On Cue: DJ Flight
The cult classic online guide to electronic music has (finally) been given an update
The cult classic website, Iskhur's Guide to Electronic Music, has (finally) been given an update.
First launched in 1999, the domain maps out the links between various sub genres, from Italo to gloomcore, tracing roots back to the birth of experimental and musique concrète in the first half of the 20th Century.
Presented as a timeline, users can zoom-in on individual decades, clicking through to in-depth descriptions of each micro-canon, with streamable tracks providing aural examples for each.
US drum & bass pioneer Karl K launches fundraiser to aid recovery from debilitating stroke
After a series of debilitating strokes in 2017 left him disabled, pioneering US drum & bass and jungle DJ Karl K is asking for financial assistance.
Karl has been left with significant brain damage following the strokes. He’s unable to work, and his way of life has been devastated. While over $21,000 has already been donated, much more is needed.
Drum & bass is finally addressing its diversity problem
Recognise: Air Max '97
A year on from his debut album, and a year after moving from Australia to London, the latest Air Max ‘97 project has landed, the four-track ‘Falling Not Walking’ EP. The release features two collaborations with artists also impressing with their own distinctive shades of club music — Italian producer TSVI on ‘Paroxysm’, and Manchester’s LOFT on ‘Xhrinicibles’.
Decisions is a label founded on the basis of releasing idiosyncratic “music to move people”. With past releases from the likes of DJ Plead and Oroboro, van der Lugt is excited about the label’s upcoming projects. The first, from Avbvrn, due later this month, and later Isamov, a producer from New York City whose tracks feature in recent Air Max ‘97 sets (including his Recognise mix).
With upcoming shows in London, New York, Glasgow and Madrid, Air Max ‘97 also recently played a show in Hangzhou, China, in a venue called Loopy, behind the food court on the third floor of a mall. “It’s a concrete cube with a huge Funktion-One soundsystem,” he says. “I was so gassed to finally go there, the crowd was amazing, creative, young and free.” Travelling the world is an “indescribable privilege” for van der Lugt, who will never miss an opportunity to meet local people, eat in their favourite restaurants, and explore local scenes.
Tracklist:
Drum & bass history to be explored in new book by Kmag
Running from 1994 to 2014, drum & bass magazine Knowledge was essential for any true fan of the genre.
Known as Kmag, Knowledge was one of the first British dance music magazines to treat drum & bass with the reverence and respect it deserved. With the latest news and reviews, interviews with the scene’s biggest players or incredible mix CDs, Kmag was crucial for so many fans.
Which is partly why Kmag co-founder Colin Steven is bringing back Kmag one last time:
On Cue: Om Unit
Later in 2018, Coles introduced Mahakala, an outlet to keep his jungle cravings sated. Launched via a live streamed DJ Mag Bunker party, in which Coles systematically dismantled the dancefloor with savage break-led combinations, the first Mahakala release came in October as two tracks: unadulterated slammer ‘The Exodus’ and the more subdued, smoky vibes of ‘Desert Road’.
Coles' most recent delivery was his ‘Violet’ EP, a hazy world of lumbering dub bass and sporadic drum work centred around the 160bpm mark. It’s a tempo Coles is no stranger to, and the style he says interests him most at the moment: “That’s kind of what I’m exploring now, which is a little slower, and yeah, I’m inspired. I think there’s certain people out in the field doing stuff that is...
The mix also features multiple offerings from rising Russian talent A.Fruit, who Coles describes as “really driven and very talented”. Recently appearing on Coles’ Cosmic Bridge label, she delivered ‘Nocturnal’, a four-track EP marking the second edition of a new series titled Earthbase, which focuses on club tracks.
Throughout our conversation Coles is considered in his responses (though, conversely, admitting to being “a bit over-caffeinated”). It’s well-known he’s a philosophical, spiritual kind of guy, humble as they come and always open to exploring both sides of an argument. In a previous interview he even casually referred to himself as “a total hippy”.
Tracklist:
DJ Stingray ‘Sphere Of Influence’ [Naked Lunch]
Jodey Kendrick ‘Item 3 [Rephlex]
Lewis James ‘KIT 5000’ [forthcoming Astrophonica]
CRZKNY ‘Futuro’ [Atomic Bomb Compilation]
ReDraft ‘4real’ [Depth Range]
Client_03 ‘Hope Repeater’ [forthcoming Astrophonica]
Om Unit ‘Untitled’
Sun People ‘Give It UP’ [forthcoming Rua Sound]
Philip D Kick ‘Bleach’ [forthcoming Astrophonica]
Mel G + Nikes ‘Bounce (A.Fruit Remix)’ [Black Marble Collective]
Captivate ‘Shimmer’ [Sublimate/Noctilux]
Get to Know: Olivia
It’s fair to say that Oliva changed the face of her local scene, and she’s now making her mark around Europe. The Kraków native came up at a time when drum & bass was the predominant sound of the city, but years of her own hard work as a DJ and promoter mean it is now about so much more. Olivia first went to legendary local club Kanty with her older brother and “had to bribe bodyguards” and “sneak in through the fence”.
Premiere: Dissect, Sicknote & J.Bionic 'Celestial (Spirit Remix)'
Spirit, the revered drum & bass DJ and Inneractive label boss, delivered a stomping remix for the Paws Recordings crew before he sadly passed away in August last year. Now Dissect, Sicknote and J.Bionic feel the time is right to release it to the world and we've got the exclusive first listen for you.
Real name Duncan Busto, Spirit was known for his work on renowned labels like CIA, Metalheadz and Commercial Suicide, and in particular his long-running production partnership with Digital.
Get To Know: Coco Bryce
Coco Bryce may be a relatively new name to most in the UK, however he’s been plying his trade for around two decades. Hailing from Breda in the south of the Netherlands, it was back in the ‘90s when he first became enamoured with the sounds of breakbeat hardcore and gabber — the latter, he feels perhaps inevitable for a Dutch kid, despite it being at odds with the skater culture he was also a part of.“The raw energy just grabbed me,” he says.
