I have this folder with old breakcore/jungle mixes and dj-sets from around 2005 and later, when streaming from SoundCloud or whatever wasn’t a thing yet. Recently someone on Twitter was looking for an old mix I blogged about, so I figured I might as well put the old mp3 mixes I have up on archive.org, so anyone can find and enjoy them.
I’ve uploaded most of my breakcore mixes by now, and will be adding some more in the future. For search engines’ sake, I’m listing below what I’ve uploaded so far.
With all the horror going on in Ukraine, you just feel like you want to help in some way, right? A lot of musicians feel the same way, and brought out albums where the profits will go to humanitarian efforts to support the people of Ukraine. So here are a few albums I came across in the last week, where you can get help out, and get some good beats in return.
A 136 track album filled with all styles of drum’n’bass, some dubstep and general bass music. Good stuff. Lots of big and smaller names in there, so something for everyone.
This collection is huge, and worth more than the asking price, if you know what I mean. ;)
Grey Meta also has a compilation album up with artists from all over. A mix of the faster, harder, alternative electronic music styles. Think hardcore, industrial techno and breakcore.
If you think all this stuff is way too hard, no worries, there’s also the complete other end of the spectrum, being ambient. If you need to chill from all the doomscrolling, Places for Peace might be just what you are looking for.
If you come across some good electronic music that donates proceeds to help Ukrainian people, feel free to share them in the comments.
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.
A while back I ran into a tweet from the Darkstep recordings label, asking for submissions for a compilation album. To apply you had to send in a 1-minute clip, which would all be compiled and mixed into a single album.
Track style could be anything, as long as it’s hard & fast. Darkstep, breakcore, jungle, drum’n’bass, glitch, industrial techno, you name it.
I thought I’d give it a shot in Renoise to get to know the software a bit, and it turned out to be pretty much a hardcore techno track. Not the greatest thing I’ve come up with, but it was good enough.
If you’re in the mood for a very noisy and glitchy mix, this might be right for you.
