Category: Neurofunk

Neurofunk

Neurofunk (also known more informally as just neuro) is a subgenre of drum and bass which emerged between 1997 and 1998 in London, England as a progression of techstep. It was further developed by juxtaposed elements of heavier and harder forms of funk with multiple influences ranging from techno, house and jazz, distinguished by consecutive stabs over the bassline and razor-sharp backbeats. The first sounds of neurofunk’s early evolution – when diverging from techstep – can be heard on Ed Rush and Optical‘s Funktion single for V Recordings in 1997 and on their first album Wormhole for Virus Recordings in 1998.

The first mention of the term was in the book Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture by Simon Reynolds.[1] This is where the English music critic coined the name as a result of his personal perception of stylistic shifts in techstep – back beats replacing breakbeats, funk harmonies replacing industrial timbres and lack of emphasis on the drop – by referring to them as, “(Neurofunk) is the fun-free culmination of jungle’s strategy of cultural resistance: the eroticization of anxiety”.

Categories
Neurofunk

Mindscape! Zombies? Frankensteins?

Mindscape - Reanimator Chapter One
Mindscape - Reanimator Chapter One

Mindscape Re-Animator Chapter 1 teases

The mad scientist known as Mindscape, has been reviving Neuro for ever! We have been massive fans and his work on Eatbrain is impeccable. Mindscape and Eatbrain tease you with an EP to give some insight on a forthcoming EP that will enlighten souls tortured for millennia. Reanimator Chapter One is part of a 3 part series that will ultimately give you the ReAnimator LP on Hungary’s #1 label. Mindscape is sure to blow you away with our favorite track from the EP, “ManBearPig,” a dance floor crusher for hunting season!

 

The endless pursuit of perfection has driven many men to suffering, the search for an exquisite truth perhaps beyond manifestation. How many minds have twisted and turned on themselves through the pursuit of the elusive purity of their art? A journey that sees true corporeal professionals work with an intensity ferocious and swift enough to resuscitate and bring back mortals from the brink of the endless never, back into the world of the living. He had been one such professional, admired and doted upon by the colleagues who perpetually surrounded him, watching him move and hoping to glimpse his true connection with life and death… but that past was but a blink in his memory and there was no space in his bitter present to touch the repellent flame of the ego he once knew. His true work lay ahead, he had furthered himself beyond such irrelevant truths and opened a world of endless, pure possibility to explore his darkly beautiful, mortal art. His subjects were the dead, puppets of flesh held together through his quick work, re-introduced to the harshness of life in better fitting forms for this ill world, returned to this reality through his skill alone… the power of the REANIMATOR.

MINDSCAPE brings his unique and fierce take on d&b back to his home label with REANIMATOR CHAPTER ONE on EATBRAIN, the first part of a series of 3 EPs, that culminate in the REANIMATOR LP. As one of the imprint’s most recognisable figureheads, Mindscape deftly demonstrates why that’s the case with the 4 tracks within delivering distinct and succinctly powerful ideas to the table. MANBEARPIG carries a swagger dripping with pure and deliberately paced attitude, whilst SHUT DOWN (feat. COPPA) rides on a fast-moving bassline and percussive flurry. FIEND OR FOE executes an effective low-key roller laced with a sinister and restrained edge and DEEP VOID carries the menace of HIJAK’s vocal with exceptional effectiveness.

Carrying a keen awareness of the current motions in the drum & bass genre, and delivering 4 tracks that stay firmly ahead of the curve – MINDSCAPE delivers the premiere neurofunk for EATBRAIN with the REANIMATOR.

Categories
Free Download Neurofunk Techstep

Phace & Mefjus : Was this one a Wastemen?

Phace & Mefjus - Wastemen
Phace & Mefjus - Wastemen

Phace & Mefjus join forces once again… We recap.

I’m a Mefjus and Phace fan through and through. Phace’s highly techno influenced Drum & Bass is amazing. His work from the last two years has been effective in cementing a style only known to come from Neosignal. This release has been out since September but we felt it needed to be revisiting. honestly at first listen, I wasn’t blown away from this release as a whole. While the engineering of each track is masterful, it didn’t touch my soul like some other releases from these talented artist. So it sat on the back burner of my sets until re-listening today. And today, this release is amazing. While it may not be their most creative material. The quality of the tracks put forth are amazing. The free download of Mothership VIP is tastily given. My favorite from this release has to be “Make a Decision.” Check out these bad men as they come together to generate quality Drum & Bass.

The Wastemen EP with Phace is out now! Get it from Neosignal Recordings [digital & limited vinyl]: fanlink.to/Wastemen

Listen to Mefjus on Spotify: bit.ly/mefjusspotify
Follow Mefjus on Instagram: www.instagram.com/martinmefjus

Follow fellow wasteman Phace:
www.facebook.com/phaceneosignal
twitter.com/phace_

 

 

Categories
Featured Releases Neurofunk

Merikan Impossible to tame

Merikan - Untameable
Merikan - Untameable

Merikan trends to be ‘Untameable’

Italy has certainly been a place to expect a good trail of Drum & Bass with artists such as Maztek and Akrom. Along with amazing food, Italy has spawned yet another beast. Merikan has been making the rounds on labels like Black Sun Empire’s Blackout Music. His style is what neurofunk aficionados love. Methlab Agency has put out ‘Untameable’ backed by ‘Counter-Insurgency.’ Both tracks are amazing and the title track is such a banger! It’s remeniscent of older State Of Mind music with a hypeness that cannot be tamed. This guy is the future of Neurofunk and I’m proud to be a fan!

 

 

Listen now! 

https://soundcloud.com/methlab-recordings/sets/merikan-untameable-counter

Categories
Neurofunk NeuroHop News

Behind Outer Edges : Episode 1

Noisia
Noisia

Noisia’s self made documentary!

Pretty cool! Check out the background behind Noisia and the Outer Edges tour. #noisia #division #vision #drumnbass

Categories
Dancefloor Smashers Featured Releases Neurofunk NeuroHop Uncategorized

The Steam Engine of Neurofunk

Magnetude continues to run through the competition!

Oh my goodness. Eatbrain is slcertainly one of the most respectable labels out there. The curators have the best taste in the neurofunk sound. They just had some slammers released and while we feel they are releasing too much at times, they are blowing us away with every release. With that said, this release is straight fire! 

Magnetude rocked a fantastic release with Lifted Music and that track “Now Run” hyped me up so much! Now, with Eatbrain, Magnetude releases what I feel is Eatbrains best release to date. All tracks are hype but our favorites are Press Play and Banshee. Take a listen below and make sure you buy to support this monsterous duo! 

BUY LINKS // 

Beatport – https://www.beatport.com/release/steamfunk-ep/2134069

Categories
Dancefloor Smashers Featured Releases Free Download Jump Up Jungle Labels Liquid Music Neurofunk NeuroHop News Reviews Techstep World News

iluvdrumandbass We all Love It!

iluvdrumandbass
iluvdrumandbass

iluvdrumandbass is the bee’s knees!

Whoa! So over the past few days, a wave of community has surged online. Several pioneers and drivers of the Drum & Bass sound got together and discussed the importance of reaching out on social media platforms. They are absolutely correct. All of the fans of Drum & Bass are certainly biased that the sound is amazing. However, one of the problems our sound has is the lack of viewership of the average listener. This has held us back and has kept our business from growing as big as other top level genres. Some factors have pushed us to the back of the room and seclude us from the rest of the club music seen. We simply don’t have a public “visual” look to show how professional our sound is. We have let our rebellious hard heads stay in the raver attire we grew up with. This, along with, drugs within “rave” culture (as portrayed by the media), has made all people steer clear of our scene and dub our sound “techno.” Which angers me btw! And now to the birth of iluvdrumandbass.

I’ve said this needed to be changed for ever ago. But to this day, it hasn’t, for everyone outside of England, anyway. But times are changing and the artists are using the limitless power of the world wide web to create a community where we de-segragate our sub genres and have one full playlist where all labels and artists will have the chance to be heard. Check out the latest from labels such as RAM, Hospital, Technique, Viper, Breakbeat Kaos, Formation & Playaz’s, Liquicity, Eatbrain, Critical, Santoku and more!

Check out Spotify’s newest Drum & Bass playlist I ❤ DRUM & BASS here.

I ❤ DRUM & BASS represents an unprecedented act of unity and a coming together of Drum & Bass labels from all over the world. An acknowledgement of the genre’s diversity and multifaceted strengths by creating a definitive musical resource, a constantly updated playlist from all the scenes label’s and artists.

Spanning all sub-genres and being inclusive of all participating labels and artists ranging from RAM, Hospital, Technique, Viper, Breakbeat Kaos, Formation & Playaz’s, Liquicity, Eatbrain, Exit and Critical.. and that’s just for starters!

The concept emerged in October 2017 on a special message board originally set up to celebrate Grooverider’s birthday, with DJ Fresh sparking a conversation about the importance of adapting to and embracing streaming platforms. This line of thinking inspired Simon Bassline Smith to come up with the concept of a definitive drum & bass playlist for everyone’s music to feature on as soon as it’s released. A playlist with all forms of drum & bass from across the globe, self-organised by the scene itself and curated by the labels, with each label picking 1 track per week to be included.

A project with no political or corporate agenda, that exists purely to provide a home for the sounds of this global movement. A place where fans of the genre can explore the diverse sonic landscape of the music they love, or for those who want to explore the genre to immediately have access to the full spectrum. Without the bias of major label ownership and curation.

Driven by the strength of the idea, soon a core following of Dan (DJ Fresh), Simon Bassline Smith, Mickey Finn, Grooverider, Brendan Futurebound and DJ SS excitedly invited label heads from all over the world into a telegram chat room and I ❤ Drum & Bass was born.

Hundreds of players and labels have come together and committed to the concept from across the scene to bring you a place where the latest music is added daily by all the labels and artists you love. Including long-running institutions, hype and fresh labels and also niche imprints. Even unsigned releases and Drum & Bass releases from outside the traditional Drum & Bass labels are represented.

I ❤ Drum & Bass represents an evolving attitude in one of the most consistent and present genres of club music, bringing a new unity and energy to the table that’s set to invigorate the genre and inspire the world of music.

We need your help to spread the word. So please get on Facebook / Twitter/ Instagram / Snapchat and help us spread the message #iluvdrumandbass

I ❤ Drum & Bass is at…  http://bit.ly/iluvdrumandbass

Categories
Neurofunk

Tobax continues to slam the masses

Tobax - Tooth Pain / Life cycle
Tobax - Tooth Pain / Life cycle

Tobax & Mizo on Red Light

Tobax is a young one in the Drum & Bass scene but is railing though the masses like a veteran who’s been producing for ages. This kid is a Russian monster who hales from the town of Samara and he’s launching those Russian missiles of baselines to the world. His style and production is as effective as it gets. His just released on Optiv’s Red Light Records with another montsterous Russian producer, Mizo and both tracks are massive. This is one of those releases where you were so happy you got two A-sides on a record for the price of one! His collaboration with Mizo on the track “Balanced” is flawless. But our favorite from the release is Tooth Pain! This track is grinding!

Tooth Pain

Tobax & Mizo – Balanced

Also, if you haven’t heard it! Mizo has a FREE EP out called Intercept… Get it here:

Categories
Featured Releases Neurofunk Techstep

Watch out Neurofunkers! Dorian and Skore hit it!

Dorian & Skore - Powertool / Be Afraid
Dorian & Skore - Powertool / Be Afraid

Dorian & Skore keep it clean and tight

Whoa! Dorian continues to blow us away. This Austrian badman grows with every track he puts out. This time he joins forces with fellow countryman, Skore and their track Powertool is the A-sides of all A-sides. Move over Phace, someones listened and made it better. Dorian & Skore’s track Powertool is similar to a couple of Phace tracks without being too house/techno influenced. Maybe its the vocal, but this track stands out. I’ve head the opportunity to listen to this on different systems and must say this one is well done. The power moves through any speaker and into your legs. This thing pumps you up. Fantastic music! Listen here:

Categories
Dancefloor Smashers Featured Releases Neurofunk Techstep

Mayan Audio Goes to Let It Roll

Mayan Audio - Goes to Let It Roll
Mayan Audio - Goes to Let It Roll

Barbarix comes hard on this release!

Barbarix comes correct with this Mayan Audio release. His track “Severed” on the label’s “Goes to Let It Roll” EP is a smash hit. This track is Mortal Kombat meets Tron on an epic adventure to the core of this volatile earth! The track intros with an atmospheric erie build up featuring epic toms building up the halftime drum drop. Then the stab comes. Its such a simple rave stab similar to something we have heard over and over again, but with the bass line and the hyper drums, this drop becomes one of the staple sounds you will hear at this years Let It Roll festival. Massive respect to Barbarix and Mayan Audio. Check out the track here:

 

Categories
Featured Releases Neurofunk Techstep

Akrom keeps on smashing em out!

Akrom releases with Red Light

Akrom is on of Italy’s best talents to date. This producer stays so true in putting forth what DNB Magazine hails as true Neurofunk. The tight drums, filtered bass, stabbing synths, and overall movement in his tracks are cerebral. Optiv’s Red Light Records couldn’t go without bring your his latest release “Undermined / Life Cycle.” With “Life Cycle” Akron teams up with Disphonia and Impak. They introduce you to the track with an LP atmosphere and an an odd broken piano melody and raise your intrigue with epic stings and percussion ready to have you soar over ancient egypt and then the drop hits with some of the best neuro you can hear. The title track “Undermined” is no different in the amount of energy it brings. The synths that hit at the switch are so dope. Akrom certainly knows how to bring forth the best of neurofunk.