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After not releasing any club music for the past two years due to the pandemic, Martin Garrix has been premiering one club ID after the other during his live shows over the last couple of weeks. Last week, he announced the release of his first-ever club album, Sentio, which will be out on the 29th of April.

“The crazy thing is I’ve never released a Garrix album. During COVID I made zero club music because it felt weird to make festival music when there were no shows. When the shows came back I had so much new, revived energy that I made tons of new club music. We’ve decided to release a lot of the tracks in the coming weeks and bundle them into a club album. I feel like people have collected new energy the past two years, and I can’t describe how amazing it feels to be back on tour and seeing everyone’s reactions to all the new music.”

Beginning with the incredible Zedd collaboration, “Follow,” he’s since released “Limitless” with Mesto and “Reboot” with Vluarr. Today, he follows it up again with yet another team up with Brooks, “Quantum.”

A reunion everybody has been waiting for: Martin Garrix and Brooks collaborate on Garrix’s second release of the week, “Quantum.” As one of the most requested IDs after his Ultra Music Festival Miami set, “Quantum” quickly became a fan favorite after the first live spins. In true Garrix and Brooks fashion, the track is an outstanding banger with an infectious drop.

Check out the growing Sentio tracklist below!



 

Photo via Rukes.com

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Martin Garrix and Brooks release anticipated Ultra ID, “Quantum” [Listen]

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: LINK Drops Thunderous Single, “Break It Down” [HARSH Records]

Every track Matroda touches is guaranteed to set the dance floor in a frenzy. He has a natural ability to consistently create well-received house heaters with insatiable grooves and sonic genius that always leave us mesmerized. 

Now, the young Croatian artist is back with “Wasting Time“, yet another sizzling single that is sure to be a favorite for DJ’s world wide. This time around, a detuned piano stabs relentlessly as a soulful vocal sample infuses that classic old school house feel. You may think you know what’s coming, but Matroda flips the track and places in a drop that is simply genius.

Listen to “Wasting Time” below!

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Matroda Strikes Gold Again With “Wasting Time” [Terminal Underground]

We all love a good sine wave synth in drum & bass and even in rave music in general. In D&B, we’re partial to the sine wave sub synth which builds tension, lets us know of the drop, transitions phrases without losing the bass-based aggression we love so well and screws those screwfaces right up into proper bassfaces. A lot of us may not even know that’s what we love about our beloved bass synths; hell, even the controversial foghorn is technically a very low, rumbling sine wave. It can fade in or rush out and vice versa, and like it or not, it always adds drama.

Generally speaking in drum & bass, sine waves are as described above: heavy, gravely, possibly honky and definitely in the bass register or perhaps the low mids. Sine wave swells that are in the higher mids or high registers of a track are generally the reserve of other, more standard EDM tunes: big room house, progressive stuff…Kaskade and Martin Garrix and the like. If we do find high register sine waves in D&B, they tend to be in the backing sound design or made of very short lines within another melody. Vegas-born and LA-based producer Frank Royal, however, is here to challenge that norm with his new Floating EP, dropping this week on Play Me Records.

Frank Royal comes from an unconventional background for a D&B producer, and it may explain his similarly unconventional composition style. His Beatport page is riddled not only with techno and house (progressive house even! Clutch those D&B pearls) and riddim tracks but with loads and loads of drone. He has his own small drone imprint as well, aptly named Drone Parade, with all the glitchy, experimental, vapor wave and sine wave glory those of us who like the weird stuff could desire.

Now, we’ve said all that to say this: Floating is a solid, heavy D&B offering, more than up to Reid Speed’s exacting label standards. He’s remixed and collabed on Play Me and Play Me too a few times since 2018, including with Ms. Speed herself on her track “The Great Void,” so it’s likely this EP has been in the works for a while. Being solid D&B as it is, none of the tracks on the EP seem particularly weird or experimental. Melodic, heavy dancefloor chuggers, all three. But they’re is something different there, and we think it’s in those sine waves.

“Lumiere” goes right in with some seraphimic high-pitched sines accompanying the opening vox, followed by more standard-sounding neuro-style sine synths. In the body of this quite ravey and semi-throwback beat pattern, we also find some very short, whip-like reverse sines that start loud and fade back quickly. It’s sort of like those starbust you could get from an old Casio keyboard. Dog Piano anyone?

In  “Autumnotrie,” Floating‘s closing and namesake track, Royal plays with sines in both the manipulation of the vox in its high registers as well as in the main synth. Said main synth is cut up in a really interesting way and you can really see Royal’s love for drone here as the sine abruptly stops and starts to create a secondary beat for the track, causing a sort of choppy, spacey feel as the high register vox goes super-high and celestial. This track must sound incredible on a rig.

The most obvious high register sine play comes with our premiere, the EP’s opening track, “Quoriant.” Here is where Mr. Royal uses the siren sine waves much in the same way foghorns have been used recently. The sub synth combines crunchy notes also modded by our friends the sine waves but as the track rolls on, over top of the vocal samples and neuro noise and growing ever louder, this siren sine wave grows to full rave volume, almost hearkening back to the late 90s and early 00s when that siren was in every track on every dancefloor and had ravers constantly looking for the cops. It never fully goes off, however, teasing the listener almost to the point of madness and then dropping into the drony dubstep coda section or whipping through the cyclonic snares like a howling wind. Ever-present and somehow both eerie and beautiful, this is what the apex of sine wave can sound like in D&B, and this is why it’s good to know your drone.

Since we’re not closing in on 800 words for a premiere now, we’ll keep the closing short: we like sine waves, they make good D&B and Frank Royal is gearing up to be a great asset to said D&B. Reid Speed was right to pick these three droney, siney tracks for Floating and Frank’s official entre into drum & bass. Listen and love.

Floating drops this Friday, April 8 on Play Me Records. Click here to pre-order or pre-save.

 

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Your EDM Premiere: Frank Royal’s Upcoming EP Will Have Fans ‘Floating’ [Play Me]

Following confirmation yesterday that Kanye West was no longer headlining the final day of Coachella, Sunday’s new headliners have been officially revealed:

Swedish House Mafia x The Weeknd

The Weeknd and the Swedish trio have a history of collaboration so the pairing isn’t completely out of left field, and SHM were already scheduled to play the festival. It makes sense to move them up in the lineup, and adding The Weeknd keeps the trend of having at least one rapper headline the event.

We’ve already seen ticket prices on secondary markets drop dramatically, so if you’ve been thinking about snagging a ticket last minute, now’s your chance. Of course, that also leaves the question of where to stay which might be a bit harder to figure out. But if you have the drive, you can probably find something.

Check out the new Coachella lineup below.

The Party & The After Party pic.twitter.com/8gT2bF3x5j

— Coachella (@coachella) April 6, 2022

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Swedish House Mafia x The Weeknd Officially Replacing Kanye West At Coachella

The Hamburg/Berlin-based duo Brazed have been bumping around the more curated underground labels for a while now, having released on Major League D&B, Audiolith and Reid Speed‘s Play Me in the last couple of years. In December, they were part of Netherlands-based Citrus Recordings’ annual Citrus Recap compilation with their tune “Boomerang.” One of their most popular tracks, however, was a collab with Instinkt on Bad Taste called “Harpoon,” so, with some more recent stand-alones under their belts, it makes sense that BCUK legend Vegas would conscript a single for his Bad Taste label. Enter: “Mutex” and “Contention.”

Similar to the labels that have released them, Brazed’s style is a bit all over the board but in the best possible way. With hard D&B and cinematic sound design at the core of it all, this duo seem to be able to absorb different styles and subgenres into their work and then drop them at just the right moment in any given track, but the overall style is still uniquely theirs. “Boomerang,” for example, is a dancefloor chugger whose snares do actually sound like a boomerang about to whip back at the thrower’s head, while the snares in “Elope” on Play Me are syncopated jazz-style and merge with the breaks and circus-like synths in astonishing ways.

Brazed’s upcoming tracks on Bad Taste are more neuro-forward than some of their previous work but have some cool throwback vibes a’la late stage techstep. “Contention” also has an experimental arc to it with super-fast snares, minimal yet somehow still very theatrical sound design, vintage toms and a growler of a sub synth. Very exacting in its composition, “Contention” is the most relatably “German” track we’ve seen thus far from the duo, who usually play it a bit fast and loose compared to, say, a Phace or a Current Value.

Our premiere today is “Mutex,” the A side to “Contention” and the more dancefloor-lit track of the two. With a snappy snare and some similar-to-“Contention” breakdown toms, this is where Brazed’s generalized hard D&B vibe breaks out into full neuro territory. Still precise and full of syncopation, “Mutex” can still incite a bass face from 50 yards and have dancefloors bouncing. It’s the best of both worlds, really: heavy and danceable, experimental and mixable.

With their obvious aptitude to get atomic-time precise and super-weird and minimal with the snares, danceability still seems to be the most important thing to the boys in Brazed. With an intimate knowledge of vintage grooves from the darkstep days and a platform like Bad Taste under them, they can now craft these deceptively intricate beats. This balance will likely become Brazed’s calling card, and if tracks to come are anything like “Mutex” and “Contention,” we’re here for it.

“Mutex”/”Contention” drop on Bad Taste Recordings this Friday, April 8. Click here for pre-order and pre-save.

 

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Your EDM Premiere: Bad Taste to Drop a Two-Pack of ‘Brazed’ Goodness

Coachella may only be just a little more than two weeks away, but the annual desert festival will have to scramble as Sunday headliner Kanye West has decided to suddenly pull off the lineup, confirms the Los Angeles Times.

As some might remember, he threatened to do so back in February if Billie Eilish didn’t apologize to Travis Scott for a post in which she said she waits “for people to be OK until I keep going.” The accompanying video showed her stopping her concert to wait for stage crew to help a fan in the crowd. So soon after the tragedy at Astroworld, it’s not a stretch to assume Eilish was subtly referencing the rapper’s actions, though it was never explicitly stated.

It’s also not explicitly clear if this is why West pulled off the lineup, as no reason has yet been given.

The festival will have approximately 19 days to find a new headliner for Sunday, one who already has a show and stage plan ready, or who doesn’t necessarily need one in the first place. They may also move up a second-line headliner to the headline spot. Fans are clamoring for Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, or Kendrick Lamar to fill in the rap slot on Sunday.

 

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Kanye West no longer headlining final day of Coachella

Yung Bae is at a turning point in his music career. The Portland native began dropping sample-heavy disco/future funk albums since 2014 and has been on an upward trajectory revitalizing and spearheading these genres and their sounds. But with his latest record Groove Continental: Side A, Yung Bae has taken a different approach that includes an emphasis on original songwriting and huge collaborations with Jon Batiste, AWOLNATION, EARTHGANG, Channel Tres, and more.

He took these new batch of tracks to Miami Music Week to test them out on the South Florida party people. To do so, he headlined one of his own shows “Yung Bae & Friends” and was on the roster of the Brownies & Lemonade show that included sets from Louis the Child, Whethan, Malaa b2b Habstrakt and more. From my time in the crowd during Yung Bae’s set at the latter show, there was a real sense that his blend of his old and new sounds were something the crowd couldn’t get enough of. He opened with a hypnotic intro of “Pure Imagination” and seamlessly blended it into a set of funky house and sexy rhythms.

During the craziness, we caught a chance to sit with Yung Bae and pick his brain on a couple of odd and obvious topics.

How has your first Miami Music Week been and how would you compare the crowds here versus anywhere else you have toured?

Yung Bae: “I was just here in December too. Now it feels like everyone’s out in party-mode; everyone’s out in high spirits. So I’m pretty excited for the weekend. The sun’s out and the ocean breeze is nice too. If we were a little more inland, we would be done for.”

Before we talk about your music, I wanted to tap into some of your other interests. For starters, is it fair to say that you’re a pretty big anime fan?

“I’m a big fan of old-school anime. I watch a lot of reruns. Everyone who knows me know I watch the same ten shows over and over. I grew up on a fuckton of Sailor Moon. I still watch it to this day. I’ll just put on silent and play it in the background. It’s like screengrabs all day. I love it!”

It’s like comfort food, right?

“Yeah. It’s like I get the anime-lofi thing so much now. I put it on silent, add subtitles and let it playin the studio. I do the same thing with Samurai Champloo. That’s kinda what my brother and I grew up on too. That’s where I figured out what sampling was. Same thing with the Boondocks. I didn’t quite understand anime at the time and now I’m like, “Oh wait…and the soundtrack is fire!” Like this is great. This is a win! It was that and Cowboy Bebop, originally. Evangelion is still my favorite to this day. I want to get an EVA Unit 2 tattoo right here.” [Yung Bae proceeds to point to the right side of his torso with a massive smile on his face]

I feel like it’s pretty hard to top a lot of the classics even though there’s a lot of great current stuff out now.

“I feel so out of the loop. Same thing with just general current television. With HBO, for example, all I watch is the Sopranos. That show has been it for the last year for me and I’ve watched it like eight times. Throughout the whole tour, HBO has just sucked me in. It has me wondering like maybe HBO is worth the money?”

I feel the same. And meanwhile, Paramount is trying to grab my wallet with the new Halo show and I’m not sure whether to hop in or not.

“Isn’t that today? When I first heard about that, I was super excited. Like, ‘Daddy? Sorry.’” [laughs]

Sounds like it’s safe to say that you’re a video game guy right?

“Oh you bet. I just got Elden Ring today. I was just on tour with Madeon and I was waiting until after that like around the 24th [of March] or something. I had it preloading and I’m sitting there and waiting by my PS5. I’m fucking pacing and my girlfriend is like, ‘The fuck are you doing?’ I said, ‘I don’t know whether to get into this now and only have three days to be into it or wait to play it after the tour.’ So I decided to wait and throughout the whole tour I hear people saying, ‘You gotta play Elden Ring, bro. You gotta play Elden Ring!’ When I finally did, I hadn’t left my house all week until now. At the same time, GTA V ‘s new remastered for the umpteenth time. I swear it’s the same thing with Skyrim, bro.”

I feel like that’s a similar guilty pleasure like with playing an old anime, right? [laughs]

“And we’re the assholes that buy them consistently. It’s like every new console, I have GTA V and Skyrim. [laughs] And each time, I think that their not going to get me now. I refuse. And then they just got my money again like yesterday so.”

Focusing back to your music, your most recent album Continental Groove: Side A was an absolute blast to listen. From “60’s Spy Shit” to “Disco Body Parts” with AWOLNATION. But one thing that’s more evident in your latest body of work is that there’s a lot more collaborations in here than some of your other albums. What was your reason for that shift in making your music?

“It was one of those things where I didn’t do in-person [collaborations] at all. I would rather sit in my studio on my couch in some boxers with my cats and chill. But my label started pushing the idea where they said that I should try this and stuff. It was one of those things where I was inherently trying to avoid sampling or sampling less. There’s only like a couple of samples on the [new] album itself. But on everything else, I realized that I could write this out; I could make the vocals and chop this up too. It was such a fun process to make our own future funk and use the vocals we were making. Ultimately, it helped me too. I could sit in the studio and decided that this is what I want and this person can do it if I guide them the right way. And now when I go back to sampling, I’m like fuck…I’m locked in. There’s only so much I can do.”

(Photo of Channel Tres and Yung Bae in the studio who worked on “Wonder” on Continental Groove: Side A)

In other words, you can’t have the sample work for you? You have to work around the sample, right?

“Exactly! And now it’s like I have these ideas, I can put them to paper and it’s not that hard. In fact, it’s easier because I don’t have to clear samples. Which is sick! Ultimately, the switch to collaborating more came from me trying to avoid sampling.”

Who would you say are some artists or bands that have influenced your music that you don’t think a lot of people would expect to have?

“When people ask me that and their shocked to hear that I never really grew up on Daft Punk, or J Dilla or Nujabes. I mean, with Nujabes there was [Samurai] Champloo, but that was about it. I didn’t know who he was. And with Daft Punk, I haven’t really listened to their entire discography. But it was inherently around me and I always thought that I kinda like this. But my main influence was a lot of yacht rock. I got really into the Doobie Brothers. They have an album called Living on the Fault Line and they sorta tap into Motown territory. That was always a sound that drew me in.”

“One of my favorite people right now is Durand Jones and the Indication and what I realized during this album cycle is that I love the 1960s a lot more. While working on the album, I was trying to make Motown meet late-night disco because I love the tongue-and-cheek-ness of these genres. You listen to music nowadays and it’s just dirty. When I listen to Motown, it sounds nicer even though it’s dirtier. It’s like my grandma has no clue what the song is saying so we’re going to run with it. [laughs]”

“On top of that, I also thought how could I bleed that with a current sound too. Since I listen to a lot of hip-hop, I wanted to make something classic while having that make sense for now and make it digestible. Like I listen to an ungodly amount of hip-hop on the radio. I love Lil Durk. He’s so fun In other words, it was like a fun, tricky balance of my established sound with more Motown and hip-hop influences.”

Since we’re in a bit of a different world here in Miami sonically with all this electronic music ranging from house music and dubstep and you’re starting to carve your path in this EDM landscape of sorts, would that change your advice to a young music producer or songwriter and what would that be?

“I’ve always stuck by the creed. I’ve been making disco now for the last seven years now and it sucked at first to watch my homies get booked and stuff. It felt like since ‘nobody likes disco’, then alright. I’ll go play a wedding. It was hard, but honestly stick to what you like. If I was making whatever else that I didn’t care for, I would hate my day job. But now, I get to say that I get to make disco all day in my boxers. And that’s sick, bro! If you told me that like ten years ago, I would have been like, ‘What?!’”

“I also noticed with my music that it was something that people didn’t know they liked until they heard it for the first time or the first couple of times. It’s like when you go to a wedding and you hear and Earth, Wind and Fire song and you go, ‘Oh wait…that’s disco.’ They get to that point where they realize the song their liking turns out to be disco, funk or dance music. For a long time, I felt like I was left field for the longest time. But now I’m like whatever. Everybody is left field of each other and it’s more fun that way.”

That’s a great way to put it! When do you think you’re fans are going to get a hold of Groove Continental: Side B?

“Within the year, for sure. It’s been confirmed the management, label…everyone’s on board for a release this year.”

Thank you for coming out and doing this interview. Have a great Miami Music Week.

“Thank you and thank you the fans for checking this interview out!”

Make sure to check out Yung Bae’s latest album and keep an eye out for the upcoming Groove Continental: Side B.

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Yung Bae Talks About New Music, Unexpected Influences and Elden Ring from Miami Music Week [Interview]

The outpouring of help and support to the Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded in late February has been truly astonishing thus far, both in Europe and abroad. With round-the-clock asylum centers set up in Poland, Bulgaria, Czechia and Romania, donation centers for food, clothes, personal products et cetera trucking supplies into Ukraine daily and thousands of citizens opening their homes to asylum seekers in neighboring countries, everyone has shifted into help mode as quickly as possible.

There have even been stories of people renting AirB&Bs in Ukraine with no intention to visit just so the owners could use the money and others sending Cryptocurrency to friends to convert in both Ukraine and Russia as banks and financial institutions like Visa and Mastercard level economic sanctions at the area. But if you’re a bit farther away or don’t have as many resources to give, how can one help the effort? The answer, as is so often the case, is music.

Musicians in the EDM and bass music scenes stepped up to keep the whole world entertained during COVID and also raised massive amounts of money for charities who were trying to help those in need during the crisis. While we’re just on the cusp of that nightmare ending, artists have stepped up once again, even those in the embattled areas and who have already lost everything to shelling from Putin’s forces in their own towns or have been conscripted into military service, to make music and donate the proceeds to help. It’s truly inspiring, so the least us fans can do is to listen, go to events and purchase said music, no? Luckily, there’s no shortage of artists who are doing charity releases for Ukraine and also those who are quietly donating all their proceeds to charity. There’s almost no end to the different ways we as the EDM community can help. The following list is just a few of them.

Ukraine Support Compilation Albums

Right now this is probably the most popular way to give to various charities supporting the Ukraine; loads of labels, promo companies and even individual people are putting together bit comps with big names and raising big bucks. Here’s a few we like, but check your favorite label or artist and chances are they’ll be involved in one of these:

ШЩЦ/SHITS Various Artists 01

ШЩЦ literally translates to “Shits” and is a new label out of Ukraine who decided to dedicate their first compilation album, originally released in 2019, to the defense effort in Ukraine, doing a revenue match program and thus 200% of proceeds going to the Ukraine Civil Defense Fund. The limited edition DVD is currently sold out but those wanting to help can purchase the streaming album, which features tracks from 23 Ukraine-based artists of varying genres from hip hop to experimental electronica. The label is also selling t-shirts whose proceeds will also go to the same fund. The purchase option on the ШЩЦ Bandcamp page is name your own price, so you can give literally any amount and get some sick music in return. The label also lists their email on the site so if you’re interested in inquiring after the DVD or other ways to help, they can be contacted there.

Various Artists 01 by ШЩЦ

Together With Ukraine

This is likely one of the biggest drum & bass compilations ever, with a whopping 136 tracks from 149 artists and featuring some cheeky alt bass music from acts like Subp Yao, Modestep and Om Unit, this incredibly creative and diverse album came together incredibly fast. This hyperspeed coordination was spearheaded by two promoters: Rhys Bainham and Vlad Baremchuk and the mega-album released less than a week after the first invasion. It has already raised over 100,000 dollars and all proceeds here go directly to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, which desperately needs all the help it can get tending to wounded and displaced families. When purchased on the Together With Ukraine Bandcamp page, the digital album comes with mp3 or wav downloads and 30 pieces of original cover art from project art director Uno. The whole thing’s only £12, so more than worth it.

Together with Ukraine by Together with Ukraine

Fundraiser V/A – We Are Invincible

Ukrainian dance music label Corridor Audio have put together a compilation album made up entirely of tracks from Ukrainian artists. Released just before the first Russian invasion, the label decided to re-brand the comp and dedicate all proceeds to helping families and charities affected by the war. Mostly house and straight beat-based, this compilation showcases the extraordinary talent of Ukrainian artist with loads of minimal, experimental and techno style that many EDM fans outside of Ukraine and Eastern Europe may not be privy to. This compilation also seems to be very purposefully arranged, telling a story and taking the listener on a sonic journey, a’la all the best experimental-tinged electronica albums. Now it also tells the story of the Ukrainian peoples resilience and the importance of saving the precious art of this country. The 24-track album can be purchased on Corridor’s Bandcamp page.

Fundraiser V/A: We Are Invincible by Various Artists

РАЗОМ ЗА УКРАЇНУ/Together for Ukraine 

Not to be confused with Together With Ukraine, this compilation is another huge one put together quickly from Kiev-based label Standard Deviation and the somewhat clandestine “Chernobyl-based” imprint, Mystictrax. While it’s unlikely this Mystictrax is actually operating out of a “closed scientific laboratory in Chernobyl” and “studying the paranmal audio activity around the phenomenon of black holes,” a lot of the music on this comp certainly sounds like it comes from somewhere equally chaotic and dystopian. Given the state of affairs around the area at the moment, it’s almost believable.

In Together for Ukraine, we get our first tastes of the erstwhile gabber genre, more crazy experimental east-of-Urals funk and some really magical house tracks. In addition to that, with this compilation we see our first active donations to LGBT causes in Ukraine. If Russia wins this fight, the LGBT community in Ukraine will be under serious threat, so it’s great to see Standard Deviation and Mystictrax coming with this level of foresight. Revenue from this and other releases by both labels will go to The ‘Return Alive’ Fund, helping at the Ukrainian front, National Bank of Ukraine Fundraising Account for Humanitarian Assistance, ‘Ukraine Pride’ Fund for LGBTQIA+ soldiers and LGBTQIA+ people affected by the war and ‘Голос Дітей’ Fund, helping children affected by the war. The album is purchasable on Standard Deviation’s Bandcamp page. 

РАЗОМ ЗА УКРАЇНУ / TOGETHER FOR UKRAINE by Standard Deviation x Mystictrax

EXHALE: Together for Ukraine!

For an offering a little more recognizable to US fans, rave techno goddess and Exhale Records label head Amelie Lens rallied her troops to drop EXHALE: Together for Ukraine! Just a couple of weeks ago. Proceeds here go directly to the Ukranian Ministry of Social Policy, the government body channeling as many funds a resources as they can to the most affected areas of the conflict. This album, like all Lens’s work, is unsurprisingly and unapologetically ravey and techno-tinged, featuring tracks from herself, Ahl Iver, Sarah Landry, Nico Moreno and Frazi,er, to name just a few. This album also took the time to really conscript tracks that were inspired by the heavy energy of this conflict, so no punches pulled here. Just raw, rave techno and an intention to help in the best way musicians like Lens know how. EXHALE: Together for Ukraine! can be purchased on Bandcamp or Soundcloud, where there’s also a link to donate directly to the fund.

Together for Ukraine! by Exhale Records

Individual Artists Supporting Ukrainian Charities

While the big compilation albums are getting a lot of press and raising loads of money for the effort of helping Ukranian citizens, there’s loads of individual artists who are trying to champion the cause in their own ways as well. Every little bit counts, as they say, and in the case of these bits, we can discover some cool new music while helping out. Once again, there are too many to list, but here are five cool artists donating time and money to the humanitarian effort in Ukraine and you can too, just by listening.

Rezz and Subtronics – Puzzle Box

Bet you didn’t know that both these EDM monsters are Ukrainian. Terror techno queen Rezz and Cyclops label head Subtronics teamed up for this track to raise awareness and funds for the charity Voices of Children Ukraine. The track was released as a joint effort on Cyclops and Deadbeats in early March along with a limited edition t-shirt on the Deadbeats website (currently sold out). Rezz and Subtronics apparently teased the collab prior to the invasion of Ukraine but quickly made it a statement piece for the conflict, and its creepy, surreal, Saw-like vibes seem to fit perfectly with the surreal nature of the situation in the embattled EU state. Link for the t-shirt is listed above in case Deadbeats decide to do a second run, and fans can get the track here or donate directly to Voices of Children here.

Rido – Can You See Me Breathing

The Czech D&B producer, composer and renaissance man known as Rido tends to march to the beat of his own very well-crafted and syncopated drums, so he’s deigned to release his charity track on his own Bandcamp so he can be sure the funds go to where he feels they’re needed most. “Can You See Me Breathing” is a heart-wrenchingly beautiful, classical violin-laced track Rido whipped up right after the first invasion. Purchase proceeds go to the Czech organization Člověk v tísni – SOS Ukraine and the track is listed for €2 euros on Rido’s Bandcamp, so it’s a very affordable donation as well.

Can you see me breathing by Rido

VovKING – Futurist Drum & Bass Sample Pack

This one’s for the producers! Ukraine- based D&B producer and one half of the melodic and dancy RAM, Viper and Bad Taste duo Tapolsky and VovKING has decided to donate all proceeds of his latest royalty-free sample pack to charities helping humanitarian efforts in the Ukraine. His promo company even waived their fees to make sure as much money goes to help as possible. Since going solo, VovKING’s stuff has become more and more experimental and futuristic, so this big pack of sample stems promises endless possibilities. Get it here.

Sally C – Big Saldo’s Chunkers 002 EP

Berlin-based house artist Sally C was getting ready to release the second installment of her Big Saldo’s Chunkers series of EPs when the conflict in Ukraine began. The first one in 2020 was a massive success, to Sally C decided the best way she could help was to donate proceeds to charity from this second instalment, which releases this month on April 22. With the vinyl and CD copies already sold out three weeks before the drop, it seems she was right that this release would generate a lot of aid money. Proceeds from this funky house EP will go to the community fund being raised by her favorite Kiev club, ∄ and to Bridges Over Berlin, a charity in Germany helping LGBTQIA+, BiPOC and other marginalized asylum seekers from Ukraine. Pre-order the digital Big Saldo’s Chunkers 002 on her Bandcamp page.

Erica Synths Donating from Hardware Purchases

There are almost endless labels and artists donating their proceeds to the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, but Latvian premium synth manufacturer Eric Synths has heeded the call as well, having generated over $50,000 for aid organizations as of the end of March. If you’re looking for some new gear, Erica happens to be one of the best synth companies for EDM out there, and what a bonus to be able to donate at the same time. If that weren’t enough, Erica’s efforts are partnered by Noise Engineering, so if you’re a producer you could potentially donate twice: once with your gear and once if you use Noize as you engineers. Talk about an efficient use of resources those of us in the music industry would use anyway. Noise and Erica’s efforts are part of a larger project called Musicians for Peace, which is sending donations to Stand With Ukraine though the Latvian website ziedot.lv and includes a number of modules on the Erica website. Noise will be matching donations up to $10,000.

Buy Ukrainan (or Russian)

If you’re like a lot of us and want to try to get as much help directly into the hands of Ukrainian artists who may be stuck in the conflict, some of whom, whilst still trying to gig and produce, are now actively enlisted in the military. Some are still trying to support their families who have fled to neighboring countries and some have even lost homes and loved ones to bombing.

It’s that real for some of our favorite EDM artists right now, and things are also quite dire for Russian artists. At this point with all the propaganda and misinformation tactics firing on both sides, it’s hard to make heads or tails of who supports Putin’s agenda, but many Russian artists do not, and since companies like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, major banks and even smaller money transfer services like Wise and Revolut have pulled their business out of Russia as a form or economic sanction, artists who have nothing to do with Putin’s agenda are now locked out of their own money and they can’t directly ask for help due to the current controls on free speech in which, according to one Russian artist living outside of Russia, one can’t even say the word “war” without possibly being in trouble.

The following list includes some ways to get funds to both Ukranian and Russian artists who are struggling in the conflict by purchasing or supporting their music, however on the Russian side, we recommend not contacting artists who are living in Russia directly on platforms like Instagram or TikTok for their own safety and the safety of their families. For the Ukrainian artists and labels we’re listed, many of these are also in the category above of donating funds to charities, so if you’d like to know what you’re supporting, reaching out on social media or their Patreons is ok.

Huge Spreadsheet

Pretty much since the conflict began, Bandcamp set up an open GoogleDocs spreadsheet of all the Ukranian artists who have online releases and resources that fans can donate to or purchase. This is the best place to listen to new music of all genres and buy Ukranian. Also anyone who knows of artists who need a hand is invited to add names and emails to the list. There’s some pretty cool stuff on here, both EDM and otherwise, and the admins of the spreadsheet are monitoring for authenticity. Check the whole list here. We’ve included a track below from one of our favorites on the list, experimental breakbeat/jungle/multigenre artist €omfortle$$.

Chosen by €omfortle$$

Artist Patreons

This is one way to circumnavigate some of the tricky economic pratfalls of donating to struggling artists on both sides of Putin’s lines, as Patreon usually deposits directly into bank accounts, PayPals and even Crypto accounts. If you’ve been thinking of supporting a Ukranian or Russian artist’s Patreon, now’s the time to do it. Below are a few we know could use the help.

Teddy Killerz – Everyone’s favorite murderous plushie neuro trio is comprised of two members from Russia and one from Ukraine, so they’re in a very unique position but doing amazingly well at keeping up with gigs and content. They’re also working to help their other Ukrainian and Russian artist brethren as much as they can.  If you’re a neurohead and want great content or merch, subscribe to one of the TK Patreon tiers here. Also be sure to check out their new album and podcast on Eatbrain.

Ukraine Dancing – This is a Patreon account that posts exclusive mixes, tracks and tutorials from a wealth of Ukranian dance artists and which has pledged to help bring awareness and donate proceeds to humanitarian efforts. Podcasts and other news assets are also on this account, so it’s a great place to get news from the front directly from a Ukranian source. Connected to the international KissFm radio show and podcast. Subscribe here.

Agressor Bunx – Gotta go neuro once again, and it’s no surprise, really. Neuro has always had a stronghold in Eastern Europe and Russia and of course the Ukranian brothers Agressor Bunx are among neuro fans’ faves. The AG boys have a unique feature on their page where they will offer feedback and help to aspiring producers on WIPs as well as exclusive mixes and loads of other goodies. Subscribe here and check out their most recent album below.

Crowdsourcing – This is where connecting with artists on social media might be something more actively-thinking fans can do. See if your favorite label is doing anything to help artists in the Ukraine or if artists have something up for themselves, and if not, anyone can start a GoFundMe. Here are a couple we found helping artists affected by or conscripted into the conflict:

Peace for Ukraine, a collective of musicians raising money for the charity Distasters Emergency Committee, based out of the UK. Read more and donate here.

Help Support Misplaced Ukranian Musicians, started by a classical pianist in Europe. Read more and donate here.

Events and Livestreams

Of course once of the most fun ways to help with the humanitarian needs in Ukraine and other affected areas is to go to events which are donating to the cause. There have already been a number of quite successful events held by the likes of DJ Mag in London Whole Festival in Berlin and Musicians United in Portland. Lots of artists, labels and promotions companies are also putting on livestreams so fans can donate directly while the livestream is happening, while Bandcamp and Beatport are gearing up for more discount donation days.  These are just a few events around the world, but be sure to check what’s happening in your city and keep an eye out for more livestreams coming up from your favorite artists and labels.

Together With Ukraine, April 15:

Organized by the same promoters who put together the compilation album, the day-long Together With Ukraine event will feature artists from said album suck as London Elektricty, SCAR, Halogenix, Jumpin Jack Frost and Makoto, among others. Proceeds will be split between the Ukranian Red Cross Society and Music Saves UA charities. Tickets are pretty reasonable for such a big lineup and can be purchased at EventBrite.

Stand Up for Ukraine – Global Social Media Rally, April 8 and 9 The international aid and awareness group Global Citizen has conscripted the help of music and social media’s brightest stars like Billie Eilish, The Weekend, U2 and Madonna for a global pledging drive. Different than a livestream or in-person event, fans will be treated to pop-up and impromptu performances, giveaways and other treats from the participating artists in a push to get as many pledges as possible to help. Learn more here.

Though there have been murmurings about cease fire talks, the conflict between Vladimir Putin’s forces in Russia and the Ukraine still seems to be very much active. Even if there were a cease-fire today, the need for relief and rebuilding will likely go on for months after the conflict ends. These are just a few ways to help through music, but please also consider donating to your favorite charity or volunteering for relief organizations. For even more artists, labels and music to discover and help, check out the massive list DJ Mag has going as well and watch your favorite artists and labels for when they call for help. Here’s hoping for a quick end to the conflict and more organizations, promoters, labels, et al to step up.

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: 20 Ways You Can Help or Donate to the Ukraine Crisis With Music

Back in 2010 when I first started listening to dubstep, Never Say Die was the first real label that I found that was putting out what I liked. Among the likes of SKisM, Zomboy, Dodge & Fuski, there was also Mobscene, 501, Eptic, Habstrakt, Bar9, Foreign Beggars, and more who have at one time or another released on the label.

NSD began to gain notoriety around the time of Zomboy’s Game Time EP in 2011, with The Dead Symphonic proving a formidable follow up the year after. But label head SKisM was responsible for cultivating a dubstep label in a time when brostep was most popular and giving it a little extra bit of edge, especially with a UK/EU flavor.

Sadly, today, NSD announced that they have put out their last release.

“We’re immensely proud of everything the label has done to impact the genre in the way that it has,” their official statement reads, “but the simple truth is that we’ve achieved everything we set out to do (and more) in this industry, and it’s time for the team to move onto other things.”

NSD 2009-2022. pic.twitter.com/LOylp3Qblc

— Never Say Die Records (@neversaydie) April 2, 2022

Never Say Die has put out hundreds of singles and EPs, and albums, over the course of the last 13 years. You can view their whole discography on their website here. But I leave you all with one of my favorite mixes of theirs from Dodge & Fuski.

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Never Say Die Records Announces They’ve Put Out Their Final Release