Sunday 29 December 2013

VA-WE'RE NOT DEAD: THE 3RD CHAPTER-Warehouse Wax + Exclusive Interview with Vinyl Junkie & Sanxion


Vinyl Junkie



We’re Not Dead: The 3rd Chapter is looking to be the biggest release to date from Warehouse Wax, when you embarked on this project, did you have any idea it would end up clocking in at a staggering 50 tracks?

No, we we’re thinking it would be more along the lines of 36 tracks, 18 on each mix. But we got sent a lot more tunes than we thought we would. We decided to cap it at 50. We could have had more but we had to set a limit really… 50 seemed like a nice round number… Sorry for all the people that sent tracks that didn’t make it onto the album… The competition was tough!!!

Can you tell us a bit about the tracks you compiled for the album and what made them stand out to you?

Well, pretty much all the tunes were sent straight to me and I would keep the ones I thought were worthy, so they kind of got filtered before they even made it to Sanxion… We argued a bit over some of the tracks and whose mix they were best suited to… and his dad actually had to break up a fight on one occasion when I had him in a headlock on the floor. So in the end we just tossed a coin on some of them. The tunes all stood out, for different reasons, or they wouldn't be on there. The most important thing, which determined whether a tune would make it to the final shortlist folder, was the quality of production. There was a few tunes that were really good but the production just was not there. There was also a few artists we had to work with to get the production better as well.

What do you look for in a track and what in your opinion, lifts a track from being average to being a track that gets played time and time again?

I look for originality, whether I think it will work on the dancefloor and a high standard of production. What lifts a track from being average to being a track that gets played time and time again? Well that’s the million dollar question isn't it. When I figure that out I’ll be a very rich man!! I think if you have a really well produced vocal track that is catchy and sounds fresh and current, then you have as much chance as the next man of having a BIG tune on your hands. The key is to PR the release properly. Get a PR company involved that can help you get it into the right hands.

What advice would you give to aspiring producers out there?

Try to be original without alienating yourself. Perfect your craft and don’t send out tracks unless you are 100% sure about them because it will come back to haunt you later…

Sanxion



You have had a number of releases out on Warehouse wax but how did you get involved in compiling this latest album for the label?


It all started with a studio session between myself, Billy 'Daniel' Bunter, and Warehouse Wax boss Vinyl Junkie. Daniel had known and worked with VJ before and it seemed a perfect fit for the 3 of us to get together to do a track.

After that session Vinyl Junkie kidnapped me, and has forced me to work for the label ever since. If I blink 3 times in a row at you when he's not looking, we can make a move and free me right?

The more boring answer, is, me and John got on well when we met up that first time, and decided to carry on doing tracks together, and he let me do a few remixes, and eventually get my own EP on the label. It's just been a natural progression from then to getting amongst it and compiling the album with him.

You have quite a diverse selection of tracks that you personally picked for WND 3, what was it about them that made you want to include them?

I can usually tell within the first 30 seconds or so if a track is going to grab me or not. I'm all about the biggest beats possible, the loudest bass, and the raviest rave style bits. Sometimes, the more over the top, the better for me. Big and brash and banging. If it fits those 3 criteria, I'm usually sold. The tracks on my mix on the album hopefully cover that side of what's going on with bass and breaks at the moment. Being a bit of a techie geek, I also quite like tracks that get all technical along with it too.

And which producers in general are doing big things in your opinion?

Strange Rollers always delivers. His stuff sits on that fine line, between being banging, but also being very musical, whilst somehow managing to evoke the spirit of "Intelligent Jungle" (for want of a better phrase).

Toronto is Broken is just a beast when it comes to multi genre stuff. Pretty much everything he touches is massive. King Yoof, and Gold... just because they do that Future Jungle with Reggae sound so amazingly well. As do the RadioKillaz…

Too many to mention in a short interview to be honest. I also love the stuff that Flashback and Retropolis do (but I could be a little biased there, as their stuff comes through my studio a lot of the time) Slightly away from the 140 scene (is that even a good way to describe it these days?), I love what Dodge & Fuski, and Zomboy do. Just 110% banging!


As an ardent gamer, which of the next gen consoles do you prefer and what games are you currently enjoying?

Don't get me started...

This next gen cycle, I am holding off (at least for a while). XboxOne is the obvious way to go for me, as my current gen gaming was mainly on the 360. But nothing about it is really grabbing me. They are pushing towards it being a media hub, but a lot of the media integration, is (at the moment) USA centric. Same sort of thing with PS4 so far. Nothing really grabbing me enough to stump up the 400 quid or so this time around. In recent months, I bought a new studio PC, so whilst I was at it, I bought a decent video card, and have been having a ton of fun playing games on there. Stuff looks as good/better than pretty much all the cross platform next gen stuff still.

I have played some great games this year. Saints Row 3, and then straight into 4 was about the most fun I have had with a videogame ever! Also, Bioshock Infinite, was quite possibly the best piece of story telling done in the medium so far (some of the combat gameplay wasn't great, but the narrative, and especially the ending made up for its shortcomings) This year has been the year of the Indie Game though. I urge you all to check out ‘Thomas was alone’ (never will a game make you "care" about a bunch or rectangles quite so much)
Gone Home (Is it even a game? Storytelling without a story so much)
The Stanley Parable (A subversive narrative on the mindset of game progression...and probably the only real "funny" videogame ever made)
Hotline Miami (Uber violence, that somehow manages to evoke an oddly specific mood)
Rogue Legacy (The best retro-action-plaform-roguelike-hack'n'nslash-rpg?)

I'm also in the middle of building myself a mame cabinet using a Raspberry PI as the guts.... top fun.

'We're Not Dead: The 3rd Chapter' is out now on all good download stores




WE'RE NOT DEAD (The 3rd Chapter) by Warehouse Wax

And you can grab a few free promotional tracks for the album too

FREE STUFF by Warehouse Wax
Zombie Robot - You Belong To Me - FREE DOWNLOAD by Vinyl Junkie

LTD edition mix CDs by Vinyl Junkie & Sanxion available here: http://www.warehousewax.co.uk/wnd3/

Tuesday 17 December 2013

FUTURIZM- Set Me Free/Don't Break My Harp-Passenger Records

Futurizm makes an impressive debut on Passenger Records with 2 melodic 140 Jungle weapons, fusing dubstep and electro bass sounds with 140 to awesome effect, if you haven't grabbed these 2 great tracks already, then go get them now!!!


NORTH BASE- The Album Free Download On 20/12/13


The North Base team has had a very busy 2013. Not only did they smash it at massive shows for the Warehouse Project and Fabric London, they’ve also performed at a number of festivals including Global Gathering, Creamfields, Kendal Calling, Parklife and Hideout.

Remarkably, the lads have still found time to put together their brand new album just in time for the Christmas period, and have decided to release it as a FREE DOWNLOAD for all of their fans around the world!

This new release, entitled 'THE ALBUM', is a 15-track masterpiece, which takes the listener through the full spectrum of modern electronic dance music. The album has been 2 years in the making, and features previously unreleased tracks, as well as some that have been battering the music world for some time now.

North Base have been receiving massive support from artists such as Skream and Benga, MistaJam, B-Traits, Chase and Status, Friction, DJ Hype, Annie Nightingale, Redlight, Breech, TC, Matrix and Futurebound, Charlie Sloth, DJ Target and many, many more. As a result of this, the group decided it was the right time to release all of their music in one great album for the world to hear.
Be sure to check out the lads’ remix of ‘Smile’ by Benga ft. Charlie Demo, and their ‘Problem Child’ Remixes of the 2 classic dance anthems, SL2’s ‘DJ’s Take Control’ and Outlander’s infectious, ‘The Vamp’. There are also other massive cuts on the album such as last years classic North Base track ‘Jammin’, which has gained huge support from Skream and Benga on BBC Radio 1!


Available for free on 20/12/13 here: https://www.facebook.com/NORTHBASEUK

Monday 9 December 2013

J-Tek Records Returning In 2014



Friday 6 December 2013

FIVE MILE RIDDIM EP - FREE DOWNLOAD Ep’

With a range of tempo’s and a diverse scope of genres there is something for everyone who a taste for bass music. Simply click like on their Facebook page and then click on the Free Downloads tab

Enjoy!


SLAYER027 OUT NOW + FREE TUNE [Support: DJ Mag 'Moneyshot', Toddla T, B.Traits, Serial Killaz+MORE

DJ Mag (Bass) ‘9/10 Single Of The Month’

Toddla T ‘Played on 1Xtra (18 Oct)’

DJ Mag USA ‘10/10 Rolling rudeboy business.’

Nicky Blackmarket ‘10/10 b-line rolllerz’

DJ Mag (DnB) ‘9/10 Great Vibes’

wickedstyle.neural.it ‘10/10 Huge!’

no-rockstars.net ‘10/10 never ceases to amaze me!’


SLAYER SOUNDCLASH - ROUND 2
OUT NOW: iTunes / Juno Download / Beatport + ALL GOOD STORES

Slayers Soundclash ‘Round 2’
1.            Aries & Gold Dubs meets King Yoof ‘Tempo Dub ft Kelvin 373’
2.            Aries & Gold Dubs ‘Unreal’
3.            Aries & Gold Dubs meets Max Powa ‘Separation’
4.            Aries & Gold Dubs meets Max Powa ‘Babylonman’

DING! DING! ROUND TWO!
After the immense success of ‘Death Before Dishonor’ we at Sub Slayers are hopping with excitement to bring you round 2 of the Slayers Soundclash!
The soundclash series see’s artists battle their artistic minds together to produce what can only be described as a heavyweight bass collision!

Covering tempos from 140-175 including a 140 to 175 switch up, this is a selectors dream!

SUPPORT
Toddla T, B.Traits, Serial Killaz, Liondub, Phelah, Freestylers, Randall, AC Slater, Run Tingz, Nicky Blackmarket, Kenny Ken, N-Type, Dreadzone, 6BLOCC, Muffler, Mungos HiFi, Dub Pistols, Chopstick Dubplate, Sticky Buds, Toronto Is Broken, Doc Scott, Billy Bunter, Ruffstuff, Ashatak, Reid Speed, Mat The Alien, Roommate, Renegade Soundwave, Blend Mishkin, Stereo MCs, Lady Waks, Phantasy, Itchy Robot, FreQ Nasty + MORE LISTEN TO THE FULL EP  

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Lucas - Incongruous - Out Now

Top Drawer Digital Presents

TDDR040  Lucas  :  Incongruous

 

 

Incongruous (Definition) :

Strange because of not agreeing with what is usual or expected.

With Incongruous, Lucas has fused sounds and styles whilst working within a Future Jungle style framework and produced something refreshingly different.



Lucas - Incongruous - Top Drawer Digital TDDR040 by Top Drawer Digital
 

Get it from





Comments

Torronto Is Broken (Subslayers) : "Love the intro vibes with those acoustic guitars and eerie vocals. Great roller, love this fresh feel to this track. Some great orchestration too on the strings later on. One of the best 140 jungle/breaks tunes I've heard this year!" 9/10

Tariq (Future Jungle Blog / Free Breaks Blog /Hush Mag): "This is awesome!!! Lucas keeping it fresh and original as per, love the 90's Indie style intro, reminds me of The Stone Roses, fits perfectly with thebeats, then the scratching kicks in and it gets even better, what an amazing track!!!!, incredible atmosphere"  10/10

100Me : "Oh.. Wow! Nice one Lucas!!! I wasn't expecting that! You sly old dog! :p Definitely getting some monkey lovin' on this one." 8/10

Sappo : “Nice Work” 8/10

Rat Pack : "I like this. Something different. I'll play it where ever I think it will drop. Good work." 7/10

DJ MAG : 7.5/10

Strange Rollers : "loved this as soon as i heard it - different wins 4 me!!!" 8/10

Radiokillaz "original vibes, great stuff as always" 8/10

Jay Cunning (Subslayers) “Nice work mate” 7/10

Midland Breaks : "I love how Lucas never shy's away from trying something different from a lot of the run of the mill formula tracks & always brings a touch of class to to the table while still be able to make tracks that are going to keep the dance floor moving, it's a hard task to master but Lucas always seems to be able to do this effortlessly." 8/10

 

More support from , VJAir , Arkon,Bay B Kane,Ben Venom,Brewster B,2 Bad Mice,Champion Breaks ,Big Will,Digitally Mashed, Dazz F , Daz Breaks,Gaffer,Elextrux,Generic Bass,Jon James ,John Grief,Kranky ,Odeed & Wish ,Nasty Squad , Pete HCL,Pressa ,Rasco,Rapid,Rob Focus ,Ruined Jon,Strange Notes,ssTaggat, Yankee and more

 

Madcap - Acid Chant


Top Drawer Digital Presents
TDDR039 - Madcap : Acid Chant
 

 
Former Technics DJ Champion Madcap is currently making waves in the Drum and Bass scene with releases on labels including Bukem's Goodlooking Records and performing at Fabric alongside the legend himself.
Here he shows us how he does 140 Breaks , Rolling Breakbeats and rumbling Bass pull the track along as the infectious acid line , floaty female vox and bleeps a plenty collide in harmony to make this a must have dancefloor smasher.

Champion Breaks takes the helm for remix duties and bashes you round the head with a full on Acid Breaks assault , relentless in pressure and momentarily dropping into 4 x 4 beats highlighting his Acid Techno roots.

Plus 3 free remix's from Kambelt , D-Funkt and CBW (Check the soundcloud links below)
Get it from :

Juno:  http://www.junodownload.com/products/madcap-acid-chant/2339363-02/
Beatport : http://www.beatport.com/release/acid-chant/1187566
Track It Down : https://www.trackitdown.net/track/madcap/acid-chant-original-mix/breaks/6420171.html
Rave Download : https://www.ravedownload.com/Labels/Top-Drawer/Madcap-Acid-Chant-E-P/prod_3838.html
Support includes :
601 : Original is the cut for me, very nice rave vibes 8/10
Brewster B (Kiss FM AU) : DOPE..!!!! smoking hot tune 9/10
Pressa : Wicked pair of rollers here 8/10
Strange Rollers : Original all the way 7/10
Schema : Aaahhhh who doesnt love the acid vibe?! Sweet track this, equal praise for original & remix, haunting vocal, twisted vibe & both sound ace. Drum switch on CB remix is sweet 10/10
2 Bad Mice : Quality release and you have to love a bit of acid! I would play both versions but if I have to pick one it would be the Champion Breaks mix. Goodwork guys. 7/10
Radiokillaz 9/10
Tariq (Future Jungle Blog , Free Breaks Blog) : So hard to choose a favourite, both are awesome, the original and the remix, quality 140 and 303s 10/10
Vinyl Junkie : Acid Chant finally gets a release... I forgot how good this was..... Big Up my boy MADCAP and respect to Pete for a great remix though, to be honest... The original is pretty hard to top 8/10