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”.
Mainframe Recordings’ name may not be as house hold as it should be but they are a massive outlet for amazing Drum & Bass. Their latest release dropped with a couple of smashers. DubApe & Phentix team up to create “Get it” and “Silk Road” and that A-side is AMAZING! Have a listen here:
Neon light brings you their super weird tracks “Boom” and “Slap”. We are certainly impressed with the ever growing style of this duo. The tracks however are odd. “Slap” is our favorite of the two and will certainly smash any club. “Boom” is a bit too odd for DNB Magazine’s taste but even still.. is nasty.
“Slap” has an amazing switch in the glitch hop drop. Reminiscent of Ivy Lab and Mefjus, Sunday Crunk with a little less “Funk”
Lifted Music, most known to release famed Drum & Bass producer Spor (Feed Me), have signed on a new duo that will be the labels best prospect to date. Magnetude is a colaboration between Rusty K and Overtech. Their first EP Hyperdrive was wicked but this one is AMAZING! From the imagery the artists put forth to this amazing sound quality, Magnetude are now a monstrous forth to be reckoned with.
Their recent release “Dead Leaves” featuring Julia Marks is an epic sound. The introduction has a hint that it could be in a Tim Burton movie. Something so dark and erie with a sense of calm within the dark is sure to be in a thriller of sorts or even in the scene when Peg enters the dark home of Edward Scissorhands in Burton’s 1990 classic. The piano, stings, and then a hectic drop all smash but the hip-hop switch up in the middle of the breakdown is so sick! Someone needs to bootleg this part… Then the second drop is where its at! But wait….
“Now Run” is the Floyd Mayweather of this release! This release does not get old. I must have heard it one hundred times over! The intro features some atmosphere with a have time break. But the vocal is so dope. It sounds like a vocoded version of the movie Purge and how she announces the annual Purge. “We are now going to test your strength.” “Please be advised, there is no way back…” “Now…. Run!” OH MY GOD!!! What an absolute smasher of a drop. The bass like and the high pitched triplet of a synth is a blast from the future. I can’t say enough about this release. This is one you MUST add to you arsenal. Especially if your a gym rat! Get those blue tooth headphones on and get ready to bench press more than ever before!
Follow Magnetude::
Facebook – http://bit.ly/2gCgwqv
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Bookings: [email protected]
So I’ve spent the last hour listening to music as I get back on track from a few weeks hiatus. I opened up the email and a plethora of great music spewed out into my brain. One release of which stuck out the most. Bad Taste has the second edition of Molecular Music featuring a multitude of great neurofunk artists. On this release you get music from Redpill, Art1fact, Cod3x, Mean Teeth, Khronos, Encode,Valrus, Hyqxyz, Black Barrel, Mars, and the well known Machine Code.
All tracks on this release are certainly worthy of a mix set, workout music, drive themes, but one of them stands out to me the most.
This is a fantastic piece of neurofunk! The intro is a simple set of beauteous atmospheres, synths, and them tight staple neurofunk drums. The break down keeps you intrigued to what’s to come. The sample from Matt Damon’s movie The Martian sits so well in this! I fell asleep during the movie but I certainly couldn’t fall asleep through this track. I’d dance through my bed sheets all night if this thing was on loop. The drop has a hint of older Spor music with a certain Bad Taste twist. Great piece of work!
Check out the release at Bad Taste Recordings!
Filip Motovunski delivered Cro Cop Kick of a track. This Croatian Drum & Bass / Jungle dj and producer has been picked up by the infamous Bad Taste Recordings. We are impressed with the sound. Filip delivers a different style of Drum & Bass and his simple approach is surely effective. “Right Here” has some beautiful pads and epic vox. Then he brings in a 7th chord synth and a bouncy drum drop. This is a fun track and with quality that compares to the upper echelon of Drum & Bass producers. Is this a dance floor effective track? In the right circumstance, hell yes. I love the mix down of this track especially. Its all crisp and clean and completely in control. The Lava VIP is the one that hits hard to me though. This is NEURO at its finest. “Every little thing gets burned by Lava.” Check out the music video for this sick track!
Wow. I must say this one is different but nasty! Time and time again, Bad Taste Recordings come through with music that consistently shows change what we call Drum & Bass. This one from the label has certainly proven that you don’t need super fat drums to make a slammer of a tune. Fa11out is another Bosnian drum & bass act that is hailing well in the drum & bass scene. The duo are promoters in their local scene and have hitched up with Bad Company UK veteran, Vegas to come up with this slamming track.
Check out the track below if you haven’t yet already.
Body & Soul have been around for years now and they still figure out ways to amaze us. Their versatile style is well known amongst true Drum & Bass fans throughout the years. They’ve had a amazing run on Mainframe Recordings. Their most recent release to mind is Hypochonda with Ansa. This was a A side Trap release with the B-sdie being the Drum & Bass remix of the release and after this absolute smasher, Body & Soul come correct with a dope track “Connect” with MC Daxta on Mainframe.
The tile track intro’s with a funny pad and then Mc Daxta’s smooth vox come through as “We Start to Connect” with sick brass pads and boom!!! A sick hype drop ready for any dance floor worldwide! The mix of the bass did sound odd on cheap speakers but when I played in the studio on loud speakers I was blown away! Great sound from the duo. And then the remix…
So I’ll say I don’t particularly like remixes some out with the original because usually a remix in the same genre should overshadow the original… With that said, I feel this is what happens on this release… OMG. Phentix, Austrian Drum & Bass Producer, surely does a bang up job on this remix. It kind of sounds like Mob Tactics’ hit “Lifer” but has such a dope neck breaking drop. Intro pads, stabs, and 80’s style synths all do a bang up job. Phentix shines through on this neck breaker of a track…
Massive shout out to the label. Mainframe Recordings FTW.
Visit the label directly: http://mainframerecordings.at
Probably one of the best artists who simply doesn’t get enough music out there is now back. Lifted Music releases Jaeger Clap. We can’t say enough good things about Aeph and his music and this piece of art is sick! Have a listen here! Jaeger Clap is an epic cinematic style of track! We dig it! The flip side “Deathcamp Thirteen” is a stomper of a track. Aeph, we need more of you man!
Current Value (CV) has been in the scene for some time. Since his transition to neurofunk in the recent years, he’s produced amazing music. CV’s Starfleet EP on Blackout Music is no different. Hailing from the depths of our solar voyage, CV cuts through with sick Neurofunk. The title track that may be considered one of his best to date. We had a chance to listen to the full EP in the last few days. I gave it the proper studio listen, cheap speaker listen, and the famed car ride listen. Gotta love my Acura. *smiles*
Starfleet EP is a selection of music that can fit to any set. They are all so good! You can play out the whole EP and not get bored. Starfleet is the title track and it’s like i put on an Iron Man suit and dove into a black hole into the depths of your mind!
It starts with CV’s famed FM drums layered with some real samples, but they’re so tight! The kick and the snare cut through the mix very well and atmosphere through the introduction is sweet. The high pitch synth pad sounds like a filtered square wave… and thats it! No unison, chorus, or anything to make it sound too rave pad like, if you get what I mean. Maybe there’s some reverb and minor things going on but it’s simple yet effective. The break down is erie and the white noise build up brings you to the drop and BOOM! You’re smacked with a sick crunchy bass line, deep subs, and fat drums! Count Dracula bass face for days! The track keeps your intrigued in the switches and is certainly well mixed. Then the second drop surprises you with a change and keeps the track so hectic! I love it!
Current Value is the man and Blackout Music certainly has the ear for choosing amazing Drum & Bass!
SICK! Listen here:
Locked Concept of Australia is releasing their 8th piece of music. The release is titled ‘Doublegate’ featuring the awesome duo MachineCode. One of the label owners/curaters is Lockjaw who you may know from Noisia’s Invisible Recordings. He’s worked with Machine Code on this release and they have done an amazing job. This label puts forth what they consider “listening” music. With that said, this release is not only for that sweet ride on the train… This 3 track EP is a masterpiece of synthesis and atmospheres that bring you back to the depths of an inner reality. They have just posted the track ‘Phenotype’ written with one half of MachineCode, artist DR aka Dean Rodell. I almost said this was the best of the trip but i just finished listening to “Array” by Lockjaw and MachineCode… This is art in music… I can’t say anymore. I’m here typing this, listening to the song for a 7th consecutive time and i can’t express in words how supreme this song is. While the title track is the dance floor player, ‘Array’ has taken me away to another state of being.
Amazing music you must buy! Coming soon!