Joe Ford – ‘Knockdown / Off Centre’ EP

Joe Ford has returned to the studio to deliver two brand new tracks for awaiting fans. Following a hectic summer spent DJing across the UK, Europe and Australia; the drum and bass powerhouse returns to Shogun Audio with ‘Knockdown / Off Centre’.

‘Knockdown’ is a brutal slab of machine gun funk that will destroy dance floors with it’s twisted bass stabs and explosive drums. The half time intro is littered with an unsettling vocal sample that asks “Is it really that time again?” before building to a frenzied crescendo. Artists like Noisia, Phace and Black Sun Empire created and developed this sound over a decade ago but this new breed of producers are attempting to push the technical precision even further.

Joe Ford has tweaked a tried and tested formula so that every kick drum cuts through the bass like a gunshot and every snare smacks the listener mercilessly around the face. This tune is nothing we haven’t heard before but, along with the likes of Mefjus and Emperor, Joe Ford has joined the ranks of a new generation of Drum and Bass craftsmen who are pushing production standards further than ever.

‘Off Centre’ will be the reason most people buy this release. In a press release Shogun explain this tune “demolished the studio” in a recent sound clash between Friction and Zane Lowe on Radio 1, and went on to be selected for Friction’s ‘Fire track’ of the week, so you know  it has already started to receive the kind of interest that makes a drum and bass anthem.

As soon as ‘Off Centre’ drops, it demands your attention; the bass line bubbles and pulsates beneath subtle drums that create an infectious, fluid rhythmical pattern. The absence of the typical skull crushing snare drum gives this tune an unusually restrained atmosphere that sets it apart from the majority of dance floor drum and bass that is being released at the moment. If dropped in the right place, ‘Off Centre’ would shift things down a gear while still retaining that sense of frenetic energy that keeps people dancing.

Shogun Audio has established itself as a go to label for dance floor drum and bass but this release proves they’re prepared to promote the more unusual, experimental side of the genre as well. The EP is available from the 2nd of November on digital formats and the 3rd of November on Vinyl. Take a listen to  ‘Off Centre’ below and pick up a copy of the release here.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/171065269″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]