Great development sweet melody without being saccharine

Twisting junglisms into irregular shapes since 2017, Manchester’s pride and joy Alex Lowther-Harris brings Thugwidow to Sneaker Social for a ruff yet refreshing ride through the rave. No doubt his skin in the game reaches back further than his first recorded output, but just trying to get a handle on his released catalogue is work enough. In 2019 alone he released no less than six albums and three EPs, laying down immense slabs of material on tapes as much as wax. As well as coursing through the dense undergrowth of the cassette scene, his 12”s have appeared on labels like Western Lore, Warehouse Rave and Astral Black, and he’s collaborated with Dead Man’s Chest and Bruised Skies.

Make no mistake, this is hardcore-rooted music, but it feels closer in spirit to that ill-defined period before scenes became delineated and tribal. All the ingredients are there, but Lowther-Harris teases them, fires them off at funny angles or flips them on their head. ‘Post Modern Assault Ethics’ maintains a sparse, restrained demeanour throughout even as the diva vocal slices ping endlessly through the mix and the bass wobbles away underneath. ‘Invisible Shell Of Energy’ juggles lesser-spotted breaks through a cloud of downcast pads, only to trip over and open the filter up on the loose and funky bassline at the final stretch. ‘The Sacrifice’ turns the break damage up, but keeps the moody vibe front and centre, and ‘The Voices Beneath The Earth’ wraps things up with a heavy-hearted belter that runs the risk of achieving anthemic status. 

For all the snappy programming, crisp edits and artful low end, it’s the pervading sense of emotional depth which makes Thugwidow such a powerful presence in the contemporary jungle scene. Pairing those all-consuming moods with his non-standard structures, you’ve got exactly the kind of renegade we love to carry here at Sneaker.

THUGWIDOW - Post Modern Assault Ethics

Two titans in UK breakbeat culture, Loxy & Ink were both present at the inception of the birth of UK dance music and continue to be torchbearers. After having pushed and shaped the outer edges of drum ‘n bass at the likes of Metalheadz and Renegade Hardware, they went on to found their own Architecture and Cyclon labels; having reached the heights of their potential for free play and daring, authentic expression, it’s only natural that they’re furthering their mission at R&S Records. With ‘Manifested Visions’ the duo does exactly what the title suggests; transcending the boundaries of genre, roots dub meets hip hop and in-your-face drum and bass to create a track that will make you submit, revel, rave and float.

Manifested Visions

Loxy & Ink - Manifested Visions

Peak

“With “Surface To Air” b/w “Gangstalking”, Blood Trust follows up his debut releases on CNVX and 3024 with the Digital Red Label series, further staking out his own precise vision of Drum n Bass futurism. 

“Surface to Air” opens with a cold rush of tension, grounded by stepping percussion and a bassline threaded through open space. Relentless pressure mounts with flashes of breaks and flatlined Reeses, dissonance eased only by the acquisition of new targets. 

“Gangstalking” follows with highly-focused pressure, encompassing cut by jagged kicks and scattered rims. As an acidic figure snakes its way through the mix, Blood Trust reaffirms the forgotten possibilities of techstep’s dread and imagines an alternate timeline, one built off the wreckage of the past but with the possibilities of the future.
Please standby for further communications from the Digital Red Label Series.”

Text: Brandon Ivers  
Art & Design: Emery Carr
Mastering: Kevin McPhee at East End Mastering

Surface To Air EP

Gangstalking

Great Stuff

Undesignated Remixes

Electryon (Wisp Remix)

Prolific producer Thugwidow, bestows his richly coloured and often renegade take on jungle and contemporary hardcore upon Badlands with Archetypical. Expertly crafting four crystalline cuts of thought-provoking and anthemic music that showcase his off-kilter structures, razor-sharp production and unpredictability to the max.

Having previously released with the likes of Western Lore, Astral Black, Sneaker Social Club and many more, Archetypical sees Thugwidow in a different headspace, crossing a threshold into unmapped territory as he toys with the listener's primal emotions. Delivering four pieces of rolling jungle euphoria, each one rich in melody, drenched in hypnotic vocals and powered from within by unshakeable programming and shape-shifting low end. 

Archetypical is yet another perfectly positioned marker in the ever-evolving Badlands catalogue.

A1. All Out Of Luck Son
A2. Archetypical
B1. Opportunity Knocks
B2. Whale Song

Thugwidow: https://soundcloud.com/thugwidow

Archetypical

BAD003 // Thugwidow - Archetypical

a small little bootleg I did for one of my favourite tracks from the queen of pop

free dl 🎧

Rosalía - La Combi Versace (Woven Remix)

Taken from the forthcoming EP 'BUNIT004' / Release date: 11th May 2018

Tracklist:
A1. Shut The Window
A2. Self Triggered
B1.  Never Been To Berghain
B2. No Chairs

Pre-Order

Om Unit & Sam Binga - Never Been To Berghain

I'm uploading this tune just to remind ya'll that it aint doom and gloom, that actually if you stop reading the newspaper and shite on the internet and talk to the people immediately around you, your friends, your neighbors, your family, the people you can actually have an impact on you'll be a lot happier. Theres some stuff you can actually have an impact on, you can actually make your immediate world better, so listen to this stupid fucking song i made, sit in the sun with some friends and chill out and have a nice summer. :)

THUGWIDOW - Happy Waves Of Happyness

BUY >>> http://bit.ly/APHA020

dgoHn - dgoHn EP
A1. Sporks
A2. Dolorous Dick'ead
AA1. Acacia Road
AA2. Lost and Found
APHA020
Ltd Edition 12” Vinyl & Download Released: 06/12/2019

Astrophonica welcomes veteran producer dgoHn to the family. Through releasing music over the past decade, dgoHn aka John Cunnane has acquired a cult following and gained DJ support from figure heads like Thom Yorke, Tom Ravenscroft and Aphex Twin.
2009 saw Rephlex Records release his collaborative album ‘Some Shit Saaink’ with fellow drumcunt Macc. Sitting somewhere between Jungle, Drumfunk, Experimental Jazz and brutal sub bass, dgoHn’s music is intense in both mania and serenity.

“dgoHn has long since been one of my favourite producers in the left-field jungle or ‘drumfunk’ world. He has a knack of applying brain melting beat science without ever interrupting the groove and rhythm of the track. It’s something that few people can do, and he seems to effortlessly. There’s also a certain sadness and melancholy to his chords and fleeting melodies, which creates a beautiful contrast to the frantic drum madness. Amongst all this, there is a lot of bass, real Jungle bass, that anchors but also adds the ‘sound system’ edge to the mix, resulting in something very unique.” - Fracture

‘Sporks’ takes the 160bpm half time tempo that has become synonymous with the label and throttles full speed into a driving bongo led rush of euphoric pads and deadly sub bass. Have you ever danced with a murderer?

‘Dolorous Dick’ead’ is an explosion of paradoxical emotions where hyperenergetic Jungle breaks and introverted chords meet to create an intense journey through a tape saturated landscape.

‘Acacia Road’ continues the modern 160bpm theme, but diverts into a trance like state with meditative pads and metronome-like poly rhythmic percussion as familiar breaks are elevated towards enlightenment.

In ‘Lost and Found’, a wonderfully crusty break is slowly polished by wistful pads to wipe away the tears before the Amen edits are slowly uncovered to reveal a hidden shiny metallic underlay. Blinding.

THUGWIDOW - Happy Waves Of Happyness

THUGWIDOW

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