Raumskaya: "Tolerance, Beauty, Love"

I love me some juke, but with all due respect DJ Rashaud and the Teklife crew, the genre is starting to get as stale as acid house circa 1991: a great concept run into the ground by too many self-limiting producers trying to make a buck off the sound without really developing it into new forms. Raumskaya does his part to make sure footstep doesn't follow down that same dead end path by going for short, choppy beats that are kind of variations on a theme... the track doesn't develop greatly throughout its length, but the drum patterns never repeat themselves. Not as danceable as the Teklife stuff but I guess the universe is ready for artjuke, eh?

dBridge & Skeptical: "Move Way"

Bumbaclot

1. A cloth or rag used to wipe ones anal region. However, most Jamaicans use it as a substitute for the word f*ck to express anger or surprise. Bumbaclot! Dem tek mi rolex and mi new links!!

2. The acme of Jamaican swearing, translates literally as "arsewipe". Its real meaning is more like a slow, surprised "motherf****r"

3. A cloth or rag used as a tampon, etc. Gross, but likely more accurate. Wha' dee Bum-Bah-CLOT! Cum nah, get dee rass off me car?

Lee Bannon: "NW/WB"

Ah, I miss drill & bass. I don't even think people call it that anymore, even in hindsight, but it used to represent the art contingent of drum & bass producers a la Richard James and Squarepusher. Mr. Lee Bannon brings it back strong here with an early dubstep-influenced banger, back when the latter meant sinister dub and a nod to grime instead of airraid siren nu rave.

Adrian Sherwood: "Semistoned"

If your favorite form of electronic music has a strong dub influence in it, you've got Adrian Sherwood to thank. With his On-U Sound Records in the 80's he and a plethora of handpicked luminaries were largely responsible for bringing dub into the house/techno world. Now it's 2012 and, strangely enough, he's peddling material that sounds like neither era, but rather somewhere between those two bookends: "Semistoned" is ripped fresh out of 1992, with its minimalist, filthy slur of a synthline and a vintage breakbeat from back before they decided "drum & bass" was less racist than "jungle".

The Recovery Time EP is due November 26 on On-U Sound.

(via FACT):

2 against 1: "Get Back" [Original Mix]

Ran across this via AK1200's Facebook profile. He's got a new group with Bill Hamel and Meaux Green and from the sound of "Get Back" it's squarely in the drum & bass tradition, with a few decisive nods to dubstep.

Photek & Kuru: "Fountainhead"

Almost forgot about Photek.  He hasn't forgotten about me.  "Fountainhead" is unabashedly old school drum & bass, comfortable in its skin without needing that dubstep crossover appeal.  Interesting move, since Photek has been AWOL since 2007, and in the 4+ year interim since then dubstep has become the biggest dance movement since big beat... which is exactly why we don't need old heroes staggering after a bandwagon already crippled with excess baggage and dead weight.  Keep your pimp hand strong, Pho.
(via FACT)

Photek & Kuru -  Fountainhead (DJ-Kicks) by !K7 Records

Dub Phizix & Skeptic: "Marka"

If Die Antwoord ever do a covers album I'm nominating this song as first single.  Instrumentally it's a little more in the traditional d&b vein, but the dark, wobbly bass line and freakily exotic vocals would make it prime cover bait for the South African novelty act.  Even if Die Antwoord never get around to doing it justice, "Marka" is a damn satisfying treat in its own right.  Chew your food, bitches!

Limewax: "WoOoOoOh"

Jesus Christ.  Just when you think you're starting to get your "electronica" (hate that fucking term) micro-genres down they hit you with another: apparently this Limewax cat invented a new offshoot of techstep - itself a sub-sub-genre of drum & bass - and I guess we've got this whole electronica macro-umbrella to fall back on if someone gets confused and just wants to hear anything with beats.  The wiki description is uselessly bloated and overcomplicated, but from what I can gather "skullstep" is just techstep with the heavier elements of breakcore implemented... because of course you need a whole 'nother genre when you experiment with any given element of the old one.  That's enough dashes for one article.