The Unearthed Sounds crew members have compiled their weekly picks containing collectively, in no particular order, our favourite tracks/releases of the week.
Long distance mission manoeuvres: DRS digs out the keys to his shiny new mothership for the second ever Space Cadet voyage. Once again there are seats on board for everyone. Buckle up and bring supplies, this one goes deep…
Guerrilla-dropped with no hype, build-up or blaring pregame klaxons, ‘From The Deep’ is the Manchester MC’s most raw, honest and revealing album to date. File under switch-flipped; Delroy Pottinger’s third solo artist LP takes us right back to his hip-hop foundations as he sets the coordinates for Planet Roots and gives us a classic vibe time trip that’s every bit as personal as it is gilded; soulful, stripped back, soaked in positive messages but shadowed by a bleak demons, ‘From The Deep’ is the sound of a man hauling his way out of a black hole with pure hope.
Produced with rising Manchester beatmaker Pitch 92 over the course of an inspired two week writing exploration, ‘From The Deep’ is DRS’s first hip-hop LP since his debut post-Broke N English solo album ‘Grown Man Biznizz’ in 2010 and tells the story of a man with a painted on smile and a barbed soul behind the bars. His own personal way of dealing with tragic losses, knowing his heart that will never fully heal, each track on ‘From The Deep’ is Delroy’s message to himself and anyone who’s suffering that things will change.
A way of returning to reality and putting inner demons on blast, this is less of a trip into outer space but more of a safe landing back to earth from outer space where it’s easier to hide from the truth. It’s a toolkit that reminds you that life is turbulent and seriously shit sometimes, but there are priceless factors that make it worthwhile; family, friends, love, music, adventures, real connections and reliable high grade weed vendors.
It also reminds you how funky, soulful and versatile DRS is. Renowned for his skills at both true blues and raw doubletime brutality across the drum & bass spectrum, ‘From The Deep’ flexes back to Delroy’s most craft honing chapter as an artist and as a founding member of Manchester hip-hop trio Broke N English. A groundbreaking act in Manchester’s music scene, the fact all three members - DRS, Konny Kon and Strategy - have gone on to set next level benchmarks and inspire the city’s next generation speaks volumes and continues to echo in the city’s next generation.
Rooted but not nostalgic. Emotional but not sentimental. Deep but more focused than anything Delroy has ever created to date. No hype, build up or klaxons are necessary for a body of work as honest as this; long distance mission manoeuvres are ultimately timeless. Stay tuned for the next astral transmission.
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” The steadily brilliant French producer Nathan Melja – who’s made the rounds between choice outlets over the past half decade, from Mister Saturday Nights to Antinote, via Ninja Tune offshoot Technicolour and Opal Tapes, seems to have learnt Bruce Lee’s lesson by heart, and his seamlessly fluid, no-nonsense debut foray on K.O.C. is here to potently cement his status as one of Europe’s number one club trailblazers, and one that knows all too well how to turn any dancefloor into an infinity pool of pure liquid euphoria.
Drawing its name from the physiological and psychological process that results in a confusion of one’s sensory perceptions, ‘Synesthesia’ is indeed the kind of club single that shall trigger off massive reaction amongst right-minded bipeds and chromakey house suckers. Straightforward club business done right, Melja’s original is a vivid kaleidoscope of skittish drums, swampy bass stabs and a well-rounded, supremely curvy synthwork, tailored to take ravers on a flash journey through space and time without the help of Richard Branson or Elon Tusk (pun intended).
Called in on remix duty, TTT affiliate and Incienso co-founder Anthony Naples delivers a more fragmented and ambientish variation, though functional and club-ready in its own right. Brushing even wider verbed-out pad tapestries for your brain to wander in, the track expands to deeper organic horizons with a field-depth that can not but recall that of the KLF and Bochum Welt’s emotional soundscaping. Meanwhile, Karenn half Pariah takes care of whelming us deep into more techno-friendly terrains, true to his ever masterly touch for epic buildups and multi-level textural innovation, bringing up the acidic phlegm of Melja’s original as he treats us to a carefully orchestrated ballet of synthetic whorls, contemplative chords and propulsive drum programming.
Having made his debut with the track ‘Sky Stepping’ on ‘Of Paradise Vol. 2’, Will Lister now cements his status as a full time family member with the release of his ‘Glow EP’, a masterful four-tracker that firmly establishes this young talent as one to watch in 2020 and beyond.
Kicking off the A-side is ‘Glow’ a cinematic and expansive slice of deftly produced electronica. Pattering synths and glistening melodies work in unison with full-bodied drums and intricate percussion to create an atmospheric and intoxicating journey through sound and rhythm. Following this is ‘Pleasant Air’ a deconstructed and slightly frantic house number. Playful melodies, stumbling drums and urgent percussion all work together to build a wonderfully colourful yet sinister landscape of sound.
The flipside launches with ‘Patience’, a spiralling and constantly building breaks affair that pushes the release into darker territory and showcases a rich new layer to Lister’s dynamic and expansive sound. Closing out the EP is ‘Forth’ an expertly crafted piece of electronic music that sits somewhere between deconstructed house, techno and breaks. Jagged drums, razor sharp percussion and sentient synths cut through the smoke like the distress signal from a long lost starship, as Lister pushes things into uncharted territory and brings the lights down on a breathtaking collection of future music.
The lead track on the EP "Fallen", is a multi-genere, one of a kind of track. It's wide spread influences and unique sound make it hard to place in a box. Its pitched vocals along with heavy rises and reverberated claps make for high tension and emotive music. A truly exciting piece of music the entire way through. 'Wasp' this slow intense build makes way for heavy distorted disjointed emotional drops. 'Snow' is an ode to British beat making. Hip-hop/grime/garage influences put this a very hard to categorise piece of music. Again, Emotional melodies and harmonies along side solid knocking drums make this a remarkable piece of modern electronic music.
Borai & Denham Audio follow up last year’s official release of rave banger ‘Make Me’ with a varied club tool focused EP for E-Beamz. 5 tracks ready for any time of night.
a1. Borai & Denham Audio - Skrrrt
a2. Borai & Denham Audio - Oldboy
b1. Borai & Denham Audio - Euphoria
b2. Borai & Denham Audio - Intraleks
b3. Borai & Denham Audio - Clouds Across The Stars
Adam Curtain & Bobby. return with their EXTRA TERRESTRIAL alias, bringing three tracks of interstellar dancefloor wonk. Expect electro, techno and broken beats all written at Mission Control - Devon Analogue Studios.
a1. Extra Terrestrial - Half Gimp
b1. Extra Terrestrial - Local Dealer
b2. Extra Terrestrial - Deckards Dream
Zeb Samuels - Hope & Light (The Remixes) [Clear Vinyl]
Deep Heads are proud to present ‘Hope & Light’ - The Remixes by Zeb Samuels. Pressed on beautiful, clear 12inch Vinyl with full colour sleeve and with remixes from some amazing artists from around the globe.
On the A1 cut is none other than Om Unit, who flips the original of the track ‘Hold on’. Mr Unit takes the original Piano hook and puts some serious weight behind the drums and baselines to give this remix a classy drum & bass twist. The remix contains a very distinct Om Unit flavour and is a collaboration of the highest order.
For the A2 cut is a Deep Heads favourite, Nottingham due Congi. Congi have stripped back the vocals for their remix and added their signature sound. The beat work is remarkable and all round production is impressive. A fantastic display of what these 2 talented producers are all about.
Then on the flip side and for the B1 is the one and only Ash Walker, with his interpretation on the track ‘Stars Glow’. Ash pitches down the original vocal and takes this remix somewhere far away from this planet. It’s gritty, twisted and bursting at the seems with low frequencies.
The beats and hard and punchy and is certainly one for the sound system crew. Finally for the B2 side is LA based producer Feverkin. We’ve had our ear on this talented man for a while, so is a honour to have him giving us some of his Feverkin flavour. His remix of ‘Night Wave’ is exactly what we were expecting from him and does not disappoint. He adds some signature 2step beats and sounds that can only be described as Feverkin, but keeps some of the original energy and mainly vocals for this incredible remix.
