Category Archives: Ear & Drum Session

Set Adrift – Ear & Drum Session 92

A second dose of deepness for the New Year, this time with a liquid twist to it. The is one of those smooth rolling sets you can listen to in the background or put the headphones on and get really involved with. Perfect for any sore heads still feeling the jared from New Year’s Eve celebrations. 😉

A lot of the usual suspects I’ve been playing for most of 2013 appear in here, with the notable exception of Klute who finally came good on dropping a new album, The Draft, in October. I’m glad to say it’s his strongest work in a long time and well worth grabbing if you haven’t already.

Other notables are Seba for killing it all year long, Technimatic for coming out of nowhere and making a BIG splash and Calibre for just being Calibre and always coming correct.

Once again thanks for all the support in 2013 and I hope 2014 turns our for you and your ears. I guess you could say ‘Happy New Ears’. 😛

Set Adrift – 1.5hrs of Deep & Rolling Liquid D&B

Sub Focus – Twilight
Paramount – Northstar
Villem & McLeod – The Reason feat. Piathaleia
Breach – Jack (Calibre Remix)
Nitri feat. Grimm – Lies
Medium – The Abyss
Silent Type – All I Want
Greyscale – Impossible Dream
Thesis – Homecoming
dRamatic – Straight Talking
Seba – Shades of Me & You
Seba – Never LEt You Go (Blu Mar Ten Remix)
Calyx & Teebee – Prehensile Dreamer Part 1
Electrosoul System – Traffic
Thesis – Event Horizon
Total Science – See Your Face feat. Riya
Technimatic – The Evening Loop
Greyscale – Horizon
Seba – Under the Sun
Klute – Turn Around
Paramount – Dreamworld
Seba – Can’t Describe
Airstrike feat. Allison Gray – Frozen
Technimatic – Frozen Leaves

Fathoms – Ear & Drum Session 91

First mix in aaages and first mix of 2014, so I guess I’d better make a good one right? 😉

Leaning on the deeper and more stripped back styles, this mix sums up a lot of what was great about D&B in 2013 – deep, cinematic and textured tunes with tons of atmosphere to pick you up and transport you somewhere else.

SpectraSoul, dBridge, Stray, Om Unit and MachineUnit all managed to keep coming up with new and interesting ways of twisting the D&B sound and we were lucky enough to have a small Felix K project, Flowers of Destruction, come out towards the end of 2013 to take his particular sound deeper that it has ever gone before.

Thanks to everyone who listened during 2013 and here’s hoping this year is even better than the last. Happy New Year.

Fathoms – 1.5hrs of Deep Drum & Bass

Overlook – Digital
House of Black Lanterns – Truth & Loss (Fracture’s Astrophonica Remix)
SpectraSoul – SOUR (Rockwell Remix)
Defo – Culture
Fracture feat. Dawn Day Night – Sick Wid It
Amoss – Bumbaclart
Felix K – Flowers of Destruction #4
Derrick & Tonika – Trentino
Felix K – Flowers of Destruction #2
dBridge – Not Known
Breach – Jack (Calibre Remix)
Stray – LA Zoom
Felix K – Flowers of Destruction #3
Felix K – Flowers of Destruction #6
Foreign Concept – Solid State Dreams
System – Sound Man
Machinedrum – Eysdontlie
dBridge & Skeptical – Move Way
dBridge – Death of a Machine Drum
Om Unit – Grey Skies Over Chicago
Skyweep – Never Surrender
Friske – Venture
Lung – Too Cold to Start a Fire
Gridlock – Westbank
Machinedrum – Gunshotta
Frederic Robinson feat. Stray – Bloom
DJ Fresh vs. Diplo feat. Dominique Young Unique – Earthquake (Edit)

Begin Again – Ear & Drum Session 90

So I slammed this mix together real quick. One of those rapid fire, don’t think too hard about it mash ups that just worked. Except for the last track which I don’t think quite fits and I don’t really like that much. How did it even end up in my crate?

Anyway, other than that I’m really happy with the result. Fast and heavy with loads of energy – if your looking for a work out mix is a good one to load up on the MP3 player.

Begin Again – 1hr+ of Heavy Minimal D&B

Seathasky & Nelver – Contact
Dose – What Lies Within
House of Black Laterns – Truth & Loss (Fractures Astrophonica Remix)
Lenzman – Empty Promise
Defo – Culture
dBridge & Skeptikal – Move Way
Calibre – Start Again feat. Chimpo
Actraiser – Tomahawk
Paramount – Hustler
Caravar & Clock – Miskatonik
The Insiders – Meltdown feat. Ayah
Mineral – Living The Dream (ESC & Subsense Remix)
Paperclip – Double Domination
Soulware – Images (ISM Remix)
Actraiser – Take You There
Arp XP – My Place
Emufucka – Urza’s Rage
Soul Intent – Some With Me
Paperclip – Structure 15
Out of Fuel – Sneaky
Organikismness – Dark Times (ISM Remix)
Marcus Intalex
T-Power & John Rolodex – That Jungle Vibe feat. Khadija

Change – Ear & Drum Session 89

D&B has been changing of late and it seems everyone is getting excited about half-beat and bass style tracks that sit at the 160-170bpm mark. It’s giving the DJs more flexibility to try out some different sounds and it’s made the music a lot more exciting.

This mix has some liquid & D&B tracks in there, but there is also some Flume and Daft Punk thrown in for good measure as well as some half-beat style tracks thanks to Alix Perez and Etherwood. It’s D&B, but not as we know it and that can only be a good thing.

Change – 1hr of Weird Bits and Pieces that Mix with D&B

Flume – Change
Daft Punk – Doin’ it Right
ASC – Sympathy (Mike Slott’s Remix)
Flume – On Top feat. T-Shirt
Emperor – She Said
LSB – The Hurting
Karma – Lil Ghetto Boy (Alexus Remix)
Alix Perez – We Could Have Been feat. D.Albo
Mineral – Living The Dream (ESC & Substance Remix)
Calibre – Close To me
Actraiser – Sky Islands
Alix Perez feat. Two Inch Punch – Broken Heart
Etherwood – Unfolding
Flume – Sleepless feat. Jazzabell Doran
Paramount & Patricia Edwards – Angels
Keeno & Whiney – Isokime
Hybrid Minds – Why (Fourward Remix)
Command Strange – Away From the Sun
Mage – Game of Light & Paints
Nookie – The Eclipse (Furney Remix)
Lenzman – Broken Dreams (Makoto Remix)

Horizontal – Ear & Drum Session 88

It’s been a while since I’ve used the term ‘atmospheric’ to describe a set. But with Good Looking Records on the come-back trail and quite a few liquid producers exploring the atmospheric side of things for summer I thought the time was right. These are proper vibes, with that UK summer sound that always makes me smile.

Horizontal – 1hr+ of Atmospheric D&B

Technimatic – Sheltered Storm
Malaky – Express Your Self
Nuage – Fair Questions
Total Science Feat. Riya – Cold Blood
Hybrid Minds – Meant to Be
Command Strange & Malaky – Regrets
Stereotype – Elephant Shoes
ST Files & Response
Technimatic – Mirror Image
LTJ Bukem – Atlantis (Marky & S.P.Y Rework)
PFM – This Must Be Love
Tokyo Prose & Phil Tangent – Parity (Klute Remix)
Actraiser – Resurrection
MC Fats, HLZ & Chef – True Born Souljah
S.P.Y – What the Future Holds
SJ Marky & S.P.Y – Yellow Shoes (Calibre Remix)
soulTec – I Hear You Knocking
Nymfo – Suddenly
Command Strange & Intelligent Manners – Right Here, Right Now
Actraiser – Haunted Vessel

Below Me – Ear & Drum Session 87

Back to the deep end with this mix with some old classics thrown in for good measure, like Rockwell’s smasher from last year ‘4U’ and a Sade meets Dillinja mix using LSB’s bootleg of ‘Ordinary Love’ and Capone’s bass terror classic ‘Tudor Rose’.

There’s lots of new stuff going on too with Seba’s new LP getting a rinsing on ‘What’s Your Fantasy’ and the mighty ‘Balance of Power’, plus load of new tracks from Om Unit and Furi Anga to name just a few.

I guess the biggest change on this mix is the equipment it was mixed on. Adding to Serato and my 1200s I now have a digital mixing set up that allows me to add a few extra tricks to the mixing arsenal. Tell me if you can hear the difference.

Below Me – 1+hr of Deep D&B

Reso – Simple Pleassures (Om Unit Remix)
Bungle – Aura
Frederic Robinson – Mood Swings
Rockwell – 4U
Seba – What’s Your Fantasy
Genotype – A Few Too Many
Om Unit – Ulysses
Flosstradamus – Rollup (Bauer Remix)
Furi Anga – The Day My Unicorn Died
Furi Anga – Anerio
Om Unit – Dark Sunrise (feat. Tamara Blessa)
DuoScience – Sanai
Distal – Nose Handy
Dub Phizix & Skittles – I’m a Creator
Physical Illusion & Kryptomedic – We Feeling What We Doing
Furi Anga – Zero Charisma
Sade – No Ordinary Love (LSB Bootleg)
Capone – Tudor Rose
Photek – Shape Charge
Seba – Balance Of Power

Call the Ambience 5: Deep Sedation – Ear & Drum Session 86

Bringing the ambient vibes back on this one. There are a few of the usual suspects in the form of ASC, Furi Anga & Synkro. But also a good crop of newer headz who are popping up regularly now with quality output such as Om Unit (killing it lately), Stray and Actraiser who has been pumping out awesome Bass Music tunes too. Hopefully this with fulfil those with a hankering for some float tank D&B and send you on a journey. Enjoy.

Call the Ambience 5: Deep Sedation – 1hr of Ambient D&B

ASC – Reality Check (Method One Remix)
Bungle – Aura
Nu:Logic – Escape Pod (Interlude)
Seba Feat. Robert Manos – Madness
Om Unit – Ulysses
Instra:mental & dBridge – White Snares
Synkro – Acceptance
Furi Anga – The Day My Unicorn Died
Ulrich Schnauss & ASC – 77
Stray – When It Rains
Furi Anga – DOwn Where the Whispers Scream
Biome – Coincidence
Furi Anga – Underwater Maze
Bachelors of Science – Upside Down
Actraiser – Star Chaser

Beautiful Music – Ear & Drum Session 85

There is so much lush D&B about at the moment that I had to throw together a set of melodic and liquid tunes. Fokuz Recordings and Influenza Media have been smashing out high quality liquid for many a year, but seem to recently have stepped up to a new level of melody magic as has S.P.Y, DJ Clart and Intelligent Manners. Not to be out done Bungle, with his sublime track Aura, has come up with one of the tunes of the year for me so far.

Lots of people deride liquid for being too generic over the last few years, but I think this selection shows that as a genre it still has a lot kick left in the bass bins.

Beautiful Music – 1hr+ of D&B Lushness

Bungle – Aura
Frederic Robinson – Mood Swings
Pluton & Skyer – Cosmic Rain
Naibu – Fireflies (Light Mix)
Nu:Logic – Morning Light
S.P.Y – You
Seba Feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw – Nothing Can Relpace
Bachelors of Science Feat. Ben Soundscape & Kemo – Ainokea
Data – Vice
Intelligent Manners – Move Me
DJ Clart & Reza – The Chances (Vocal Version)
Intelligent Manners – Tonight feat. Command Strange
Phil Tangent – Restitution
Kelle – Eternia
S.P.Y – Future Tense feat. Jo-S
Rowpieces – Cosmic Junk
Shuwa – Inversion
Intelligent Manners & Command Strange – Do It All Night feat. Pouyah
Tokyo Prose – Raised by Wolves
Furney – Charlotte’s Song

Shadow Wax 7: 1996 Chilled Intelligence Part 2 – Ear & Drum Session 84

The next installment of the Shadow Wax series sees 1996 era EZ Rollers, Flytronix, JMJ & Ritchie, PFM, Omni Trio, Blame, Aquasky & Carlito all in a single mix. Quality tunes made by quality producers from D&B’s best quality era.

Shadow Wax 7: 1996 Chilled Intelligence – 1hr of Moving Shadow

EZ Rollers – Droppin’ Science Pt2 (EZ Remix)
Flytronix & JMJ – In Too Deep
Universal – Altitude
PFM – Language of Love
JMJ – Gravitational Pull
Omni Trio – The Elemental
JMJ & Ritchie – True Colours
Omni Trio – Trippin’ on Broken Beats (Carlito Mix)
Omni Trio – Soul of Darkness (Promenade 96 Rollout)
PFM – The Eleventh Hour
Omni Trio – Serpent Navigators
Blame – Neptune
Aquasky – Tranquility (Big Bud Remix)
Carlito – Cascade
Omni Trio – Who Are You? (Aquasky Remix)

Hyper Critical – Ear & Drum Session 83

It’s been a long time since I’ve done an all label mix here on the the Ear & Drum, but I figured it was high time to give one of my favourite labels a spin. Ever since their original releases Critical Recordings has always been on of those labels you could rely on to put out interesting and well produced music. Brainchild of the ever present Kasra, the label’s exceptional quality control and cutting edge producer roster has seen it become one of D&B true modern day success stories. Even when vinyl labels were dropping like flies a few years back, Critical has managed to not only survive but grow stronger in the face of adversity.

Having seen such producers as Vectorburn, Mathematics, Ill Skillz, Calibre, Breakage, Chris SU, Bungle, Silent Witness, Icicle, Spectrasoul, Break, Rockwell, Stray, Sabre & Enei all put out quality tracks on the label, their stable list reads like a who’s who of modern D&B production. This mix covers the last 2 years of output from the label, but if your are interested in catching up on the back catalogue then I strongly suggest you look into purchasing their recently released Critical X compilation which celebrates the best releases from the past ten years.

Hyper Critical – 1hr of Critical Recordings

Rockwell – Underpass
Sabre, Stray & Halogenix – Oblique
Seba & Paradox – The Light
Bladerunner – Back to the Jungle
Enei & MC DRS – Obsession (Foreign Concept Remix)
Enei feat. Eastcolours – 2012
Enei feat. Kemo – Saligia
Kasra & Enei – So Real
Dub Phizix feat. Fox – Never Been
Calibre – Smooth Baby
Sabre & Riya – Injustice
Foreign Concept & Riya – Affliction
Enei & MC DRS – Obsession
Kasra & Jubei – the Rift
Lenzman – More Than I Can Take (Enei Remix)