I’m watching you Wozowski.

Jay Hurren and Alex Banks defined the easy-rolling two-step of Moving Shadow Records during the late ’90s with their recordings as E-Z Rollers, after developing hardcore breakbeats earlier in the decade as JMJ & Richie and Hyper On Experience. Meeting up with vocalist Kelly Richards, Hurren and Banks decided to form E-Z Rollers around the threesome.

Their debut album Dimensions of Sound appeared in mid-1996, followed by several additional singles for Moving Shadow and the full-length follow-ups Weekend World and Titles of the Unexpected. Their huge singles Walk this Land and Tough at the Top are some of the most recognisable singles in D&B due to their hard jazz sound.

While not getting a lot of props these days, they have had a heavy influence on D&B and I especially respect their early works. I’ll always have a soft spot for their additions to the Moving Shadow catalogue and hope their future releases live up to the past.

EZ Rolled – 1hr of EZ Rollers

E-Z Rollers – You’ll Never Know
E-Z Rollers – Rolled Into 1 (Photek Remix)
E-Z Rollers – Droppin Science Pt.2 (E-Z Remix)
E-Z Rollers – Retro
E-Z Rollers – Movin’ Target
Omni Trio – Where Are You (E-Z Rollers Remix)
E-Z Rollers – Tough at the Top (Origin Unknown Remix)
E-Z Rollers – RS2000
E-Z Rollers – Weekend World (Calyx Remix)
E-Z Rollers – Walk This Land (Paradise Remix)
E-Z Rollers – Half a Chance
E-Z Rollers – Believe (Marky & XRS Remix)
E-Z Rollers – Tough at the Top (E-Z Rollers Remix)
E-Z Rollers – Rolled Into 1 (E-Z Rollers Remix)
E-Z Rollers – Dust

Calibre’s finely tuned sense of melody and bass is something that steps him apart from his contemporaries. A master of liquid beats and grooves, very few producers can strip back a tune to just it’s bare elements and still keep the impact that Calibre does.

A prolific producer he drops albums almost bi-annually whilst still releasing strings of singles. He has appeared on just about every liquid label you would ever want to be on including Soul:R, Creative Source, Phuturo, Exit, V, Hospital and many others. His own Signature label releases just Calibre tunes, including the mighty Shelflife I & II and Overflow albums.

I have a lot of time and respect for Calibre. He isn’t the worlds most inovative producer, but he has spent years forging and perfecting his own sound. What he does, he does better than anyone else out there. So strap yourself in and get ready to have your head massaged by the mighty Calibre.

Finely Calibrated – 1hr celebrating the genius of Calibre

Calibre – Crazy
Calibre – Like It Is
Calibre – Bullets featuring Diane Charlemange
Calibre – Deranged
Calibre – Late Night Squeeze
Calibre – Turn Around
Calibre – Drop it Down featuring Singing Fats
Calibre – Things A Re-Arranging
Calibre – Always
Calibre – One Word
Calibre – It’s
Calibre – Film feat. Slarta Jon (Calibre Dub)
Calibre – Time & Space
Calibre & High Contrast – Mr Majestic
Calibre – Inflicted

When I first got Serato I went CD mad. I bought up as many old CD compilations as I could to convert all those sweet tracks I’d missed out on buying at the time of their release. Around this time a friend of mine rang me to say his girlfriend (Anne) was looking to sell off some old CDs and that I might be interested.

What Anne had was the mother load of 1996 intelligent and jazzy D&B compilations. Her taste was impeccable – Artcore 1-4, Jazz & Bass Sessions 1-3, Logical Progression 1-3, Lost in Space – Drum & Bass 1-2 and many more. To top it off she gave them to me cheap, and I mean dirt cheap. So to show my appreciation I said I’d do her a mix.

This is the result.

Drum Anne Bass •• 1hr of 96-97 Remixes and Rarities

Saint Etienne – The Sea (PFM Remix)
Soundman & Don Lloydie Feat. Elizabeth Troy – Greater Love (T-Power Retro Grade ‘N’ Motion Mix)
Omni Trio – Soul Promenade (Nookie Remix)
Statik Sound System – Revolutionary Pilot (Rob Smith Mix)
Link – Amenity (Chameleon Remix)
Adam F – F-Jam Featuring MC Conrad
Omni Trio – Living For The Future (FBD Project VIP Mix)
Omni Trio – Renegade Snares (Rob’s Reconstruction Mix)
Ken Ishii – Stretch (Shogun Remix)
N&G&O – Tekken (Windermere Dub Mix by T. Power)
Rogue Unit – Dance Of The Sarooes
Aladin – We Enter (Deep Forest Dub VIP Mix)
One True Parker – Bubblegum (Ray Keith Remix)
Garbage – Milk (Goldie’s VIP Trash Your Sh*T Mix)

Remember The Nothing from the Never Ending Story? A huge black mass of clouds that swept across the land and cleared all before it. Well this mix reminded me of this. I’m not normally a hard D&B kind of guy, but I do enjoy mixing the heavier stuff every now and then. Lately as a genre it has been on the improve, producers are dropping the over the top scull stepping for a more junglistic vibe and melody seems to be creeping back into the heavier beats.

The Nothing – 1hr of heavy rain

Ash – Bashment
Nolige – Leave Me
Clive Concept – Out of Control
Breakage – Temper
Mindscape & Munk – Into the Night
Bachelors of Science – Warehouse DayZ
Dub Tao 0 East of Underground (Bungle Remix)
Muffler – Dirrrty
Jubei – Alignment
Antibreak – From the Wreckage
Breakage – Foundation
Maldini & Sylo – Oceanic
Engage – Helium
Royalston – The Test
AK1200 – Juniors Tune (Digital Remix)
Raiden – Aquarius

This mix is being re-hosted for ASC. His Covert Operations label was one of the finest atmospheric D&B labels, not only for it’s quality music, but also for it’s constant output of new talent from around the world. When the label folded last year it left a huge hole in the D&B landscape that still hasn’t been properly filled to this day. Even though his label has shut down ASC has gone on to bigger and better things joining up with the mighty dBridge on his NonPlus+ / Exit / Autonomic labels.

The Global Connections series (volumes 1-6) broke so many great producers and gave them their first chance to be heard. This mix is an hours worth of what I considered the best tunes from the series. If you like sci-fi beats and atmospheric melodies this will put some buoyancy in your floatation tank.

Globally Connected – 1hr of atmospherics from Covert Operations

Altair – Reminisce
Ezeekil – False Profit
Probe One – Storm Cell
Altair – Collateral
ASC – Monochrome
Method One – In The Quiet Hours
Kytel – New Eyes For Old
Noric – Aqueous Passage
Theory – Aurora Flash
Solar Empire – Dynamics
Km & Paralyzah – Nega
Neon – Higher State
Tidal – The N.O.C.
Ruxpin – Now I Turn To You