The lockdown longness continues…
For some, the effects of the coronavirus outbreak are enough to drive them to spending their mate’s money on xBox credits. For others, it’s a reason to try out even more cool stuff than usual in a bid to try and counter this weird limbo, empty schedules and growing financial worry.
Thankfully there are many many more examples of the latter than the former and more are popping up by the day. Since we ran our first Anti-Virus update on Monday we’ve seen more artists adopt more and more exciting and innovative means to either keep themselves inspired, engage with us fans (who are all facing the same worries) or raise a little income to recoup the substantial losses of the coming months. Or all three.
We’ve rounded-up some of the best examples we’ve seen this week. Whether it’s giving away music, setting up Patreon programs, offering tuition, streaming sets, uploading mixtapes, dusting off a load of old dubs or anything in between, artists of every level are doing what they can to maintain their own momentum, the music’s momentum and the spirit of the culture that’s brought us all together in the first place. Not just in bass music but across the entire spectrum. Resident Advisor’s Save Our Scene initiative is a great example of this. Sign up and get involved.
Here are many other ways you can get involved, get entertained and get inspired…
Producers!
Nomine and Nurve’s Education & Bass platform have put out a great opportunity for recording artists. They’re looking for instructional video walkthroughs of tunes with explanations on how elements were created so aspiring artists can learn from the producer. They will do the editing and they’ll pay you £100 for it too. Visit the site, hit them up and see if you’ve got the right tune to breakdown for their students.
Another opportunity that’s arisen lately has been from London collective SINE who are putting together a compilation to raise revenue and money for coronavirus sufferers. “We at SINE want to shine a light on how music can act as a sign of relief in otherwise rocky times, with the music industry being just one of many being completely shaken up by the Covid-19 crisis. Many freelancers/artists/self-employed workers are currently facing little to no income and we want to help by putting together a dnb compilation, all proceeds of which will be split between a charity helping Coronavirus sufferers and the contributing artists themselves.”
Get involved and submit your track via this form.
Meanwhile anyone looking for some new tools to create ideas, Moog and Korg are giving away two premium apps during the outbreak. Both the Mini Moog Model D and Korg’s Kaossilator are free for now in a bid to inspiration positivity and creativity during these weird times.
If you’re looking for 1-to-1 inspiration and guidance on your productions then savour these weird times. While everything feels like it’s crumbling and we’re completely out of control (but hopefully not out of blessed shit tickets) this is a golden age for advice some of the most respected producers in this music. Check these shouts from Commix, TeeBee and Andy from Technimatic. These are long time masters of their craft and they’re offering to teach you and share their unique insight. If there’s a silver-lining to take from this situation, it’s definitely opportunities like these.
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Info coming soon about how you can access me, and all my studio equipment ??
These aren’t the only artist offering their services in this way. Some acts have been using tuition, mentoring and mastering as a way to make a living long before the covid hit us. Heist has been a don of this line of studio services for many years and should always be checked out if you’re thinking about getting trained by a professional, Filip Motovunski has set up FM Mastering which offers mixing, mastering and 1-to-1 classes and Villem has been tutoring for the last year, too. Check his site for services and his range of sample packs. Also, in terms of tuition and collaborating with some seriously respectable artists in this scene, check out some of the Patreon programs we’ve listed below. There are opportunities on offer that would never normally have occurred if it wasn’t for the outbreak.
Also on a production/finding inspiration tip are the many sample packs artists and brands are either giving away or selling.
Fresh from appearing on Program and Skankandbass Nemy is giving away this delightfully titled Fuck Covid samplepack,
And sound design company Sidecorp Music have launched a samplepack series with two French mastercraftsmen The Clamps and Opsen (aka new neuro mischief makers Burr Oak) Take a peek here.
Bristol mega-crew Rotations have put together this absolute beast of bundle from the likes of Koherent, Objectiv, Revan, Charli Brix and Revaux. Download it here for zero pennies!
Bandcamp!
The biggest Bandcamp boost this week is happening right now throughout March 20 as Bandcamp are waiving their revenue for all sales on the platform for the whole day until midnight PST. That’s 7am Saturday GMT. Literally every penny you spend (bar taxes) will go directly to the artists. Bandcamp is almost always the preferred choice of platform for artists, today even more so.
Dom & Roland has uploaded the classic rolling sub grumbler Nanobots today. Fully remastered, it was originally released in 2000 under his Signal To Noise alias and has never been available digitally before. The dub has never been available full stop. Check the tune below and vinyl heads check his pre-order for a 98 dubplate mix of the monster Can’t Punish Me which was originally going to be a Clashmouth exclusive on Record Store Day but has, like everything else right now, been cancelled.
Surveillance Music bossman Fragz has also unearthed some past tracks with this collection of darkside techy bangers. From The Vaults is a five track EP with cuts ranging from recent to 2016. They’re every bit as grim and tense as the current time. https://fragzsrvlnc.bandcamp.com/track/mars-one
Remember when the biggest thing bothering the internet was that ridiculous Yanny/Laurel thing and not a dangerous epidemic? Fracture does and he’s taking us back to those simpler times with this very cheeky bounce track he made at the time. (Laurel crew for life yo!)
VIP crew for life, too. A.M.C & Turno have just uploaded the long-awaited VIPs for Fever and Disconnected. Trust us, this is the only Fever you want to be getting at a time like this!
Cyantific has joined Bandcamp with a new subscription project called Discovery where for £4 per month you’ll get at least one new tune and a whole stack more from mini sample packs and VIPs to a monthly video advice competition. Right now there are three brand new Cyantific tracks waiting for all subscribers and all yours for, as he points out himself, for the price of a posh cup of coffee. Discover what he’s up to.
Discover what Breakage is up to as well… After a brief studio hiatus he’s packing more goods and this dubby halftime beauty Different Tings is the first of a few sonic treats he’s got up his sleeve this year. It’s up a pay-what-you-can offer and it comes with a wicked message we can all related to. “I’m certain, like me, many of you are pretty concerned for yourself and loved ones, quite on edge and are finding your life financially, rather uneasy to say the least,” says Breakage, nailing life on the head for pretty much all of us. “Therefore, trying to sell something doesn’t feel right at all. If you’re in the position, or just fancy paying, sick! If you can’t afford to or don’t feel like it, that’s fine too! All I ask is that you enjoy it!” Job done.
dBridge has just added two tracks to his Bandcamp page today, too. Both spanning his sonic breadth with class, Ember is a brutishly moody 140 stomper while Trollish goes back to his old school angry vibes. In the track description he explains how it was the result of a jump-up competition he had with a few other producers. It’s a winner for sure.
Those feeling the dubstep vibes of dBridge’s Ember will be very happy to hear what Plastician has uploaded today. Deep In The Drives is a 10 track collection of old school tracks, unreleased favourites and dubs from his formative years in the very thick of 140 music’s primordial soup. The first track is called Alone Time. Too apt.
And the foundation dubstep vibes continue with none other than original Croydon pioneer Skream. Fresh up today, Unreleased Classics Vol 1 features eight cuts from the Croydon pioneer’s earliest chapters. Destination 2002-3 when he was just at the start of his journey, each cut rattles with raw dark garage energy.
Trex’s Trust Audio Bandcamp page is also well worth checking. Not just today but on the daily; He’s set himself the task of writing a tune once a week during lockdown with his Stay Calm series. The process sees him starting a tune at 9.30am and uploading the badboy by 6pm. An exercise in creativity through limitations, it’s all about avoiding over-thinking things, capturing a vibe and selling tunes for nothing more than a quid. The first one went up on Thursday. Entitled Lose My Mind, it features Medic MC and it bumps…
Looking for something a little harder? Transforma‘s bandcamp might be of interest. Brand new as of this week, it kicks off with a whole album’s worth of material from the C4C / Bad Taste affiliated artist. Ranging from tear-out neuro to mad metal fusions, there’s a lot to chow down on here.
Elsewhere on Bandcamp, many labels and brands are offering deals as they know we’re all screwed in this COVID-BS situation. Dispatch are offering 50% off all digital and vinyl until April 1 with the code corblimey while Lost Recordings are also cutting their prices by half with the code COVID19.
Finally on a Bandcamp flex, if you catch this dispatch before 7am GMT Saturday March 20 then you might want to check out Diffrent‘s Bandcamp page. A collection called This Album Will Self Destruct In 24 Hours has gone up to mark Bandcamp waiving their fees. It features far-out and forward-thinking designs from the label family such as Sense MC, Lakeway, Fearful, Kolectiv, Arkaik, Mauoq and the label boss Dexta himself. Hurry though, this will be gone before you have your breakfast this weekend.
Streams!
It’s been a big week for great DJ streams with bored selectors on lockdown firing off mixes left, right and centre. The only problem has been when and where to find them. Luckily there’s now DJ Streams which is a community page exactly for that. Set up by NYC OG DJ Hector Mamajuana, it’s dedicated to all streams, all chat about streams and any questions about steams if you’re thinking about hosting one yourself. Literally at any minute of the day there appears to be multiple streams being shared in there and loads of supportive chat. Take your pick and get your living room / bedroom bop on.
Lockdown DNB is another new group worth joining. Set up by Original Sin, Sub Zero and Taxman, it’s open for all to join and is another community-based platform for people to chat, share vibes, sets and streams. They also plan weekly streams every Saturday night. It kicks off this Saturday March 21 9pm GMT with Original Sin, Paul T & Edward Oberon, Taxman and host Weejii. Get locked into Lockdown.
Elsewhere, Iris temporarily switched her rollers for this slamming UK hard house throwback stream earlier this week and promises more off-piste adventures over the coming weeks. Next Tuesday, March 24, DNB Girls will be hosting a live stream with Anastasia and Try Kohout (check the event page for full details) and on a radio tip DNB France are broadcasting on MXLR every Tuesday while northern UK crew Heavy Beat Sessions will still be broadcasting throughout the outbreak every Thursday right here.
And what’s this? Teased on Saxxon and a few other DJ’s pages yesterday, Dubplate Culture is a new platform for streamed monetised events where all coins go directly to the artists. More information will be revealed very soon!
As we hinted in the last update, Drum&BassArena are also launching a special socially isolated D&BTV series called Locked In. Big DJs, bigger streams, going back to what D&BTV began as in the first place, sign up for more details here.
Patreons!
This week will forever go down as official Patreon week. So many of our favourite artists have set up programs with the platform, all offering interesting benefits to subscribers.
Phace is creating some pretty big opportunities for aspiring producers who are lucky to have the funds and want to really invest in their careers. He’ll mixdown your tune for you, repost it and give you 1-to-1 advice! There are lower tiers which include remix stems and exclusive music like Pocket Dial…
The Protoypes have also set up a program which ranges from the basic tier which gives you access to their Discord and Patreon-only merch to their top Power Up tier which includes a stack of soundbanks straight from the Proto’s laboratory. Exclusive music will land monthly from the guys themselves and their Get Hype friends.
Currently under the most intense isolation restrictions due him being in Northern Italy Kirl has also joined the Patreon party with three outrageous quarantine-inspired tunes. Rave Cave is a taste of what he’s offering to the first 200 subscribers. He’s also offering monthly samples, tunes and mixes.
Emperor has been very busy lately. He’s back on his Twitch channel and he’s set up this Patreon program. It’s captured fans’ attention as the top tier, which was limited to 50, has already sold out. Offering music (on his new label EMPR) and a range of production tools for your own creativity, he’s looking to develop this much further than the outbreak, as he explained when he launched it earlier this week.
French new-gen monsters Skylark and The Caracal Project have collaborated with a really interesting Patreon. No tiers, just the one straight-up subscription with a range of benefits including track commentaries, stems, samples, bi-weekly concepts to inspire fellow producers and a cool thing they called Stems Roulette where subscribers upload stems from their current project and either Skylark or The Caracal Project will pick one at random and collaborate with you online for a two hour session. A unique project from a unique duo.
Another dynamic duo fresh to Patreon are Shogun lads Pola & Bryson. Their tiers are split for music fans and budding producers alike. Both offer downloads to a randomly picked bootleg each month. Just as coronavirus has united us all, we’re pretty sure everyone is united in which bootleg we’d like to receive first. Check check check it out.
Another champion of soulful D&B to join Patreon is Spearhead bossman and world class duck lover BCee. There’s a whole raft of Patreon-exclusive goodies on offer to subscribers including discounts on Spearhead releases, mixes, podcasts, music and, for the top tier, feedback on two tunes per month.
Finally in this Patreon round-up we have 1985’s Submarine. The man behind some of the most soul-wobbling subs in bass music, he’s set-up a unique range of tiers with the top one offering four hours tutoring per month and the mixdown of a track plus exclusive dubplates and production live streams. Get on it, though, he’s only offering five of these subscriptions.
Tunes!
Man like Lakeway has served up one of the most disgusting tunes this week in the form of Stay Clear, the first of what could potentially be a series of heavyweight Corona War Dubs. He’s sent for Host and Samurai Breaks. This could spiral out of control. Close all windows before you start hurling your shoes everywhere. You’re on lockdown so your footwear should be too…
And once you’re done throwing your shows around your yard, sooth that covid-enraged, war-dub battered soul with this lovely unhurried number from Paul T & Edward Oberon: Come Back To Me. Stripped back, simple, vibesome. It comes with the perfect track description: Fuck you coronavirus. Fuck you very much.
AC13’s brought a little soul into the free download mix this week too with this D&B take on FS&HG’s Tortoise. Fitting for these slow moving times. For more bonus beats from the fast-rising Born On Road artist, check out his Patreon.
A brand new label has been launched amid this madness, too. Echo Chamber have nothing to do with the virus but its name is definitely fitting to the endless loops of social media misinformation. It launches today with a single from newcomer Erritate and it bangs!
It’s not just tunes or new labels being shot our way right now, there’s a whole slew of fresh mixes in our feeds this week. One particular stand-out mix that helps to recall slightly warmer, better, less outbreaky times comes from New Zealand premier hype man and beard king Camo MC. He and his main man Resident have put together this positive vibes injection. Originally meant to go out as a final Kiwi summer blow-out, it’s now a salute to all socially distanced massive and the summer we appear to be losing before our eyes…
Merch!
Funds allowing, merch is a great way to support your favourite labels and artists if possible. It’s been too soon to turn around a job lot of BUN COVID-19 t’s but we’re sure that will happen very soon. In the meantime we’ve recently spotted these…
Forbidden Society has launched his Forbidden Wear shop ahead of the release of his new album next month, Liminal Point. Hoodies and t’s for all genders and sizes, the camo won’t protect you from covid-19 but it will make you look badass. Check it out.
DJ Premium’s Exert Records have just launched their first hoodies and t’s on their site. Celebrating a year since launching the label (we interviewed him about it at the time), these are limited. Have a look at them here.
Finally!
Just in case the weirdness and worry of this situation isn’t quite enough gloom, this new website should bring the message home… Sick Festivals is tracking every cancelled and postponed festival as each one gets canned for the year. Knowledge is power and all, but it isn’t the most pleasant feed scroll you’ll have this week.
As unpleasant as it all is, this isn’t the end the world. Cool people will continue to do cool things, the best creativity can come out of limitations and challenging circumstances. This whole article is full of reasons to try and remain cheerful, hopeful and proud of our scene. Look after each other, stay indoors, remain creative and support your favourite artists and labels when you can. https://krootez.com/ These Anti Virus updates will run every Friday for the foreseeable. Please holler at the editor@ukf.com with anything you’re doing to combat this situation and support the people who give us one of the best things in the world and we’ll try and shout you in the next update. Stay safe!
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