Soulful D&B can be a bit of a Marmite sound, you either love it or hate it. I personally love the groove, the soul and the smoothness. And when it comes to smooth it is hard to beat people like DRS, Lenzman, GLXY, Naibu and every other producer in this mix. If you like this sound and haven’t discovered DRS’ Everything Must Go! album, get on it! Ditto for GLYX’s incredible Love, Chaos EP and the new Nauibu joint Sans Soleil. So much great soulful stuff around at the moment. Hertz to Breath – 1hr of Soulful D&B DRS & Mither – Angels On My Shoulder GLYX – Detached GLXY & Catching ..read more

Part two of my infrequent series focusing on beats at the 164bpm range. There is too many great tunes in here to call them all out. I will highlight MOOD$ impressive Soul Music EP on Outhouse Sounds however as every tune on it is a straight up banger. Shouts to ASC and Eshaton too for hooking me up with a slew of incredible music on the regular which I very much appreciate. Keep the goods coming. One Six Four: Two – 1hr of 164bpm Beats Sub Motion – Random Movements Aural Imbalance – Altered Perception Starski – Eros Cryogenics – Shadow Path ASC – Repetition HAIDA – Don’t Need A Title (Mystic S ..read more

Always out to prove that Liquid isn’t a dirty word, this mix has a little bit of everything except the stadium sound that most people associate with the genre. Furney’s cracker track Tantrum is a jazz fused number with a heap of grunt behind it and we have the title track from his recent So Cold LP on Soul Deep. Break is back, also with a new Digital World LP on Symmetry Recordings from which I’ve drawn Tell Me and his amazing vocal track Wait for You with Lorna King. And I’ve pulled Daylight and Low Flying from Bungles recent Under Influence EP on the titular Influence label. Other tracks of ..read more

I stumbled across The Chikara Project at the end of ’22, and fell down the rabbit hole in ’23. Pretty much every release of Mystic State’s has something to draw me in. As a production duo they are obviously talented, but as a label they incredible. Adding artists like HAIDA, Marenn Sukie, Deviant, Levrige and Brainwork to really up the ante. There is something infectious in the The Chikara Project’s ability to be chill and ambient, but add enough grit to get you nodding your head and moving. The bass is warm but huge, the beats are tight and the vibe is there. There isn’t enough of this sound ..read more

It’s been a long time between drinks for a Down Low Session, but Mystic State’s label The Chikara Project has brought me back into the chillout fold with their sublime take on Dubstep and Garage. Shouts out to Marenn Sukie who leads us in on this mix for the CHikara crew, but followed by Mystic State, SMBR, Jevon Ives, HAIDA and Therma. Other stand outs are Calibre (when isn’t he a stand out) with Has to Happen from his LP Feeling Normal, the mighty Leftfield with Storms End, Fixate on Exit Records with the bottomless Dead End and a killer Remix of Lennie De Ice’s seminal We Are IE by Caspa &a ..read more

It’s been a mighty year for smooth and soulful D&B so I thought I’d put together some of the tunes that have been slinking their way into my ear drums. You can’t talk smooth D&B without talking Calibre and here we have his colab single with ST Files and Carmelle Cox – Grow, plus More fool Me and No Stopping both from his second LP of the year Rudy. Heron Flow is another artist who has had an immense 2023, this time with his 31 Recordings release Bones that features Be Forgotten, Blame Game and the titular track Bones. You know it is a strong release when you can find three tracks you h ..read more

Another Way for you. Hope you Njoy. Recorded in Liverpool end of 2023. Ceasefire now. Special boost to my DJ pal Ben V + fam + Rara. 1hr 24mins runtime. Strong Dnb influenced but goes all over… Alwayz WilL – 12th Way Nils Frahm – Mussel Memory feat MC Det slowstyle rRoxymore – At Dawn (Original Mix) Harmonic 313 – Falling Away (wSteve Spacek) Lake Haze – Shores Of Eternal Life (Original Mix) Actress – Pluto ( a 2 ) (Original Mix) Actress – Game Over ( e 1 ) (Original Mix) Nocow – Temno feat. Fama87 Kobe JT – Gosh (Original Mix) Toby Ross – Sekkle (Original Mix) Synpal, the nice planet – Licen ..read more

Rolling with some phat beats from the harder end of the spectrum this time around with Metalheadz getting a special mention for a particularly strong year. With Tech Noir – Pitchwheel, Nookie – Over & Over, Goldie – Inner City Life (Break Remix) and Scar’s The Lane VIP, Count It Off VIP and his remix of Goldie – Angel all giving solid vibes though out the mix. Other notables are Kid Drama & Garvo’s heavy Nitrosurge on CNVX doing bits, more goodness from Loxy & Resound’s Dub Pack Vol. 1 in the form of Metro VIP and DLR’s best tune this year Tryna Get This Money. Special shout out f ..read more

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve dipped my toe into the deeper end of the D&B pool, but since I have I decided to dive right in. Ink’s Architecture Recordings has always been a source of deeper inspiration and his latest The Tree and the Wind LP with Sin is no exception. Loxy & Resound have also stepped up with their killer Dub Pack Vol.1 full of stripped back deep cuts of dark D&B. Last but not least, Mystic State has been releasing some absolute gold on his Bristol based label, The Chikara Project for years now. His LP Between these Moments has been one of the strongest release ..read more

Pulling the beat back to 160bpm on this mix of new tracks and remastered classics. Kicking things off we have Mystic State who’s One For You LP on their criminally under-rated The Chikara Project label is one of the best releases of the year for me. ASC seems to pop up every time I roll a 160bmp mix and this is no exception with his track Dreamcatcher from the Sea of Dreams EP on his Auxiliary label. And a big up to Neekeetone for his Anti-War Dubplates series, for his reworks of Gentleman’s Dub Club – High Grade and the Fat Freddy’s Drop’s classic Cay’s Crays. One last shout for D.R.S recentl ..read more