Seba – Exclusive New Drum & Bass Mix – 2009 PT1

Seba

Seba

Swedish producer Seba has been making top quality tunes for a number of years, with a string of releases on labels like Good Looking Records, Metalheadz and his own Secret operations label. Originating from Ingaro, an island just outside Stockholm, Sebastian Ahrenberg started producing in the early 90s. Working with a basic home studio, he began by making techno, but soon progressed to a more breakbeat-orientated sound, which is know today as drum & bass.

Seba is known for his emotional depth in his music, which is rarely seen in todays drum & bass. In 2001 he started his label Secret operations, as a platform to continue making beats in a deeper and emotional direction.

Last year saw the release of Seba’s debut album, Return To Forever, which, in my opinion, is probably the best drum & bass album I’ve ever heard.

Seba is probably the most talented producer in the d&b scene bar none; musically, he never fails to deliver, and his music is constantly evolving. What a joy it must be then, for him to find time to put together this excellent 50 minute drum & bass mix.

Tracklisting
1. Illogic & raf – songs of experience – Bingo
2. Mosus & HLZ – Nexus7 – Liquid V
3. Calibre – understand – deep kut
4. Seba – pressure point – hospital dub
5. Seba – dont you love me any more – dub
6. Seba – painted sky – secret operations dub
7. Seba & Kirsty Hawkshaw – The joy (face to face) – secret operations dub
8. Spy – ASBO – soul:r
9. Illogic & raf – complex identities – Bingo
10. Eward Oberon – Paradise – dub
11. Spy – the boy who cried wolf – 31 records

Links
Secret Operations – Seba’s label
Seba @ Juno Records
Secret Operations Myspace Page
Seba & Krazy Myspace Page

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Blu Mar Ten – Natural History Album

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” -Charles Darwin

Few musical acts can lay claim to such dynamic evolution as Blu Mar Ten. Formed in the big-bang of 90’s drum & bass, their superior genes saw them grow and mutate beyond the confines of the jungle into lush experimentation with downtempo, ambient, house, techno & left-field.

Returning to their ancestral roots, ‘Natural History’ is the long-awaited first full drum & bass album from Blu Mar Ten leaving you in no doubt about their position at the cutting edge of the genre. From the storming remix of vocal opener ‘Starting Over’, through the deeply abstract ‘Grey Area’, to the VIP rework of massive club hit ‘Close’ and the epic ‘Last Dance’, ‘Natural History’ showcases the trio’s ability to enrich and develop their DNA, resulting in an album full of surprising twists and turns that always carry the Blu Mar Ten stamp of quality.

DJ support for ‘Natural History’ has come from right across the d&b family tree, including:
Marky, London Elektricity, Doc Scott, Teebee, D Bridge, Hype, John B, Logistics, Ed Rush, Marcus Intalex, Utah Jazz, Makoto, Spectrasoul , Apex, SPY, Craggz, DKay, Seba, Loxy, Ink, Lynx, Instra:mental, John B, Randomer, Data, Ink, Nerm & D-Kode, Annie Nightingale, Crissy Criss, Mosus, Furney, SPY, A Sides, Tom Middleton, ASC, Kubiks, Lomax, Alleycat, Big Bud and many more….

CD Tracklisting:
01. Starting Over (2009 Remix)
02. Above Words
03. God’s Lonely Man
04. By The Time My Light Reaches You I’ll Be Gone
05. Grey Area
06. Believe Me
07. Close (VIP)
08. Clipjoint
09. If I Could Tell You
10. Nobody Here
11. Last Dance
12. Overwhelm
13. Bedroom Eyes

Audio:

Blu Mar Ten – Natural History by Blu Mar Ten

Digital Version will feature the following Bonus Tracks:
(14). Made Of Air
(15). Eight Rounds Rapid

2×12″ Vinyl Tracklist:
A) Close (VIP)
B) Clipjoint
C) If I Could Tell You
D) Last Dance

According to the official ST Holdings Announcement, the album will be in shops from 2nd November 2009.

Links
Blu Mar Ten @ Juno Records
Pre-Order The Vinyl @ Red Eye Records
Blu Mar Ten @ Chemical Records
Blu Mar Ten @ Play.com
Blu Mar Ten @ itunes
Official Blu Mar Ten Site

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Fanu – Homefree – Lightless Recordings

Homefree

“Homefree” is, technically, the third long player from prolific producer Fanu aka Janne Hatula, Finland’s biggest drum & bass star. The first was “Focused Mind” under his now defunct Fanu Samurai monikor, which was eventually re-packaged as monster double-pack called “Daylightless”, containing both “Focused Mind” and a whole suite of new drum & bass tracks.

“Homefree” is a 13-track, mostly drum & bass affair. The album kicks off with the epic “Amok”, which has received much DJ support over the last 12 months; It’s a very cinematic, edgy, emotional track with a beautiful melody and haunting vocals. Fanu’s take on the do-the-do break is really phenomenal in this track; I’ve never heard it sound quite so punchy. As a bit of a surprise, the track concludes with a heavy amen brothers workout to complete what is probably one of his biggest tracks since the mighty Siren Song.

“And I Find It There” harks back to the Fanu Samurai project with his mid-tempo drums, ethnic instruments and unusual melodies.

“Where It Rains Blood”, which was previously a single on Lightless, is a homage to the latest David Lynch film INLAND EMPIRE. The vocals are used to great affect to build a lot of tension before Fanu takes us through a definitive lesson on how to program drums. It’s a pretty intense, edgy, crazy track and really stands out.

“Burning The Bridge” is another excellent example of Fanu’s ability to effortlessly switch styles and create really cinematic-sounding music. The track has really heavy, pounding drums and a growling double bass, all used to great effect.

“Cry4u” is, I think, one of Fanu’s first vocal tracks, featuring Swervez, and follows Amok’s emotional, melodic tones, but with the addition of some very nice vocals.

“End Of An Era” is an excellent 90s sounding atmospheric Amen Track, which is reminiscent of something Boymerang would have written for the landmark drum & bass album, Balance Of The Force. A nice track that quickly brings back memories of the old GLR days.

All in all, this 15-track album highlights Fanu’s tireless dedication to his craft; A very detailed, moving, and impressive piece of work.

“Homefree” was released in August 2009 on lightless recordings.

Links
Buy Homefree from Juno Records
Buy Homefree in MP3 Format from Digital Tunes.net
Buy Homefree in MP3 Format from RawRip
Buy Homefree from the itunes store
http://www.fanumusic.com/ – The Official Fanu Site
http://www.myspace.com/fanubreaks – Fanu Myspace Page

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Session 016 October 2009

NYX

UNKNOWN ARTIST – NEWSNIGHT THEME
UNITED FUTURE ORGANISATION – THE MOVING SHADOWS
JOCELYN POOK – MASKED BALL
ANGELO BADALAMENTI &  THE CITY OF PRAGUE PHILHARMONIC – DIANE & CAMILLA
FLOATING POINTS – VACUUM BOOGIE
DOLLY PARTON – HERE YOU COME AGAIN
UNITED FUTURE ORGANISATION – COSMIC GYPSY
SEBA – BLAZE & FADE OUT
NAIBU – IT TOOK A LONG TIME
CYANTIFIC – EMPTY STREETS
SEBA & KRAZY – INKASSO
BLU MAR TEN – CLOSE
RESOUND – SECOND THOUGHTS
SEBA – 34 ALPHA
COMMIX – JUSTIFIED
NUCLEUS & PARADOX – ETYMOLOGY
SPECTRASOUL – INSIGNIA
LONDON ELEKTRICITY – JUST ONE SECOND (APEX REMIX)
SABRE & SURVIVAL – OMEGA KING
CONSEQUENCE – THE HOLD
UNITED FUTURE ORGANISATION – THE MOVING SHADOWS (EXCERPT)

Download

To download via the itunes podcast directory, click the image below; or alternatively, for a direct download link, click here

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Session 015 – September 2009

Session 015 September 2009

First & Foremost, I would like to thank Rico @ Darkestral for allowing me to play the excellent “Dreadtone” by Consequence, forthcoming on Darkestral Excursions. Check out Darkestral at any of the following sites:

http://www.darkestral.com/
http://www.myspace.com/darkestralrecordings
http://www.myspace.com/darkestralexcursions

Following last month’s format, this month’s selection kicks off with some top-drawer drum & bass, followed by a hand-picked sequence of the finest electro, detroit techno, and other lush electronica.

CONSEQUENCE – DREADTONE – FORTHCOMING ON DARKESTRAL EXCURSIONS
INSTRA:MENTAL – WATCHING YOU
SPECTRASOUL FEAT. MIKE KNIGHT – MELODIES
SPECTRASOUL – ALIBI (BREAK REMIX)
CARL CRAIG – SPARKLE
CARL CRAIG – SCIENCE FICTION (VERSION)
PSYCHE – ELEMENTS
DREXCIYA – AQUA WORM HOLE
DOPPLEREFFEKT – Z-BOSON
DOPPLEREFFEKT – HYPERELLIPTIC SURFACES (EXCERPT) / MESSAGE FROM MISSION CONTROL
DREXCIYA – DAVY JONES LOCKER
TELEX – MY TIME
WAX STAG – SHORT ROAD
THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE – COURAGE
THE OTHER PEOPLE PLACE – MOONLIGHT RENDEZVOUS
SLEEPY TOWN MANUFACTURE – CHERISH

Download

To download via the itunes podcast directory, click the image below; or alternatively, for a direct download link, click here

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Next Blu Mar Ten Album Title Announced

The next Blu Mar Ten Album

The next Blu Mar Ten Album - Natural History

The title of the third album from Blu Mar Ten was announced this morning as “Natural History”. The title was announced earlier today by one of the members of the trio, together with some very nice, contemporary artwork courtesy of ithinkitsnice, who has recently provided artwork for Bop‘s debut album on Medschool.

In a stark contrast to their previous albums, The Six Million Names Of God and Blackwater, “Natural History” is going to be an all-drum & bass album. I’ve always thought that drum & bass albums rarely work, so it’ll be interesting to hear what they’ve come up with; to be fair, Seba’s Return To Forever was a truly excellent example of a good, solid album of drum & bass; almost a blueprint for how it should be done.

Rumours suggest that “Natural History” will be dropping around October / November, on their own Blu Mar Ten imprint.

Links
www.blumarten.com
– Official Site
www.myspace.com/blumarten – Official Myspace Page
http://www.ithinkitsnice.com/ – Official page of graphic designer ithinkitsnice

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Instra:Mental on Mary Anne Hobbs Radio 1 25th Aug 2009

Mary Anne Hobbs

Instra:Mental provided a guest mix for Mary Anne Hobbs’ BBC Radio 1 show last night, showcasing their own unique take on drum & bass. Naturally, every track is absolutely bang on; Well worth checking out I reckon.

Instra:Mental Mix for Mary Anne Hobbs
Instra:mental – ‘Forbidden’ (Applepips)
Instra:mental – ‘Vicodin’ (Naked Lunch)
Instra:mental – ‘Voyeur’ (Disfigured Dubz)
Steve Spacek – ‘Ur a Sta’ [DBridge Edit]
Instra:mental – ‘Watching You’ (Nonplus+)
Instra:mental – ‘End Credits’ (Nonplus+)

Download

Links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/maryannehobbs/ – Mary-Anne Hobbs Radio 1 Homepage
http://www.myspace.com/instramentaluk – Instra:Mental Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/nonplusrecords – NonPlus+ Records
http://www.myspace.com/darkestralrecordings – Darkestral Recordings

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Marc Moulin post Placebo – Telex My Time

This is “My Time” by Telex. Telex were a band that Belgian Keyboard Maestro Marc Moulin formed after his jazz-outfit Placebo went their separate ways.

Whilst Placebo was a jazzy affair, Telex was clearly more influenced by up & coming electronic groups like Kraftwerk. This is “My Time” from the album Neurovision. The title track from that album was actually a Eurovision song contest entry, which apparently didn’t go down very well.

Anyways, the point is, “My Time” is such a great tune, I love it.

If you want to hear some of Marc Moulin’s Jazz output, you could do a lot worse than to check out volume 1  of my Jazz Fudge mix tapes:

Jazz Fudge – Volume One

Also, Marc Moulin’s excellent track “From” appears within episode six of my regular podcast series.

Links
http://www.marcmoulin.com/ – Official Page of marc Moulin (RIP)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Moulin – Marc Moulin Wikipedia Entry
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Marc+Moulin – Marc Moulin Discography
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Telex – Telex Discography
Buy the album Neurovision at Amazon

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Music I have purchased recently

There’s simply so much great music around right now, and I have been snapping it all up: here’s a quick summary of records & cd’s I’ve bought in the past few weeks:

Instra:Mental – Sepia Tones EP

Translucent is destined to become an all time classic. Gorgeous.

buy

Dopplereffekt – Hyperelliptic Surfaces

Gerald Donald’s post-drexciya work is a bit hit-and-miss in places, but there’s some real gems amongst his vast back catalogue. This is a good one:

buy

Whitest Boy Alive – Rules

Great album; full of fender rhodes, and all the tracks are very uptempo, almost verging on funky house, in a funny way. This track, “Courage” is probably the stand-out track, I just love Erlend Øye’s voice.

buy

Empire Of The Sun – Walking On a Dream

Hot on the heals of MGMT, EOTS have a great, funky, retro sound. Lots of good strong tracks, one of those albums you can just slap on, knowing that there’s no need to skip past any duds. This track, “Half Mast”, is a bit of a grower – unapologetically cheesy but great all-the-same.

buy

Spectrasoul – Alibi (Break Remix)

Easily the best drum & bass track released so far this year – absolutely exhilarating, gorgeous remix from the man like Break.

buy

Takagi Masakatsu – Girls

Subtle, beautiful piano piece. Lovely stuff.

buy

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Session 014 August 2009

First off, many thanks to all of you who have been listening to these podcasts over the past year-and-a-bit. I hope you’ve enjoyed them as much as I’ve enjoyed glueing them all together.

So, without further ado, here is the next one!…

COMMIX – BREAKING THROUGH
BLU MAR TEN – BELIEVE ME
HELIOS – VARGTIMME
HARMONIC 313 – FALLING AWAY FEAT. STEVE SPACEK
DOVES – SNOWDEN
CARPENTERS – IT’S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME
VAN MORRISON – THE WAY YOUNG LOVERS DO
ROGERO’S BRAZILIAN BRASS – BRASILIA 71
DER ZYKLUS – FORMENVERWANDLER
THE OTHER PEOPLE PLACE – MOONLIGHT RENDEZVOUS
ARIL BRIKHA – CONTACT
THE OTHER PEOPLE PLACE – LET ME BE ME
EMPIRE OF THE SUN – COUNTRY
BENT – ON THE LAKE
TAKAGI MASAKATSU – GIRLS
HARMONIC 33 – THE RAIN SONG

Download

To download via the itunes podcast directory, click the image below; or alternatively, for a direct download link, click here

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