Last month saw the release of the first single of 2011 from Blu Mar Ten, which featured the tracks Five Summers, and Still The One, a collaboration with Inside Info.

These tracks are taken from their forthcoming album, Love Is The Devil, the follow up to 2009′s excellent Natural History.

The next single is going to be Problem Child / Sweet Little Supernova, which features the vocals of Rochelle Parker, who also featured on the massive Nobody Here.

For the latest news, sign up to the Newsletter via http://www.blumarten.com/

Links
http://www.blumarten.com - Official Site of Blu Mar Ten
http://www.surus.co.uk/blu-mar-ten/home.aspx - Buy Blu Mar Ten music / Merchandise @ Surus
http://www.juno.co.uk/artists/Blu+Mar+Ten/ - Buy Blu Mar Ten music @ Juno
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Blu+Mar+Ten - Discography of Blu Mar Ten

Alex Reece

Last year, I stumbled across some rare, unreleased Alex Reece material, which re-ignited my love for his music….

Alex Reece was arguably one of the first stars of drum & bass to break through during the 1990s….starting his career under the name Fallen Angels, he later released seminal singles for Goldie’s Metalheadz imprint (including the ground-breaking Pulp Fiction), before signing to Island Records and releasing a series of well received singles (Feel The Sunshine, and Candles), followed by his debut album, So Far, back in 1996.

At around the same time, he started his own Al’s Records imprint, featuring the excellent singles Touch Me, Street Player and New York, followed by a compilation in 1997.

This era saw Alex win some high profile remix work, highlights including Neneh Cherry, Kenny Larkin, and Underworld.

Rumours of a second album for Island were rumoured around 1998, but never materialised, apart from a highly-elusive single, Vicious Circles.

1999 saw the release of the much-overlooked Fallen Angels album, followed by a number of singles on the Fallen Angels 21 imprint, however, from 2002, the trail went cold….

That is, until a few days ago, when a number of keen fans stumbled across a new, seemingly official website, http://www.alexreecemusic.com/, containing new music.

As you would expect, Alex appears to have a complete disregard for what’s going on in drum & bass at the moment, and is clearly making the same quirkly, off-the-wall jazzy style that he’s known & loved for.

There is no official word as to if/when new music will be released, but it’s reassuring to know that Alex is still making drum & bass, and that it still sounds fresh….

Links
http://www.alexreecemusic.com/ - Official Site of Alex Reece, containing new music
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Alex+Reece - Full Discography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Reece - Alex Reece Wikipedia Page

If you cast your mind way back to February 2009, Instra:Mental & D-Bridge revealed the second layer of their long running and highly influential Autonomic Podcast…

This included the beautifully subtle Bedroom Community, by russian producer Oak, who has gone on to feature on releases for KOS MOS, and the now legendary Commix Fabric Live mix. I would go as far as to say that this was the best track that was ever included on the podcast, and since first hearing it, I have been campaigning for it to be released.

It certainly came as a shock and a great surprise to find, today, that Bedroom Community is finally to be released, on vinyl, through a new label known as Space Cadets, along with the track Kite on the flipside.

For those of you who perhaps don’t remember the track, I refer you to a video I uploaded myself, onto YouTube, over two years ago….

The single will be released 18th July 2011, on the Space Cadets label, catalogue no. NASA001.

Links
http://www.redeyerecords.co.uk/asp/view_product.asp?id=20798 - Pre-Order the 12″ at Red Eye Records
http://soundcloud.com/spacecadets - Official SoundCloud page of the Space Cadets label.
http://clubautonomic.wordpress.com/ - Blog featuring tracklisting & links to all Autonomic Podcast episodes
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Oak+%288%29 - Oak Discography

In stark contrast to last month’s house music-themed podcast, this month I have pretty much crammed every style of music imaginable into a modest 58 minutes.

Title: Session 028 February 2011
Duration: 00:58:39
Encoding: MP3 192 kbps
File Size: 86.3 MB

Track Listing:
1. Christian Prommer – Groove La Chord
2. Gorillaz feat Little Dragon – Empire Ants (Miami Horror Remix)
3.  Bassfort – Last Night
4.  Jamie Woon – Night Air
– An interesting stat about New York’s rat population…..
5. Commix – City Section / City Sound FX
6. The XX – Night Time
7. James Blake – Wilhelm Scream
8. Commix – Japanese Electronics (Instra:Mental Moog Remix)
9.  Bop – Nothing Makes Any Sense (Blu Mar Ten Remix)
10. Jon Brion – Bookstore
11. Badly Drawn Boy – Silent Sigh
12. Vanessa Carlton – A Thousand Miles
13. Aqualung – Sundowning
14. En –  Mother Of Thousands / Brian Eno & David Byrne – Mea Culpa (edit) / Rabbits
–Rain (interlude)
15. Photek – The Rain (Remix)

…as with all the other podcasts, there are a number of ways you can obtain this one. Firstly, via itunes. Alternatively, you can download the mix directly via this link.

Microfunk.ru is a website which represents the Russian drum & bass scene. The last couple of years have seen artists such as Electrosoul System, Bop, Despot, Unquote, Mr Sizef & Abstract Elements make a big impact on the drum & bass scene. The russian influence on the drum & bass scene was confirmed late last year by the release of the compilation The Future Sound Of Russia on Hospital Records.

Oak is another highly talented artist to come out of Russia; Their track Bedroom Community was featured on layer two of Instra:Mental & D-Bridge’s massively popular Autonomic Podcast. Oak also featured on the Commix Fabric Live CD.

The Microfunk website are giving away two Oak tracks, simply entitled Sequence #1, and Sequence #2, as a free download. You can listen to each track below. If you wish to download the tracks, you can do, by clicking here.

“Sequence #1″ by Oak

“Sequence #2″ by Oak

Links
Oak Soundcloud
Microfunk.ru
Autonomic Podcast
Oak Discogs Page
Oak & Boseg – Microfunk Podcast 002 – February 2010

Back in May this year, Gilles Peterson put together a superb selection of drum & bass classics for his Radio 1 Worldwide show. During the late 90s, drum & bass briefly crossed over into into the mainstream, and Gilles’ Talkin’ Loud record label signed & released albums by 4Hero, Roni Size / Reprazent, and DJ Krust.

Source Direct – The Crane (Source Direct)
Aquarius – Aquatic (Good Looking)
Studio Pressure – Fusion (Photek)
DJ Hype – Hello Lover (DJ Trace Remix) (IQ Records)
LTJ Bukem – Horizons (Good Looking)
Peshay – Futurama (Basement)
4hero – Parallel Universe (Reinforced)
DJ Dextrous – Sunny Smiles…(People) (King Of The Jungle)
Lemon D – Urban Style Music (Metalheadz)
Roni Size Reprazent – Trust Me (Talkin Loud)
United Future Organisation – Loud Minority (Alex Reece Remix) (Talkin
Loud)
Roni Size – It’s A Jazz Thing (V Recordings)
Fugees – Fu-Gee-La (Goldie Remix)
Photek – Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (Dubplate Version)
Adam F – Metropolis (Metalheadz)
Ed Rush & Optical – Zardoz (Virus)
Doc Scott – Tokyo Dawn (Good Looking)
Wax Doctor – Never As Good (Talkin Loud)
Grooverider – Time & Space (Dubplate)
Innerzone Orchestra – Bug In The Bassbin (Planet E)
Original Playboys – Come To Me (Dubplate)
Breakbeat Era feat. Leonie – Breakbeat Era (Full Cycle)
Roni Size – Music Box (Full Cycle)
Tom & Jerry – Maxi(mum) Style Booty Style – Part III (Shell)
Johnny One-Drop – Travelings (X Project Remix) (Talkin Loud)
Carlito – Carlito’s Way (Creative Source)
Fernanda Porta – Sambassim (DJ Patife Remix) (V Recordings)
UFO – Something Out There (Ray Keith Samba Mix)
Uncut – Midnight (Mist 2003 Mix) (Warner)
DJ Kane – Let’s Go To Work (Trouble On Vinyl)
Peshay – Switch (Island Blue)
Peshay – Miles From Home (Island Blue)
John Coltrane – Like Sonny (Peshay Remix) (Talkin Loud)
Underwolves – Under Your Sky (Origin Unknown Mix) (Island Blue)
Roni Size – Problems (Dubplate)
Calibre – Hypnotise (Soul:r)
Drumagick – Easy Boom (Sambaloco)
Alex Reece – Feel The Sunshine (Island)
Krust – True Stories (Talkin Loud)

Download | Download

Brian Eno – From The Same Hill
Nitin Sawhney – Tides
St. Germain – Rose Rouge
Vango Noir – On The Sly
Brian Eno & David Byrne – America Is Waiting
Instra:Mental – Let’s Talk
Burial & Four Tet – Moth
Shur-I-Kan – Watchmen
Orbital – Halcyon (Tom Middleton Re-model)
Mademoiselle Caro & Franck Garcia – Soldiers (Ben Watt Dub)
Jose James – Black Magic (Joy Orbison’s Recreation)
Kyle Hall – You Know What I feel
Dillinja – Total Recall
Felix K – Recognition
Photek – Knitevision
Spectrasoul Feat D-Bridge – Glimse
Four Tet – Sing (Floating Points Remix)

Download: Mixcloud | Beatplexity | Fairtilizer | Direct Download

66 MINUTES OF RELENTLESS DRUM & BASS, GUARANTEED TO UPSET SMALL CHILDREN AND ELDERLY RELATIVES.

Title: Tough Stuff
Duration: 01:06:24
Encoding: MP3 192kbps
File Size: 91.4MB

Track Listing:
Nico – Omen – No U Turn
Seba & Paradox – Sound on Sound – Bassbin
Seba & Paradox – Fire Like This – Secret Operations
Silent Witness – The Sands – Commercial Suicide
Break – Z-Groove – Quarantine
Noisia – Vanishing Point – Shadow Law
Break & Silent Witness – Rainman – Commercial Suicide
Goldtrix – It’s Love (Trippin) Matrix Remix – Serious Records
Photek – Sidewinder – Photek Productions
Ed Rush & Optical – Greed – Virus
DJ Krust – Soul In Motion – Full Cycle
Macc – No Turning Back – Outsider
Seba & Paradox – Planet…Stars – Freak Recordings
Seba & Paradox – Frost – Bassbin
Seba – Warriors – Secret Operations

Download:
Mixcloud | Beatplexity | Fairtilizer

Back in the nineties, there was a brief period where drum & bass was seen to be pretty cool. We all know those days are long gone, but, during this period, a lot of producers were commissioned to provide remixes for a wide variety of major labels. This mix is a little taster of some my favourite remixes from that period.

Title: On The Remix
Duration: 00:54:58
Encoding: MP3 192kbps
File Size: 75.4MB

Track Listing:
Jay Dee – “Plastic Dreams” (Peshay Remix) – R&S – 1997
Miles Davis – “Rated X” (Doc Scott Remix) – Columbia – 1999
Galliano – “Slack Hands” (Aquasky Remix) – Talkin’ Loud – 1996
DJ Shadow – “What Does Your Soul Look Like” (DJ Die Remix) – Mo Wax – 1997
Olive – “Miracle” (Doc Scott Remix) – RCA – 1996
Lil Louis & The Party – “Clap Your Hands” (PFM Remix) – Go Beat – 1997
Eat Static – “Hybrid” (PFM Remix) – Ultimate Recording Co – 1997
Mulu – “Pussycat” (PFM Remix) – Dedicated – 1997
BMT Vs Erykah – “You Got Me” (Blu Mar Ten Remix) – White – 1999
Akasha – “Brown Sugar” (PFM Cosmic Remix) – Wall Of Sound – 1997

Download:
Mixcloud | Beatplexity | Fairtilizer

Deep Blue is one of the original drum & bass producers. Originally one half of 2 Bad Mice, the Deep Blue project emerged in 1994 with the seminal Helicopter Tune. A career that began at the ground-breaking Moving Shadow, Deep Blue went on to release singles for Partisan, Offshore, Scale & 31 Records.

I’ve always really loved Deep Blue’s singles and have painstakingly tracked down each and every release, on vinyl. Deep Blue’s individual and highly-original sound is unmistakable, and his influence on modern drum & bass, especially artists such as Instra:Mental, is undeniable, which is why making a mix like this, at this point in time, seemed more relevant than ever.

Title: Deep Blue – A Brief History – 1994-2006
Duration: 01:49:36
Encoding: MP3 192kbps
File Size: 150MB

Track Listing:

01. Deep Blue – “Staircase” – Moving Shadow 2-On-1 Series – 1994
02. Deep Blue – “Sunset Over Stevenage” – Moving Shadow – 1994
03. Deep Blue – “Fantasy #3″ – Moving Shadow – 1993
04. Deep Blue – “Fantasy #3″ (JMJ & Richie Remix) – Moving Shadow – 1994
05. Deep Blue – “Helicopter Tune (Fantasy #1)” – Moving Shadow – 1994
06. Omni Trio – “Nu Grooves 94″ (Deep Blue Remix) – Moving Shadow – 1994
07. Deep Blue – “Destroyer” – Partisan – 1998
08. Deep Blue – “Soho Code” – Offshore – 2004
09. Black Rain – “After Dark (You Need A Friend)” – Scale – 2005
10. JMJ & Richie – “Montana” (Deep Blue Remix) – Audio Couture – 1997
11. Deep Blue – “Thursday” – Moving Shadow – 1997
12. Deep Blue & Blame – “Transitions” – Moving Shadow – 1996
13. Odyssey – “Ritual” (Deep Blue’s Alternative Dub) – 720 Degrees – 1998
14. Deep Blue – “Soho Code” (Version X) – Offshore – 2004
15. Deep Blue – “Open Love” – Scale – 2005
16. Deep Blue – “California” – Scale – 2005
17. Black Rain - “Lifecycle” – Scale – 2003
18. Deep Blue – “Do You Voodoo” – Offshore – 2003
19. Deep Blue – “Momentum” – 31 records – 2001
20. Deep Blue & Tertius – “Affirmative” – Partisan – 1999
21. Deep Blue – “Immersion”- 31 Records – 2001
22. Deep Blue – “Who Got The Beats?” – Offshore – 2006
23. Deep Blue – “Destroyer” (Seba Remix) – Scale – 2005
24. Deep Blue – “Oceans Above Life” – Partisan – 1998
25. Deep Blue & Blame – “De-Transitions” – Moving Shadow – 1996

Download: Fairtilizer / BeatPlexity / MixCloud

Links
Deep Blue Discography
Scale Records
Moving Shadow Records
Buy Deep Blue MP3s @ Beatport
Moving Shadow Wikipedia Page