It’s been a hot minute since I’ve pulled out an Ambient D&B mix, but this one is special. Ibunshi has been releasing some quality D&B over the last few of years, but his recent Deepest Secret album on Omni Music is a step away from his regular technical sound into what he describes as ‘synthwave inspired atmospheric beats’. Yes fucking please!
Anyone I’ve put this LP onto has either bought it straight away, or streamed the hell out of it as it is quite simply a lush, cohesive work on an atmospheric theme that massages the ears in all the right ways. Big ups Ink, Soul Connection, Ivy Lab and K3Bee for playing support, who’s tunes are in no way any lesser than Ibunshi’s master work on display here. Tune in, turn on and drift out.
Ibunshi – I Remember (We Played) Ibunshi – As the Ocean Ibunshi – Walking in the Storm Ink – Lost in Time Muffler – Water Piano Ambient Ibunshi – Burst in Fire Ibunshi – Her Eyes Carries Storms Ibunshi – Waiting for You Soul Connection – Longing Ivy Lab – Late Night Fit Ibunshi – A New Day Leodia – Badkat Sonics Soul Connection – Worlds Ibunshi – Deepest Secret K3Bee – Drained Ibunshi – Like Crystal Tears Ibunshi – Green Mirrors
Another mix in the intermittent series where I play non-D&B music made mainly by D&B producers. Here we’ve got the likes of Ivy Lab, Om Unit, Synkro, Blame and Adred at lower BPMs and heading a bit deeper into their music production. This one sits around 160bpm and features UK Garage, Breaks, Ambient and a whole heap more.
Ive Lab – Dogma (Infinite Falling Ground) Ivy Lab – Press Play Philip D Kick & Om Unit – Funk 100 Dizzy Rascal & Ocean Wisdom – Don’t Be Dumb Synkro – Hollow Deadmau5 – Unjaded (Mad Zach Remix) Children of Dub – Colorado (Ambient 2) Captivate – No More Symbiosis – Los Ovnis The Drum Club – The Illuminated Blame – Revival Adred – Before Your Eyes Josh Abrahams – Marakesh Aurora Borealis – Aquacular Subsun Om Unit – Bristol Theme Om Unit – Joy Spark R/K – Still Not Smoking Mystic State – Expectations Flume – Quirk
Summer must be on it’s way in the northern hemisphere because even the Soulful D&B has a certain bounce to it and a little less melancholy from DRS. If you want a good time Atlantic Connection has a B-Sides compilation that is packed to the gills with 50 amazing, lesser known tracks from the US liquid master called unsurprisingly B-Sides. Here you will find Equator from his Red Spaces LP, which also features 4D Spaces.
Another EP worth keeping an ear out for is Mystifics – Good Girl EP from which I rolled Flames and Save My Soul in this mix, along with Peace of Mind from his DNBB Records release. Calibre, Nookie, LSB, Dawn Wall and Break also all bring the vibes in the soulful but upbeat collection of summertime vibes.
Halogenix – Ivory Minor Forms & Rider Shafique – Time Ticking (Total Science Remix) Atlantic Connection – Equator Atlantic Connection – 4D Spaces Kingsize – Star Machine (Nookie Remix) Mystific – Flames Calibre – Chantilly Ed:it – Lock Blues Dawn Wall – Movies London Elektricity – Fast Soul Music (Dogger & Mindstate Remix) LSB – Golden DRS & Tyler Daley feat. Calibre – I Remember Envy – Beautiful Dreamer Mystific – Peace of Mind Bop & Subway – Last Night Mystific – Save My Soul Halogenix & Alix Perez – Amé DRS & Tyler Daley feat. LSB – Too Late Nookie – Only You (Madcap Remix) Break & Charlie Brix – Lost
A little bit of old and a little bit of new with a big bit of bitch slapping beats in this mix off tuff tracks from 2023. The old comes in the form of Doc Scott’s rework of Rider’s Ghost called Ghost 25, and some very tasty remasters from Seba and Paradox thanks to the Secret Operations Reissue series.
The ‘new’ is everything else, with my picks being Carlito coming out of nowhere with a banging 12″ on V Recordings. Both tracks Take Me Down and Got It are doing the damage. Electrosoul System also takes a turn for the darker with his outstanding Black Album on his own Kos.Mos.Music imprint. I love it when producers step out of their lane and do something different and both of these releases fit that bill!
Break – Don’t You Ever Stop Electrosoul System – Suicide Suicide Electrosoul System – Somatic Blues Acid_Lab – Wait No More Dom & Rolland – Scatter Ed:it – Wikid Bad Leaf – Keep On Truckin’ Carlitio – Take Me Down Doc Scott – Ghost 25 Seba – Wakeup Call 2023 Subfocus & MC ID – Alarm aBLe – Still There Carlitio – Got It Seba & Paradox – Fire Like This Kasra – Negative Space Electrosoul System – Chuck Norris On LSD Jubei & LSB – The Source
Back on the 160bpm train for this mix of mainly atmospheric D&B. Focusing on two labels in particular, first up is the massively underrated Westbay Music label run by Atlantic Connection, his recent Don’t Play EP and Unconventional EP are slabs of breakbeat perfection. I really don’t understand why Atlantic Connection isn’t bigger than he already is.
Another label blazing their own trail is ASC’s new(ish) atmospheric jungle imprint Spatial. The quality of Spatial releases is clear to hear on first play, but it isn’t until you start mixing these tunes that you really get a sense of just how immense some of this music really is. If you loved Progression Sessions at The End, these tunes will take you straight back to that special place in time.
Here comes the Liquid heat. It’s a bit hard to pin this mix down as it is Liquid, but a lot of it has a hard edge that will have you head bobbing . Kicking things off is Calibre’s – Thrubbin from his 8th Shelflife release. I always look forward to Shelflife releases as the opportunity to catch up on Calibre’s unreleased and more obscure tracks is always appreciated. This one does not disappoint with Heat, No Sense and Thrubbin’ being obvious stand outs for me.
Other big tunes for me a Rockwell & LaMeduza’s – Estranged, a vocal banger with Rockwell’s signature skittery drum work and production. Very good to hear more Rockwell after a short hiatus. Seba also has a new track out on Spearhead’s Soul Warming Sonics LP with Marina Sambą providing the vocal on Whatever You Feel. Not your typical Seba track, but still solid as always. From the same LP is the Workforce Remix of Lens’ big tune from 22′ Feels Like, a tougher more dance floor rerub that does the business.
Heading into deeper territories with this mix of half time and more minimal rollers. Scar features heavily with tracks from their moody Metalheadz LP release The Road Less Travelled as does J:Kenzo with Typhoon / RawZ on Alternate Recordings, both well worth investing in.
Shouts to my DOA brethren, Satl for his track UFO off the Gloom LP on the ever present and tasty The North Quarter. So too Electrosoul System for the unique Black Album, very nice to hear him stepping away from liquid and flexing deeper and darker take on his sound.
This one is best listened to travelling on a rainy day through some headphones watching the world slide by. Enjoy.
160bpm D&B continues to expand and grow as a genre and while there isn’t any set ‘sound’ at the moment, the one thing there is a lot of is quality. Following in the footsteps of Fracture and his 0860 LP and mixtape, Kid Drama and DJ Trace have released a similar package again looking back at the classic Amen driven days of rave. The project titled Rule of Thirds came out under a combined alias of Nine Windows, and well worth your time as you’ll hear in this mix.
Kid Drama also features with breakbeat mastermind Tim Reaper on Ambien Sequence from Future Retro’s excellent Meeting of the Minds series of releases. Wardown’s Graphite and Glitter and The Ideal City come from the kitsch Wardown II LP, Pete Rogers of Technimatic’s ode to 60s futurism. And I have to shout out Orbit from Om Unit alias Philip D Kick’s stunning and sadly last LP, Off World Tales. Having jacked in making fasted BPMs for Electro and Techno inspired sounds, he will be missed.
Optimistic – Helper Nine Windows – Looking Back Nine Windows – Galaxian Speckman – One the Flip (Synkro’s Ambient Jungle Flip) Jamie Myerson – Shade Without Color Nine Windows – Innersense Philip D Kick – Orbit Wardown – Graphite & Glitter Arcologies – Secret Keeper Adred – Before Your Eyes Fracture – From the Very Top Orboram – Sun Showers Arcologies – City at Dawn Kid Drama & Tim Reaper – Ambien Sequence Nine Windows & Tim Reaper – Transitions Robert Haigh – Koto Line (ASC Spatial Remix) Wardown – The Ideal City Fracture – First Aid Kit
Who say rewind on all the classic Jungle dub plates and VIPs finally seeing the light of day some 30 years later? Thanks to labels like Aphrodite’s – Urban Shakedown, DJ Rap’s – Proper Talent, Deep Jungle and Suburban Base digging out their DATs and releasing a swag of tunes that only ever cut to dub plate and played by a very select few DJs back in the 90s. That is until today.
A lot of the tunes in here I only ever hear on tapes from pirate radio or recorded from UK raves back in the day. If I was lucky I may have heard one or two mixed live at some of the local parties I went to. It feels fitting that D’Cruze bookends this mix with tunes from his Hidden Tracks EP only recently release on Suburban Base. Sandwiched in between D’Cruze’s Hardstep and Sublime State are some of the ruffest Jungle cuts I’ve had the pleasure to play. Enjoy.
For my debut mix here on the site I’ve put together a mixture of cosmic jungle, heavenly half-time & atmospheric liquid.
There’s new tunes alongside some older favourites in here, with labels including Modern Conveniences, Omni Music, Offworld, Fokuz, Metalheadz and Goldfat represented, amongst others. Most of the action takes place in the 166-172 territory.
Really hope you enjoy the mix – many thanks to Wozowski for inviting me over!
