Operating on the outer rim of the drum & bass scene for over a decade, Blocks & Escher have been designing intelligent and forward-thinking electronic dance across a multitude of releases for labels such as Metalheadz, Digital Soundboy and their own Narratives Music. Their first release of 2022, ‘Shot In The Dark’ EP, pulls together four outstanding cuts of shadowy breaks and abstract electronica.
Otherwise known as Phillip Smith and Will Hansen, Blocks & Escher distilled their sound into the critically acclaimed 2018 album ‘Something Blue’. Released on Goldie’s Metalheadz imprint, the long player displayed a confident maturity of sound, and a more than capable accomplishment of pulling the visionary sounds of drum & bass into a new era.
The industrial breaks and hoover bass of ‘Shot In The Dark’ anchor a wave of cinematic synth sweeps, fashioning an arresting opening track on this accomplished EP. The ingenious beats continue to unfurl across ‘Abyss’ and ‘This One’, as brooding atmospherics wash over in waves. The finale of ‘Dance Girl’ ramps up the BPMs and beat complexity, as a breathless assault of rhythm and sound captivates and rewards in abundance.
Djrum returns to R&S with two heavy hitting tracks on a double a-side release. Both tracks see him exploring his more dancefloor influences keeping the tempos high and the emotions heightened. While Tournesol takes in a characteristically broad set of influences - from braindance to Shaangan electro - Hard To Say focuses on the ambient-gabber sound that Djrum has pioneered. This is uncompromising music from a producer working at the top of his game.
Two titans in UK breakbeat culture, Loxy & Ink were both present at the inception of the birth of UK dance music and continue to be torchbearers. With ‘Manifested Visions’ the duo does exactly what the title suggests; transcending the boundaries of genre, roots dub meets hip hop and in-your-face drum and bass to create a five-track EP that will make you submit, revel, rave and float.
This release on R&S marks the debut appearance of one of the most active and vital voices in dance music culture, combined with a one-off bold & idiosyncratic sleeve re-design from another omnipresent, globally influential practitioner.
The music is by Special Request.
The artwork is by Virgil Abloh c/o Alaska-Alaska.
Spectral Frequency first appeared on the final day of 2019 — it was included on the 4th SR album released in that year alone and caused so much havoc in clubs, warehouses, basements, bedrooms, dive bars, sweatlodges and ear buds that we simply KNEW we needed to give it a full release.
After discussing it with Paul Woolford, he told us he viewed a possible EP as an equal split of “Face-Melters and Heart Breakers” and this is exactly what he has delivered across both sides of this EP.
Virgil Abloh is a man that by now needs no introduction. He has contributed both a psychedelic and incredibly apt one-off sleeve redesign to mark this occasion.
Lone and KETTAMA met at Glastonbury festival last year after being booked together for a B2B DJ set. Although they had never DJ'ed together before their styles complimented each other perfectly and it was only natural that they get in the studio together.
The EP features one collaborative track and an original each from both artists but they way the tracks fit together you could be forgiven for thinking the whole EP was collaborative.
We know at R&S that Lone is capable of creating many different feelings with his music, working alongside KETTAMA seems to have pushed the euphoric, endorphin heightening 4/4 feels to the forefront. In turn KETTAMA reaches for some some synth lines that could have come straight from the Lone playbook. The influence of each artist on the other is plain to see and the results are three killer club tracks that people are going to be hard pushed to pick a favourite from
Now on limited CMYK splatter vinyl! Debut single for another hugely tipped young London based producer on the legendary R&S record label, showcasing that the label is once again a serious force to be reckoned with. James Blake is making some of the most startlingly original music to have emerged from London in 2010. In between studying Popular Music at Goldsmiths and writing a debut album that will take a lot of people by surprise, he has released amazing singles on Hemlock & Hessle, pushing the boundaries of what is expected of ‘dubstep’ music. "CMYK" is a club anthem in the making and one of the most in demand tracks on the dubstep scene. The further three tracks take a more introspective approach, and aren’t strictly aimed at the dancefloor, but are equally heavy tracks that drip with funk and reveal themselves fully after repeated listens.
Presenting a special limited edition reissue of a stone cold classic from the R&S vaults, 1993 style, remastered and repressed on special transparent wax.
Capricorn aka Dutch producer and DJ Hans Weekhout originally released the '20Hz' 3 track EP on R&S sub-label Global Cuts to much acclaim. A record that was literally everywhere in '93 and still rocks any club today, '20Hz' is undoubtedly an all-time anthem with it's combination of rolling, thunderous drums, glacial marimba-like melodies and a tense trance inducing atmosphere that literally lifts the dancefloor to another place. 'Didn't I' is also a proper old-school peak-time stormer, it's uptempo, dripping in positive vibes with sampled soulful vocals and chopped up drum breaks all encapsulated within a real rave sensibility. Closing out the EP we are treated to 'For The Soul, Body & Mind' which is a much darker, deeper and menacing vibe than the previous cuts. More in line with the earliest fringes of jungle, hardcore and bleep tehcno the track takes us on a journey into the heart of the night with it's bass heavy and intricate sound programming and breakbeats, proving that Hans Weekhout was an extremely versatile and open minded producer. Overall, a truly classic and essential EP from the heyday of European house and techno that still packs a punch today!
Another legendary R&S classic repressed in very limited numbers only on a one-sided 12" vinyl. The original 1992 release from Dutch producer Jaydee was a 10 minute long Hammond organ workout - many remixes over the years but you cant surpass the original!
Joey Beltram mega-ultra-classic, ‘Energy Flash’ re-mastered by Matt Colton. Pressed nice and loud on a one sided 12”. E.S.S.E.N.T.I.A.L.!!! (...still after all these years...)
1991 techno classics - repressed and reissued for 2021!
Second Phase (aka Joey Beltram and Mundo Muzique) are 2 legendary producers whose output shaped an entire generation of ravers, DJs and producers minds. 'Mentasm / Mind To Mind' is one such influential release, literally creating new styles, new directions and impacting on dance music for decades to come. Unique programming and fresh sounds made their records stand out head and shoulders above everyone else's output. 'Mentasm' particularly broke ground with it's now infamous 'hoover sound', influencing house, techno and trance music to come and even spilling over into the nascent hardcore, jungle and D&B scenes where it was often imitated or sampled by producers who wanted that ruff, visceral feel for their own tracks, but didn't know how to create it themselves. A new energy was born and it emanated from this milestone 12". 'Mind To Mind' on the flipside is equally as deadly, but in a deeper, more spaced out realm it maneuvers and pulls into a trippy early morning space, the yin to 'Mentasm's yang. This is a quintessential techno record, a glimpse of innovation from back in the day. File under 'classic'.
This special 2021 edition is reissued by R&S Records from original master sources, remastered by Curve Pusher.
![Lone X KETTAMA - The Way You Feel [Clear 12" Vinyl Repress] - Unearthed Sounds](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0488/8057/products/rs2006clear_{width}x.jpg?v=1623937816)
![James Blake - CMYK EP [Splatter Vinyl Repress]](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0488/8057/products/rs1003splatter_{width}x.jpg?v=1643803092)
![Capricorn - 20Hz [Clear 12"]](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0488/8057/products/rs20hz_{width}x.jpg?v=1637925365)
![Jaydee - Plastic Dreams [Single Sided Clear 12" Repress] - Unearthed Sounds](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0488/8057/products/rsplasticdreams_{width}x.jpg?v=1619709523)
![Joey Beltram - Energy Flash [Single Sided Clear 12" Vinyl Repress] - Unearthed Sounds](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0488/8057/products/rs14energyflashcle_{width}x.jpg?v=1619709527)
![Second Phase - Mentasm [Clear 12"]](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0488/8057/products/rs9109_{width}x.jpg?v=1640008616)