UK

Smiling Corpse Dead Happy Podcast 001

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 30, 2012
Posted in: Events, Finnish, Mixes, UK. Leave a Comment

Both sets from the first Smiling Corpse podcast are now online, and both are absolutely essential listens. Sadly I couldn’t make it for the event itself, but they’ve since been on permanent rotation during my endless commutes this week.

Olly Addictive and Wyrm got things off to a superb start with a really well selected set – nice and dark, there’s a good mix of old and new here, as well as some very interesting connections. Bonus points for Cheese in the Machine, the first time I’ve heard it in a set, and also for the quality tracks by Messrs Addictive and Wyrm themselves.

Substanced and Amini’s set, meanwhile, could be one of the very best of the year. Once again it’s incredible to hear the progress Amini’s made, and he’s now only slightly behind Substanced’s super-high-quality production. His tunes tend to be rougher these days too, so there’s a surprising amount of variety on show. Congratulations to Substanced and Alchemiist on Facemelt – it was the first time for me to hear this one, and it might be my favourite Substanced track of 2012. I’ve never used Rx’s toned-down version of Eternal Cannon in my own sets, but here it fits really well, and along with Morokai is an excellent choice to break things up.

Well done to the guys for a great first show – you’ll find links and full tracklists here.

Smiling Corpse Dead Happy Podcast 001, 10pm tonight (GMT) @kraftyradio.com

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 24, 2012
Posted in: Events, Finnish, UK. 2 comments

 

Just in time to mention Smiling Corpse’s very welcome new radio show/podcast, Dead Happy. Hosted by Olly Addictive and Wyrm, this first edition features a b2b session from the chaps themselves, and a deadly-looking combination of Substanced and Amini.

No doubt there’ll be the usual madness in the chatroom to enjoy too, so be sure to show some support and head along at 10pm GMT.

Wyrm – Freeformaniacs Radio Show, 1st November

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 24, 2012
Posted in: Australia, Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, UK. 1 comment

Not too sure how this passed me by until now, but having checked out Wyrm’s recent appearance on the Freeformaniacs show I can heartily recommend it for all fans of the darker side. A glance at the tracklist shows what sort of hour’s in store, including plenty of Pain on Creation, Aryx and a great Penguin Conspiracy remix of Wyrm’s own Tendrils of Reality. Indeed, there are some quality UK tracks here that fit very nicely into this set of twistiness, broken up with trancier melodies and an inspired finish of Gravity’s Rainbow – Hostile Lifeforms.

01) Re-form – Hold Your Ground [FiNRG] 
02) Dodgee – 2000 Miles [Electronica Exposed] 
03) Substanced – Stockholm Syndrome [Smiling Corpse] 
04) Pain on Creation – V8 [Camel Records] 
05) Transcend & Greg Peaks – Cosmic1 [Electronica Exposed] 
06) Pain on Creation – Lush [FiNRG Hard] 
07) Tazz & Concept – Planet of Dreamz [Digital Beatz] 
08) Wyrm – Tendrils of Reality (Penguin Conspiracy Remix) [F/C Smiling Corpse] 
09) Firefly – Dangerous [Electronica Exposed] 
10) Aryx – Morokai [Smiling Corpse] 
11) Betwixt & Between – Gravity’s Rainbow [HARDCORE TANO*C] 
12) Shox – Hostile Lifeforms [Sinthetic Records] 

The Munted! Xmas Party, 21st December @kraftyradio.com

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 17, 2012
Posted in: Events, Finnish, Japanese, UK. 6 comments

Those mourning the end of Munted! Monthly! should rejoice, as Munted! is returning to Krafty Radio for a special Christmas edition. I’m honoured to have been asked to play, marking a full year since the start of my connection with the Munted! crew – this time I’ll be playing an hour-long tribute to Betwixt & Between.

I’m in the early stages of selecting tunes now, and hope to somehow get a balance of anthems, personal favourites, and lesser known material that does justice to Kaoru’s sound. The rest of the lineup covers a nice variety of styles and should make for a quality night from start to finish. As always, it’d be great to see some of the TYFTH crew in the krafty chatroom.

Full lineup (Set times TBA)

DOUGLAS
ENDEMIC
A.B
ARYX
PLASMADANCER (SPECIAL BETWIXT & BETWEEN TRIBUTE SET)
SUBSTANCED
THUMPA
MIDAS

CORE interview with Watchtower

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 17, 2012
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Events, Mixes, Releases, UK. Leave a Comment

A little bit late posting this up – Matt and Jamis of the good ship Watchtower were recently interviewed by CORE magazine, where they did a quality job of representing the scene and spreading the word re. the upcoming release of Volume 2.

Take a look at the CORE site for the full interview, where you’ll also find a really interesting mix from the Endemic guys. Obviously featuring the UK side of the label’s sound, it’s an ambitious set that combines some fairly angry drum and bass with the freeform. It’s all excellently mixed, and well worth a listen even if you usually lean more towards the Finnish side of things.

BEEZEE vs Alderz – Freeformaniacs

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 10, 2012
Posted in: Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, UK. 4 comments

The second mix of the night is another very special one – longtime TYFTH supporters BEEZEE and Alderz have joined forces for a back to back session on the Freeformaniacs show, coming up with one of the most enjoyable sets I’ve heard for a long time. This is absolutely perfect TYFTH material, covering all our favourites from Betwixt & Between to Qygen, via Alek Szahala and Level 13, and is probably the ideal My First Deeper Freeform Set for any newbies out there.

The mixing is superb all the way through, and it’s a treat to hear Alderz playing for the first time in an age – his mixing style is ferocious, with new tunes hurtling in before you really know what’s happening. It works brilliantly though, followed up by the filters-and-dark-stuff from BEEZEE that we know so well. Special shouts to Alderz for the progression of his set, from the angry NRG of Einhander and Hase to uplifting tracks like Temporal Temple, while combination of the session might go to BEEZEE for that opening Stockholm Syndrome – Twisted Faith connection.

An absolute must listen then – well done to the guys, you did your fellow Horsers proud with this one.

=ALDERZ=
1. Nomic – Human Race 
2. Hase – Brionac 
3. EInhander – Fourbeast 
4. Alek Szahala – Mageslayer 
5. Synthwulf vs DJ RX – Ragnarok 
6. Alek Szahala – Deimos 
7. Qygen – Temporal Temple 
8. Level 13 – Is That All 
9. Carbon Based – Outer Rings 
10. Betwixt & Between – Niji 
11. Aryx – Chaldea DJ Fury Remix 
12. Amini – Lost Elegy

=BEEZEE=
13. Substanced – Stockholm Syndrome 
14. Epyx and Cyrez – Twisted Faith (Cyrez 2010 edit) 
15. FEN – Mad man 
16. Tyranoid and Strongstream – You Need Another Drink (Cyrez Remix) 
17. Qygen – Earth Shine 
18. Betwixt and Between – Reincarnation 
19. Alek Szahala – Freezing Clouds 
20. Micken – Oeh 
21. Epyx and Cyrez – Spiteful 
22. Betwixt and Between – Phase 6 
23. Alek Szahala – From Flesh To Machines 

Pearsall Presents Rampage Turbo 13 – A Stage One Music Special

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 9, 2012
Posted in: Mixes, UK. 1 comment

Back again after a few days of enforced silence – the posting plans for this week are all up in the air at the moment, but at least tonight I can finally draw attention to a couple of recent standout sets.

First of all we have a new installment of the Rampage Turbo series, courtesy of Pearsall. That alone should be enough to secure a download from most people, but this is a very special set with a focus on venerable hardcore label Stage One Music. Pearsall’s own Sonicrampage post gives a good idea of the basics, and diving into the set itself shows what a golden period of proto-freeform it was.

Anyone disappointed by the death of quality acid lines in modern freeform (hardly used by FINRG artists, and very lacklustre in Nu Energy tunes of the mid-2000s onwards) will find solace here, as Pearsall has made some superb selections alongside amens, vocals and happycore-esque big kicks. I’ve already given the set a few listens, and both the mixing and pacing are as spot on as you’d expect. Although I recognise a good few of the tunes, they’re from a time when I often listened to sets without a tracklist, and so this is a great opportunity to check who was responsible for these anthems.

With more and more people coming to freeform these days, sets like this can only be a good thing – great work by Pearsall, and let’s hope that there’ll be a few more history lessons yet to come.

01. Cortex – Summer Lovin’ (xy2)  
02. DJ Energy – Anticlockwize (xy2)  
03. DJ Fury – Soundflow (Remix) (Stompin’ Choonz)  
04. Cortex – Digital Brotherhood (FDN)  
05. Teknodred – More Understanding feat Dave Jay (Stompin’ Choonz)  
06. DJ Fury – Lemonade Raygun (FDN)  
07. Helix & Fury – Sanctus Dominus (xy2)  
08. Cortex – Eurosis (xy2)  
09. Citadel of Kaos – Paradise Lost (Just Another Label)  
10. Helix – Helixia (Stompin’ Choonz)  
11. Brisk & Trixxy – Back To The Top (Remix) (Just Another Label Premium)  
12. Square Wave – Like A Criminal (Stompin’ Choonz)  
13. D-Zyne – Digital Havoc (xy2)  
14. Teknodred & Ad Man – A Voice Spoke To Me (Helix Remix) (Stompin’ Choonz)  
15. D-Zyne & Fury – Hyperhydrosis (xy2)  
16. DJ Fury – Desensitize (Stompin’ Choonz)  
17. Helix & Teknodred – Mindless Pleasure (Stompin’ Choonz)  
18. DJ Fury – Lemonade Raygun (Main Floor Mix) (Stompin’ Choonz)  
19. Helix – Now Control (Stompin’ Choonz) 

Jon Mysterave – Everybody Loves Kreatrix

Posted by PlasmaDancer on September 27, 2012
Posted in: Canadian, Mixes, UK. 3 comments

Another great set this week comes courtesy of Custom Built DJ’s Jon Mysterave – a nicely selected tribute to Kreatrix. With its firm commitment to the dark side and a relentlessly high bpm, Twisted Freq’s label was in many ways ahead of its time, so praise be for sets like this that remind both veterans and rookies of the good old days. Tracks like Wannabe Gansgstah and Danse Macabre aren’t heard too often anymore, but here sound as good as ever alongside classics like Unleashed and Exaltation. Kudos to Mr Mysterave too for spreading out the ‘breakbeat tunes’, giving a really nice overall rhythm to the mix.

Make the extra effort to negotiate the not-so-familiar TempoPlus site, this one is really worth a download.

Watchtower Vol.2 pre-orders open

Posted by PlasmaDancer on September 27, 2012
Posted in: Finnish, Releases, UK. 3 comments

The big news this week is of course the almost-release of Watchtower Vol.2, an amazing follow-up to Vol.1 with an even better looking tracklist. Headlining tunes for the deeper freeform brigade are probably Re-form’s fabulous Decade and the wonderfully constructed Polaris by Aryx, but there are also great sounding freeform (and electro-freeform?) tracks from Substanced and Grimsoul. That’s before we even get to what might be the main event – a brand new track from Carbon Based that genuinely brings back memories of FINRG in its prime.

As well as all that, one of the other main highlights is a free download! Qygen’s Temporal Temple is a beautiful tune that has become one of my firm favourites – if I’m ever booked to play in a club again I’d love to see the reaction to that breakdown and drop.

All in all, a superb-looking release that has every base of the quality-freeform scene well and truly covered. To pre-order head over to the Watchtower site, where there’s also an offer on for folk who missed Vol.1.

Dyzphazia – Freeformaniacs 6

Posted by PlasmaDancer on September 24, 2012
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, UK. Leave a Comment

Endless commutes and 6-day workweeks are back again, meaning lots of time to check out the latest cluster of freeform sets. My favourite so far has to be Dyzphazia’s newest effort for the evergreen Freeformaniacs show, a wonderful selection of melodic, twisty freeform. This time around my pick of the connections is the early Bass Dust – The Dome transition that does a superb job of switching up the atmosphere, but the whole set is top quality and easily one of Dyzphazia’s best this year. A must-listen, then.

1 ) Re-Form – Silver Cube (Extended Mix) [CDr] 
2 ) Noisia – Dustup [Vision Recordings] 
3 ) Blokhe4d & Receptor – Bass Dust [Bad Taste] 
4 ) Alchemiist – The Dome [CDr] 
5 ) Pain On Creation – Lush (Fatal Error Edit) [FiNRG] 
6 ) Nomic – Mekhanika Child [CDr] 
7 ) Carbon Based – Dark Side [FiNRG] 
8 ) Douglas & Lost Soul – False Sense Of Security [NuEnergy] 
9 ) Nightforce – Symphony For The Devil [Electronica Exposed] 
10 ) Wyrm & Surtr – Yggdrasil [Ruffbeatz/Freeformaniacs] 
11 ) Helical & Oli G – Days Of Thunder [Camel Records] 
12 ) Helikaon vs. Ephexis – Illiad [NuEnergy] 
13 ) Aryx – Aurora (Substanced Unfinished Forever Remix) [CDr] 
14 ) Le Dos-On – Sena [SPLASH! Energy Records]