Nekochan is back on February 22nd, with a delightful 12″ & digital.

With a wide array of influences, a very distinctive style and a strong taste for melody and crafted musical skills, French artist Chloé Arnaud aka Nekochan is surely one of the most exciting and refreshing producers at the moment. Her stylish blends and arresting collisions of electronica, bass and glitched-up beats, led by her aqueously expressive voice, mark her out immediately as an artist destined for widespread acclaim.

A classically trained cellist, she evolved into Nekochan in 2006 after a few years applying her unusual voice and skills as part of an electronic duo. Inspired by baroque and classical composition as well as a flamenco-player stepfather, and a passion for oriental melodic patterns, her gift for catchy figures and intricate rhythms is no surprise given the sheer range and depth of her sonic colourbox, while her highly individual blend of sound and mood switches adeptly from electronica and techno to the more underground tones of dubstep and glitch hop … all with her unique vocal signature. Nekochan’s 2009 debut download-only release met with success in pushing dubstep into new zones, and now comes the first foray into vinyl, with the three-track killer ‘Minimal Bump’ EP, that will further reconfigure notions of what bass music can be.

The title track has already been featured on Mary Anne Hobbs, who played an early version in may last year after hearing it on myspace. ‘Minimal Bump’ is a powerful techno/break/dubstep instrumental with a huge kick and seismic bass work, custom built for dancefloor mayhem, with its layered synths, advanced rythmic shifts, cavernous drops, and an explosive production style that recalls the intricacies of prime Meat Beat Manifesto at the same time as giving most wobble dubsteppers a run for their money.

On the flip, ‘Bombine’ is another view entirely; an emotive disjointed stepper with melancoly pop tones, which unfolds in a smokey torch-song style to reveal further layers to Nekochan’s innate musical instincts. It’s fluidly evolving contrasts between dominant bass levels, powerful rhythms, and subtly-pitched Japanese strings mix and grow around that voice, putting the listener as much in mind of Burial’s sadness as Bjork’s vivid expression.

Finally, Vahiné – already released as ARX002D, but pressed due to popular demand – is a refreshing journey into a lighter and atmospheric dubstep style, reminiscent in mood of Scuba or Martyn, with a dynamic bouncy drum pattern delivering the perfect groove for the heavy bassline to ride on while the sweet string melody leads from the front. Essential purchase for anyone seeking out new directions in bass-driven dancefloor electronics.

The digital version of this EP (ARX004D) features an exclusive track : ‘Harmful’, a delicious blend of pop and glitched-up Dubstep, balanced between a narrative voice performance and funky bass synths. This track sounds like pop music meeting lush, aerial and melancholic works.

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The vinyl is available as an exclusive pre-order on Cargo Records website. Check it out !
> http://www.cargorecords.co.uk/release/11039

Also, We just set-up an EXCLUSIVE digital pre-sale, so you don’t have to wait.
The Minimal Bump EP is available RIGHT NOW from Juno.
> http://www.junodownload.com/products/1510871-02.htm

Gritt’s Hell Yeah EP takes us into a really personal vision of bass music. Gritt felt in love with dubstep near 2008. Probably because his past as a break producer, he felt at ease with the rich, intense and filthy sound new breakstep/dubstep was bringing after a long period of deep mental music.

This EP is a mixture of tight drum programming, squeezed basslines and always evolving backgrounds. Before they even thought about this release, the Airflex Labs crew often compared Gritt’s sound to Led Piperz’ one because of their common love for rusty basslines, raw snares, dust and tweaked industrial acid moves.

“Hell Yeah” was the seminal track to this ep. Its ability to break audience’s legs has already been verified in many clubs, mixes and venues by the Airflex Labs crew. The track by itself is a real steamroller, and is quite unique in the EP as being the only 100% dancefloor shaped killer. In a mix session, you can’t be wrong with this one !

“Found It” is a really tasty blend of Break and Dubstep with loads of distorted, buzzing and wobbly bass. The result is claustrophobic, unsettling and yet striking, guaranteed to make you count victims on the dancefloor right after a drop !

“Prepare” is Dubstep meets Break meets D&B. This is a real “Bass music” track, featuring codes from the genres mentoned above and layering them on top of each others. Full dynamics, raw sound, pure energy.

“Collider” is the most unpredictable track of the Ep. Its progressive structure will definitely blow some minds, going from dreamy piano chimes to unrivaled bass synth pressure. Maybe the most valuable tool of this Ep for the curious and skilled DJ, and the listenner’s track of choice at the same time.

LED PIPERZ IS BACK ! And his new 2 tracker EP ‘Plan B’ is a trippy dancefloor one !

The title track – Plan B – takes you on a galactic SF sonic trip, driven by a heavy throbbing drum pattern,it’s acid synth textures and unpredictable variations is most likely to cause major brain damage to the dancefloor.

With the poison comes the remedy,as the second track Acid Queen relieves the pressure with a rolling 4×4 syncopated beat,wonky basslines and an olschool jungle style sample gimmick.Demonstrating a more upfront and fun mood on this one, Led Piperz takes us on a groovy rollercoaster to a late 90′s warehouse rave. One for the party animals !

Nekochan’s debut release ‘Vahiné/Wise E.P.’ sets the expectations for her future production.

With Vahine, we discover another side of Nekochan’s talent.This refreshing track will please any fan of lighter and atmospheric type of dubstep. Reminiscing of Scuba, Martyn, Vaccine or Mount Kimbie’s kind of mood, the dynamic bouncy drum pattern brings the perfect groove for the heavy bassline to ride on while the sweet string melody will catch any listeners attention.

The crossover of electronica and dubstep styled pattern served with Wise sets the perfect picture for her hi-pitched voice to be layed on.This unusual mix of sound and textures is what Nekochan’s music is all about: a sophiticated approach of electronic music that shows to be heavy, subtle and catchy at the same time. With its addictive melody, you’ll definitely find yourself huming this tune all day long once you heard it.

Two most surprising tracks that will definitely set Nekochan on the map.

Our first release is a standard-bearer for the twinned dub and dance aspects of this philosophy, keeping a clear distance from the raging wars of ultra-wobbled-mega-synths, with melody and narrative given prominence to generate equal pleasure either in the mix or on the stereo.

Veteran French electronic & dub producer Led Piperz offers gritty and forward-looking bass for the floor with ‘Aerial’, built around a thudding but complex perpetual motion break that doesn’t follow the rules, so be warned, it’s not one for the warm-up session. With echoes of the syncopated spaces of drum & bass, this rich rythmic and melodic cut is sure to be a fixture in the clubs for months to come. Conversely, as it’s title suggests, ‘Otherside Dub’ places dub dynamics at the fore, with hymnal rastaman vocal loops, intricate bass layerings, raw snares and uncompromised musical variations, all driven by an awesome low-end engine.

‘Otherside Remix (Earth Is My Spaceship)’ is Boxcutter’s stone in the massive wall of sound Airflex Labs aims to construct block by block. His spacey, lush and dynamic remix of ‘Otherside Dub’ is rootical proof that the best of today’s sound is made by those wise enough to keep the past in mind. Although the track will also appear on his new Planet Mu CD, this 12” is the only place where it will be located on vinyl.

preview the release on our myspace page : http://www.myspace.com/airflexlabs