Review: Keeping it rolling true drum and bass style, Incurzion Audio readies the release of its next collaborative EP, Reality. With some fresh, jazzy yet edgy and hardcore liquid styles coming through in Beterror's "Animal", Bios Destruction turns in something a little more syncoptaed, distant and stripped back via "Main Update" and its sizzling hi-hats. Sinister sound design makes itself known in Beterror & Bios Destruction "Reality" next to the dungeon acid of Beterror's bonus hook up with Lok. Industrial drum and bass touched up by urban atmospheres and the slightest of gothic touches.
Review: Does GLM stand for glam or glum or gloom? We don't know and frankly we don't care because his music has grabbed us by the short and curlies in quite a substantial way. In spirit of Incurzion Audio's ever-amplifying signature, the vibe is rude and woozy, ranging from the melting basslines and weird bendy bass sounds of 'Love Me' to the late night yearns and echoes of 'Waiting'. Elsewhere 'Transgression' will soundtrack the best graveyard rave this side of Halloween and 'Calling' is a dark and minimal 3am stepper. No transgressions here matey.
Review: This latest selection from Incurzion Audio is yet another top quality project, this time welcoming Dedman inside for some incredibly well produced goodness. The title track 'My Heart' packs a serious subby punch, combining heavily effected vocals with epic bassline action, complete with a Myth's big room remix, adding an extra sense of depth to the original creation. From here, the glitchy bass designs and colourful percussive arrangements of 'Terri Chango' are let loose before we take in the neuro-inspired synth action and super choppy drum drops of 'Backbeat Steeze'. FInally, Kidsonic joins the party on 'Deep Down' for a futuristic roller, focussing on high ended synthesis and vibrant sub-bass below. Awesome work.
Review: Next up from the Incurzion Audio camp, we see them unveil a pair of absolute weapons from the likes of Enigma, who gladly heads up the eighth edition of their 'Optics' series. We begin with 'Ultrasonic', a super gnarly journey through electronic glitches and super sharp drum processing which supplies us with a system-ready finale. On the flip side, we find ourselves diving into something a little bit different as the raucous sub-bass manoeuvres and constantly shifting rhythmic approach of 'Whirlwind' flips the EP on it's head and sends it in a completely different direction all together! Both of these are must-keeps for DJ's as we await our return to the dancefloor.
Review: Great. As if New Zealand's current top-table status in dnb isn't a hard enough pill to swallow for the rest of the raving world, now they're pulling moonies at us. MidKnight MooNies to be precise. Soft-cheeked salutes of the deep variety courtesy of South Wales' Incurzion. 'Control' eases us in with liquid teases before 'Don't Look Back' thrust us deeper into Incurzion's cosmos with purring bass and trance-like tones. Elsewhere 'Sulk' uplifts with its rising church-like pads and blocky drums before 'Double Agent' finally pulls its trousers up with more swooning chords and shimmering proggy arpeggios. No ifs, no butts, both New Zealand and Incurzion are killing it right now. We look forward to hearing more from this new Kiwi controller.
Review: The best Welsh label in the game - as chosen by UKF this year - are back in the business with a properly sick VA LP, one which takes a bunch of the artists in their orbit and provides a platform for them to show off their untapped potential. Rantik steps up with 'Hear My Rhythm' and expertly weaves hypnotic percussive patterns around punching kicks and menacing vocal lines, a superb arrangement that's topped off by a gorgeously dark bassline with a core of solid steel. Label regular Hexa kills it with the relentlessness of 'Mirages', and 'Losing Sleep' by Division is the archetypal minimal roller. This album is stripped back, techy to its heart and a glimpse into the future of drum and bass. Special.
Review: Incurzion Audio are everyone's favourite Welsh label, and this time around they're coming at you with a full album length release from No Patterns. It's a spectacular showcase of what a creative producer can do with the minimal template, as No Patterns moves between sub-genre influences as diverse as liquid to jump up. 'E.O.U' is pure gas, as a loping, heavyweight bassline touches down again and again, a relentless monotony that grinds you down with its sheer size and heft. Female vocal samples are ever present on this release and they juxtapose with the black sparseness of their surroundings, something especially apparent on 'Rising', which packs a fat set of drums, a sub-heavy low end and shining vocals in the tops. Unreal release and an unmissable album from the Welsh crew. Bigups.
Review: Last spotted on Incurzion in 2019 with his 'Emporium' EP, the young rising producer from Watford Xolyx returns to the Welsh label with five golden creepers. Each cut fitting Incurzion's weird sonics motto to a tee, highlights range from subtle to savage; the ghostly, graveyard night walk 'Drifting' and the bulldozer jam 'State Of Supremacy' with regular Critical host MC XL on bars are the poles that mark the parameters of the EP; expect to find every twisted shade and texture in between.
Review: Everyone's favourite Welsh label are back in the game after a short time away and they've returned with what may be their best release yet. It's courtesty of Hexa and it manages to be both driven in its focus and diverse; led by minimal sounds yet not falling prey to easy trap of repetitive minimalism. 'What She Doesn't Know' is absolute genius, with a snapping percussive line that grounds a stabbing, funky, bassline that's genuinely unlike anything we've heard in a very long time. You have to hear it, really, and it's followed up by the gully roller that is 'Pandora's Box', a Gerra & Stone-esque concoction that has us wishing clubs were open. It moves onto the bubbling chill of 'Flashlight', before finishing on the deep, rolling notes of 'There's No Time', an incredibly cool four-track run that we can't recommend enough.
Review: Incurzion Audio are without a doubt one of the most underrated labels in the game and they absolutely deserve more recognition than they do for supporting smaller acts on the minimal end of the spectrum. Based out in Wales, the boys have impeccable taste and it's been proven again by the likes of Kin:etic, who takes you on a journey deep into the unrelenting world of stripped back, underground sonics. 'Vastu' is the pacier of the pair, with a flurry of hi-hats and a swarming bassline that brings some seriously moody vibes to the table. 'Can't Let Go' is slower and even more barebones, its proper industrial stuff that makes you want to a punch an bare pipe in an abandoned factory. Lovely.
Review: Incurzion are a supremely underrated Welsh label who release utterly sublime minimal drum & bass, their output is in a similar vein to Flexout or Overview's and it's the work they do supporting smaller acts is seriously commendable. This time it's the turn of French producer Oxius, and he's pulled something special out of the bad with Defective, a five-part exploration of minimal sonics which is delectable in its precision and ambitious in its scope. The title track is unreal, with inch perfect sound design and a gravelling, throaty approach to stringing low frequencies together into a cohesive whole - fantastic work.
Review: Our favourite Welsh label is back with its next outing, this time a distinctly sleek single from the veteran that is Adzzy, who is blending belligerent and beautiful beats in a brash but belated way here. The first side, with Cardiff based MC P.A.B is a big, dancefloor piece of work with a menacing vocal line and low frequency construction to match, the synergy between the two is tangible and the results are wicked. The flip is our favourite, an absurdly deep number featuring Kaitlin Bissett on vocals and a luxuriously wallowing wall of sub bass which envelops the whole tune with forward movement and fluidity. Awesome stuff.
Concept One & JAK (UK) - "Gutters" - (4:50) 175 BPM
Concept One & JAK (UK) - "Delta" - (3:44) 175 BPM
Monsoon (VIP) - (4:31) 170 BPM
Review: Coming in hot with the filthy minimal approach this week is Concept One on Incurzion Audio, the Wales based imprint which never fails to make us wince with beautifully crafted, tightly edged music that seems more befitting the urban sprawls of London than the rolling hills of South Wales. Either way, Concept One has smashed this one, with four-tracks that, to put it simply, bang. The title tune barks at you with a grate of energy, fluid energy moving underneath and giving it a lovely, lively feel. The VIP of 'Monsoon' is a penetrating halftime number, whilst they team up with JAK for the jungle flip of 'Delta' and the distorted perfection of 'Gutters'. Sick, sick stuff.
Review: Incurzion Audio have rapidly established themselves as the home of minimal drum & bass in South Wales and, whilst that doesn't initially sound like an impressive achievement given the region isn't exactly a hotspot, their music is bloody top notch. Septon is the latest to come through their doors and Sonar is unbelievably precise, a sub-heavy motion of movements that sways in the sound and sings in the sonics. It's such a pretty piece of music, not an accolade ordinarily attributed to minimal drum & bass but there's a quality here which makes it feel delicate, it's not just dancefloor-facing but 170 educating. 'Sonar' is our favourite, we love the drum pattern and just about everything else - proper tune this. Sick release.
Review: Incurzion Audio is the Cardiff-based label that dish out seriously saucy underground sonics that tend to err on the side of fluid, minimalistic naughtiness. A wicked combination, I know, and their latest is courtesy of Xolyx, who's four-tracker Emporium EP is a dastardly dark construction, a night-time infused, futuristic work that reminds us of 1985 or Flexout. Xolyx has smashed it out the park on this one, with a level of complexity that's demonstrated best on 'Dystopian Dreams', which packs an interlocking set of basses, tentacle-like in their bending, warping nature. Furious synth notes abound, just as they do on title track 'Emporium', and it's generally just a properly cool release. Well done boys.
Review: Level up. Hexa follows the likes of Skantia, Nectax and Scudd, young Hexa adds another layer to the north east's thriving drum & bass scene. And he's doing it across the board with styles ranging from groaning elasticated rollers ("Level 1") to skank-packed halftime wobblers ("Lebanon") via trippy farty little steppers like "Narcos" and the gritty revved up number with Incurzion's Caaza "Feelin'". A sharp combination of new talent and future-focused sounds, both Newcastle and Cardiff are denting the map right here.
Review: Incurzion Audio aren't a label we're overly familiar with, but they've come in with a stonkingly good single from No Patterns, who has rolled out the punches here and delivered a minimal yet forceful bit of 170 construction. 'Signals' is definitely our favourite, with a haunting introduction which flips into a spacious, graceful but still damaging set of basses and wrapped up tones. The flip is wicked as well, stepping up the heaviness just a tad. Tunes!
