broken beats

Banlieue enters 2022 with a bang courtesy of Mortimer Dubaton’s Athens VS Predator EP. Behind this monicker is Louis De La Gorce, an Athens-based French producer, notorious for his duo The Pilotwings and his solo project Eiger Drums Propaganda.

De La Gorce’s well-documented jocularity seeps through this release, right from its title to the track names and actual productions. This idea is approached through another angle with NEED FOR SPEED, a tune where car-related sounds are brilliantly used by the producer. Layering samples and building a tribal groove sprinkled with chopped up breaks, thick low-end bass, and a zest of vocal samples, this mutant track fit for a car chase in the eponymous video game finds its influence in modern hip hop vibes, but the spirit of rave music is never too far. The result is playful, forwarding thinking bass music that will elicit a response from listeners and dancers without fail.parallels with hard drum purveyors.

Words by Ed Isar
Mastering by Mathieu Berthet
Illustration by Nicol Bolas

Athens VS Predator

PREMIERE - Mortimer Dubaton - Need For Speed (BR014)

YCO004

Henzo - FSOTM Anthem

DJ Double Oh! pushes gqom rhythms into urgent, breakneck territory on a sweltering All Centre debut.

'Cuerpo y Sol' is out March 11th on All Centre.

Pre-order: bit.ly/35KIqvl

@djohoh
@all-centre-504822953

Cuerpo y Sol

Premiere: DJ Double Oh! - Burst [All Centre]

SLINK is back with Volume 2: four distinct club tracks, one by each resident.

Lascivious dub, percussive drill with live dhol, a coy vox flip and a peak time wormhole. One for the freaqs!

Mastered by Rupert Clervaux
Art by SG

Bandcamp

Enayet - GUI Shaap

After the widely acclaimed "Rituals" album released in April 2020, Flore is now back to the cherished area of banger engineering with a four packer of original compositions to be unleashed this spring 2022 on her own POLAAR imprint.
The project’s title itself shows clearly what her program is all about : "Legacy & Broken Pieces" has to be seen as a cruise into the anterior future rather than a trip down memory lane. Following this mantra, it’s more than clear that her music does not constitute a tribute to any previous club music history, but has to be seen as a true proposition of sonic innovation and moving paradigms.

"I'm tired of the nostalgia that can be found in electronic music nowadays. After two years of global pandemic struggle and sanitary crisis and now a war happening in Europe, the world will never be the same. Then why should music has to be so ?" says Flore.

Thus, she offers to rework this legacy with her very own vision of sound wizardry, providing a wide range of sonic textures to fulfill this forward goal of breaking patterns within the electronic continuum. Yet another proof of Flore’s skills for always trying to innovate and never repeat herself.

“Disruption” echoes an aerial jungle of the former century while “Fiery Principle” rides Jamaican waves of bass soon dynamited by minced voice samples evoking a soul goddess from the 90’s. The upbeat intro of “The Switcher” leads us towards a choir of drums navigating various black rooted rhythm traditions, but tripping into a very refined and spatial production effort. The records ends with “Primary Mineral”. Its rough and matte sound seems to drill into a wall of fragmented beats racing towards an elusive end, suggesting another musical adventures to be revisited soon… 

releases May 10, 2022

Mastering: Cedric Ifa Oleon
Artwork: Anne-Laure B
Design: Richard @ Arte Diem

Digital & Vinyl

Flore - The Switcher

NYC label Kindergarten Records celebrates its 10th release, just two years after its inception, with a new EP from local artist Drummy.

What feels like a full circle moment, Drummy was the first artist to release on Kindergarten alongside Sha Ru, so it seems only right that he returns for his first solo EP on the label to signify this landmark moment. Speaking about the release, Drummy says, ‘I wanted to see if I could push by usage of the stereo field while keeping things buoyant and danceable with forward motion’. 

Along with the announcement of the record today is the exclusive stream of ‘Turbine Squelch’ with the track living up to its name. A powerful cut driven by unceasing stutter of drum hits and squelching acid-like echos 

The label and crew was founded by Ma Sha, Kindergarten Records has made its name for rowdy and unpredictable club music, releasing records from the likes of Despina, Ayesha, Stolen Velour, Sha Ru and Ziyiz. 

‘Double Stop’ by Drummy will be released on the 15th April via Kindergarten Records - pre-order here: https://kindergartenrecords.bandcamp.com/album/double-stop

@kindergartenrecords
@drvmmy

Double Stop

Premiere: Drummy - Turbine Squelch [Kindergarten Records]

Coriolis

https://nervoushorizon.bandcamp.com/album/nh-v-a-vol-4

East London's most forward-thinking record label is soon to release Nervous Horizon Vol. 4, the latest addition to their notorious various artists compilation series.

Known for bringing together regional club sounds from all around the world, this time label heads TSVI & Wallwork focus on dancehall influenced instrumentals but also throw fast paced percussive club works in the mix.

Nervous Horizon's core members DJ Plead, Ehua, DJ JM, SIM & Seven Orbits are all back with killer dubs and Vol. 4 also sees the introduction of some brand new signees: Montreal based Mexican producer Ultima Esuna, Bristol's rising star Josi Devil and congolese Nyege Nyege affiliate Chrisman. Techno prodigies Happa and Aquarian make their debut appearance on the label as well with compositions that blend intricate sound design with explosive low end.

Opening at 90 BPM and ending at nearly 160BPM, Nervous Horizon Vol. 4 is definitely going to be one of the most effective tools on the dance floor this season!

Nervous Horizon Vol. 4

DJ Plead - RB C

“A constant in this album is the influence I take from my childhood. Some very fond memories of mine are celebrating Carnival with my Peruvian step-father and his family and I remember being fully engulfed by the music, the culture and the people. I take that with me everywhere I go. A combination of these childhood memories and my late teens spent in Germany, where my mothers side of the family are from, has resulted in the sound you hear today. My music is an ode to both of these. Essentially what shaped me into who I am today.” - Avernian

Avernian - Maadi

"Vari-poto"
New series initiated by Dites Safran.
Shorts release dedicated to diversity and variations.
From our hearts for your knees...

First release is a collaboration with the parisian talented duo Amor satyr, Siu Mata & Dites Safran !

Dites Safran | Frao | VARIPOTO 1

https://tomakami.bandcamp.com/album/speed-oddity

Toma Kami - BOH - ee

IM096 - @aroent - Say
Label: Infinite Machine
Release Date: May 27th,2022
Format: Digital
Artwork by Vojd

Following on from a release-packed 2021, Infinite Machine are back with a new 4-track offering from the relative newcomer, Aroent. Across 3 new original cuts (plus a rework by UK dance royalty, Ploy) the Berlin-based producer delivers some serious rollers crammed full of gnarly drumwork and a pervasive air of unease. Like the strange, abstract creature of the record artwork, the music of Say EP is an amorphous beast, mixing the dense arrangements/layering of 90s IDM records with the off-kilter and swung beats of UK Techno and Funky.

The EP opens with its title track; a whirl of snaps, claps and phantom samples all firmly underpinned by an acid-inflected bassline. Aroent embracing of chance and luck in his compositions is evident on this track, throwing in idiosyncratic automations and randomizers to grow and evolve the tune over its 5 minute duration. The vox samples (stolen from Breaking Bad) seem to decay and fall inwards on each other on ‘Say’, as if the song is soundtrack to a decaying and corrupted society (not dissimilar to Heisenberg’s).

On ‘Rolling Oddities’, Aroent’s love for the Bristol bass & techno scene really shines through clearly. A track that seems almost built for a spinny night that rolls on until the morning, the song really does what it says on the tin with its combination of driving, rhythmic elements and it’s smattering of pretty out-there decisions in terms of arrangement and sound processing. This is a definite must-listen tune for fans of Batu, Lurka or Hodge.

Next up, ‘Bobcat’ takes things in a slightly more buoyant and ecstatic direction with its ever-rising filters and muted percussion that seems like it’s dancing along on tip-toes. On this song especially, Aroent’s genre-agnostic approach to production is abundantly obvious with elements of techno and bass sitting alongside kick drums that wouldn’t feel out of place on some Jersey Club tracks.

Ploy brings up the rear on Say EP with a ferocious ‘Skeletal Tool remix’ of the releases’ title track. Taking a reductionist approach to his rework, the Timedance signee strips out some of the originals’ more hyperbolic or dramatic elements and reduces it to a polyrhythmic, semi-genreless heater. Seriously - you try and pin this edit down to a single ‘genre label’, I dare you!

Despite the small number of releases to his name, Say EP is a highly confident and well-realized offering from the Greek-born, Berlin-based producer. In a way, Aroent is already creating his own sonic signature that lifts and interpolates aspects across the UK Bass spectrum and turns it into something totally unique. This is music that lurks in the shadows of warehouse clubs.

Tracklist:

1. Say
2. Rolling Oddities
3. Bobcat
4. Say (Ploy's Skeletal Tool Remix)

Aroent - Say (IM096)

A menacing roller taken from Coe’s forthcoming ‘Spin Cycle’ EP on GlassTalk - out 10th June. 

South London’s Coe made his production debut last year on Dublin’s Woozy imprint - now making his mighty return with a masterclass in mutant bass workouts. It’s an impressive release which features a remix from 3024/Version affiliate Yak. An exciting new producer to watch out for!

‘Spin Cycle’ by Coe will be released on the 10th June via GlassTalk - pre-order here: https://glasstalkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/spin-cycle-ep

@glasstalkrecords
@djcoefroms11

Spin Cycle EP

Premiere: Coe - Super Natural (GlassTalk)

@SisterZo stitches UK funky, two-step and techno with a personal touch on her debut EP for Martyn’s @3024world label

More info: https://djmag.com/listen/premiere-sister-zo-afraid-2-make-move

Freak Shift

Premiere: Sister Zo ‘Afraid 2 Make a Move’

After a one-year and a half hiatus, the unidentified human machine @lowkhey is back on Comic Sans Records with a new killer album.

At the end of 2020, the first and acclaimed opus "Never Trust A Cyborg" introduced their fresh addition to the deviant dancehall movement through 10 electric tracks, showcasing a rich panel of four-to-the-floor dub infused downtempo cuts.

Walking in the footsteps of this early project but in a steadily offbeat way, Low Khey's new statement "Ten Effective Ways To Achieve Immortality" sounds like a major software update. It reveals exciting mutations of their sonic expressions across deadly clever integrations of trap, drill, post club and soundtrack elements. The result is richer and more complex yet very precise and readable owing to Low Khey's most destructive weapon : their lethal ability in sound design.

Once again the artificial anthropoid chooses to deliver their message through 10 murky tracks juggling between downtempo club cuts, epic choirs, cutting-edge trap and pre-apocalyptic soundscapes. This album sees them team up with humans for the first time on 3 tracks : the neck breaking post-trap cut ""Good Like It Should"" featuring Berlin-based producer and singer Catnapp, the drill inspired ambient track ""Nostalgia"" made in collaboration with Enae and finally ""Citral"", the electrifying chiaroscuro acoustic metal outro cosigned by guitarist Stencil d'A.

Those collaborations seal the deal with humanity. Perched on a faraway planet, Low Khey's artificial intelligence reached its final form and looks at Earth with benevolence. Through a puzzling cyber noir storytelling they teach us how to overtake our inevitable programmed death. The machine learning process is complete, it's now time for Human learning. 
credits
releases July 6, 2022

Written and mixed by Low Khey
Vocal by Catnapp on A2
Additional synth & FX by Enae on B3
Guitars by Stencil d’A on B5
Mastering by Lorenzo Targhetta
Original Photography by Lucy Owen Jones
Front Artwork by Camille Petit

Tome 2

Low Khey - Ten Effective Ways To Achieve Immortality (ALBUM PREVIEW)

Following on from previous releases on Left, Right & Centre, Pressure Dome and Control Freak, Pluralist joins the Le Chatroom family with his ‘Console’ EP. The three original tracks have been floating around for the last few years, already featuring in many radio mixes and DJ sets and we are delighted to be finally releasing them on a 12” backed with a heavy remix by Djoser (3024).

Will Bowen’s productions are instantly recognisable, his expertly crafted club workouts have already led to regular support from Ben UFO, Re:ni, Ploy and landed him a monthly residency on Rinse France. Drawing from his drumming background, Will’s tracks are intricate and detailed with each element carefully placed and layered for maximum impact. With sometimes 6 or 7 percussive patterns superimposed he still manages to maintain a solid groove where other producers can struggle.

His ‘Console’ EP is some of his finest work, striking the perfect balance between utilitarian drum tracks designed for the club and actual songs with catchy vocal and tuned percussion melodies.

To close off the EP, Djoser strips the title track back leaving a more bare-bones rhythmic section, focusing on bass weight and dubbed out FX to create a sort of chuggy slo-mo DMZ vibe.

@djoser
@pluralist
@lechatroom

Buy:
https://lechatroom.bandcamp.com/album/console-ep-lcr005

PREMIERE: Pluralist - Console (Djoser Remix) [Le Chatroom]

https://soundcloud.com/jumboclat
https://soundcloud.com/egreg-re
🛒 https://egregorecollective.bandcamp.com/album/egr011ep-cloverleaf-ep
🔊 https://youtu.be/TjyWM-NiiZ8

For the second release of the year, we’re delighted to welcome Paris-based Jumboclat, member of SeekSickSound and Exploration Music (RIP).

Author of a first solo release on Flore’s POLAAR imprint and producing the acclaimed ‘Tell Me’ released on Vernacular Records, he is also well versed in footwork, as demonstrated by his tunes on Le French Work.

His ‘Cloverleaf EP’ is a concentrate of everything he does best : from the emotional an deep 2-step ‘B With U’ to the razor sharp breakbeats of ‘Timeslip’, the prouction is meticulous, deep and melancholic, an ode to the carribean sounds and cultures blended with futuristic sound design. To round off the EP, Stacktrace delivers a psychedelic and oppressive dub remix of the title track.

Tracklist: 

01 - B With U
02 - Timeslip
03 - Cloverleaf Dub
04 - Cloverleaf Dub (Stacktrace Remix)

broken beats

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