Ear & Drum: Session 281 – Y2K

It feels like a 2000s sound revival is just around the corner, so to get ahead of the curve I thought I’d sling together a bunch of OG tracks from back in the day. Depending on who you ask the 2000s aren’t regarded as a peak D&B era, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some diamonds in the ruff from that time.

Fellowship’s Dark Flower Remedy was always an underrated Tru Playaz tune, as was Sonic + Silver’s Longboat, which is still my favourite Renegade Hardware track. Sinthetix’ remix of Black Sun Empire’s Smoke is neuro at it’s absolute finest and Elementz Of Noize hit it out of the park with their 12″ featuring not only Guided By Lights but the momentous Clock. Other sneaky classics to keep an ear out for are DJ Kalm’s cracker Violet, one of Amit’s first tracks Roots, Dieselboy very under-rated The Descent and the incredible rolling Passport by Kiko.

Y2K – 1hr of rolled gold from the 2000s

Fellowship – Dark Flower Remedy
Sonic + Silver – Longboat
Ed Rush & Optical – Rock Tha House2
Ink – Ice Age
The JB – Say What
Black Sun Empire – Smoke (Sinthetix Remix)
Chris.SU – Astrosine
Kraken – Side Effects (Teebee Remix)
Dillinja – Go Dillinja
Elementz Of Noize – Guided By Lights
Technical Itch – The Ruckus (D Kay VIP)
TeeBee – Black Rain
2Ed Rush & Optical – Kerbkrawler
Rawthang – Epilogue Feat. Karl
DJ Kalm – Violet
Amit – Roots
John B – Dream On (2020 Remaster)
Dieselboy – The Descent
Kiko – Passport
Jonny L – Trouble
Total Science – Eastern Promise
Elementz Of Noize – Clock

Ear & Drum: Session 280 – Call the Ambience 20: Sedation

Time to take a minute and breath with some Ambient D&B to smooth the mind. First up Kid Drama’s take on the Autonomic sound Keys to Kill Time should be on everybody’s radar as it is a master work. In a similar vein Holgenix’ most recent LP Passions and Eschaton’s Ambient Artifacts II have some extremely nice Ambient takes on the D&B sound that are well worth checking out.

Other tracks to keep an ear out for include new work from Klute with the floaty and relaxing Solar Heat, Heron Flow’s ever-green Blame Game and Rainforest’s incredible Paths End. I can’t get enough of this sound, and the only issue I have with it is that it takes me soooo long to collect enough tracks to string together mixes like this.

Call the Ambience 20: Sedation – 1hr of Ambient D&B

Kid Drama – Sorrow Skyline
Kid Drama – Top Down
Kid Drama – Boarderline
Sorse – Whimsical (Alegria Remix)
Eschaton – Artifact 35: The Maze
Synkro – Contact
Heron Flow – Blame Game
Kharm & Akuratyde – Artifacts (Stillhead Remix)
Calibre – Living Without Your Love
Halogenix – An End By Any Other Name
Eschaton – Artifact 31: Unmanned Mission
Klute – Solar Heat
Eschaton – Artifact 26: Secret Biology
Rainforest – Paths End
Ink & Sin – You Are
Coco Bryce – Hunning Away Towards Me
Mystic State – Expectations
Microfunk Crew – Aura
Etherwood – Water In Your Veins
Kublai – Back Home
Halogenix – Keeping You Close

 

Ear & Drum: Session 279 – Mountainous

Here to kick a hole in your speaker with some heavy hitters past and present, we kick off with Low Slung on Detboi’s killer Dispatch Blueprint 13 release. We’ve got remixes ahoy with Xtrah’s re-rub of Noisia’s mighty Omissions, Klute’s v. nice rework of Chris SU’s smash Antiserum, Kiljoy’s remix of the Digital & Spirit classic Remote Control and last, but not least, the massive D Kay VIP of Tech Itch’s incredible The Ruckus.

Seeing as we’re rolling some older classics I thought I’d also throw in one of my all time favourites in Jonny L’s Trouble, and I couldn’t go past the recent remaster of one of Hive’s best in Krush. Hooray to the incredibly kind DOA member who hooked me up with digital versions of Trouble and that Ruckus Remix, you know who you are. I’ve been on the hunt for a clean copy of Trouble forever, so bless you.

Mountainous – 1hr of Rock Hard D&B

Detboi – Low Slung
Break – Overstayed
Kublai – Sucka
Crystal Clear – Gangster Business
Technical Itch – The Ruckus (D Kay VIP)
Raiden – Helium VIP
Noisia – Omissions (Xtrah Remix)
Trakker – Cold Sweats
Detboi – Bruk Up
Marly Marl – Run Away
Chris.Su – Antiserum (Klute Remix)
Jflux – The Heart Wants
Raiden – Hubble
Digital & Spirit – Remote Control (Kiljoy Remix)
Hive – Krush (2024 Master)
Dunk – Minimal Bounce
Jonny L – Trouble
Spectral – Submerge

Ear & Drum: Session 278 – Metal Floor

If you like your Drum & Bass deep and dark, then this one rolls like a marble across a metal floor. Setting the pace with the rolling master, Amit and his cavernous new tune Flow Off into one of my dream collabs Mako & Seba with their latest Stockholm Syndrome, this set kicks hard.

Kid Drama features heavily throughout via his collab with Garvo on CNVX – Nitrosurge along with solo efforts Rectify and Bulldog. Shouts to Rainforest for extending his range and heading into darker territories with his cuts Combative and Hypocrites (Bwoykah Remix) off the new Ascendant Warrior LP. And big ups to Myth, Conrad Subs, Kasra and Raiden and Offish & Attempt for their hefty contributions too.

Metal Floor – 1hr of Deep Rolling D&B

Amit – Flow Off
Mako & Seba – Stockholm Syndrome
Rainforest – Hypocrites (Bwoykah Remix)
Kid Drama & Garvo – Nitrosurge
Black Barrel – Side That You Can’t Hide
Conrad Subs – Spellbound
Immerse, Philth & Ant TC1 – Dark ’97
Myth – Oddity
Dunk – Danger
Eijer – Black Daruma
Kid Drama – Rectify
Rainforest – Combative
Kasra – bb.oo
Offish & Attempt – Break The Sequence
Raiden – Hubble
Adred – Futile
Conrad Subs – Liquid State
Kid Drama – Bulldog
Spectral – Submerge
Conrad Subs – Embers
Myth – Serious

Ear & Drum: Session 277 – Hard Fokuz

Continuing on with the 25th anniversary celebration of Fokuz Recordings, this set focuses (excuse the pun) on the harder edged sound that most wouldn’t associate with the label. Just one look at the tracklist shows that these aren’t the usual suspects on the Fokuz roster. S.P.Y, dBridge, Bipolar and Akuratyde all bring the heat along with Tony Anthem (feat. Doktor) with the monstrous Gunmen & Specimen A remix of Tears Of Mine show that Fokuz can thrown down with the best of them when they want to.

Hard Fokuz – 1hr of Hard Edged Fokuz Recordings

Bipolar – State of Play
Macca & Loz Contreras – Against The Wall (FD Remix)
Macca & Melinki – Ok
Monika & Akuratyde – Amber
Grof & Macca – Like That
Sikey & Speedwagon – Conquer
Anthony Kasper – Departure (Technimatic Remix)
Humanature & Induktiv – Paroxysm
Air.K & Cephei – Desire (Break Remix)
Macca & Loz Contreras – Always Yours (S.P.Y. Remix)
T:Base – When I Fear (Who I Am)
Tony Anthem (feat. Doktor) – Tears Of Mine (Gunmen & Specimen A Remix)
Madcap – Real Love
Hobzee – Don’t Go
Monika & Akuratyde – We Breathe (feat. Oktae)
Facing Jinx & Peta Oneir – Meet You There (dBridge Remix)

Ear & Drum: Session 276 – Soft Fokuz

Ever since they came into play back in 1999, Fokuz Recordings has been a mecca for great Liquid D&B. I was already a big fan of sister labels Celsius and the harder edged Citrus Recordings, but Dreazz’ took it to a new level with Fokuz through an output most labels simply couldn’t to keep up with. Discogs counts 757 releases in the 25 years the label has been rolling and while that is a huge quantity, it’s the consistent quality and diversity that has kept me hooked on Fokuz down the years.

Having recently released their 25 year compilation In:Fokuz, I thought it was high time I took to the decks and put together my version of the ‘best of’ Fokuz tunes I’ve supported down the years. Looking at the tracklist you’ll see a who’s who of Liquid D&B including Seba, The Vanguard Project, BCee, Lenzman and Random Movement. But it’s the lesser know artists that Fokuz released that really shine and make the label so exciting. I’ve discovered so many new artists down the years thanks to the label and for that I am truly grateful.

Happy 25th Fokuz, and here’s to the next 25!

Just a heads up, this is part one of a two part series. I’ll follow this up with a mix of the harder edged releases a little later on.

Soft Fokuz – 2hrs of Liquid D&B on Fokuz Recordings

The Vanguard Project – Daredevil
Nelver – White Clouds
Macca & Loz Contreras – Against The Wall (FD Remix)
Surreal – Riding Out
WUFO – Call Back
Atlantic Connection – Fathom (feat. Faith)
Cnof – You The One
Leo Wood – Perfect Imperfection (Feat. Reflektor)
The Vanguard Project – Flying Away
Seba & JR Vallo – Second Path
Seba – Sweet Magnolia (feat. Jenna G)
Monument Banks – Tidy Mind
Smote & Blazil MC – I Can Show You
Joakulm – 8am Roller
The Vanguard Project & Pat Fulgoni – Still Together
Unknown Artist – Sweetest Taboo
Malaky – Belleve
Sub:liminal, Minos & Cardia- Future Lines
Low:r – Social Mania (feat. Sixar)
T:Base – Is It True
BCee – The Garden
Monument Banks – Loop Thinking
Satl – Forward Thinking (Calibre Remix)
Unknown Artist – This Summer
Hiraeth – Hold On To Me ft. Critical Event
Macca, Loz Contreras & Critical Event – Snow
Smote – Just Come Back
Switch & Icicle – Ur in My Head
Facing Jinx – Time
Emery, Mackadena & Dreazz – Too Fly
The Vanguard Project – Sundance
Random Movement – I Stayed Around (Lenzman Reinterpretation)
Phil Tangent – Giving Up The Ghost
Lenzman – Re-Thinkable
Impish – With You (Calibre
Lenzman – The Worst
Edlan – Lone Pine (Instrumental)
Operator Unknown & Leo Wood – Who

Ear & Drum: Session 275 – Cloud Level

Heading back into 160bpm territory with this eclectic blend of Trap, Atmospheric D&B and Jungle. This combination seems a little odd but it works thanks to Acid_Lab and their new My Tek EP and The Appreciation EP, both which gets heavily raided for this mix. ASC’s Spatial imprint also features heavily and keep an ear out for the much appreciated 2023 Remaster of Stars by Source Direct.

Cloud Level – 1hr of 160bpm Trap, Atmospheric D&B & Jungle

Acid_ Lab – My Tek
Eusebela – Waveform 05
Rainforest – Faith Beyond Fate
Tim Reaper – Lucky Go Happy
The Noise Of Art – The Revival
ASC – Impressions
ASC – Repetition
Earl Grey – Amygdala
Aural Imbalance – Aurealis
ASC – Still Motion
Tim Reaper – Waveform OB
Dwarde – Poprocks Track 4
Earl Grey – Prussia Dub
WUFO – The Day
Acid Lab – Neva Trust
Acid Lab – Missing U
Lavery – Give Yourselt
Acid Lab – Zeta Reticuli
Source Direct – Stars (2023 Remaster)
J Maijk – Space Between
MOOD$ – Severence
Levrige & Mystic State – Undercurrent
ASC – Nexus
Acid Lab – On A Sunbeam

Ear & Drum: Session 274 – Stroll Out

Crossing over to the Soulful side of the street for this one with Heron Flow, Seba, and Calibre all stepping up. We have a couple of tracks from Soul Connection’s latest LP – Possibilities which is well worth a listen. And we’ve also got the very under-rated Riya & Collette Warren on their own Carnelian imprint with a Bladerunner remix of their track Vices and a Vanguard Project re-rub of Little Things.

Also keep an ear out from one of my favourite artists, Adred on Inperspective Records with his killer track Just Now featuring the one and only Robert Manos. And last but not least the return of Badmarsh & Shri through Calibre’s remix of their track Signs which dropped on Signature recently.

Stroll Out – 1hr of Soulful D&B

Winslow – Sweet Tooth
Dub Head – In My Mind
PeRex – For Love
Creatures – Desire
Seba – Public Beauty (Zero T’s Ugly Mix)
T.Base – Take You (Silentium Remix)
Heron Flow – Snow
Soul Connection & AKA – No Pressure
Soul Connection – Break of Dawn
Artificial Intelligence – No Fun
Quartz – Way Back
Riya & Collette Warren feat. Whiney – Vices (Bladerunner Remix)
Calibre – Soul 80
Sully & Salo – Nights (Vocal Mix)
Riya & Collette Warren feat. Technimatic – Little Things (The Vanguard Project Remix)
Anja – One Time (Euphorics Remix)
Adred feat. Robert Manos – Just Now
Break feat. Lorna King – Wait for You
Badmarsh & Shri – Signs (Calibre Remix)
The North Quarter All Stars – Never
The Sauce – Time Must Come

Ear & Drum: Session 273 – Ruckus

The heavier side of Drum & Bass has recently decided to get it’s groove back, which I am here for. Not so abstract, still dark and heavy, but with a distinct dance floor flavour that gets the head nodding.

As per usual, Kasra and Critical Music seem to be on the bleeding edge of the sound with releases such as Shatter with YAANO and bb.oo. Metalheadz are holding it down too with Marly Marl’s Feel Deep Headz and Run Away doing bits, Dark ’97 by Immerse, Philth & Ant TC1 rolling out and Inner Terrain’s killer track No More also holding the groove. And I couldn’t resist throwing in the recent Universal Project remasters of Bleach and Rux Flava because they are just too damn good.

A word of warning that there is a slight glitch in this mix around 30 minutes in due to a recording muck up. I loved the rest of the mix so much, that the thought of re-doing it just to smooth over a tiny glitch just didn’t feel right. Hopefully you can over look it while listening through.

Ruckus – 1hr of Hard and Heavy D&B

Marly Marl – Feel Deep Headz
Total Science – No Smoking (T>| Remix)
Mako & Seba – Brotherhood
Kid Drama & Garvo – Nitrosurge
Kid Drama – Ratchet
Breakage – Style
Dunk – Danger
Inner Terrain – No More
Immerse, Philth & Ant TC1 – Dark ’97
Marly Marl – Run Away
Kasra & YAANO – Shatter
Cycom – Yucatan (The Green Man (TGM) Remix)
Chris.Su – Antiserum (Klute Remix)
Envy &. Azifm – All Night Long
Motive – Tuff Luv
Kasra – bb.oo
Photek – C-Note (Instrumental Mix)
Noisia, Sleepnet & Lumen – Finality
Universal Project – Bleach
Alibi – Rave Digger VIP
Universal Project – Rux Flava

Ear & Drum: Session 272 – Hertz to Breath

Soulful D&B can be a bit of a Marmite sound, you either love it or hate it. I personally love the groove, the soul and the smoothness. And when it comes to smooth it is hard to beat people like DRS, Lenzman, GLXY, Naibu and every other producer in this mix.

If you like this sound and haven’t discovered DRS’ Everything Must Go! album, get on it! Ditto for GLYX’s incredible Love, Chaos EP and the new Nauibu joint Sans Soleil. So much great soulful stuff around at the moment.

Hertz to Breath – 1hr of Soulful D&B

DRS & Mither – Angels On My Shoulder
GLYX – Detached
GLXY & Catching Cairo – – Fine Lines
DRS & Mither – No Surprises
T.Base – Universe
DRS, The Skeptics & MC RVS – Stand Calm
GLXY & [KSR] – What it Seems
Mohican Sun – Blurred Peak
Lenzman & Reeves – Play Around
Random Movement – Modelo Fumunda
Brainwork & mnml – Grey
DRS & SI8r 0 On Us Lately
Naibu – Sunless (feat. Robert Manos)
Naibu – Sans Solell (Reprise
DRS & Vangellez – Hurts To Breathe
Naibu – Spring
Soul Connection – Truly
The Sauce – What’s Going Down
Heron Flow – Snow