Category Archives: 2018

Dawn Breaks – Ear & Drum Session 146

Every now and then you do a mix where everything just goes right. This is one of those.

Inspired by the sounds from Etherwood’s incredibly beautiful LP In Stillness this is a melodic mix in which I’ve tried to program D&B songs, not just tracks. In Stillness is a rare beast in that most of the tunes on it are actual songs that just happen to be D&B too. Wonderful instrumentation, thoughtful lyrics and a musicality sorely missing in a lot of today’s dance music.

Shouts to Mohican Sun for the Cold Earth EP on Integral Recordings which is rapidly becoming a must have label for me. And to the Hospital/Medschool crew Bop, Subwave and Logisitics for keeping it real after all these years.

Dawn Breaks – 1hr of Liquid Lushness

Mohican Sun – Don’t Wait
Alekay – Love
Etherwood – Bears Breechers feat. Anile
Etherwood – Three Eagles
Mohican Sun – Living This Way
Fred V & Graphics – Hurricanes (Wild Love) Keeno Remix
Mohican Sun – Calgary
Bop x Subwave – Clair De Lune
Etherwood – In Stillness
The Vanguard Project – Is This Love
Alekay – Turbulence feat. Motive
Eschaton – Fallen Angel
Etherwood – Climbing
Etherwood – – A Hundred Oceans feat. Feels
Rafau Etamski – Need You
Silence Groove – Air Up There (Silence Groove Remix)
Etherwood – Surrendered
Artificial Intelligence – 1000 Souls
Logistics – Lotus Flower (Radio Edit)

Rudebwoy – Ear & Drum Session 145

Heavier D&B has been having a resurgence lately with labels like Metalheadz, Critical and Tech Itch Recordings all pumping out some quality darker beats.

Blocks & Escher’s heavily anticipated Something Blue LP contains the years first big anthem in Something Borrowed, Something Blue while the mysterious Brakken collaboration output has born fruit on their very first release.

A special shout to Trigga & Chimpo who’s massive Who Run Tingz track I finish off with. I’ve been hunting this tune for the last 12 months thinking it was new and only to realise it came out about 3-4 years back. 😛

If you like your beats hard you’ll love this, if you unsure give it a go and who knows you might just grow to love it as much as I do.

Rudebwoy – 1hr of Hard D&B

Blocks & Escher – Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Brakken – Rat
Lowriderz & Electrosoul System – Face Off
1991 – Jungle Cats
Ulterior Motive – Step Change
Soul intent – Give You Back
Synth Ethics – Cloudbreak
Chase & Status – Tribes
Surreal – Change the Program
Andy Skopes & Mr Joseph – Call to Arms
Technimatic – Night Vision VIP
Goldie – I Adore You (Total Science Remix)
Alibi & Command Strange – Skyline VIP
Brakken – Blue River
End.User – Stillness (Re-Edit)
Mohican Sun – Sprialled
Alibi & Command Strange – Ahead of Me VIP
Trigga & Chimpo – Who Run Tingz

Call the Ambience 11: Recovery – Ear & Drum Session 144

It’s been a long time between drinks for the Call the Ambience series, but finally I’ve got enough of the beautifully chilled out tracks to make up a mix.

I’ve banged on plenty about Leaf’s Groove, but it really is a track that can slot into any set including an ambient one. Shouts to Eschaton for his track Kokoro No Heiwa (Ziyan Remix), first appearing on his Icaros LP the remix by Ziyan really is something special. Also sending a holla to Aeon Waves for his Obscure EP which features heavily here. Definitely a producer I’ll be keeping an ear out for in the future. And one last call for the mighty Mitekiss who’s remixing duties on London Elektricity’s – Just One Second really is the perfect set ender.

I love this style of D&B so here’s hoping the next Call the Ambience doesn’t take as long to come around as this one did. Enjoy the chillness.

Call the Ambience 11: Recovery – 1hr of Ambient D&B

Clothcutter – Song for Éa
Thomas B – Psychedelic Reality
Nuage – Rivers Revers (feat. Bop)
Leaf – Groove
Urbandawn – Spare Life
Aeon Waves – The Secret Guardian
Eschaton – Kokoro No Heiwa (Ziyan Remix)
Aeon Waves – When Time Stops
Added – You Know
Seba & Robert Manos – Machine
Lenzman feat. IAMDDB – In My Mind (Reprise)
Om Unit – Seraphim
Aeon Waves – Obscure
End.User In My Sleep Instead Of MY Life
Halogenix – Her Waves VIP
Clothcutter – Free Range
London Elektricity – Just One Second (Mitekiss Remix)

Fresh Layer – Ear & Drum Session 143

Pushing the D&B boat out into deeper waters this time around. It’s already been a great year for the deeper sound with releases like Seba’s – Node 46 EP and Clothcutter’s – Landfall EP hitting all the right notes. Extra shouts to Leaf for his super infectious tune Groove which I can’t stop putting into sets ATM and Alix Perez for the monstrously large Dark Star, deservedly one of the most played tracks of last year.

That’s enough banter from me, go and get to listening to some great new music.

Fresh Layer – 1hr of Deep D&B

Ancestral Voices – Izula
Artilect – Ashen
Leaf – Groove
Tokyo Prose – Restricted Orbit
Clothcutter – You’ll Know Me
Kiril – Minimal Instinkt
Vromm – B Movie
Seba – Unreal Adventures
Whiney – Sleek
Shyun & Charli Brix – Circles
Detboi – Blood Drops
Bladerunner – Back to the Jungle (Hyroglifics Remix)
Enei & Kasra – 1000
Alix Perez – Dark Star
Peyo – 13th Floor
Seba – Node 46
The Untouchables – Clairvoyance
Digital – Time Out
Ali Perez – Nighthawks
Skeptical & dBridge – I’ve Seen

Little Fish in a Big Ponder – Ear & Drum 142

Keeping the 1996 Intelligent sound alive, this is a mix of contemporary Atmospheric D&B full of deep bass and lush melodies. The Atmospheric sound has had quite a comeback in recent years and the quality of the tunes on display here explains why.

Blame is the only old school trooper represented here with newer production talent such as Greekboy, Rainforest & the mighty Eschaton picking up the Atmospheric tourch and running with it. Shouts to Cryogenics too who has just release a new LP titled Preparation For Something That Will Never Happen that is full of this lush sound if you are looking for more music like this. Well worth a listen if you can track a copy down.

Little Fish in a Big Ponder – 1hr of Atmospheric D&B

Acid_Lab – Interstellar
Jazz Juice – Detroit (DJ Lee ’97 Remix)
Dub Phizix – Rotate
Marvel Cinema – Mechanical Dream
Furney – Time Again
Rainforest – Black Ocean Temple
Cryogenics – Where I Shine
Okee – Planet Blue
Static – The Grans (Orange & Blue White Light Remix)
Blame – Hindsight
Nemy – Broken Heart
Urban Trip & Thankee – Vi
Greekboy – Bring Memories Back
Eschaton – Between Nowhere and Everywhere (Zebedee Remix)
Greekboy – Crystals
MS.Dos & Greekboy – Stratosphere

The Ear & Drum recognised in the Top 40 D&B Blogs

This year marks the 10th anniversary for the Ear & Drum so it was a very nice surprise to receive an email recently from feedspot.com informing me that the blog made it to #29 in their Top 40 D&B Blogs.

Most of you know I run this blog solo and simply do it for the love of the music, but it is always nice to get a little recognition. 🙂 They even gave me a wee virtual medal. 😛

Thanks to everyone for their support down the years and here’s to the next 10 years.

Drum And Bass Blogs

Keep on Truckin’ – Ear & Drum Session 141

A little shade to contrast the light of the last Liquid mix I posted, these tunes roll a little harder and heavier. They still have all the melodic and vocal qualities that set liquid D&B apart, but with a bit more bite.

Shouts to 1991, a long time talent who really came into his own in 2017 after shaking off the label woes he was having under a previous name. His heavier take on the Liquid sound is always fresh as his tunes Steezy and Kabuki prove. Also big ups to Keeno for his glorious LP All the Shimmering Things that came out late last year on MedSchool. Keeno has always been a solid producer but his 3rd album really delivers on diversity and groove.

Keep On Truckin’ – 1hr of Chunky Liquid D&B

1991 – Steezy
Phil Tangent – Pleasure Trip VIP
Technimatic – The Evening Loop (Was a Be Remix)
Ed:it feat. Lady Soul – Wander Away
Keeno – Lost in the Clouds
Dawn Wall – Shy
What So Not & Burns – Trust (MYRNE Remix)
1991 – Kabuki
Evasion feat. Lori – Learning to Fly
Logistics – Communicate
Nclear & Eugenics Eight – It’s a New Life
Naibu – Astray (Seba Remix)
Apache – First Light
Keeno – Nightingale Valley
S.P.Y – Dreaming
Dave Owen – A Love So True
Sinjin Hawke – Dawn of Infinity
Geode – Warped Extends
Pola & Bryson – Call of the Night (Silence Groove Remix)
Pola & Bryson feat. Data 3 – Hyperborean
Keeno feat. Kailaa – Daydreaming
Unknown Artist – Capulet VIP