The Groove Thief

Crisp and confident, Robot Orchestra’s Amplified EP is full-on boom-bap. Mostly intrumental, these are well-polished productions made primarily from chopped, looped, and manipulated 60s & 70s guitar samples. “Malfunction” ought to have been spelled with a ‘k,’ while “Sunday At The Park” is suited for head-nodders in all locales. The rock comes through on “Studderstep (Interlude),” short and fierce, which pairs nicely with the lushness of predecessor “Beauty and the Beat.” “The Joke’s On You” is heavy and brooding, awaiting an action flick to be paired with. Wrapping up the EP are two Robot Orchestra productions  with Rob Regis feat. Akbar and M.A.R.S. on the mic respectively, putting the beats to good use. Free download:

If you enjoy this EP, check out my review of Robot Orchestra’s previous release Beat The Odds.

Dubmonger, a fellow purveyor, is showcasing his Dub Of The Living Dead EP. “Amalgam” starts the set off ominously, dark and atmospheric dub at its thickest. “Mountain Dub” is heavy and haunting; “Crumble” will surely inspire some dub aficionados to do some crumbling themselves, with its hazy echoes and teasing melodica. “9000 Year Lease” is representative of the latter half: slower and darker dub for the end of the world, a journey through apocalyptic depths of Romero-esque proportions. Put on your dub-goggles, and enjoy the freebie “Twenty Paces Dub” while you do:

Kabanjak & Fat Albert Einstein have combined forces on a potent new melodica dub EP, Dub O’ Dup. With heavy bass rumbles, haunting melody lines, and piles of echo and reverb, the spirit of Augustus Pablo has been given due respect by these talented multi-instrumentalists. The organic sounds emerge beautifully on heady dubs like “Southern Hemi,” which slowly skanks alongside a gliding solo. The Ancient Astronauts - recently-reviewed! - remix of “Rail To Rail” (free to download) is warm and funky with a smooth horn-line, while “Shame Is A Lonely Word” feels like a dub dirge. “As Above” sounds timeless, hazy in all the right ways, but what’s personally most exciting is the remix contest the artists are running. There’s a great chilled-out remix out of “Dub O’ Dup,” called The Groove Thief Dreams Of Dub Mix, so you can probably understand my particular bias towards it:

Indidginus’ Sab Kuch Milega EP takes a worldly approach to bass, featuring numerous vocal styles while letting the beats fiercely drop. The South African producer/performer starts with well-crafted claps-and-drums on the future-electro of “Arab Spring” before nicely twisting into drum-and-bass; haunting strings introduce the track, but once the beat begins, “Vajradanti” is hardly predictable tabla but rather huge subcontinental vocal hook atop thick dubstep; final full-length “Timewave Zero” is fresh-off-the-spaceship intergalactic digital-dubstep. Also available for your listening pleasure are the Friction Labs remix of “Fitteh Moo” along with several potent minimixes. Much more than Bollywood-gone-bass, this is what happens when the tribes unite:

An EP mix is also available:  

Tensei’s brand of instrumental hip-hop is addictive, as they avoid the dangers of boring beats and instead turn out meticulously-designed and enjoyable soundscapes.  The Two EP, streaming below and available for download in exchange for an email address, is much more funk than soul, and better for it.  The tracks are engaging (one does have vocals), from the Eastern and jazzy melodies of opener “Passport,” to the well-integrated flute in “Plazzio’s Revenge,” to the uptempo amble of “Low Key.”  Go get your groove on:

As a bonus here’s the One EP as well:

DU3normal’s Plug EP presents stylish classic-inspired dub, but just like his name there’s more than there appears to these smoothly-layered productions.  The drums rumble in, the synths emerge from the haze, and melodicas dance atop the beat, resulting in that perfect synthesis of heavy and light.  The pitch and echo effects of “morning again” show excellent use of space, while “you make me feel” steadily plods forward through the dubscape.  The sparsest track here is “night train,” meaning that opener “riding” is the most optimistic with its upbeat melody and higher bpm.  The Early Grey EP is equally solid and deserving of your time, particularly “shadow stepper,” as DU3normal has clearly mastered his craft.  King Tubby would undoubtedly be proud:

Blend Mishkin & Bruises n Cuts have combined forces to create an eclectic dancehall-meets-moombahton EP, My Boom Raise The Dead Vol. 1.  Tracks are up on Soundcloud, and there are some accelerated floor-shaking anthems here, drawing from a variety of musical influences to create a funky musical stew.  ”Big Up Sister Nancy” not only has a title that speaks the truth, but is arguably the strongest of this collection, assembled by Blend Mishkin under his Mr. Mention alias and featuring Daddy Freddy’s vocals sped up to fit with the frantic pounding beats.  Future dancehall clearly needs to be a genre of its own, as BnC’s pair of tracks (as Bossy Ride) come in slow and thick with sound-effects slapped all over their swaggering moombahton rhythms.  Blend Mishkin also drops a drum n bass cut - less than a day old and a preview of Vol. 2 - “Jamaican Girls,” that is in the same vein as some of Krak In Dub’s dnb work.  Like most everything on Cast-a-Blast these are all worth a listen and ready to start a fire beneath some feet at a late-night party near you…

18/04 EDIT: “Jamaican Girls” now has a video, it’s girls&cars&reggae&jungle:

Backbeat Sound System feature remixed grooves aplenty on their latest EP, One Step Forward.  The first two tracks are laid-back originals, and sound great, but the gems here are the drum n bass and funky techno beats that make up the latter half of the album.  The harder beats and smooth drops fit the vocal stylings well, creating a nice sense of urgency.  This is music that want to be danced to, while still having a light sound from the nice horns with a slight ska influence.