The Unearthed Sounds crew members have compiled their weekly picks containing collectively, in no particular order, our favourite tracks/releases of the week.
Here are the selections individually from the crew:
The shape-shifting sound of Low End Activist continues to pivot around an axis of bassweight pressure with the launch of their self-titled label – the appropriate vessel to take them deeper into sci-fi scented sonics with an ‘ardcore swagger. Previous drops on Sneaker Social Club and Seagrave have seen the shadowy technician mangling grime, jungle and dubstep tropes with all the grit and flair of the most visionary sample sorcerers. At times, they’ve built their beatscapes up around fierce MC spots from such legends as Flowdan and Trim, but while there’s more to come on the vocal tip for the LEA series, this first installment works in a strictly instrumental fashion.
Hi-tech breakbeat de/re-construction is the focus across all three tracks on LEA001, with atmospheres so densely rendered you can feel them sticking to your skin like the sweat of a well-slicked basement session. ‘Engineers Origins’ emits pure darkcore energy and icy stabs of future-shock industrialism, while ‘Look Up’ shivers with off-key orchestrations. ‘Probability 1’ gets deep in the break edit and throws in an iconic low end rumble that should spark intense reveries amongst anyone with even a passing appreciation for bass. Like the most potent foundational jungle, all three tracks swerve regimented structure in favour of moody exploration around a suite of themes and sounds, slipping time in style and setting up the LEA series for further intense sonic treatments to come.
a1. Low End Activist - Engineers Origins
b1. Low End Activist - Look Up
b2. Low End Activist - Probability 1
Various Artists - Blunted Breaks Vol.2 (LP Sampler)
After a 2020 that saw releases on Running Out Of Steam and Object of Desire, M4A4 brings his laid back house & garage stylings to Distant Horizons on Undercover Castle.
Opening track Avera is a skeletal 4x4 stomper, lined with a whompy bass & crystalline chords while Sunriser is a more dubbed out, hazy house roller. The flip side opens with the sensitive minimal 2-step cut She and New City’s bubbling bassline ensure the release ends on a groovy tip!
The First Second Label family return for 2021 with Housebreaker, the highly anticipated return of ELLLL following her much loved Febreeze EP from 2019. Comes with an ace Slo’ Motion refix from Parris!
Haunted, scattered breaks loom over the title track, a modern apocalyptic Hardcore journey where rave sirens puncture the feverous rinse-out tension throughout. The Alantis Dub flips the script, doubling down on the atmosphere while upping the tempo to screw-face the chaos within its experimental D’n’B fever dream. Both tracks showcase ELLLL’s exceptional production chops with its nuanced textural trickery & immersive sound design skills. London’s Parris then rewires the OG, simmering the tempo down low to 110bpm for a sinister nocturnal skank for the night fiends who thrive when entering into first light.
*Copies purchased through the UE store will receive a free full-colour Octa4 sticker printed on PVC plastic with spot-varnish layers*
Following a stellar run of jungle and breakbeat-oriented releases including the foundational Foul Play Origins set and the visionary proto-retro styles of X-Altera, Sneaker Social Club welcome a true master of drum science.
As Paradox and Alaska, Dev Pandya has been setting standards and breaking new ground in breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum & bass since the dawn of the culture. He was right there at the start of Moving Shadow, has graced seminal labels like Reinforced, Good Looking and Metalheadz and steered his own Paradox Music, Esoteric and Arctic Music as vessels for a huge body of work. Still toting his Amiga for live gigs and putting out bonus 12”s loaded with samples for producers, Pandya’s passionate commitment to the culture is evident in everything he does. Nowhere does that shine through more than in his needlepoint flair for break editing and drum programming – the calling card of the Paradox sound.
It’s a huge honour to host two original Paradox tracks on Sneaker. We’re treated to full-fat Paradox percussion alchemy on “Octa4” as he teases out the intensity around a salvo of dancehall toasting samples, trickling each progressive layer of rhythm into the mix with the patience and poise of a true master. “Proceed” leans on dub techno atmospherics and a taut funk break that occasionally cuts loose into a ride-splashing fill, but once again the message here is one of heads-down restraint. Across both tracks the emphasis is on the fine print – each composed drum hit and subtle shift of FX – while riding deep in a masterfully constructed groove. Proof, if ever it were needed, why Pandya is the king of understated D&B excellence.
Holsten delivers an absolutely stunning debut four-track in the form of the ‘Sealed in Time’ EP on the DROOGS imprint. The EP follows a barrage of blistering singles, cutting through the noise of a busy genre. Holsten’s definition of modern jungle draws on over two decades of refinery of the sound, summoning the spirit of the dancefloor.
Hammer returns to the UTTU Omnisphere after last years incredible debut on Soft Computing - here Hammer kicks off 2021 with a 3 tracker of emo-electronix, deep-euro-houz & IDM-esque-beach-tronica.