-
Benny L & Shimon – Sharks
Serrated, sharp, and buzzing with a fun sample and heavy drop.
Released: 2018 | AudioPorn | Drum n’ Bass
Sharks begs for a powerful sound system to deliver the fullest depths of its truly chest-rattling bass. Though otherwise simple and straightforward, it packs a ton of fun in its minimal yet thunderously bold elements for a dancefloor-moving track.
Buy on Bandcamp
-
Ternion Sound – Yellow & Grey (VIP)
A crisp, fruity track that doesn’t skimp on the bass.
Released: 2019 | Duploc | Dubstep
Yellow & Grey (VIP) is a cheeky track with crisp and clean sound design. With a relatively chill and airy mood, it strains for some unusual high-range tones that stay grounded by a heavy, steadying undercurrent of bass. There are some fun “cackling” sound qualities in this track that give it a humorous attitude.
Buy on Bandcamp
-
Skream – 0800 Dub
A haunted, melodic track with a brutal sub-bass punch.
Released: 2006 | Tempa | Dubstep
0800 Dub is an absolutely haunted track. One could describe it as sharing the same sort of colorful aural palette of Skream’s earlier 2005 Midnight Request Line, touched with an eerie, despairing neurosis. With synths that come in unrelenting waves and a near-suffocating sub-bass, this track has a seriously heavy and evil vibe.
Buy on Beatport
-
Skream – I (Loefah Remix)
A sharp remix that retains the coldly minimal and alienated tone of the original.
Released: 2006 | Tempa | Dubstep
Loefah’s remix remains definitively faithful to the original I, primarily serving to bring some of the fuzzier, grainy elements into a sharp, confrontational relief. I (Loefah Remix) is downright mournful: a hopeless, echoey cry weighed with bass and inescapable gravity in an alienated, desolate aural landscape.
Buy on Beatport
-
Skream – Blipstream
Darkly jazzy; a noirish, wobbly slow-stepper.
Released: 2006 | Tempa | Dubstep
God, I guess we’re just entering a section of respect for the man, the legend, the Skream.
A reverberant, dark, and atmospheric track, Blipstream is another great demonstration of Skream’s moody, influential sound design in the sphere of dubstep. Tinged with a peculiar undertone of mystery, it leans far into the wobblier side of dubstep: a mesmeric massage for the ears; a slow dance track for the club that is easy to nod along to.
Buy on Beatport
-
Skream – Midnight Request Line
Unadulterated dubstep; a melodic, moody genre-definer.
Released: 2005 | Tempa | Dubstep
“Bass. Trigger. Gunshots. Drop.”
A wobbly, moody, yet somehow playful track that evokes imagery of sleepless nights. The vibes on this one are dark, but never overwhelmingly so. To the admin, this classic track represents a pinnacle of dubstep: a slow, methodical, pared-down head-nodder.
“It’s a sound from London; dark, lonely and gloomy.”
– vinyl_beats_mp3, Discogs, Jul 23, 2010Buy on Beatport
-
DJ Hazard & D Minds – Mr Happy
The universal track to make the rave go absolutely berserk.
Released: 2007 | Playaz | Drum n’ Bass, Jump Up
If you went to a drum and bass festival and Mr Happy didn’t play, did you really go to a festival?
Released in 2007, Mr Happy has gone down in infamy as the jump up track that every drum and bass head knows, for better or for worse. Ridiculously obnoxious yet addictive, this song calls for turning off any semblance of rational thought in favor of screaming along with the tune:
“BA DA DA DA DA DA DA!”
Buy on Beatport
A textbook example of Mr Happy’s effect on a rave
(volume and strobing lights warning)
-
Cxldr3 – Diamond Waves
A smooth, retro-style track that’s pure monkey business.
Released: 2022 | Cxldr3 | Jungle, Breakbeat
Cxldr3 is shaping up to be one of my favorite indie producers this year. Inspired by Ape Escape, Diamond Waves starts as a bouncing track that segues into a smooth ride with creamy synths, occasionally punctuated with funky monkey audio stabs.
Buy on Bandcamp
-
Noisia – The Tide
A dark and vicious track that redefined a generation of drum and bass.
Released: 2005 | Vision Records | Drum n’ Bass, Neurofunk, Darkstep
What has begun can not be stopped…
Noisia’s quintessential, classic sound.
The Tide builds a dark, droning atmosphere that patiently lures listeners out to sea, before pulling them into an inescapable riptide current. What follows is track that plays like a dark, heavy, and utterly torrential percussive tempest. Near the halfway mark, listeners are offered a brief moment of reprieve in the eye of the storm, before being launched into snarling, unforgiving breaks once more.
There’s a lot to be said about the track that redefined a generation of neuro and darkstep sound, but the blithering fanboy in me can only say: Can you believe this shit came out in 2005?!
What has begun cannot be changed...
Buy at Vision Recordings
-
Coppa – Skanka (ft. Benny L)
A curiously reverent track with gritty waves of bass and nodding flow.
Released: 2018 | AudioPorn | Drum n’ Bass
Coppa’s vocals and Benny L’s production meet to create a sandblasted, gritty harmony. Sharp and grinding tones still make this track an absolute stinker, but there’s a venerating quality about the triangle wave sound and Coppa’s lyrics that makes Skanka feel reverential, insofar as loving.
Purchase options available here.