Liquid Liquid – Optimo

Another weekend and yet another music festival comes upon the Labs collective. This time a Sunday all day number beckons in the shape of the Electric Frog Festival. Looking at the line up, one act sticks out as having the ability to deliver the Friday classic…..Liquid Liquid.

Liquid Liquid were formed in the post-punk underground of NY in 1980. Since then they have had an extraordinary influence on contemporary dance music for more than 20 years. From the beginnings of hip-hop, to the nascent dance scenes in Detroit and Chicago in the mid 80′s right up to the present day, the influence of Liquid Liquid’s sparse, funk and reggae influence grooves can still be heard in clubs and dance productions all over the globe.

Liquid Liquid – Optimo

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Decimal – Return of the Jam

US producer Decimal unleashes his third release on Glasgow’s Soma towards the end of August in the shape of “Forgotten Requiem”. The lead track is a quality chunk of tech house but tucked away as the 3rd track on the release is this cracker.

Taking what seems to be a straightforward house number, throwing in a touch of good ol’ double bass, the odd ravey stab and some piano goodness and you get “Return of the Jam” – quality good time tunage!

Decimal – Return of the Jam

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Le Castle Vania – Nobody Gets Out Alive (Noisia rmx)

This track featured on our Experiment 5 for Radio Magnetic show and also my Beardism Vol.2 mix recently and I’ve received quite a few emails asking about it.

The remix is now available as part of the remix pack that also includes reworks from Rynecologist, 12th Planet & Flinch and Rrrump. It’s the Noisia remix that you’ll be reaching for however. Big main room breaks are the order of the day here – packed to the brim with monstrous sub bass and epic synth work a-plenty.

Available now at Beatport through Always Never Records.

Le Castle Vania – Nobody Gets Out Alive (Noisia rmx)

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Le Castle Vania’s site is also packed with free downloads galore so head on over there and fill ya boots.

Ill Blu – Bellion/ Dragon Pop EP

The much anticipated new release from Ill Blu has hit the streets out now on the ever quality Hyperdub imprint. The double A side provides congo driven afro beat rhythms on “Dragon Pop” while “Bellion” is on the funkier side on the street and more orientated to the dance floor. Pick this up not at Boomkat.

Ill Blu – Bellion

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FaltyDL – My Friends Will Always Say

FaltyDL’s been impressing us of late with some brilliant remixes lately and his new 12″ for Planet Mu is some of his best work to date. The three track release captures the spirit of classic garage and coats it in a 2010 flavour, with the third track on the release being the stand out for me.

“My Friends Will Always Say” utilises a brilliant smokey vocal and wraps it in spacey pads and skippy garagey beats to deliver a 4AM gem.

Available now at Boomkat.

FaltyDL – My Friends Will Always Say

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The Qemists – Hurt Less (Hot City remix) – free download

London’s Hot City have been getting quite a lot of well deserved coverage of late and this crackin remix of the new Qemists’ single is sure to bring some more ears their way. Taking Jenna G’s quality vocal from the original and sprinkling it over a big ol’ chunk of garagey goodness this has summer written all over it.

Available now as a taster for The Qemists’ forthcoming second album on Ninja Tune and with more remixes from Riskotheque and My Digital Enemy.

The Qemists – Hurt Less (Hot City’s Mega Vocal Bang)

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They’ve kindly given this away for free download in exchange for one shiney email address:

Aeroplane Dope – Dope on Plastic

Leicester based producer Aeroplane Dope first made his mark with the brilliant “Scraping The Grinder” LP for EightFX. The album was a mish mash of top quality dubstep and reggae influenced sounds and showcased a young producer with a talent way beyond his years.

Now he’s taken matters into his own hands and decided to launch his own label – Plain Dope. The first release is a 3 tracker set to land on the 14th of August and lead track “Dope on Plastic” is the one for us. It’s top quality dubstep bizness with a sprinkling of 8-bit magic on top and it’s sure to launch the label with a bang.

Dope On Plastic by Aeroplane Dope

2400 Operator – Footsteps

2400 Operator is the new project from Danish producers Troels Knudsen and Daniel Savi. Knudsen has built up an impressive back catalogue of techno influenced drum n bass as Pyro and recently launched himself into the world of tech house with a brilliant EP for Shadybrain. Savi is one of the country’s top DJ’s and promotes for the huge Copenhagen club Dunkel and together the create a rather nice noise, taking in techno, house, acid and a few other bits and bobs.

Their debut EP for US label Underground Quality is available now and this track was the pick of the bunch for me, dipping it’s toes in classic detroit techno and coating it in 2010 tech house flavour, it’s a bit of a 5AM rumbler, perfect for finishing off the evening or starting one off on the right foot. Keep an eye out for these guys, with more top quality releases lined up they’re sure to be a name you’ll be hearing a lot more of.

2400 Operator – Footsteps

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They’ve also put together this cracker of a mix to give you more of an idea of where they’re coming from, stream below or download for portable listening:

The RAW Tapes – 2400 Operator by 2400 Operator

Tracklisting:

Los Hermanos – The birth of 3000 (Los Hermanos)
I.F.M. – Yes we are – Bonus deep mix – Drumpoet Community
2400 Operator – Cheatin (Underground Quality)
Daniel Bell – The wild life (Logistic)
Jus-ed – Shit (Underground Quality)
James Braun – For the forsaken (?)
2400 Operator – Sacred ground (Underground Quality)
Salvatore Freda – Irpinia – Massimo Di Lena remix – Freerange
Motor City Drum Ensemble – Monorail (Faces)
Wax 10001 – B (Wax)
Missing Links – Who to call (Philpot)
Daniel Bell – Work that shit (Logistic)
2400 Operator – The world is (Underground Quality)
Jus-ed – Stimulate (Underground Quality)
Wax 30003 – B (Wax)
D5 – Floatation Tank (Delsin)
Detroit Grand Pubahs – Funk ya’ll Robert Hood’s funk u remix (DetEleFunk)
GummiHz – Freaky (Real Tone)
2400 Oerator – The feelin (Underground Quality)

Xample & Lomax – Link 2 The Past

With huge debut albums from Sub Focus and Chase & Status under their belt in the past year or so, it’s time for Ram to move onto their next star (or stars) in the making. Xample and Lomax have both built up impressive back catalogues individually and as a team, they present a force greater than the sum of it’s parts.

September sees the next sampler from their forthcoming debut album and it’s one of the biggest drum n bass tunes of the year so far. Using a fairly simple bassline and draping it over lush synth work and a polished break, it’s been doing serious damage on dancefloors worldwide over the past 6 months. The track takes a nice step back from the “everything up to 11″ style that’s worked so well for the other Ram artists and shows the duo are willing to walk their own path.

Xample & Lomax – Link 2 The Past

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Sunday Roast – Best of the Rest

After Cliff’s cracking Nut Roast last Sunday I’ve had to up my game a bit and I’m working on this rather tasty glazed rosemary roast beef badboy.

While I’m strugging with that, here’s some musical goodies to keep you going.

First up is a sunny slice of reggae goodness from Mayer Hawthorne. His “Maybe So, Maybe No” gets a skankin remix and he’s kindly given this away for free via his Facebook page, so hop on over and keep an eye out for any other goodies.

Mayer Hawthorne – Maybe So, Maybe No (Reggae mix)

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Next up we’ve got some cracking tech house goodness from Mark Broom. The first sampler for his forthcoming “Acid House” album on Saved arrived this week and this was my pick of the bunch.

Mark Broom – If You

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Last up we are dropping down into the micro sampled, show gazing world of Shigeto with his new tune “What We Held On To” available for free thanks to label titan Ghostly. You can get the rest of the EP free here. Sit back, relax and enjoy!!!

Shigeto – What We Held On To

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