Local Heroes

It was only a matter of time before up and coming Glasgow MC, Zayn took our Local Hero award. His recent output, whether it be the outstanding ‘Dazed & Diffused’ mixtape or a fiery freestyle on Soundcloud has been captivating to say the least. Here he jumps on an exceptional slow-burning beat from Yutani which compliments his gripping flow perfectly. Check out the accompanying video below and download for free on Yutani’s ‘Whenever/Wherever’ EP’.

Dare we say it? Summer is technically three or four months away but with a dizzying high of 17 degrees today and the smooth sounds of Tronicsole’s HiRO filling our ears we’re seriously considering donning a pair of shpants and hitting the park. We’ve been big fans of HiRO’s inter-planetary vibe for a while now and with this new release coming not a moment to soon, it’s easy to remember why…

Every so often an artist comes along which instantly gets us excited, and after hearing a demo track from the mysterious Tim Narloch late last year we promised ourselves to hold off before revealing our all-encompassing enthusiasm for this young producer. As it turns out, it’s just not possible so after quietly containing ourselves for months we can now confidently state that this guy is going the distance. Check his latest upload below and prepare to concur.

As we wait patiently for the first full release from the Slow It Down guys (we’re told its impending), they’ve managed to keep us sweet through perhaps one of their finest edits to date. Taking Chromeo’s sex-dripping ‘Hot Mess’ and stretching it out with a thigh-caressing bassline, this has the power to seduce any dancefloor you drop it on. Slick, sophisticated and smooth, we can see this sticking about well into the summer…

He certainly likes to keep himself busy! As if it wasn’t enough that Dominic Martin aka Domsko will be dropping his much anticipated Family Affair album next week, he’s also treated us to a Tronicsole Sessions mix which features a brand new take on Shades Of Grey. Incorporating a psychedelic sax, skipping percussion and a bassline which will nail you straight to the floor, this could get your head nodding in a concrete neck brace.

It’s been exactly a year since we first got our hands on the demo version of Raksha’s utterly mesmerising ‘Feelings’, and in the twelve months that have past we’re pleased to say that things are looking rather sweet for the young producer. Incase you missed it the first time round, this Junior Jack sampling dub is a true reflection of the urban landscape, echoing Burial at his most visceral. Download it as part of the Keldrist Kõlab Bassi compilation now.

We’re only five days into the New Year and already 2012 is shaping up to be something special. In an exclusive to Synth we’d like to introduce a new artist by the name of Mirrors and the super-slick ‘Dip You’. Irresistibly smooth and ridiculously danceable, you’ll find yourself hypnotised by a seriously addictive bassline and what can only be described as new-age House infused by 90’s Speed-Garage. January just got better.

Grobbie is a time-bomb waiting to explode. It’s been five months since we first featured the Tuff Wax producer in our Local Hero feature and ever since the tunes have just kept on coming. Remixing fellow Aberdonian, Yoin on new single ‘Tired Of Me’, this very much fits in with the current influx of RnB flavoured Dubstep, incorporating pitched up vocal cuts and rumbling sub bass to great effect.

We’ve been aware of this project between soul-bearing Dubstep producer Fall and up and coming singer-songwriter, Bronagh Monahan for a while, but it wasn’t until we heard the finished product that our excitement was fully realised. With Fall providing a hypnotic instrumental, echoing the poignant emotion of Massive Attack and Bronagh laying down some truly touching vocals this is a match made in heaven.

We’re excited about Mia Dora, perhaps too excited. Ever since unleashing underground smash, ‘Random Romantics’ at the start of the year, their tech-laden take on UK Bass has got us frothing at the mouth. As they gear up for what will no doubt be a big 2012, they’ve decided to take on Roots Manuva’s new single ‘Get The Get’, transforming it into a cooler-than-thou, late night bounce.

It’s a wonder Sei A hasn't attempted this before. William Basinski, one of the most revered composers of modern times has been experimenting with the very fabric of sound for over 25 years, creating intricate journeys of epic magnitude. His ability to form masterful soundscapes have claimed him worldwide recognition, and here, in a tribute to his legendary ‘Disintegration Loops’, Sei A does him total justice.

If an artist gives away their music for free it means one of two things. Either it’s so distinctly average that the idea of any label taking interest in it is laughable or the producer in question is on such a hot streak that they can afford to give away the odd tune to maintain the hype. Thankfully where Cur$es is concerned, it is most definitely the latter. Released for free via bandcamp, ‘Hemisphere’ is blissful hyper-house that is nothing short of divine.

Shame on us. This the first time we’ve featured Rustie in our Local Hero feature and for that we apologise. Featuring on his forthcoming album ‘Glass Swords’, ‘Flash Back’ is a gleaming vision of the future (which is quite ironic considering its title), channelling a hyper-sonic mixture of chugging, industrial bass and chrome reflective synths. Make of that what you will.

Let it be known – we are in love with this song! Obviously we’ve touched on ‘Right Hand Red’ before, but after getting lost in this remix over the last few days our love is now fully consummated. The original was already a strong favourite with us over the summer and with Barrientos now giving it the ‘Paradise’ touch, we can see this resurfacing next year as an official sunset anthem. Simply stunning.

So obviously we spelled out just how much we love Jinty’s ‘Bleu’ in last week’s Local Hero segment, but after a week of living with it and playing it out, we didn’t realise just how much. For us ‘Bleu’ is a breath of fresh air amidst the artificial gleam of modern Hip Hop. With an atmosphere reminiscent of DJ Premier or even, (dare we say) Jay Dilla, Jinty has really captured the ‘live’ element of quality Hip Hop instrumentation.

Following on from the sonic bliss of the ‘Satin Panthers EP’, Hudson Mohawke returns with a series of unofficial remixes for a select group of RnB megastars. If you’ve been paying attention to his Soundcloud over the last month you will have heard fresh takes on Aaliyah, Keri Hilson and in this case, Janet Jackson. Taking the track ‘Pleasure’and giving it the signature booty-bouncy flavour he has become known for, this will undoubtedly get the girls on the floor and begging for more. Props to Pleasure Principle for putting this out...

Glasgow, Grobbie is coming for you. We’ve been keeping an eye on the Aberdonian native over the last few months and to say we are impressed would be an understatement. New track ‘Man In Flux’ embodies everything that is exciting about modern bass music – blurred boundaries, melting genres and a big step into the unknown. Adopting heavy bass, broken beats and a reflective undertone this is just a taster of what the Tuff Wax producer has up his sleeve.

A bit of a curve ball this week for our Local Hero award, but completely justified. As it stands we’re still very much beginners in Scottish Hip Hop, it’s something that so far has passed us by. But when we heard Paisley’s Konchis & Physiks team up on new track ‘Persystem’ we were immediately hooked. With the type of beat that could easily have featured on 2001 (think a more introspective ‘Still Dre’) and fierce rhymes telling it as it is, we reckon Konchis & Physiks are set to take it next level.

We’ve always been intrigued by Sei A’s dark, involving sound. Some call it gothic Techno, but truth be told, there is no defining label. As with this stunning remix of Moby’s recent single ‘Lie Down In Darkness’ you can easily identify elements of Dubstep, Trip Hop and stripped-back Garage. Whether Sei A welcomes such wild speculation is completely irrelevant – to him its probably just ‘music’.

So we have to say, the competition for our Local Hero award is getting stronger week on week, but after a surprise release by Barrientos on Tuesday night we felt it was only right he take the crown on this occasion. We spelt out just how much we love the Sky EP as a whole yesterday, but it’s the dreamy, sun-drenched ‘Chicago’ which brought us to our knees. It’s all about that piano line…

It’s been impossible to ignore our hype of up and coming Tech House duo Ovr Kill, almost every song they’ve leaked has claimed our Local Hero award and with a highly anticipated EP incoming the excitement only grows. ‘Ink On My Arm’, is still only a demo but already sounds massive in all senses of the word. With their signature bassline firmly in place and an all-consuming breakdown to take things higher, this is nothing but quality from the boys once again. Look out for Ovr Kill in our ‘Synth Presents…’ series tomorrow.

OK, so we’re real late on this – sometimes even the hottest tracks can slip through the net – but better late than never right? Ross Birchard aka Hudson Mohawke is back and he’s not playing games. The lead track from forthcoming EP, ‘Satin Panthers’ sounds like Timbaland or The Neptunes had they not been sucked into a commercial abyss. With a bassline which bangs in your face like Westwood on a Saturday night, this is nothing short of genius from American RnB’s next go to guy.

There’s no point in hiding just how excited we were to finally get our hands on HaHaHa’s ‘Adzuki Beans’ EP this week. The lead track has been featuring heavily on some of Glasgow’s cooler floors for a while now, always provoking a quite phenomenal reaction. Its grinding bassline, staggered chords and dreamy breakdown all combine to create something entirely unique – if you need to wake up your dancefloor I’d select this one from the hard drive.

It doesn’t matter what name he is producing under, whether it be The Revenge, Graeme Clark or in this case OOFT!, Ali Herron is constantly churning out quality club music. Here, we see him contribute to the new ‘Home Taping Is Fun’ compilation with some utterly delectable Deep House. Entitled ‘Signal Jammer’, this six minute slice of soothing, late-night action sounds like a journey to the inner-workings of the soul.

Rob Etherson must be busy – other then forming one half of up and coming Techno outfit Ovr Kill, plus genre-blurring UK Bass practitioners, Mia Dora he also takes time to produce some quality solo material. Here we see him drop the tempo for a techy House number which breathes deep but rolls with driving purpose. A solid bassline and reflective chords make this perfect for the warm up/sunset/sunrise.

We always find ourselves being a bit sceptical over competition music, but Scenic Tone's Julius Funkhouser’s entry to the Juno Download ‘Inland Knights’ contest is quite frankly exceptional. With a deep, rounded bassline complimented by addictive and uplifting chords, this has ‘winner’ written all over it. You can pick up all the various parts from their forthcoming sample pack here and download the Funkhouser entry below.

For consistently good music you can’t really look much further than Barrientos – you may have to wait a while but its most definitely worth holding on for. This week we were sent new track ‘Deep South’ for exclusive play on our radio show and it simply took our breath away. Clocking in at around 12 minutes this is true Balearic gold as reflective chords and scintillating basslines take us deep into the night.

As if the Hunger EP needed any more hype, Peace has gone and enlisted Heartbeats head-honcho Megamegaman and recent collaborator AC to turn out some remixes for the rather moving, ‘Broken Ribs’. The Megamegaman remix, featured here, takes it down a Dubstep route with infusions of his trademark ‘chip’ sound while AC uses a more Funky diversion in a short but sweet ode to the original. Quality stuff.

Rumours resident and bass-bungling, dub fanatic Indra returns this week with a slice of low-slung Hip Hop that is certain to knock the wind out your speakers. Debuting the track on the Rumours radio show a couple weeks back we were blown away (quite literally) by the intertwining instrumentation and slamming sub-bass. With a straight-gutter edge this will no doubt inspire some next level screwfaces.

We’ve gone Monopunk mad this week – his slamming Electro bangers are making an interesting soundtrack to the big wedding day (we’ve got a TV on in the corner while ‘Waat Attack blares out our monitors). With the advent of his forthcoming ‘Expo EP’ we thought it would only be right to grant him the title of Local Hero, check out his ‘Get To Know…’ feature below.

It has that sound – we still can’t quite put our finger on it and we refuse to use the word ‘future’ anymore, but it’s taking over our lives. A cosmic interpretation of standard House music, twisted around addictive vocal cuts, pitch-bending synths and an inner-city atmosphere. Here Adam Forbes takes things deep on ‘Shimmer’, a golden reflection of the 2011 dancefloor.

Recently signed to the ever dependable 3^rd Abstract Records, Feliz Plastico blew us away this week with this rather brilliant slice of deep-grooving Tech House. Rolling in with a menacing chime before building with a series of late-night bleeps and metallic synths this is definitely one for the afterparty. Pick it up as a free download from his Soundcloud now!

Not satisfied with making super-fresh bass-tech with Mia Dora or churning out quality rhythmic Techno under his own name, Rob Etherson has teamed up with Ross Stenhouse for new project ‘Ovr Kill’. This week they uploaded the astonishing ‘Heatseeker’ – an 8min trip through peak time devastation which draws you in with a deep groove and filtered breakdown before slapping you around the face with a driving crescendo. Buckle up…

The winter has been long and dark, but now, finally it seems like spring is beginning to take hold – and you can hear it in the music. We’ve already blogged about this tune, but after dropping it in a marathon set last weekend our love for it has definitely strengthened. This the new single from Domsko ft Astral T and it simply screams quality House. Perfect to get people moving as day becomes night…

Glasgow based band Cinephile are new to us, but seemingly they've been producing quality lo-fi electronica for some time. Siting Portishead, Massive Attack and Tricky as influences, their latest single 'Masquerade' comes on like an emotional storm releasing it's absorbent power through a downpour of electric synths and menacing bass. A gripping listen from start to finish...