MethLab Artist News & Release Update // MethLab Summer Mix Series

Well, we've attended some blinding festivals this year - Boomtown, Fusion, Festival Nowa Musyka to mention some - and had our brains musically splattered across various fields around Europe. We hope that you've all had an awesome time so far, and that there's still a little life in the old beast of Summer yet....

But looking at recent times and into the future, there is an awesome array of releases to enjoy from MethLab artists - all of whom are bookable for the Autumn / Winter months....

//    Current Value - Stay on This Planet

Dropping on 2nd September, this creature is full of the kind of experimental percussion that everyone knows and loves from Current Value. 'Stay on This Planet' looks to cement his status as one of DnB's leading crossover artists; unfraid to foray into unknown territories, as well as unleash his staple sounds. 

Current Value will be touring Australia and Japan between 8th November - 2nd December. But we're open for bookings in October / December as part of the European side of the tour - so get in touch asap about that if you're interested.

To whet your appetite, check out the latest Subcast, featuring tracks from the new album!

//    Plaster - Monad XV

Out now! Plaster's unique brand of darkly textural Techno sits right at home in the Stroboscopic Artefacts camp. With this release series seeing the likes of Tommy Four Seven, Dadub, and Kangding Ray - all of whom are notorious in the experimental Techno scene for very good reasons. This release sees the pair tighten their ambience into four tracks of tight and exploratory Techno, which is set to blend so perfectly with their unique live show visuals. 
Following a brief tour in Taipei at the end of September, they will be available for gigs in both Europe and Australia. Get in touch with jef@methlab-agency.com for more info.

Check out one of the tracks in full along with a fan-made video below!

//    MethLab Summer Mix Series - The Teknoist

Finally the meat towards the end of the blog - the latest instalment of the MethLab Summer mix series. We have just a few more in our series left before the end of the Summer... this one will tear your nuts off...

TANK ALLIGATOR… Sounds like some fucking hefty killing machine right? Well that is what it does sounds like. A monster perhaps part mecha warship and part prehistoric immortal killing machine. This is obviously a creation of The Teknoist. His new solo album of said title has just been signed to perhaps the most influential hardcore label of all time, INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH RECORDS and is going to be appearing for war very soon.

While your waiting for this to be available, we at MethLab have a summer core mix from Miike, aptly titled ‘Kick Drum Sledgehammer’. It features a couple of tracks from the new album and a whole heap of brand new material from his friends around the globe.

As if that wasn’t enough, don’t forget that Miike’s Core label, Niinja Columbo has just released it’s latest ep also (featuring MethLab artists Dr.Bastardo and Ladyscraper). Available at the hardstore, beatport and all good stockists.

Miike is looking for as many shows as possible from now leading up to the release and around it and if you have ever seen and heard Miike’s DJ/Live shows, you’ll know that you want to get on to him asap. Especially with this brand new audio artillery.

//    Enduser European Tour

Enduser's European tour is now filled up for September, but we have just a few dates available in October - to bring the breakbeat surgeon to your city, contact - ash@methlab-agency.com


//    Hecq - Horror Vacui

(not the original album artwork)

Legend of diverse audio, from ambiently serene to intricately brutal - Hecq - has a new release coming out in September. Horror Vacui will be unleashed on the long-running and much respect-worthy 'Hymen' records and comprises a number of unreleased gems from the past 10 years, including an incredible remix from Subdivision and MethLab's Dean Rodell... With an aptly fitting name - 'Horror Vacui' means the 'fear of empty space'... resulting in filling up a piece of artwork so completely that no space is left. We believe, reference to Ben Boysen's attention to detail at a microlevel with his music, even if the filling of the space is with moments of negative space.  This is a totemic compilation of truly excellent music, and is a must buy for anyone who possesses ears. Listen for yourself in the minimix that Hecq has pulled together masterfully below -

MethLab Summer Mix Series // Vaetxh

The next part in our Summer mix series comes from Vaetxh - in our opinion, one of MethLab's most talented producers and creative minds. Vaetxh aka Rob Clouth has  a small track record of releases so far, but counts Richard Devine and Loops Haunt amongst his fans. And quite rightfully so - with each of his tracks being a collage of unique and original sound design, threaded with heartachingly beautiful and broken melodies. It's a rare thing to find a producer who goes into such intricate levels of detail with his sound design, and yet retains a strong sense of melody, composition and structure - but Vaetxh is one of those artists. The last year saw his profile raised with the excellent Cloud Complex release, which gathered wide acclaim and was supported with a remix by Techno legend Max Cooper. This short mix is a slice of Rob's current direction - beautiful, complex and devastating. 

We're now looking for bookings for Autumn/Winter - get in touch with: jef@methlab-agency.com

New Artist // Kanji Kinetic

 Summer is reaching quite a peak at MethLab hq (and there's yet more great news to come...). The latest mix in our MethLab Summer Mix series is from the latest addition to our roster - Kanji Kinetic. The Bristol-based rave pioneer, is the creator of his own Mutant hybrid of bass music - drawing its influences liberally from across the electronic music scene; but always with the objective of churning audiences and supercharging the rave. We've been big fans of his unique style of ludicrously wonky tunes since he launched into renown back in 2008. Bass-fuelled Techno mutant vibes aimed squarely at the dancefloor. Now check out his latest mix below and we dare you to try to stay still....

For bookings & availability: jef@methlab-agency.com
www.kanjikinetic.co.uk

www.facebook.com/kanjikinetic

www.soundcloud.com/kanji

www.mixcloud.com/kanji

MethLab Summer Mix // 2methylBulbe1ol

Our next instalment of the MethLab Summer mix series comes from the French artist 2methylBulbe1ol. His unique blend of glitchy electronica and Dubstep, Hip-Hop and DnB sets him apart from many.. following a path more similar to Hecq and Broken Note's veins of heavy. The past year has seen a number of excellent releases for him; including his Overclockheadz 'Golem' ep, which featured a remix of the title track from Hecq himself. An immently upcoming release 'The Orb', which we've had the pleasure to hear is also set to up the stakes for this rapidly increasingly established musician.

So enjoy this glitchy and texturally atmospheric mix, and let it set the tone for your weekend! 

MethLab Mix Series Week 2 // COOH

For the second week in our Summer Long audio odyssey, we present one of the most prolific contemporary producers making heavy and experimental music today. Ivan Shopov has several monikers; with his ethnically-infused Electronica and Dubstep under Balkansky or Techno under Drum Kid. But his longest running name, that has made him an icon in the heavy DnB scene; is that of 'Cooh'. Consistently delivering some of the most intense and exciting music through his energetic and involved style of Dj'ing - he remains one of the most revered artists in the heavy waters. 

His recent release of the 'Rebirth' LP re-stated his intentions within DnB - showcasing both his dark and heavy styles, as well as moments of intricate beauty. This mix of exclusively Cooh's tunes (including collaborations) showcases the raw intensity of his music, as well as his fluidity and diversity within the DnB genre. 



For bookings - we have a few Summer dates available and are considering Autumn proposals currently. Get in touch with jef@methlab-agency.com if you're interested in bringing Cooh to your city!