A very special Christmas edition of the Freeformaniacs show is almost here, with 12 DJs playing one massive set. The full lineup is looking awesome, and it all starts from 9am (GMT) on Krafty Radio. Best of luck to everyone involved – I’ll still be at work though, so hopefully the recording will eventually make an appearance.
Finnish
Substanced & Alchemiist – Skullcrush by FINRG Recordings
I recently heard that this tune was under construction, and the preview more than lives up to all expectations. Mixing Substanced’s production and melodies with Alchemiist’s nastiness, this tune has just about everything, including a ferocious DnB section that really adds a lot to the track. Then it’s back to the aggressive filters – what a great tune, and comfortably one of my favourites on the album so far.
Substanced & J-Mx – Flawless Victory by FINRG Recordings
Flawless Victory is another great sounding preview from Substanced’s upcoming artist album, When the World Collapses. Produced with J-Mx, it’s easy to hear his influence in the structure and excellent main breakdown.
Experience3 demomix by Le Dos-on
Many thanks to raqhow and Akibakei for introducing me to a very talented freeform producer, Le Dos-on. Quite how I’ve missed his work so far I’m not sure, but it shows all the signs of Betwixt & Between / Finnish influences and some amazingly crisp production. Particular favourites at the moment are INSANE and the very impressive For You (I’m Like Madness remix), and what’s more the tracks are all available for download from Le Dos-on’s SoundCloud.
The top of this post highlights his excellent demo set for Experience 3 – only 30 minutes long, but there’s some genuinely interesting mixing, and a selection that immediately gives you an idea of what he’s all about. Doing a great job of combining darker / older Alek Szahala with Hybridize sounds and the usually impossible-to-mix Lacrima, this is very highly recommended.
- Alek Szahala – Man Eaten
- Alek Szahala – Ngarnuuk
- Digital Anarchy vs Skampy & Mayhem – Illusions of Sound (Horzi & Meke remix)
- Substanced – Dream of You
- Horzi – Blind Faith
- DJ Rx – Lacrima
Now that the excellent first edition of Munted! Monthly! has been and gone, I’ve finally had time to check Alek Szahala’s recent HBC set. As expected, it’s top quality, and the new material is a wonderful return to the darker side of Alek’s production.
Enuma Elish is a fantastic track, with a repetitive-yet-addictive main riff and an aggressive feel that really recalls classics like Maruuk, while it’s also great finally hear both Macuahuitl and the beautiful Dawnstar in a set. By all accounts Alek devastated the Krafty chatroom, and it bodes very well indeed for his set next March.
01. Alek Szahala – Macuahuitl
02. Alek Szahala – Ziggurat
03. Alek Szahala – Astraia
04. Alek Szahala – Sunray
05. Alek Szahala – Dryad Machine
04. Alek Szahala – Deimos
06. Alek Szahala – Voices of Babylon
07. Alek Szahala – Enuma Elish
08. Alek Szahala – Maruuk
09. Alek Szahala – Iron Squid
10. Alek Szahala – Dawnstar (2008 Remastered)
11. Mark Seibert – Erana’s Peace (Alek Szahala Remake)
I’m more than happy to announce the arrival of another new Japanese DJ – this time it’s the turn of Nrgray, aka NRGetic Romancer staff member Akibakei. His first demo is a 30 minute minimix, but shows all the signs of a quality taste in tunes, plus some solid mixing. There’s a nice consistency to the sound, as well as some Japanese-Finnish action, so I’m looking forward to the first full length set.
1. Aryx – Aurora
2. Endemic Vs Solution – Outbreak (DJ Rx Remix)
3. DJ Noriken – Hologram
4. Substanced & Grimsoul – Harder Than U Think
5. DJ Rx – Frozen Flame
Epyx & Cyrez – Unohdetut 2011 Music Video from Trombit 2011 on Vimeo.
Amazing work here from Epyx, who has put together an awesome video to mark the upcoming release of Unohdetut 2012. The track itself is sounding great, and works really well with some nicely edited footage of the guys in the club and studio.
Announced earlier this week, Alek Szahala will play a set this evening on the Hard Beats Collective Show! Word is that there’ll be some new material to hear, but even if not chances to catch Alek’s Live PAs are few and far between, making it a must listen. It all starts at 10pm (GMT) on Krafty Radio – thanks to the time difference I’ll already be at work in Yokohama, so hopefully it’ll be recorded.
Preparation for Munted! Monthly! is slowly coming together, and so far I’ve been trying to put together a set reminiscent of Yamanote and the Monogatari mixes. Still plenty of work to do, but it’ll be starting at 175bpm with a few nice surprises, I hope…
Proteus – Get Fire! preview by Proteus Official
Almost a week since the last post, and as luck would have it quite a lot has happened lately. First of all, here’s what must be one of the tunes of the year – Proteus’ Get Fire! This is a truly fabulous track that brings back memories of old FINRG releases, while still keeping that modern Proteus feel. Check out the oldskool Carbon Based-style sounds towards the end of the preview…It’s already scheduled for release on Watchtower, the excellent new label that will be launching very soon. Stay tuned for more info!
Time for another energetic freeform session from Mr B, covering just about every angle of the scene. The first half will please the melodic crew, while the second half (from Operation Stardust) takes a welcome turn for the twisted with Unholy Word, Surendrajit and a nice contrast in Nephila.
The more familiar tunes haven’t shown up in recent sets, so even without many elaborate connections Minotaur makes for a really enjoyable hour or so – I’m sure I’ve said this before about Beezee’s sets, but this would a great one to hear in a club setting.
1. Grimsoul – Jaan Hautaamat (Oli G Remix)
2. Trancend – Mindglow
3. DJ RX – Code Of Silence (Sam One Remix)
4. Alabaster – Fluorite
5. Lost Soul – Tentacles Of Love
6. Andy Dee – Solas An Lae
7. Nightforce & Substanced – Operation Stardust
8. Alek Szahala – Unholy World
9. Betwixt & Between – Surendrajit (2011 Refix)
10. Aryx – Nephila
11. DJ Noriken – Moonlight Cluster