What would you do if you ruled the world?
Daft question… Unless you’re called Emperor.
With a big name, and even bigger sounds to back it up, world domination is highly feasible for this young Halifax-based producer. The latest stage in this domination is his first full EP for Critical. Entitled Begin, it’s his most comprehensive offering to date. We called him up to find out more. And, yes, to find out what he’s going to do when he eventually rules this planet of ours…
It’s a big day for a lot of dance music fans…
A day that’s been tentatively salivated about since the first teases trickled out from Nile Rodgers’ blog last summer.
A day that’s been so heavily PR’d since January, the album really ought to come with a free bar of gold if it’s going to live up to the industrial strength hype.
Daft Punk: An act so universally loved and massively influential that even in our D&B bubble we’ve been affected by the recent hype. Leaked last week, now officially available, their HUGELY anticipated album Random Access Memories has generated more online opinion than any general election, FA Cup final and Lady Gaga outfit put together. So here’s our tuppence worth:
NEEDS MORE D&B!
Not just Random Access Memories but we reckon the whole Daft Punk back catalogue could do with some 170BPM beef. In fact, as far as we can tell, they’ve never commissioned an official D&B remix.
So we’ve done some digging and unearthed the very best Daft Punk drum & bass overhauls. Seven to be precise. From household names to young pretenders who’ve bagged their first cracked copy of FL Studio, there are heaps of remakes out there. Some are pretty stunning. Others, less so…
So sit back, enjoy the best of the massively unofficial Daft Punk D&B crop and imagine what life would be like if they’d invited Dillinja or Ed Rush & Optical to the studio to co-lab on Random Access Memories instead of Nile Rodgers.
BUT BEFORE YOU DO… Don’t forget there are other albums out this week. Equally, if not more, massive albums in our opinion. Here are three of the best:
Get Lucky – TC Remix
Kicking off with the freshest re-rub going courtesy of TC. Warning: contains traces of Zane Lowe.
One More Time – Cyantific Remix
Who can deny One More Time’s massive disco hook? In a word: rampant.
Something About Us – 95 Royale Remix
Largely recognised as one of Daft Punk’s most beautiful, touching moments, 95 Royale have upped the tempo while maintaining most of the soul. Nice work.
Harder Better Faster Stronger – Drumsound & Bassline Smith Remix
An epic overhaul from the unstoppable Drumsound & Bassline Smith. This lives up to its name in every way. Just listen to those weighty kickdrums on the drop!
Aerodynamic – Specimen A and James D’Ley Re-fix
Drumstep alert! Air guitar alert! Banger alert!
Derrezed – Outsource Remix
Taken from their Tron OST, what starts off as an electro number soon turns into a dramatically dark roller.
Harder Better Faster Stronger – Dexcell Remix
Dexcell seem to run a fine line in bootlegs. This is one of their earliest. Funkier than Drumsound & Bassline Smith’s. But nowhere near as heavy.
One More Time – Stare Remix
A popular Daft Punk tune in bootleg land, Stare stretches out the groove for a seven-plus minute adventure of unashamed D&B fun.
Fade hails from the Ukraine and his work so far has culminated in the dazzling debut album Song Of The Stars. It’s like taking a ride through the clustered and varied backstreets of some stellar new city, and will be up there with many choice picks of 2013. Let’s see how the year has treated him thus far…
Interview: Damian B
“I think 2013 is huge year for me,” he says. “A lot of things have happened. First of all I finally finished my debut album and it’s out on my own imprint Faded Music. Also, there is lot of great music coming in near future, some interesting collabs and solo works. Generally I am happy how things are going.” Continue reading
Introducing Terabyte Records, a grassroots start-up with a penchant for the dark, techy vibes. Their latest release – Neumax’s Ancient Ritual / Singleness – comes our way this week and they’ve thrown in an exclusive label showcase mix for good measure. We sent the label co-founder Auzi a whole load of questions to find out more… Continue reading
Heard the one about the ‘difficult’ second album?
Perhaps music’s most lauded cliché: a talented creative artist invests a lifetime of influence and inspiration into their debut, it enjoys critical and commercial success yet leaves them plundering a dry tank of ideas and themes for their second long player.
Luckily it is just a cliché. For every artist who struggles on their second LP, another one surges forth with a refreshed mindset, fine-tuned from lessons learned on the debut process, focused on delivering something even more tantalising. Alix Perez definitely falls into the latter set, as you’ll find out next week when he unleashes Chroma Chords. A startling, hyper-polished lesson in raw sonic experimentation, an easy way to herald its arrival would be to say it “takes off where Alix left us on 1984”. But that’s another cliché altogether. Continue reading
This is how Drum&BassArena’s positive vibes features go down…
We call up an artist. We have a little chat. We ask them for three tunes that make them smile. They tell us the three tunes. We turn the whole thing into a cheeky little feature that sheds light on the artist’s inspirations and motivations
Them’s the positive vibes rules. But as you know, rules are made to be broken. And Bryan Gee’s current mindset hasn’t just broken the rules, it’s bust them up beyond belief.
Here’s the thing: Bryan Gee is BUZZING anyway. Continue reading
It might be a Monday.
You might be feeling the pinch of another fine weekend.
The idea of another weekend in your raving shoes might seem too far away to even contemplate.
But trust us… Next Saturday will be on us before we know it. And boy have we got a strong contender for your weekend party choice.
This Saturday, May 18, Circa return to Hidden, London with an Ingredients Records showcase. And the line-up is very, very special indeed. Continue reading
The D&B world stood still in shock earlier this year as Chris Octane and Jay DLR announced their split. With a killer album and huge reputation under their belt, no one saw it coming. Well, no one bar Chris and Jay themselves.
DLR told us all about it ages ago. Now it’s time to catch up with Octane. His new label CORE is the platform for a totally different breed of Octane beats. The debut – Synthetic/Gaia’s Dub – came out last week. And, let’s just say his studio experiments have resulted in some of the deepest and cosmic inspirations you’ll ever read on a music blog… Continue reading
Japanese poke tattoos, painters and the endless fight against mediocrity. All in a day’s work for D&B’s mystery man Hibea. He’s just dropped this brutal old skool-nodding slammer White Owl on IM:LTD…
Damian B called up the sleepy Ukrainian town of Vinnitsa and demanded to speak to him straight away…
Hibea: Hello there Damian.
Hello. What is new for the 2013 since we last spoke, sir?
As before, I try to make music but not as a product. I patiently let the music show itself at its best. That is why I cannot provide you with a larger number of releases, but I hope that the pieces I make, will get nothing but positive feedback, and will not allow me to get lost in mediocrity.
Which labels are you aligned with?
I’m still on friendly terms with the label IM:LTD and Caine,and it is the reason of my recent releases came out right from these guys. I’m happy to say White Owl received great feedback and support from many of the biggest world DJs.
What music in any genre are you into right now?
At the moment I’m trying not to stick on any specific styles. I prefer to let the music find me.
Okay… are you passionate about D&B and its current form right now?
D&B’s going through a very interesting period. For all the power of modern technology, many people are trying to produce a quite simple and light sound which is very comparable to the sound of the old school. This is good news for me personally, ha ha!
What names are you watching?
Nowadays I really like the different sound mixed with old-school sound. such as Dub Phizix Happy 5 and Nitri Quintana
Last time we spoke you said you weren’t connected to the Ukrainian scene… maybe it’s a geographical one? Some think you ARE part of it.
Yes. Unfortunately I am still far from the Ukrainian scene. On the one hand it is good because it does not allow me to fall under its influence. But in the near future I want to change that, and personally please all fans of D&B with my stuff. So hurry up. I’m available for world booking!
You get up to much outside of D&B?
I have many hobbies. I love to paint. I am an active airsoft player. I’m also a Japanese hand poke tattoo master. You have some interesting and unusual things to do? Bring it.
Hold up. What’s the interest in Japanese tattooing about?
Well this is quite rare form of tattooing and is mainly used in Japan. I’m a fan of this type of tattoo because the application process is very interesting and looks like a trance. Such a tattoo can take several weeks to years, and requires perseverance and concentration. It is quite different to emotional work of a musician.
And with visual arts… What do you like?
I’m working with 3D graphics, but also love painting in oil or otherwise. In regard to painters, what can I say? Munch? Rothko? Van Gogh? In regard to photography it would be people like Lee Jeffries.
White Owl is out now. Listen and download.
Last August we introduced you to Gloucester reggae ranger Jamie Irie and his then-emerging imprint Saysell Music. In the nine months that have passed he’s smashed every dance he’s been invited to, he’s recorded the theme tune for Marvellous Caine’s Yardrock brand and commissioned some of the most hair-raising, soul-stirring reggae D&B you’ll hear this summer.
This week see the release of his label’s third, and largest, selection. The Sensimillionaire Riddim Remixes is bulging with Jamaican heritage. A firing line-up of Aries specials, boasting the original stems from the House Of Riddim band and toasting talents of key soundsystem smashers such as Daddy Freddy, Carlton Livingstone, Zareb, Jah Mason and Pad Anthony, it’s an essential release for those who love their roots as much as the rave-ups.
Don’t take our word for it, though. Here’s Aries’ own minimix of the release… Continue reading
