Bump In The Hump Sneak Peek: Fourward & The Arcturians - Alien

Drum and bass is a hit or miss genre for me, however it seems that this year has been far more hit than miss with several DnB tracks likely to appear in my forthcoming top 100 countdown. One of the best sources for quality DnB is of course the legendary UKF, who just released UKF10 what they call "a celebration of our past, our present and our future." While the past and present are strongly represented by Camo & Krooked, Mat Zo, Kove and others, the future can be found in Fourward and The Arcturians "Alien." Featuring the familiar vocals of the Kelowna outfit, the track drops its eerie atmosphere around the minute mark and proceeds to blastoff in a brilliant light-speed blitz. Catch it as part of a trio of DnB tracks on tonight's all new episode of Bump In The Hump live from 7-9 PM EST.FOLLOW FOURWARD: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
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Enlightened Listening for February 8

Fridays never disappoint, but this one seems special with a number of my favourite names returning with new releases. Henrik The Artist once again puts on a clinic of unique quality. Paul Mond plays with our heart strings. Camo & Krooked kill it on UKF. Jake Robertz follows with a sick six track EP.  We then change gears for two, top-notch, uber-cool creations from Red Axes and ABSOLUTE.. Then comes MK with yet another inspired remix, which leads into a genius, jaw-dropping original from Haywyre. Finally, PINEO & LOEB drop the best cover album of the year in ELEVATION. Stream this week's Enlightened Listening playlist below and find individual releases linked at the bottom. Enjoy!

CLMD - Trouble (Henrik The Artist Remix)

Jarreau Vandal - What You Saying? (Paul Mond Remix)

Camo & Krooked - Atlas

Jake Robertz - Ophidia

Red Axes - Shabak Shalom

Prospa - Prayer (ABSOLUTE. Remix)

Elderbrook - Old Friend (MK Remix)

Haywyre - Let Me Hear That

PINEO & LOEB - ELEVATION

Fake Blood - Shogun

In late May Cheap Thrills, the curator of classics from Hervé, Jack Beats, Stanton Warriors and others, announced a new 10 track compilation in honour of their upcoming 10th anniversary. Before beginning to showcase any new content, they drew our attention with 10 of their greatest hits from their immense catalog in a compilation called FREE THRILLS. Although originally announced as being released July 6th (via Data Transmission here and UKF here), it seems there's been a snag as July 13th they tweeted "We're getting very close to announcing the main release..." Well that silence has since been broken, and doubly so, in that yesterday we got the first new Fake Blood release in years, "Shogun."

Created to recapture the classic rave vibes you'd heard in London, Fake Blood has gone back to signature bleepy, fidget house style combining shadowy intrigue, brilliant breakbeats and sensational synth pads. It stabs and slashes with Fake Blood's propensity for strange film samples, deserving of the title "Shogun." But best of all it is sonically sublime, pairing notes perfectly, achieving unparalleled accord and amicability in spite of its umbral atmopshere. No matter what Fake Blood track you want to choose, I can find for you transcendent sound design; my favourite however comes from the aforementioned FREE THRILLS, "Voices." It is this contrasting acerbity and attractiveness coming at the second drop (3:30 in "Voices") that melts my heart and has me falling in love with music once again. I had almost given up hope that Fake Blood would return, and I'm on the verge of gushing further, so I'll stop here, as we look forward to more from the forthcoming release of 10 Years Of Cheap Thrills.FOLLOW FAKE BLOOD: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER

Mohican Sun - Cold Earth EP

Whoever Mohican Sun is/are, they're definitely off to an incredible start to the year, gearing up for their Cold Earth EP to drop February 9th. I say whoever they are because despite being around since at least September 2016, we still don't know much about them. We know they're affiliated with Dawn Wall, if only through their similar masks, and of course their label, Integral Records. A UKF article Who The Hell Is Mohican Sun? got a quote from Integral's head honcho saying "Mohican Sun is a new member of the tribe. A new combination of producers including original members of the camp."

But as I say, whoever they are, they are off to a blazing start offering up four of the five tracks from Cold Earth, following today's DJ Mag premiere of "Calgary." Stream below and pre-order via Intergral Records, where it's available a week early, otherwise wait and grab via Beatport here.The opening track "Don't Wait" strikes me as a raucous, rolling liquid version of SBTRKT, especially as the vocals add even further emotional depth to the already inciting organic elements. The title track again invokes intense power with its enveloping atmosphere and smart use of effects to further fill the strong soundscape. As unleashed on Rene LaVice's BBC Radio One show, "Spiralled" is supremely strapping, ushering in some unyielding waves of endorphins with its rushes of robust bass wallops. The most recent, and penultimate track of the EP, "Calgary" conjures up crystal clear imagery of one of the coldest urban centers on the planet. Its glassy glaze and chilling atmosphere is the fantastic yet freezing finale. And now I say finale, because "Calgary" will be the end of the EP on its vinyl release, with "Living This Way" coming as a digital bonus. There is a two minute preview on Intergral Records release page here, which sees it continue this trend of chilling liquid DnB. And if you're a fan of DnB then be sure to grab Cold Earth, which certainly does not disappoint.

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ValyMo & Broady - Get Funky

As part of Gold Digger's We Are Bass House year end compilation, ValyMo and Broady have teamed up to drop French bass track "Get Funky." As part of the explosion of both bass house and French artists (Malaa, Slowbody, Dombresky, LH4L, etc), we've seen a surplus of copycat producers trying to live up to the likes of those mentioned above. But there's really no questioning the quality of ValyMo or Broady; ValyMo can boast productions for OWSLA, UKF and Ultra, while Broady cannot match that list, he's released numerous quality tracks ranging from "Hunnid For The Quarter," "Go The Farthest," "Kush World," and "Never Say Never." Considering his account is only 8 months old, Broady is a fast rising talent, and this collab with ValyMo will only hasten that. "Get Funky" stands out from the aforementioned surplus of bass house tracks, with well thought out layers of production working together brilliantly. From the vocal samples, through the ratcheted bass synth and throbbing subs, the overall design of "Get Funky" leaves little to be desired. The fills are fire, its atmosphere intoxicating and the continuous progression ensures it never gets stale. If this track turns your crank, you'll likely enjoy the other 14 tracks in the compilation, but first, get "Get Funky" for yourself free, here. FOLLOW BROADY: FACEBOOK SOUNDCLOUD TWITTER
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