It’s the breakbeat I love and remember done now, with some big beat, drum and bass, and video game sound aesthetics. This is such a fun album from the music through the concept to the cover art.
Hello Meteor – The Oahu GP 3: Factory Team
Noise Unit – Cheeba City Blues
I wasn’t aware that Noise Unit was a Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber project. But I’ve been listening to this album as casual daily backdrop for months. It’s nothing too outstanding or new to be honest, but it combines many of the things that I just like to hear in the industrial electronic music spectrum, which is not so surprising given Leeb and Fulber. It also has this musical diversity (like dub reverbs with a strong modern bass line and EBM-like vocals in one track), which always gives me some cyberpunk feeling (the “beyond globalization” kind where everything goes in the multicultural blender).
Overlook – Lost Souls Club EP
This is unexpected. I haven’t heard of Overlook before and this music is so much up my alley that it’s like the literal avenue in my city center. Jazzy moods and urban sounds with drum & bass. It’s like DJ Krush but instead of triphop blues having some more tempo to breakbeat and onwards. This is so not 2022, but it’s so amazing.
Eris Drew – Quivering In Time
Some fun moods and uplifting sounds on the house-breakbeat axis. It’s your afternoon stage music in a festival, which could either be the warm-up for the evening or the afterparty from the previous night.
Machinedrum – Psyconia
Broken beat, drum and bass, hiphop, IDM, the common denominator is smoothness and a light heart. Like if it’s drum and bass then it’s liquid, if it’s hiphop then it’s soulful. These 26 minutes contain a whole summer’s many flavors in six tracks. It’s not a consistent record at all, more like a promo sampler for a festival, but there’s fun in all those tracks.
Alex Banks – Beneath The Surface
Intimate electronic music (think Moderat) with down to mid tempo and glitchy broken beats. Not the kind of intimate that makes you turn inside and feel blue, but the one that gives a push and inspires.
Hugo Massien – Metamorphosis
Bass-heavy slow to mid tempo electronic music. Genrewise it’s a mishmash: the highest percentage is probably house, but it’s changing every other track to dubstep, breakbeat, house, IDM, ambient. Good backdrop for work.
FJAAK & Elli Acula – To The Peak (Steffi Mix)
This brings back amazing memories when my favorite breaks DJs played the kind of nu skool breaks that I loved so much. The Fjaak guys still haven’t missed a beat for me, and Steffi has been an evergreen favorite of mine who pushed this track just that one notch further.
Octo Octa – She’s Calling EP
Breaks and house, focus changing from track to track, or within a track itself. It’s like a little kaleidoscope. (While tagging this post I’m amazed I haven’t had any Octo Octa releases here so far. I’m listening to basically all new releases from her.)
Machinedrum – A View of U
I just finished the 2020 long player of Sub Focus and decided not to put it up here when this record followed and I thought, so this is the one that was meant to be. The same kind of accessible, easy to listen drum and bass electronic dance music but with just a little bit more sophistication and less sugarcoat. Although it’s still fluffy and light like a smokey Saturday afternoon. I feel so good that this is released by Ninja Tune: I could also say this is drum and bass through the Ninja’s lens, as in that being quality assurance.