Leading the procession, The Silent Coup deliver a powerful release full of nostalgia, technically crafted with precision and determination, and for the final nod to the era, mastered by Simon at The Exchange for that typical colour and warmth. As the flipside suggests in its title ‘Reminisce’, this will take you back. And we hope you enjoy.

The Silent Coup (check out their video interview above) have been producing jungle and drum & bass music for more than ten years, quietly honing their skills. Coming from opposite ends of the music spectrum – one from audio engineering, the other from a classical background – their distinct sound blends elements of technical beat wizardry, precision programming, audio processing, deep musicality and experimentalism. Having grown up with jungle/drum & bass during its halcyon days in the mid to late nineties, their aim is to help bring the genre and audience in the 21st century back to its roots, and the innovation and atmosphere that helped define it.

’13000′ takes you back to 2am at a big drum&bass rave at the End, circa ’97, right down the front getting buffeted by the bassbins. It’s a edgy number, fuelled by amens, duelling basslines and skunk paranoia. Beyond the homage to tech-step classics, it’s the combination of extra-heavyweight drums and complex, extremely precise rhythms, that give this track its distinctive heft and hard percussive sound.

‘Reminisce’ is a track for the recovery session: maybe one Sunday at Blue Note back in the day. The melodies and riffs are all cool jazz and warm rushes: deep rhodes, muted pads and emotive flute. Beneath the golden nostalgia vibes though, there’s a modus operandi of controlled tumult, quick-fire drum edits and booming subs that nicely set off the atmospheric overtones with a harder undercurrent.

Yes it’s Friday, and that means we’ve got a mix for you – standard. But this packs even more punch than usual. To coincide with their release on Inna Riddim Recs, 13000 / Reminisce, the Silent Coup have put together this quick-firing drum & bass mix, sharp on the crossfader, spanning drumfunk to tech-step and classics to bleeding edge new. Get that on your headphones and play LOUD.

1. The Silent Coup – Critical Mass
2. Black Rose – Source Direct
3. The Silent Coup – Reminisce
4. Kemel And Rob Data – Linear
5. The Silent Coup – Dub Biniz
6. Digital & Spirit – Phantom Force
7. Aquarius – Dejavu
8. Audio – Badseed
9. The Silent Coup – Thermal Influx
10. Breakage – Losing Track
11. [unknown]
12. Paradox – Funky Mule
13. [unknown]
14. Morpheus – Dred Bass
15. Bad Company – China Cup
16. Paradox – Reinstate
17. The Silent Coup – 13000

‘Funky Steppa’ combines a cinematic expansiveness with enough gnarly bass and crunchy beats to energise anyone with a pulse. Plenty of dramatic switch-ups make this a great one to double-drop in the mix; it’s no mere DJ tool, though, but a finely-crafted tune that stands strong in its own right. Descending piano triplets setup the mood, and a melody line emphasising the down-beat carries the tune from a hulking halfstep to the driving rhythm that provides the core of this track.

On the most restrained track of the EP, ‘Abstract Thoughts’, Cato’s characteristically clipped snares are accompanied by reverb-soaked brushed hats. A series of minor key trills, perforated by a noise gate, evoke the rarified serenity of Oriental instrumentation; then the lead synth comes in, and we go from Far East to the west: a purple funk line reminiscent of Bristol.

‘Make it Grimey’ is upfront, raw and in your face. The buzzing lead thrashes back and forth like a dropped fire hose blasting out jets of sound. A spliced vocal snippet declares that ‘whatever I play, it’s got to be…grimey’ and that’s Cato’s watchword for this track: even in the quieter moments, stripped back to off-beat bass stabs and a halfstep, delayed snares echoing in the expanse, there’s a menace lurking in the horror-movie pads, and when that compulsive buzz returns for the second drop, its potency is doubled by a contrasting, detuned twin. It’s controlled chaos, and Cato delivers on his promise: grimey as the grit on your granddad’s grizzly bits.

‘Dizzy Cow’ is the joker of the pack, it’s theoretically a 4×4 tune, but there’s nothing predictable about it: swung hard with a swagger, compulsively syncopated and augmented with plenty of off-kilter percussion, it’s the kind of tune to play if you can’t make up your mind between party-starting and daringly original—because it’s both. In this case, polyrhythmic audacity doesn’t mean goatee-stroking appreciation while leaning against the bar; it means getting up and dancing on it. Rhythmic excess of the most playful and anarchic kind.

To celebrate his debut release on Inna Riddim Records (Penitent Man EP) John Matrix has put together a heavy promo mix that features a barrage of his own productions, including all tracks from his eponymous release as well as a bunch of unreleased material, lightly seasoned with only a few tracks outside of his production repertoire. Kicking off deep and minimal the mix ramps up in energy half way through, maintaining the sub-heavy percussive sound he’s fashioned for himself, right up until it smoothes out at the tail-end. Stream or download from the player just below the track list!

1. John Matrix – Penitent Man [ Inna Riddim ]
2. John Matrix – Woven [ unreleased ]
3. Epoxy – Monolith [ unreleased ]
4. John Matrix – Hunter [ Inna Riddim ]
5. John Matrix – Acid frenzy [ dubstepforum.gr freebie ]
6. John Matrix – Duppy [ soundcloud freebie ]
7. John Matrix – Ash bail [ dubstepforum.gr freebie ]
8. John Matrix – Boxing [ soundcloud freebie ]
9. Epoxy – No One Else [ unreleased ]
10. Benton – Videodrome [ Wheel & Deal ]
11. John Matrix – Ain’t changing [ Inna Riddim ]
12. Skream – Wibbler [ Tempa ]
13. John Matrix – Depth Charge [ unreleased ]
14. Caspa – Champion skank [ Sub Soldiers ]
15. John Matrix – Drop [ unreleased ]
16. John Matrix – Old school [ unreleased ]
17. John Matrix – The Horn of Karlee [ unreleased ]
18. John Matrix – Comy [ unreleased ]
19. Myrkur & TMSV – Icarus [ soundcloud freebie ]
20. John Matrix – Blissfully Unaware [ Inna Riddim ]

‘Ain’t Changing’ opens with a defiant vocal sample front and centre over a rhythmic buzz, tightly suppressed by a high pass filter. Then the filter’s snapped away to reveal a loosely-slung bassline dragging slightly behind the beats, with two snares superimposed and craftily set a fraction of a second off each other’s tempo. In the quiet moments—and in the crisp, tight, delayed hihats—there’s a taste of the moodiness to come later in the EP; but this one’s all about its lurching, arrhythmic bravado.

‘Penitent Man’ harks back to the original promise of dubstep: the potency of gaps between beats, of interior rhythms suggested by percussion and delay, of space in the frequency spectrum, of the unfolding of time in a hydroponic haze. A growling bassline sets the pace for a sub-reinforced kick and an initial wet-sand snare that gives way to an alternating pair: one sharp and tight, the other open and reverberating. A perfect riposte to the question ‘is anyone still making proper dubstep?’

In ‘Hunter’, John strips the elements back to the essentials: a kick, a snare and some judiciously deployed samples. A decayed synth sweeps back and forth, while a menacing vocal snippet sets the scene for sci-fi dystopia, and there’s a blunted bass stab just before the down-beat that propels you forward like an alien cattle-prod. It’s spacious and claustrophobic at the same time, as if the open sky is teeming with extra-terrestrial threats.

‘Blissfully Unaware’ closes out the EP on a different note. John’s tonal palette here extends beyond the shadowy mood of the other tracks, and into a brighter, more optimistic register. The beat is more sprightly, too, doubling down on the kicks while percussion and rhythmic effects on the off-beat shift things up from one moment to the next. Angelic filter-suffused vocal samples drift through with a wordless promise, and there’s a hint of serene yet elegiac melancholy that gives this tune its richness and depth.

You can listen to clips of the tracks in the player below. The ‘buy’ link will take you straight to Beatport but feel free to grab it from your preferred digital retailer, or why not head to our custom shop (shop.innariddim.com) where every purchase means more money in the pocket of the artist!

A rapid-fire selection of 2-step garage, bassline and dubstep, impeccably blended by Des Demure, with several of his own productions and remixes, including the smasher ‘Elmer Sglue’ (out NOW on Inna Riddim Recs along with ‘What You Need’) It’s the perfect shot in the arm to get you through Friday afternoon and get amped for the weekend. Stream or download from the player just below the track list!

KillahurtZ – Wanna Be Free [ Inna Riddim ]
Checan – Hytz [ unreleased ]
Checan – Difference (Mr Dubz rmx) [ Project Allout ]
Man Like Me – Peculiar (Des Demure rmx) [ Cartoon ]
Zinc – Firing Time [ Running ]
Des Demure – P-Post [ unreleased ]
601 – Brothers and Sisters [ Passenger ]
Des Demure – Variable [ Girls Music ]
Emalkay – Crusader [Dub Police]
Kanji Kinetic – W-Item Glitch [ Maltine ]
Warrior One – Fyah (Warrior & Bojcot VIP) [ Black Butter forthc. ]
Des Demure – Elmer Sglue [ Inna Riddim ]
Digital Mystikz – Anti War Dub [ DMZ ]

‘What You Need’ is full of colour and a playful energy; from the moment the spaciously delayed descending chords let the first frizzled vocal sample break through, multiplying,mutating and constantly on the verge of disintegration – layered, chopped and fragmenting as if it’s being pushed through the rapid chef’s cleaver action of the snare. Inside the quintessentially frenetic 2-step snare and hats there’s a bassline house influence to the rhythm that charges forward irrepressibly, while the rubbery friction of the bass locks the other elements to its groove.

‘Elmer Sglue’ glistens with technicolour brilliance on every inch of the sonic spectrum, but there’s a calm, meditative centre amid the flying kicks and 2-step snares. Swirling synths ratchet up the pressure in waves, then break against a warm sub. A wiry hook, punching through the fuzzy iridescence of the top end, frames the unfolding of the track, as the bassline undulates with sensual insistence beneath a decentered rhythm.

Here’s a small sample of the buzz that’s already collecting around ‘What You Need / Elmer Sglue’:

‘Yes Yes Yes! My new favourite producer! Gonna drop What You Need tonight… Lovely stuff, always full of soul Cheers!’ - Warrior One

‘Likin this a lot. Big up‘ – Rack N Ruin

‘Heavy old school vibes!‘ – Duskdown

‘Best IR release yet‘ – Templar Sound

‘Yer this is decent‘ – N-Type

‘Basslick!‘ – Pirate Soundsystem

‘BIG UP!‘ – Truth

‘5/5 LOVE Des Demure’s style, I need more!‘ – Sampology

You can listen to clips of the tracks in the player below. The ‘buy’ link goes to Juno but the track will be available at many digital retailers through the day.

Big things from Reload – all kinds of bass music over two rooms, starting at 3pm in the afternoon. Food and drink specials along with the usual bass music fix ranging from dancehall to liquid d&b and hiphop.

Headliner is Deville from the UK, the man behind Senseless Records. Supporting Deville, Micapam representing Inna Riddim Sound will be joining a heavy local lineup including Juzlo, Farj, Speaks, Palfry, Delux, Tidy, SFL, Preacha, Garka, Sakura and Teefreeqs. Ten bucks before ten. More info on the Facebook event page.

We’re proud of all our releases on Inna Riddim Records; this one has a particularly special place in our hearts, though. KillaHurtZ’ Wanna Be Free EP stays true to the underground yet with an appeal that reaches way beyond the dancefloor.

‘Wanna Be Free’ layers exansive melodies over a snapping 2-step in a spacious, lush arrangement beautifully augmented by Kirsty’s sultry vocals. Then the beat switches up, framing Prolific’s laconic rap stylings in a lurching, deliberate breakdown. The main beat returns in swirl of filter sweeps and reverb, and the bassline is a brooding, growling presence among the precise, evocative string harmonies. For the DJs there’s also a stripped-down dub version included on the EP.

‘Trust’ starts out with an insistent 4×4, underpinned with a melody that rises in counterpoint with classic descending synth chords remiscent of the heady days of old skool raves: light rain on a hot summer’s day. The beat drops into a shuffling 2-step before raising the energy with a complex syncopated rhythm and a tight, rapidly plucked string melody.

On ‘Don’t Leave Me’, an FX-drenched R&B sample, shot through with nostalgia and longing, and skittering beat declare the track’s affinity with the recent, sophisticated rennaisance of 2-step, but KillaHurtz’s restless and inventive drum programming instincts vary up the rhythm with a rolling house kick, while blunted, delayed synths and a trilled kettle drum roll open up a sense of cavernous space like sunlight streaming into a vast vault.

The release is available on all the usual major digital retailers. You can stream, listen and purchase from the Beatport player below: