This is the 5th and closing part of the blog’s extended ‘Liner Notes on 2022’ series and I have already made a promise to myself to keep it shorter next time. All entries in these annual features do have something in common. Whether they were written a few months, a decade or 30 years ago, they all capture a special time and place retaining the relevance of that revered sound; a nostalgic reminder of simpler times.
For this last part of the series, I have selected another 12 drum & bass singles/EPs that might (or might not) have gone under the radar, which I think are definitely worthy of your attention; precious moments where the underground and the niche pop their camo-clad head through the mire of derivative and forgettable music. Most of the records in this list were pressed in limited quantities and have already sold out, however some back stock though might still be floating here and there. I have also attached links for previews and purchase (where available).
All Bladerunner references are purely coincidental.
Returning to the standard template and ordered by the official release date here are another 12 of my favourite 2022 drum & bass singles and EPs:
Dave Wallace – Bladerunner (Duplate Mix / Fugitive Remix)
Label: Vinyl Fanatiks
Cat#: VFS041
Released: January, 27
Brent Newitt from Aquasky established Vinyl Fanatiks in 2018 as a platform to re-issue the back catalogue of the renowned jungle techno label Underdog Recordings. The project quickly transcended the original goal and has been a treasure trove for record hunters and vinyl diggers from around the world. Re-issuing selected titles and previously unreleased tracks, Vinyl Fanatiks pay homage to the unsung heroes, who explored this bold new cultural form in the early 90s, with minimal equipment and resources at their disposal, but with an experimental fearlessness and a self-reliant attitude, where no approach was off-limits.
Shortly after forming Aquasky, Dave, Brent & Kieron had handed over a few DATs of their first track ‘Dezires’, which was signed and released by Moving Shadow in 1995 and kick-started Aquasky’s glittering discography career. ‘Bladerunner’ was written by Dave Wallace around a year later; a love letter to the classic ‘Speed’ club nights, which epitomized the music scene he loved. Allegedly penciled for release on Moving Shadow, the track never saw officially the light of day, probably due to sample clearance issues. It has been highly sought after since then, having appeared into various LTJ Bukem sets. Vinyl Fanatiks have eventually released the elusive dubplate version, with a Fugitive remix on the flipside. The eponymous film and Vangelis’ musical theme have been the unofficial sample pack for electronic music, but if you are looking for a captivating d&b rendition, then look no further. ‘Blade Runner’ and Dave Wallace enthusiasts rejoice!
Favourite Track: Bladerunner (Dubplate Mix)
The Vanguard Project – Want U Back (Coco Bryce Remixes)
Label: Spearhead Records
Cat#: SPEAR184
Released: January, 28
The Vanguard Project is the production outfit of Spearhead’s boss Steve Jefroy (BCee) and Andrew Wilson (Villem). Both leading figures in the ‘liquid’ and soulful side of the drum & bass spectrum, often enlisting an array of vocalists for their recordings, The Vanguard Project released their self-titled sophomore album in 2020. Two years later they commissioned remixes for three of the album’s tracks (‘Stitches’, ‘What U Do’ and ‘Want U Back’).
Available in a 2×10” vinyl format (SPEAR183, SPEAR184), two of the most in-demand remixers from the new wave of producers, whose unique take on drum & bass and jungle has stylishly bridged a generation gap, were selected; Tim Reaper and Coco Bryce. Coco Bryce (his recording alias is a nod to a character from Irvine Welsh’s collection of vignettes and short stories ‘Acid House’) delivered two stunning re-interpretations of the track ‘Want U Back’. As BCee admitted in the promotional press release, he could not decide which one he liked the most, so he eventually released them both.
Favourite Track: Want U Back (Coco Bryce Alternative Remix)
Blocks & Esher – Shot In The Dark EP
Label: R&S
Cat#: RS2105
Released: February, 4
Having been formally introduced to each other by Jem-One, Double O and Mantra at a Rupture club night, Phil Smith (Blocks) and Will Hansen (Escher) made their discography debut in 2009, which was only the prelude of a remarkable musical journey that culminated in their 2018 acclaimed album ‘Something Blue’ for Metalheadz, cementing their reputation as one of the most sought after underground names in electronic music.
Now, two years after their last release on their own label Narratives Music, which seems to be dormant at the time of writing, Blocks & Escher made a much-anticipated return with their first release for R&S. Titled ‘Shot In The Dark’, their latest offering reflects their production ethos: always keen to create music that can be listened to from start to finish, music that grabs you and insists you listen to it in its entirety; soundtracks for imaginary films. For a shot in the dark, they have definitely hit the bull’s eye (again).
My affinity for everything Narratives/Blocks & Escher has been well documented. Artistic profile, selected discography and more is available from the blog’s archive here.
Favourite Track: Abyss
Label: 177 Recordings
Cat#: 117 005
Released: March, 18
Fully trained in musical theory and an accomplished player of the flute, classical guitar and electric guitar, Bungle (André Oliveira Sobota) has been making music since he was old enough to pick up an instrument. After meeting with Brazilian d&b ambassador DJ Marky in the Sao Paulo scene, they started making music together and the results have been explosive. Fast forward almost two decades from his discography debut, and an impressive catalogue for some of the genre’s most prestigious labels, Bungle delivers his first EP for DJ Trace’s 177 Recordings.
A versatile producer, with a broad repertoire from silky liquid to dark steppers (‘Cocooned’ on 31 Records was the unofficial Sun & Bass anthem of the respective year), ‘Humanize EP’ is an apt addition to the label’s canon; a modern take on 90s tech-funk.
Favourite Track: Trigger
Label: UVB-76 Music
Cat#: UVB76-023
Released: May, 20
Named after a Russian shortwave radio station that broadcasts on a 24/7 basis short monotonous buzz tones on the frequency of 4625 kHz (hence the 4 6 2 5 offshoot), UVB-76 Music has forged a unique musical and visual identity, since its conception in 2015.
Overlook (Jason Luxton) has been one of the household names from the very beginning and the ‘Lost Souls Club’ EP is his 7th appearance for the label. Effortlessly wavering between functionality and experimentation, ‘Lost Souls Club’ is an uncompromising melange of themes from the dark side of the lens and visceral beats. The highlight of the EP though is the title track with the iconic spoken words sample taken from an adaptation of Jim Morrison’s poem ‘An American Prayer’: “Is everybody in? The ceremony is about to begin.”
Favourite Track: Lost Souls Club
Flatliner – Celestial Voices EP
Label: Out Of Romford Records
Cat#: KOOR09
Released: May, 27
Growing up literally yards away from the famous ‘Boogie Times’ record shop in Romford, a creative hub in the eastern outskirts of London and home of Suburban Base, it was only a matter of time before Flatliner (Michael Errity) got involved into production. Paul Smailes, the Out of Romford Records boss, introduced Flatliner to Ant Miles, with whom he clearly shared the same futuristic taste in music. The result of their partnership has been one of the genre’s early classics ‘The Big Bang’, released on RAM Records in 1994.
In the meantime, life priorities changed and Michael took a long sabbatical from production, until he made a head-turning comeback with one the year’s best EPs. ‘Celestial Voices’ is a tribute to the 90s golden days, a nod to DJ Crystl perhaps, and if it wasn’t for the sound quality you wouldn’t tell if the tracks were written yesterday or have been unearthed from a DAT box buried in the sands of time. Blame wears his Moving Shadow hat for a brilliant remix of the title track, but it’s the closing track ‘Tyrell Corp.’, another ‘Blade Runner’ reference (the tech-firm that produced the replicants) in this list, that is my personal highlight of the EP.
Favourite Track: Tyrell Corp.
DJ Fokus x Voyager – Echoes EP
Label: EternalSoul
Cat#: ETSO02
Released: June, 3
In late 2020, I was thrilled to receive a promotional copy of Pete’s upcoming ‘Aurora EP’, which was self-released a couple of months later (Jan, 2021) marking the launch of his new label. EternalSoul will be releasing tracks from both established and new d&b artists, who are producing deeper, soulful and atmospheric drum & bass.
On the second EternalSoul release titled ‘Echoes’ appears DJ Fokus, an old collaborator and friend of Pete’s, whose work on Suicide, Lucky Spin and Dee Jay had been engineered by Parsons (‘Pete’ at Monroe as the credits on the labels read). Pressed on a gorgeous scarlet red colour, side A contains an updated version of the classic ‘Fokus – On Line’, courtesy of Dee Jay Recordings, as well as previously unreleased track from 1995, titled ‘Inteliqo’. Side B features a remix and the remastered original version of the beautiful ‘Aurora’, taken from Voyager’s eponymous digital release (ETSO01).
An extended interview with Pete Parsons discussing EternalSoul and all things music is available from the blog’s archive here.
Favourite Track: Voyager – Aurora (Revisited)
Forest Drive West – Creeper EP
Label: Ilian Tape
Cat#: ITX025
Released: July, 12
Forest Drive West (Joe Baker) is a soft-spoken teacher of computer sciences turned into a producer extraordinaire, whose recordings have already garnered widespread praise across the electronic music spectrum. His eclectic approach is the perfect fit for the superb Ilian Tape, a label with a repertoire too broad to pigeonhole in a single genre, effortlessly swaying from techno and electro to ambient and drum & bass.
The ‘Creeper EP’ released as part of Ilian Tape’s ITX limited hand-stamped series finds Forest Drive West in his natural habitat. A “breaking greedy creepers powerslam on 180g vinyl” according to the press release, Baker combines Warp-esque paranoia and Hidden Agenda flair with modern techniques in his own inimitable style and the result is magnificent. As Gordon Gecko proclaimed in the 1987 film “Wall Street”: “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”
Favourite Track: Greed
Label: Samurai Music
Cat#: SMDE24
Released: September, 2
Two things immediately drew my attention to Eusebeia, the artist name of Seb Uncles: the Greek root of the word, which loosely translates to “respect for/fear of the divine” and is a central concept in Greek philosophy and theology, as well as his thought-provoking, concept-based track titles. In Seb’s words: “I chose this (Eusebeia) because it represents and reinforces the importance of doing the best one can in every way, and doing things universally, and doing things that go beyond the I or the self. Having said that, I do what I do because I love it, and through that, I hope that it resonates with other people” (DJ Mag Interview, October 2021).
A meeting with Presha at the 2021 Membrain Festival in Croatia paved the way for Eusebeia’s debut for Samurai. ‘Fall Then Rise’ is a dazzling addition to the label’s canon and apparently only the beginning, as by the first half of 2023, it has been followed up by another EP (‘Omen’) and a full album titled ‘X’.
As the title suggests, the EP revolves around the vicious pendulum of success and failure, dark and light, hope and despair. But it’s not all about tallying miseries and marshaling regrets. Below the ominous blanket, there are glimmers of hope and a sense of well-concealed optimism, if you listen closely enough.
Favourite Track: Nothing Left to Lose
Tim Reaper & Kloke – Museum / Flow State
Label: !K7 Records
Cat#: K7416
Released: September, 13
Tim Reaper’s rise in the scene has been nothing short of meteoric. Spearheading a new generation of producers via his Future Retro London music label and community, his prolificacy seems unparalleled, either solo or in collaborative works. Teaming up with recording partner Kloke, this is another feather in Tim’s cap, with a rather unexpected cameo appearance on the prestigious German label !K7 Records.
Though not a bonafide drum & bass label, !K7 are no strangers to the genre having released in the late 90s the iconic compilations ‘Sessions’ and ‘Conversions’ by Kruder & Dorfmeister, as well as the lauded ‘DJ Kicks’ edition mixed by Kemistry & Storm.
A love letter to London’s most celebrated club nights in the 90s (‘Speed’ and ‘Metalheadz Blue Note Sessions’) Tim Reaper & Kloke channel the ghosts of Soho and Hoxton Square through to the Brandenburg Gate, the unique ensemble of buildings on Spreeinsel (Spree Island) and the museums built under the Prussian rulers, via the magnificent boulevard ‘Unter den Linden’ right in the heart of Berlin.
Favourite Track: Museum
Calibre & Chelou – E SI O / Dissolve In The Rain
Label: Signature Recordings
Cat#: SIG029
Released: October, 6
Photography: Felix Joseph
Calibre enjoys the creative freedom of a taste-maker alleviated from expectations and genre confines and constantly re-imagines his artistic persona with a fresh outlook on life and music. Collaborating with Adam Gray (Chelou), this is one of the most sentimental and poignant record he’s ever written; an overwhelming and emotionally fragile take on loneliness and lump-in-your-throat melancholy.
Dom and Adam reflect on the story of their brilliant partnership:
Calibre: “I first came across Adam’s work via a remix I did of ‘She Rocks, I Roll” back in 2019, the vibe was melancholic and leaned toward my own bluesy take on things. When ‘Dissolve In The Rain’ hit my inbox, I instantly connected with the guitar and vocal, in particular the lyrics, and felt it could be merged with a piano idea that I had. Merging these worlds created an arrangement for two sections; a lyrical passage that leads to harmonised vocals, and then an improvised and layered section, accentuated by Adam’s lyric and guitar. It was a real pleasure to watch it almost make itself. The worlds combined lead to something nostalgic but new, it’s a wonderful meeting of musical minds.”
Chelou: “From a weird set of demos that I sent him around four years ago, Calibre picked the most obscure, and that’s when I knew he got it! The idea that an artist like him heard something in my acoustic music that sparked him to transform it into a track like this, has blown me away. The piano and harrowing pace is something that I would have never created, it’s f******* gold.”
Favourite Track: Dissolve In The Rain
DJ Pulse – Planet Funk / Flava
Label: Creative Wax
Cat#: CW127 (Unreleased Series)
Released: December, 2
Creative Wax apparently completed their natural course around 1998, with DJ Pulse focusing on his sophomore album, which regrettably never saw the light of day. In 2002, Creative Wax repressed the ‘Creative Wax Classics’ series, featuring 3 volumes with selected titles from the label’s back catalogue. In 2009 several other tracks from the catalogue were released in digital file format.
Four years later, with help from DJ Madcap, who’s running the exquisite Creative Wax radio shows, the label re-launched in style with modern re-interpretations and re-issues of some of the label’s most venerated classics (‘Understanding/Spellbound’, ‘Final Conflict’, ‘Stay Calm’, ‘Bounty Killaz’ etc.), previously unreleased tracks from Pulse, The Underwolves & Wax Doctor as well as new music by Alex Reece, Furney, Madcap, Mindmapper & Silvahfonk.
Their latest offering is a record with two previously unreleased tracks taken from the label’s archive, written and produced ca 1996 by DJ Pulse & Professor Stretch, which capture the label’s halcyon days. Mastered by the legend Beau Thomas and available in blue and white marbled vinyl, the artistic concept of the logo is designed by Ralph Smolly.
An extensive account of the label’s history and discography is available from the blog’s archive here.
Favourite Track: Planet Funk
Also in the series:
Liner Notes on 2022 – Part I (Borrowed Nostalgia)
Liner Notes on 2022 – Part II (Impressions of Absence)
God Is No Longer A DJ 