Browsing Tag

Drum n Bass

The genre alchemist James Urquhart is set to unleash his progressively prodigious hit, The Tearz and the Pain

Posted on 4 November 2023

The genre alchemist and one of the top producers in the UK, James Urquhart, drifted through a melodic menagerie of style in his latest single, The Tearz and the Pain, which is locked, loaded, and ready to drop an atom bomb of ingenuity onto the airwaves.

With all the hooky body-rocking flavour of 90s boyband pop in the deliciously infectious vein of the hit that announced Backstreet’s Back after a mellow 80s RnB opening sequence that Seal fans will give the seal of approval, Tearz and the Pain reaches its high-octane peak in a euphoric intersection of drum n bass before winding the track right down again.

The progressive prodigy left us arrested with every aural transgression and convinced us that labels will be hammering down the door to his professional studio, which he uses to produce his and other people’s hits. Previously, his music has been distributed by Hed Kandi and Let There Be House; there’s no telling who will pick him up next.

Follow James Urquhart on SoundCloud and Instagram to be the first to know when The Tearz and the Pain drops; with the soul it sonically unleashes, it is more than worth the wait.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fats & JM went on a ‘Mad One’ with their infectious EDM rap hit

Posted on 8 August 2023

The Azerbaijan-born British rapper and songwriter, Fats, mashed up his talents and his infectious tongue-in-cheek charisma with his co-collaborator JM to deliver the ultimate house party anthem, Mad One.

After a solid serving of sun-bleached acid house beats, Fats subverts the transcendently tranquil tones with his wit-sharp garagey rap bars and bass-drenched rhythms. Between his cleverly enticing cadence and his lyricism that carries the perfect amount of antagonism, there’s no resisting the magnetism of the monolithic drop.

If anyone deserves to go as viral as the Blackout Crew did in 2009 with Put a Donk On It, it is Fats. A month after the drop of the official music video for Mad One, it has already racked up 95,000 streams on YouTube and has been added to plenty more high-profile Spotify playlists.

We would usually say get on it while the hype is hot, but it’s unlikely that Mad One will stop being the hottest EDM drop of the summer anytime soon.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Konetix weaved an electrifying sonic tapestry with his monocultural-mould smashing Drum n Bass single, Soy Candela

Posted on 2 July 2023

Konetix didn’t just push the boundaries with his latest drum and bass hit, Soy Candela; he forced them to erupt with the infusion of Latina flavour, psytrance transcendence, and jazzy motifs fed through the fiery sax lines.

With infectious energy and electrifying sonic tapestries as the two cornerstones of his MO, the enduringly ambitious artist hasn’t failed to make his mark in the music industry, which has been keen to celebrate his profound passion and the nuances within his distinctively vibrant flair as a music producer.

After his 2020 debut EP, the impassioned visionary has racked up over 10 million streams and has refined his craft while collaborating with industry heavyweights, such as DJ Phantasy, Nicky Blackmarket, Henry Shotta and Ben Snow. To nurture the talent of other emerging acts in the drum and bass scene, he has founded his own record label, Melted Face Records. Somehow, he has also found the time to captivate audiences worldwide with his DJ sets by making appearances at renowned clubs and on international stages.

Stream Soy Candela from June 30th on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

nasir mf. pushed the boundaries of sonic expression in his emotion-driven EDM hit, fuckin lonely

Posted on 22 December 2022

If the sub-genre emo EDM doesn’t already exist on some dark and despondent corner on the internet, the electronica producer, nasir mf. started it with his trappy trailblazer of a debut single, fuckin lonely.

After a wavy indie trap prelude, the hit blasts off with a high-fire boost of momentum that allows the track to transcend drum n bass before the candid vocals run through pioneeringly bold lyricism to shatter the stigma attached to admissions of loneliness.

To make such an honest track at any point in their career is a brave move; to choose this track to introduce himself to the world, nasir mf. is a total fucking icon. The Brooklyn-based electronica artist made his debut to carry on the legacy of the black artists before him while pushing the boundaries of sound and expression. In the process of succeeding across the board, he became an instant icon in our view.

Nothing compares to the high of hearing an artist speak the unspoken and fuckin lonely let the euphoric floodgates open. We can’t wait to hear what comes next.

fuckin lonely was officially released on December 2nd and is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SEN COV smashes electronic archetypes in his latest cinematic breakbeat single, Kotor

Posted on 2 March 2022

Sound designer, artist, composer, and Strange Planet Label founder, SEN COV, has taken his aural mixology skills to the next level with his electronic-archetype-smashing mix, Kotor.

The cold grimey house beats fed through breakbeat progressions welcome you to the dark underbelly of house as SEN COV experiments with electro drill energy and polishes his sound in cinematically dystopic gravitas. We’ve more than had our electronic fill at A&R Factory, but no artist came quite as close as SEN COV came close to sating our hunger for original flair.

After Kotor, SEN COV will be unleashing fortnightly mixes. If you appreciate genre-transcending Drum n Bass breakbeat style, save a space on your radar.

Kotor is now available to stream on SoundCloud. You can keep up to date with all of the artist’s latest releases via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Blame Me: Steaming London rapper Synsy heats up the airwaves with anime visuals for ‘MAYDAY!’ (prod. Jon Cass)

Posted on 24 July 2021

Representing trashgang and powering in with a highly unique sound that shows much intent, Synsy turns the lights to red with the emotion-filled new single which thunderously hits the speakers in the sweet spot called ‘MAYDAY!‘ (prod. Jon Cass).

Synsy is a creative London, England-based indie rapper. With anime from Katsugeki Touken Tanbu, this is a heavy track that morphs together to show us his reckless thoughts, which are totally understandable in this odd world.

”Defined by the underground, Synsy seamlessly combines elements from the darkest sub-genres of hip hop, punk and drum n bass creating an industrial wasteland of pure aggression.” ~ Synsy

With a full-paced vocal armory at his disposal which shreds through like a sharp sword on fragile butter, this is a mic-destroying track that shows us what its like to live in modern day London as we speak. The beat is more-than-thumping and there are no breaks to have a spot of tea in between – as we are tumbled into a tremendously vein-popping track – which has you looking around rather anxiously and also a tad suspiciously.

‘MAYDAY!‘ (prod. Jon Cass) from the riveting London, England-based indie drum n bass/rap-fueled act Synsy, shows us an artistically talented artist who sends us a real message of velocity here. This is the story of having one of those days you would rather forget, as you are crashing hard and feeling like some undesirable people are out to get you. The bass is full of heat-stacked pace and the video is rather cleverly made, as we are thrown into a world which will shock your nerves back into action rather quickly.

See the music video on YouTube and find out more about his underground life via the IG music channel.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

RudeBrutal – Sun & Bass: Indie-Dance Tech-House

Posted on 4 July 2021

Enliven your Drum n Bass playlists with RudeBrutal’s ensnaring new track, Sun & Bass, which was inspired by a sunset over the Danube river.

Very few things can top the vibrant and fiery beauty of a sunset, but RudeBrutal manages to eclipse it with his bass-drenched beats and shimmering synths that lay in a bed of pulsating deep tech breakbeat rhythms.

During his long and colourful career in the music industry, RudeBrutal has been an on-air-DJ, sound editor and recording engineer. He has composed and produced for musicals, other artists and theatre. In 2000, he took a short break from the aural world to hone in on his video production skills. In 2014, he returned to the music industry with his unique indie-dance tech-house sound that we can’t wait to hear more of.

Sun & Bass is now available to stream on SoundCloud. Or you can check out the official video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

WHITING proves that optimism and euphoria are still in trend with their progressive DnB mix ‘Cyan Nights’

Posted on 6 March 2021

To tease their forthcoming EP, Bristol-based alchemist of electronically-crafted euphoria, WHITING, has released their progressive drum n bass record, ‘Cyan Nights’.

After a moody ambient prelude, Cyan Nights transitions from artfully intricate to a bass-drenched danceable feat of future-pop with a few alt-rock inclinations thrown in for good measure.

‘High vibe’ music may not be in short supply in 2021, but WHITING has a unique way of conjuring organically optimistic imagery and energy within their sound. You can’t help but fall into the infectious grooves, especially when the soaring 80s-style guitar hooks sink their teeth in.

Cyan Nights is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dust has delivered an electronica mix as dark and dystopic as 2020 with ‘Bravado’

Posted on 31 December 2020

Dust is the latest moniker for Richmond, VA-based artist and professional drummer, Chris Farmer, after sharing stages with the likes of Fishbone and Hootie & the Blowfish, his talent turned to producing heavy, bass-riding electronica which showcases his rhythmic precision and ability to entrance though mind-melting layers of insurgently powerful electronica.

Their latest release is the highly-anticipated 4-track EP ‘Bravado’. The best introduction to Dust’s domineering instrumental Alt Electronica is undoubtedly the title single. With some hints of And One-era Industrial within the monolithic drum n bass mix, it’s as dark and dystopic as 2020 and far more entrancing through the producer’s rhythmic command which allows his sound to boast psytrance style danceability.

You’ll have to wait a little longer before you can check out Bravado for yourselves. In the meantime, head over to Spotify where you’ll be able to check out their previous releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast