Selections: Conducta
In our new regular feature, Selections, we invite DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share recent additions to their Bandcamp collections. This week, Kiwi Rekords founder Conducta steps up with 10 new cuts of UKG gold from some of the scene's emerging names and crucial players
Record stores and clubs around the world are shut, and opportunities to find new music out in the wild have been ripped from under our feet as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. While hearing new music played out by your favourite DJs will have to be put on hold due to these unprecedented circumstances, it’s never been easier, or more important, to support the artists and labels putting out EPs, albums and compilations in the midst of all the madness.
With tour cancellations and festival postponements leaving many members of the international electronic music community out of pocket, Bandcamp has become an even more vital platform for supporting the music you love, with 80% of all sales from the online music store going directly to artists and labels. Last month, the platform announced it would be waiving its revenue share for all sales for one day, and on 20th March, took no cut from purchases made. In total, $4.3 million was spent on music over the course of 24 hours, all going straight to the creators. On 1st of May, it waived its revenue share again for 24 hours, raising $7 million for artists and labels. With two more Bandcamp days lined up for 5th June and 3rd July, it’s time to start adding releases to your Wishlist to grab on the day to ensure all of your spending goes directly to the artists and labels you love!
In our new regular series. Selections, we’re inviting DJs, producers and label heads to dig into their digital crates and share recent additions to their Bandcamp collections. In lieu of opportunities to discover new records on the dancefloor, Selections – along with radio shows and mixes – will give you the chance to nab new sounds from the crates of tastemakers, and support the artists behind them while you’re at it. Win-win, right?
This week, Kiwi Rekords founder and UKG champion Conducta steps up. The London DJ and producer launched Kiwi Rekords at the beginning of 2019 with a view to mobilising and unifying the bubbling scene of young producers and DJs in the new school of UKG. With an armful of EPs and two mixtapes, The Kiwi Manifesto and Kiwi Krush, featuring burgeoning young artists such as Mind Of A Dragon, Sharda, Higgo, Bassboy, Anz and Tuff Culture, Conducta assembled some of the scene’s most exciting names to put forward a collective ethos rooted in electrified rhythms and pure, party-starting energy. The subsequent Klub Kiwi party tours and the release of AJ Tracey’s chartbusting ‘Ladbroke Grove’ (produced by Conducta) ensured that UKG was one the summer’s defining sounds, and Kiwi Rekords went on to win in the Best Breakthrough Label category at the DJ Mag Best Of British Awards in December.
“Garage has always meant something to people, but it seems a bit more profound now,” Conducta told us last year. The 10 releases he’s chosen for his Selections feature are a testament to that notion, and introduces some of the hottest new names in UKG at the moment, from London to Dublin all the way to Australia.
Check out Conducta’s Selections below.
"UK garage from down under. Tuff Trax has been a producer I’ve been playing for a year or so now and the diversity of his tracks are great. With 'The Look' EP the 4x4 swing and shuffle is killer and will definitely be a mainstay in my sets when we’re allowed back In the clubs."
"A lot of heads will know the original ‘weapon 97’ but DJ Backspin came through with a dark side VIP that absolutely bangs. I’ve been rinsing this one in my living room throughout lockdown."
"As a label, Shall Not Fade can do no wrong in my eyes. A great roster of releases and Holloway's EP raises the bar again. Some beautiful, dark 2-step numbers and the release is both digital and vinyl. I’m really looking forward to playing these in my bi-weekly live streams."
"Interplanetary criminal is a producer who is set for a big few years in UKG. My standout from dubs vol 2 is 'Dynamite dub'. Gritty 2-step at its finest."
"What I love about Higgo's production is that I can almost feel how much fun he has making an actual song. His beats always have high energy and go down well in a set. A shame he lost the project files for this release but it bangs regardless!"
"I’m dying to get a release from them on my label! Love the dubby vibes on this one. The haunting vocal sample gives the track so much depth. Another track I’m itching to play post-lockdown."
"Prozak is one of my favourite upcoming producers. This track is so uplifting and feel good. Opened three or four sets with this earlier in the year and it never failed to get the crowd moving. It also took me a stupid amount of time to clock that the sample is George Michael!"
"No words needed for this. A big thank you to El-b for blessing us with this. Still putting out quality music via GD4YA, and these three gems on his Ghost label, 'RIPROXY'. Heavy rotation on this one."
"Salute’s style is so clean and silky. 'Matasa' is bouncy and it's virtually impossible not to bop to this one. Another artist I’m keen to secure a release from for Kiwi."
"Found these gems whilst in 3am YouTube music hole. Solid release all round with both El - b & Holloway smashing their remixes and giving the originals new life. The chords on ‘Eternally’ are too good."
