Category: gabber

It’s been a while since my last Bandcamp friday posts, so here’s some stuff I bought since then that is worth checking out, if you’re into the harder kind of electronic music.

Some beats I’ve been enjoying are First Light from Sleepnet and Enro from DJ Ride. These are on Vision, which is run by the lads from Noisia, so you know it’s going to be high quality. These too are a bit more on the experimental side of the beats spectrum, which is what makes them beautiful.

Let’s increase the speed a bit and enter the land of drum’n’bass.

The Words Below Remaster by DJ Hidden is a gem if you also like his previous album The Later After. I apparently missed this one in 2009, so I’m glad I spotted this remastered version.
It’s DJ Hidden, so don’t expect him to stick to the strict rules of the genre. He’ll venture out into an ambient landscape or some hardcore pounding now and then, but it’s a fantastic ride to listen to.
Good stuff from DJ Hidden, as always.

Also heavy on the drum’n’bass influence is Ronin’s second release on his own label, Ronin Audio 02. This is a lot more of a dancefloor oriented release, with 4 tracks ranging between hard drum’n’bass, darkstep and breakcore. I like the Obese remix, which jumps out as being slower beats track, still in the same dark vein. Obese is another moniker for Ronin’s more breaks oriented material.

Here’s another interesting one. Choose Death from Duran Duran Duran. This breakcore album is so heavy on the jungle influences, I’d almost call this a jungle album. There’s an FFF remix on it too, so that certainly takes it into nu-jungle territory (if that’s even a genre). There’s also a Ronin remix on there, you know, the one from the album above. I’m not sure about that album cover though. A hotdog?

Now we’re getting closer to the hard & heavy stuff, Detest has the Glamerous Cool Kids Stuff LP out on PRSPCT, which is filled with that hardcore banging beats we know him for. On this album he’s showing off his skills and influences (check out Oldschool Trash) by creating a varied set of bangers. Movie Junkie XXL bring a more beat-like oldskool electro-ish vibe in the middle of the album, before getting back to the hardcore industrial style Sleep Knowledge.

Now we’re talking industrial style music anyway, we can’t overlook Strange Arrival’s recent Anticitizen EP on PRSPCT. Eerie soundscapes combined with banging beats is what Strange Arrival stands for. If you like his style, also check out his earlier releases. Borderworlds on Love Hz has a more sci-fi feel to it. Plastic Death on Heresy takes an environmental view on the plastic in the ocean, and finally there’s plain industrial crossbreed darkness on the Imposter Syndrome EP on Genosha recordings.

To top it off, here’s some advanced beat-trickery I can only categorize as breakcore-fuck-yeah. Mechanical Paradox is an older release, but a beauty, by M.E.R.S. If I have to name some influences, I’d say Ruby My Dear for the melodies and Squarepusher for the beat mangling. Now we’re talking Ruby My Dear anyway, I missed his Phlegm release from 2019, apparently. It’s filled with more electronic sounding, atmospheric kind of breakcore goodness in his typical style. Love it.
Somewhat in the same vein as the releases above, is the Morphic EP from Anorak on Greymeta. Analog synth sounds and advance, fast-paced beat fuckery is what you can expect here.