Drum & Bass

Mellow Sonic – Psychokinesis

Posted by PlasmaDancer on December 6, 2016
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Goa / Psy, Releases. 1 comment

Sharp-eared SoundCloud lurkers might remember that Qygen’s Supersonic Speed received a very smooth drum and bass remixing last year from Mellow Sonic. I listened to it at the time, but foolishly put off checking many of his other productions until now – thanks (as usual) go to Shimotsukei for giving me the necessary kick in the right direction.

It turns out that I’ve seen the light at just the right time, as three months ago Mellow Sonic’s Psychokinesis was released. No doubt about it, this is one of the most important albums of the year – and I know, in 2016 that’s saying a lot.

This isn’t a freeform-only release, mind, but it’s the way the freeform slots into this cyber-psychedelic, atmospheric collection of downtempo ambient, goa and psy that really made me pay attention. Even if it was just giving us a look at another potential-filled direction for freeform it would be a must-listen, but there are some blinding tunes in here that stand with the best of recent months.

Paradoxon is a very solid track with some nice, approachable melodies that benefit massively from the grindy leads and filtering, as well as the dark goa feel. Drum and bass breakdowns aren’t usually my favourites, but Mellow Sonic at least has the advantage of being an established dnb producer and it definitely doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Shifting Reality keeps the quality and tempo high, with a lovely structure and the best screaming leads since Pink Magic, while Blackout does all sorts of genre splicing tricks to excellent effect – I was expecting a fairly standard dnb-influenced semi-breakcore freeform track from the opening, but some goa-style sounds and deep breakdowns take it in really nice directions.

Psychokinesis, though, is where things get serious. A strong, freeform-styled intro leads into some glorious pads, and then the break. Featuring the depth of a drum and bass breakdown along with the earlier freeform elements, it somehow ends up sounding like something very new. Post-drop, the main melody is a winner – deceptively simple, it echoes some of the best emotional efforts of the FINRG classics, but surrounded by this new atmosphere it sends the track further into uncharted territory. This is what ‘deep’ freeform can (and should) sound like.

The intro and outro tracks are both downtempo, with Conspiracy in particular showing some E-Mantra-esque touches that I really enjoyed – as does Slipstream, even if the goa-influenced tracks don’t quite match the darkness and emotion of the rest of the album.

Whether or not Mellow Sonic was inspired by Qygen to take steps into freeform, Psychokinesis shows that in time he could make just as big, and unique, an impact. Let’s hope there’s more to come, but for now Psychokinesis is available on Mellow Sonic’s Bandcamp.

Blue Revolver

Posted by PlasmaDancer on October 12, 2016
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Goa / Psy, Japanese, Releases, UK, USA. Leave a Comment

I’ve been meaning to get this post online for a week or so, but now it’s especially timely – Cave/Raizing-inspired shmup Blue Revolver was released today (JST) on Steam, and is essential if you’ve even the slightest interest in the genre.

What should be of interest to all Horsers is the soundtrack, composed by Qygen and featuring remixes from the likes of Hyphen, Exemia and Blue Phoenix. In Praise of Shadows aside, Qygen’s work here is far and away the best freeform I’ve heard this year, and it’s really exciting to consider how many people could be exposed to his sound if this release does as well as it deserves to.

The top of this post is a recent episode of STG Weekly, featuring Blue Revolver and its developers. Although my shmupping has lapsed a bit over the past year, I’ve been back at Guwange and Crimson Clover recently and can’t wait to give BR a proper go.

Blu Mar Ten – JungleJungle sample pack

Posted by PlasmaDancer on May 25, 2016
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Releases, UK. 3 comments

If you’ve ever wondered what freeform jungle produced by Transcend would sound like, then this post combined with the previous one might get you somewhere close – another sample pack, but this time free and featuring a huge range of classic jungle/drum and bass samples from 1989-1999. It was compiled by veteran intelligent junglists Blu Mar Ten, and while it might only be Qygen who has effectively incorporated 90s jungle into freeform so far, there’s more than enough here to get anyone’s inspiration going.

Heading the post is fine example of BMT’s work in the 90s – the quality drum edits and beautiful atmosphere of Lunar.

Midas – Freeformaniacs Round 21

Posted by PlasmaDancer on April 7, 2016
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Finnish, Japanese, Mixes, UK, USA. Leave a Comment

It’s a bit of an injustice that Midas hasn’t had more mentions on TYFTH, as he’s been doing a brilliant job over the years of sneaking Finnish and Japanese sounds into his sets, both online and around the UK. In fact I wouldn’t be at all surprised if some of the UK freeform crew have Midas to thank for their first exposure to FINRG.

You won’t often hear Wizbit and Alek Szahala in the same mix, but Midas was on top form for his recent-ish Freeformaniacs set, deftly negotiating his way from nutty breakbeat hardcore to some classics of the darker side. I’ve been known to dabble in breakbeat hardcore myself, and it’s hard to resist some of these throwbacks to the amen-heavy mid-nineties, especially when mixed this well. Some teeth-gritting might be needed through the tracks that start sounding a bit too nu-skool, but we’re soon into some of the best of current UK freeform, including Transcend’s excellent Candyman remix.

Midas has often pushed the Hybridize era nasty-but-melodic sound, and here it works as a nice bridge into the darker final section. Morokai, Fluorite, Icy Clouds, Alchemiist’s Pain remix – you really couldn’t ask for a much better selection if you’re looking to introduce folk to our side of things. Quite the journey of a set, and one that’d easily grace the peak time of many a UK event, I reckon.

ALIAS A.K.A. – DJ Mix 048 – 48 Hours

Posted by PlasmaDancer on March 30, 2016
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Mixes, UK. 3 comments

Let’s go non-freeform for the next in the long list of sets I’ve been checking out recently – Alias A.K.A.’s mammoth look back at late-90s intelligent drum and bass.

That 1997-1999 era was when the intelligent sound started heading along the road to oblivion though, and by 2000 the melancholy and deeper melodies had mostly been abandoned in favour of faster, less complex drums and endless sweeping pads. I felt at the time that this was a real last hurrah for the subgenre, and Alias has picked out every single one of my favourites in an excellently mixed set.

Coincidentally the other day I listened again to one of Bukem’s finest mixes from this era (Progression Sessions), which obviously had an influence on Alias’ tracklist, but there are also plenty of well selected jazzy tracks amongst the spacey tunes. The opening combo of The Rhyme Goes On and Do What You Gotta Do sets the standard, and the rest of the set does a fine job of living up to it. Occasional clashing pads aside, there are some brilliant connections in here –  Mind Games followed by Planetary Funk Alert is a worthy centrepiece for the set.

A lot of the freeform crew might already have been listening to early NRG and trancecore by this stage, but this is essential listening for anyone with an interest in deeper dance music, especially if you missed these tunes at the time.

Watchtower Vol. 3

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 1, 2015
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Finnish, Goa / Psy, Japanese, Releases, UK, USA. Leave a Comment

Watchtower Vo. 3 is finally emerging Rip Van Winkle-like from schedule stasis, with two CDs of high quality freeform and NRG. For TYFTH purposes the best news is the appearance of two brilliant Japanese tracks in Guld’s remix of Hatral and Le Dos-on’s Chemical Wash, but there’s also a very strong Finnish showing from Alek Szahala, Alchemiist, Grimsoul, Substanced, and Epyx & Cyrez / Tyranoid & Strongstream. Throw in some great tracks from Qygen and Aryx, and there’s a lot of material here for our side of the freeform spectrum, plus the expected new releases from Transcend, Lost Soul et al. A must buy, then, and preorders are already open on the Watchtower site, with the release a few days away.

Pearsall – Not The Future We Were Promised

Posted by PlasmaDancer on February 28, 2015
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Mixes, UK, USA. 2 comments

Far and away the best set I’ve heard this year isn’t actually freeform, but a masterclass in jungle selection from Pearsall that you simply have to check out. Harking back to the early-to-mid-nineties golden age of Dreamscape and Helter Skelter, Ellis Dee and Grooverider, this 94 minute set is Pearsall on top, top form.

It’s one thing to put together a tracklist of massive classics and lesser-known tunes, and then quite another to blend them this well – the best jungle sets always give me the impression of knife-edge, organised chaos, and what a good demonstration this is. Props to Pearsall for some top-drawer mixing, but also the set’s progression, moving from some of my favourite chopped up breaks to the amen-focused main section of the set. The climax also has some inspired selections, Music Takes Me and a glorious remake of Tango and Fallout’s Revelations ending the mix in ecstatic style.

Pearsall’s typically thoughtful Sonicrampage post confirms my first impressions, that such a complex set must have taken a heck of a lot of practice and pre-planning, and after a couple of weeks on constant rotation I can confirm it more than stands up to multiple listens. Highly, highly recommended.

Dawn of the Sol (Lucky Lotus & Touitsu Recordings)

Posted by PlasmaDancer on December 26, 2014
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Finnish, Goa / Psy, Japanese, Releases, USA. Leave a Comment

This upcoming (29th December) collaboration release between Lucky Lotus and Touitsu Recordings is going all-out for variety, with everything from goa to dubstep, via twee Japanese vocals and gabber. Freeform’s what we’re here for though, and across the three releases  (‘Day One’ is up above) there are top quality tracks from Nomic, Evolutionize and an interesting effort from Harrs.

PlasmaDancer – Together

Posted by PlasmaDancer on November 17, 2014
Posted in: Drum & Bass, Events, Mixes, UK. Leave a Comment

I can already hear the cries of ‘Get back to freeform, you charlatan’, but I promise this’ll be the last mention of my recent-ish jungle/drum and bass set. It’s now up on SoundCloud, so anyone who enjoyed it back in August can finally download via the TYFTH page.

As for other stuff…I recently received a pretty exciting booking, and put together a little promo mix in anticipation of the event. Sadly the gig has been postponed, and so I might keep the mix under wraps until then. It’ll be going online eventually though, as well as some other bits and pieces.

I’ve also got enough freeform-related items for a few posts, so expect them sometime, as well as an essay of sorts that has been in the works for goodness knows how long. Once the freeform dries up again (it’s been that sort of year, let’s be honest) there might even be a couple of other topics to keep the site sailing towards the end of the year.

Origin Unknown – Valley of the Shadows (Long Dark Remix)

Posted by PlasmaDancer on October 8, 2014
Posted in: Drum & Bass, UK. Leave a Comment

Apropos to nothing in particular, this is one of the tunes getting me through my commute this week, and so why not share it with TYFTH? The Long Dark Remix of VotS was the best version by far, adding some extra chops to the drums and a much improved bassline. Definitely blows away the 1996 version…

I feel another non-freeform YouTube roundup coming on, but hope you enjoy this one for now.