Recon #1: Shogun, Latte, Hospital's 30th
The week in drum & bass: the most-played new releases, the biggest events worldwide, the best new sets and mixes, and the artists moving on RIGSIDE.
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From RIGSIDE
Shirley Temper swaps jungle-techno and booty bass for an exclusive mix of pure drum & bass and jungle, deep in old skool techstep and darkside.
Top new releases
Business As Usual, the trio of Sofa Sound alumni DLR, Molecular and Genic, take No. 1 four weeks after ‘Blue Skies’ on Shogun. Exult and The Neuroheadz are back a fortnight after ‘Burn The Witch’ with ‘The Wolf Of Bristol’, the title track of an EP on Bristol’s Neuroheadz label, and Latte’s ‘The Hypnotic Eye’ is one half of a double single on Overview Music. The Caracal Project and RÉI LUNO’s ‘PEOPLE LIKE YOU’, out 30 September, is already at No. 5.
Track: Business As Usual, Porcelyn - Can't DenyShogun Audio▶ 2,018 · ▲ 29,907 places
Track: Latte - The Hypnotic EyeOverview Music▶ 1,994 · ▲ 35,387 places
Track: Exult & The Neuroheadz - The Wolf Of BristolNeuroheadz▶ 1,938 · ▲ 35,385 places
Track: EATBRAIN 241 // Burr Oak & Pythius & REEBZ - Black TearsEATBRAIN▶ 1,895 · ▲ 28,578 places
Track: The Caracal Project, RÉI LUNO - PEOPLE LIKE YOUThe Caracal Project▶ 1,405 · ▲ 31,245 places
Track: Flowidus & Midnite Amity - Keep Me WaitingLiquicity Records▶ 1,141 · ▲ 31,100 places
Sets worth your time
QZB’s Let It Roll set previews their second album, Dreams To Dust, out on Critical on 2 October. Neonlight, Metanoia and Vici brought Black Sun Empire’s Blackout sound to Darkshire in the Czech woods, Dutch producer Waeys played the Critical Sound takeover at GemFest, and Kyrist’s Yamatai x She Beats Ladies Night set was recorded at Planet Wax, the South London record shop and DJ bar.
Video: QZB (Dreams To Dust Launch Set) | Let It Roll 2026Let It Roll festival▶ 12.5K · [New entry]
Video: Blackout Showcase - Darkshire In The Woods 2026 [FULL SET]Darkshire▶ 5,718 · [New entry]
Video: Waeys | GemFest 2026 | Critical Sound Takeover [FULL SET]PullUp Recordings▶ 3,496 · ▲ 525 places
Video: Kyrist | Drum & Bass | Yamatai x She Beats: Ladies Night (August 2026)Planet Wax▶ 661 · ▲ 215 places
Trending mixes
Two of this week’s mixes tell a vinyl story. Sully, fresh from a debut 12" for Critical, digs through old-school drum & bass for the label’s podcast, and Paradox’s 53rd vinyl show carries the catalogue number of IDV012, the new Dom & Paradox 12" out the same week. Up top, NERSHA follows touring partner FMS into the DnB Allstars 360 series.
Track: NERSHA - Live at DnB Allstars 360DnB Allstars[61 min] · ▶ 6,626 · ▲ 59,779 places
Track: Critical Music Podcast 003 - SullyCritical Music[42 min] · ▶ 2,281 · ▲ 38,796 places
Track: IDV012 Paradox Vol.53 Vinyl ShowPARADOX[56 min] · ▶ 1,362 · ▲ 23,875 places
Track: Killer Hertz Presents Viper Radio Episode 062Viper Recordings[64 min] · ▶ 1,022 · ▲ 10,082 places
Track: T❯I (ft. T-Man) DJ Set | Ready To Roll Presents Trust AudioForbidden Frequencies[55 min] · ▶ 850 · ▲ 19,365 places
Where to be: this weekend’s events
Thirteen drum & bass events across four continents this weekend. Pendulum plays a DJ set at Hospital’s 30th in Heidelberg, SUBDUB’s 28th birthday in Leeds marks 20 years of both Rupture and Deep Medi, Grooverider leads a day rave at Phonox, and Star Warz bows out with its final edition in Ghent. Business As Usual, No. 1 in this week’s new releases, headline Overview’s Brighton night, while further afield Goldie and dBridge go back to back in Singapore and Tokyo’s Club Ball hosts an all-vinyl night.
Big nights
Heritage
Event: The History of Jungle: ManchesterSat 3 Oct · NOWHERE · Manchesterw/ DJ Hype, Dillinja, DJ Rap, Ragga Twins
Event: Soul In Motion - Day Rave: Grooverider . Need For Mirrors . Kid Drama . Channell . Basic RhythmSat 3 Oct · Phonox · Londonw/ Grooverider, Need For Mirrors, Kid Drama, Basic Rhythm
Event: SUBDUB - 28TH BIRTHDAY / RUPTURE 20 / DEEP MEDI 20 / DUB SIRENSSat 3 Oct · Beaver Works · Leedsw/ Mantra, Double O, Pinch, Iration Steppas
Event: Star Warz: Final EditionSat 3 Oct · VIERNULVIER · Ghentw/ Bredren, Lavance, MC Tasty
On the chart
Worldwide
Event: Critical Sound: Enei, Kasra & MoreSat 3 Oct · The Red Room · Vancouverw/ Kasra, Enei, Klippee
Event: RASA presents Goldie b2b dBridgeSat 3 Oct · RASA · Allw/ Goldie, dBridge, Dan Stezo
Event: Jazz'n'Bass -Pure Wax Drum'n'BassSat 3 Oct · Shibuya Club Ball · Tokyow/ Eiji Takehana, Hironobu Jyounai, Kenta Tominaga
Event: Cherch: Take Me Back To CherchSat 3 Oct · Sognage · Johannesburgw/ Format, Rhepuls, Rainman, Donny Basco
Small rooms
Artists moving
DJ Millz rose on DJ sets alone, led by a Boxpark B2B with Nicky Blackmarket, Legacy: Roots at Planet Wax and Bassfest 2026. Badlokk’s ‘The Dark’ with Sinister Souls on Hanzom Music brought in 637 of 1,187 new plays, and Cardiff’s MM is moving on drum & bass bootlegs, led by a flip of Prospa & Cloonee’s ‘Free Your Mind’ (+1,259). NKZ’s climb is spread across several older tracks rather than one release.
95 new names
Fresh on RIGSIDE this week, from big names to ones to watch.
News
UKF’s Hospital retrospective is the pick: the label’s early prescription-style stickers were printed on an ancient Apple ImageWriter, and in-house designer Ricky Trickartt got a foot in the door by telling co-founder Chris Goss on the Dogs On Acid forum that his artwork wasn’t good enough. QZB explain why second album ‘Dreams to Dust’, out 2 October on Critical, puts songwriting ahead of sound design. Two label spotlights look beyond the UK: Brazil’s DNBB Records traces its path from a 2008 Orkut community, and Cluj’s Quite Lucky, born in 2022, is building a platform for rising Romanian artists.
