high hopes for this year. With a forthcoming EP on Deep Thrills there is already evidence of the Irish producer’s ability, and we can expect much, much more from him. The nine-track release, entitled ‘Darkside,’ shows variety ranging from 124BPM up to 140BPM, but the tracks individually keep the same simple bass weight that, together with chopped and sampled vocals, defines the producer at the moment. Stream the preview below.

 Detboi Darkside Preview forthcoming on DEEP THRILLS

You can also stream his collaborative garage/bassline EP, ‘Happen To You,’ with trio Mista Men below.

Mista Men Ft Detboi – Happen To You EP Preview

Detboi is playing at The Nest, Dalston alongside labelmates Hervé, Adam F, Baxta and Femme. More info here.

10 REASONS TO BE EXCITED FOR 2012

Posted by RICHARD AKI

10. With Glastonbury taking its scheduled year off in 2012, other festivals will be competing to assemble a line up capable of replacing the highlight of Britain’s festival calendar. This should make for some diverse and refreshing line ups, and a slight change to what we are used to.

9. Early in 2012 Hyperdub will put out the debut album of one of my favourite producers, Merrisa Campbell aka Cooly G. Not many details have been announced so far but you can expect dub-infected house and garage tracks, potentially featuring her own vocals. If her releases so far this year (Landscapes/It’s Serious) are anything to go by, this could be one of the albums of the year for bass music fans.

8. One of my favourite tracks produced this year will finally hit the shelves in January. Boddika and Joy Orbison‘s ‘Swims,’ set to become SWAMP017, has gone off pretty much every time I’ve been out in the past few months, leaving me humming ‘walk for me, walk for me, serve’ all the way home. Stream the track below.

 

7. I’m not even a huge Drake fan but I have to admit his recent album ‘Take Care’ was pretty sick. The Canadian hip-hop artist who worked with the likes of Rihanna, The Weeknd, Lil Wayne, Jamie XX and Nicki Minaj on the album, has announced  eight UK tour dates for 2012. The tour starts in London on March 26 and will be a certain highlight of the year for hip-hop fanatics.

6. It just wouldn’t be right to compile a list of reasons to be excited for 2012 and leave out Hinge Finger. Without any releases to date, I can’t comment on the quality of the music put out by Joy Orbison and Will Bankhead‘s new venture, but you can be pretty sure it will be on point right from the first release. Stream and download Joy O‘s promotional mix below.

 

5. In November this year Pariah and his R&S labelmate Blawan issued the first release on their joint label She Works. The untitled vinyl-only EP, produced by the pair under collaborative alias Karenn, is just a taste of what’s to come with a full-length album set to drop early next year.

4. The FabricLive series will obviously be something else to watch out for next year. Pinch, head of Bristol based label Tectonic, is in charge of FabricLive:61; launching it on January 13 backed by a huge line up. Hessle Audio are responsible for room one, whilst the album launch takes place in room two, and forward-thinking bass label Hoya Hoya come down from Manchester to take over room three. If you haven’t got a ticket yet, get on it ASAP! And if that wasn’t enough to get you excited about what FabricLive have in store, it was mentioned in an interview recently that Oneman will take the reins on a FabricLive mix soon. Listen to the whole interview with Oneman and Jackmaster here, courtesy of Dollop.

3. From their new-ish website, The XX have announced a new album is on its way. They haven’t confirmed an exact date for its release but suggested it will be in time for the 2012 festival season. After the first, self-entitled album received such praise on a global scale, the expectations for the second will undoubtedly be high. In an interview for Clash, Jamie XX said that the second album will have ‘more dance influence in there’ and that it ‘gets slightly darker.’ An album which is set to bridge the gap between popular and underground music fans all over again. Read the full interview here.

2. In an interview earlier this month Jay-Z suggested 2012 may see a sequel to his huge collaborative album with Kanye West, Watch The Throne. Jay-Z said ‘it depends on how this thing finishes up. We,” I say ‘we’ because I’m in Throne mode — we’re in a great place creatively. You might see a Jay, then Kanye and a Throne album next year. You know, we’re really in a great place creatively. We really found our zone.” Even though this is yet to be confirmed, the possibility alone is enough for second spot!

1. Choosing what I am most excited about next year was an easy decision. Burial has a forthcoming EP on the Hyperdub, entitled ‘Kindred.’ You can preview a clip of one of the tracks, ‘Ashtray Wasp,’ by downloading Hyperdub‘s latest Rinse show with Scratcha DVA and guest Ikonika here. The clip is 56 minutes in and is well worth waiting for.  There’s more to look forward to; there is a chance that, Burial, aka William Bevan, will release a third album on the same label. It will have been five years since the elusive South London based producer’s second album ‘Untrue.’ The Guardian labelled ‘Untrue’ as the tenth best album of the decade, The Wire named it album of the year, Mixmag placed it at fifth best album of the year; the list goes on, so if another album drops you can expect similar heights.

Richard Aki

@richard_aki

http://soundcloud.com/richardaki

HINGE FINGER

Posted by RICHARD AKI

Joy Orbison has once again teamed up with designer Will Bankhead to start new label Hinge Finger. The pair, who worked together on previous imprint Doldrums, have typically not yet released many details of the new project. We do know any forthcoming releases will be distributed via Honest Jon’s, and going by the promo mix recently dropped by Joy Orbison we can presume the label’s focus will be on deep house and garage sounds. Hinge Finger is definitely one to follow closely in 2012.

You can stream and download Joy Orbison‘s promo mix here via The Trilogy Tapes.

THE RANGE – THE BIG DIP EP

Posted by JASSET

The Range - The Big Dip

Real name James Hinton, The Range is a 23-year-old producer from Providence, RI with a facility for melding frenzied footwork percussion and melodic R’n’B vocal cut-ups to generate rich, emotional bass music for the bedroom and the club.

Having musically come up listening to mid-day shows on Baltimore’s 92Q, Hinton is no stranger to the expressive soulful vocals of classic R’n’B. The infectious cut up and repurposed vocal melodies on tracks like ‘Motivate’ and ‘A Solitudinous Diptych’ open up a warped pop dimension that is Hinton’s unique addition to the footwork theme.

ARTIST: THE RANGE
RELEASE: THE BIG DIP LP [ASTR009] – Digital Download
RELEASE DATE: December 12, 2011

DOWNLOAD HERE.

CONVEX INDUSTRIES

Posted by RICHARD AKI

Having paused production as the duo Instra:mental early this year, Boddika and Jon Convex individually moved away from drum & bass towards making house, techno and garage music.

Boddika has had a huge year with releases on  Swamp 81 and Nonplus Records, not forgetting the highly anticipated collaboration with Joy Orbison, ‘Swims,’ which is set to drop in January. Jon Convex has also released on Nonplus, the label they started together as Instra:mental, and put out two tracks ‘Convexations/Falling Again’ on Martyn’s label 3024.

Jon Convex, aka Damon Kirkham, is now starting his own label, Convex Industries, which will see it’s debut release available from December 16. The two tunes produced by the label boss himself, ‘Bump and Grind/Closer,’ will be pressed onto 10″ vinyl and released digitally here.

You can stream the release below.

DESTINY’S CHILD – SAY MY NAME (PALACE REMIX)

Posted by RICHARD AKI

Palace, aka Sam Walker, has given away his remix of a Destiny’s Child classic ‘Say My Name’ via his soundcloud; and I seriously recommend you grab it! He has already released two tracks ‘Armageddon’ and ‘Mandy’ on Unknown To The Unknown and is definitely one to watch for 2012.