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Selections: LENS

In this series, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share the contents of their collections. This week, LENS spotlights 10 drum & bass and jungle rollers she can’t get enough of

LENS has proven herself an exceptional talent over the past few years, moving her way up from a residency at infamous Brighton haunt Volks to become a leading light at drum & bass institution Hospital Records. Her deft ability to weave between jump-up stompers, glossy liquid, jungle rollers, gnarly steppers and whatever else takes her fancy has taken her from Hospitality warm-up slots to a star attraction in her own right. She also hosts the label’s Rinse FM show, and last year was given the responsibility of bringing back the ‘Hospital Mixtape’ series, a task she pulled off so well as to earn her a nomination for Best Compilation at DJ Mag’s 2022 Best Of British awards.

The release ushered in the start of her production career via junglistic summertime viber ‘Love The Way’ (a collab with Lally), and she’s since gone on to release an EP with BCee’s Spearhead imprint and the momentous ‘If You Like That’ with fellow new-school Hospital mainstays Unglued and Whiney, her tracks always marked out by jaw-dropping basslines and frenetic breakbeat chops.

Ahead of her slot at the Hospitality event at Printworks on Saturday 15th April, where she’ll play alongside the likes of A.M.C, Flava D, S.P.Y, Harry Shotta and many more, LENS picks 10 releases she can’t get enough of right now.

Enei
'Humans’ [Critical]

“Every track = bass face.”

DJ Zinc
‘Super Sharp Shooter (T>I & D*MINDS ‘Run In The Jungle’ Remix)’ [Bingo Bass]

“Bass wubs & choppy amens. The best kind of remix.”

Dillinja & Lemon D
‘Big Bad Bass, Vol 1’ [Valve]

“I know this isn’t recent but I never play a set without at least one Dillinja tune. Iconic bangers.”

Nia Archives
‘Baianá’ [HIJINXX / Island]

“I always used to play out The Untouchables’ version so I was gassed to hear Nia add her junglist flavour to it.”

VISLA
‘Morpheus’ [Critical]

“The perfect intro that includes one of my favourite samples. Take me uuuuuppppp!”

Mandidextrous
‘Every Night’ [Born On Road]

“Provides the 4/4 energy that destroys the dancefloor every time.”

YAANO
‘Critical Presents Binary Vol.25’ [Critical]

“Obsessed with this EP; it’s fresh, fun & rowdy. His forthcoming EP that's dropping on Overview is fire too.”

Drone
‘All I Know feat. Snowy’ [1985]

“I love to switch it up and drop 140 in my sets. Anything from 1985 bangs, particularly this track.”

Enta
‘Led Astray’ [Biological Beats]

“I heard ‘Led Astray’ for the first time when S.P.Y dropped it as his last tune at Standon Calling festival — my mind was blown.”

Basstripper
‘Milky Way’ [DNB Allstars]

“Playing this out is so much fun, it's the new wave of jump-up at its finest.”