R&S keep things in the family with MPIA3's brother Tessela dropping his debut EP for the label. Since 2011, Ed Russell has been moulding a style of dance music as Tessela that has evolved to become a distinctly futuristic animal that is equal parts rave, jungle and techno as it incorporates classic breaks into delirious new mutations. The three tracks on this EP all follow on from his superb 'Hackney Parrot' track but evolve his sound even further. Nancy's Pantry combines bruising kick drums and some slick editing of the Think break, before plunging headlong into thundering techno. Horizon's percolating hi hats and rough-hewn percussion roll off repeating chords that recall the heady days of rave. Gateway's uncomplicated arrangement of high hats, sub bass, siren like synths and quaking kick drums rattle through the track's chassis and club soundsystems. Early supporters to the tracks include Ben UFO, Pariah, Surgeon, Pearson Sound and Paul Woolford, testement to what might be Tessela's most lethal offering yet.
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Still a relative newcomer, Tessela has had releases on Ireland's All City label back in early 2011 which pricked our ears. However, the rush of excitement when we first heard Darlene, Please was intense and unforgettable. With a racing, industrial sound palate, the Bristol born and Bath resident, has literally built this track from spare carboretta, dump valves and exhausts pipes, engineering a precision industrial mix of pushy house with cold, growling techno. This guy knows how to build a killer groove, keep you guessing and squeeze the most out of a sound. Let Up is a more understated, minimal offering. Focusing heavily in percussive detail, Tessela's skills flourishes within the added space, riveting more of his industrial pads and banging oil drums to a submarine sized bassline that will send torpedoes into your chest cavity. Fans of our friends Pearson Sound and Blawan will identify with this immediately, relishing the power and intricacy of the syncopated drums, machine-cut pads and found sounds that pull together to crate a whole that begs to be played loud to truly appreciate its full sonic detail. We are also very happy to be working with a brand new illustrator from Scotland. Verbals Picks is a exciting illustrator who has worked with a range of great brands and clients, establishing his clean, visually challenging dada-esque style as one of the most in demand creatives on the circuit. For this release, we felt that the sound conjured up images of classic pinball machines with their lively, iconic aural identity. So this illustration draws on pinballs' art heritage whilst being inspired by Tessela's industrial sound palate. For more info: www.verbalspicks.com
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Boundaryless EP fromnew producer, Tessela, the first vinyl release for the West Country (UK) producer. Making some noise in the virtual world, this foray into vinyl is a mix of styles with the heavy emphasis on bass made all the more interesting by the pitched down vocals and synths. Ravey but Dubby, Dark but fun, 3 tracks in all give a proper introduction to his developing sound. More

Perpetually in demand bonafide Dubstep classic and Bristol anthem repressed. Essential addition to anyones collection
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Kahn blazed his way in to the consciousness of the UK underground back in February this year with his debut release for Punch Drunk. His new 12” marks a return to the label, fully asserting his position at the forefront of Bristol’s new generation of producers. Lead track Illy lures you with it’s colourful immediacy, before torpedoing you headfirst in to a torrent of tumultuous bass and psychedelic riffing. Flipside, Tehran takes you a straight back to the old school of heavyweight subsonic steppers. Immersive. Stripped. Deadly. Powerful ammunition direct to the front of your record crate.
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Bristol music Godfather Rob Smith (Smith & Mighty) was a major force in the first wave Bristol Dubstep scene, not only as a huge musical influence on the likes of Pinch, Peverelist and Kahn but also as a producer in his own right. This typically dubwise and in demand 12" is one of his best from that era, repressed! More

Punch Drunk proudly closes 2013 with a fearsome new 12” single from Hodge. This release marks his first solo release on the label following up his collaboration with Peverelist entitled ‘Bells’, which appeared earlier this year. Previous releases for Deadplate and Well Rounded Housing Projects have been well received, but we believe that this new record is certainly his best to date. On these two new tracks, Hodge draws on distinctly UK influences combining thumping broken jungle techno and modern era Bristolian dub aesthetics. Kicking off the 12”, “Resolve” is a real belter, rugged, visceral and pumped with attitude and adrenaline. On the other side, Prototype Fear delves deeper into the psyche, with shifting hypnotic machine riffing, frenetic nervous rhythms and unearthly bass pulses. Hodge has recently achieved great success with his House based project Outboxx with collaborators Matt Lambert and vocalist Naomi Jeremy, culminating in an album this year on Bristol’s Idle Hands label and a summer touring festivals and clubs throughout Europe. This record is a landmark 12” in defining Hodge as an artist in his own right, whilst adding another classic to the Punch Drunk legacy of hybrid electronic dance music from Bristol. More

Bass Clef's long player 'Reeling Skullways' was met with a wave of critical acclaim when it arrived on Punch Drunk back in early Summer 2012, demonstrating his vision, passion and skill for electronic music as an artist and producer. The record captured the attention of director Steven McInerney who has previously directed videos for Circle Traps and Vessels as well as edited videos for Bloc Party, Jon Hopkins, Tim Exile, , PVT, Wagon Christ, Vladislav Delay and many more, inspiring a collaboration between the two artists. Now ready to be unveiled in all it's techni-colour glory, Punch Drunk will be releasing a 'Stenaline Metranil Solar Flare' EP to accompany the video featuring three new mixes from Bass Clef, Coseph Jonrad & Peverelist alongside the original mix. Bass Clef's remix comes all guns blazing, drawing on the influence and legacy of his East London surroundings, delivering a grime laden, juggernaut proportioned reworking of the original, racheting up the pressure a Bar every bar. The Peverelist mix draws on his Bristol influences with a system testing, psychedelic steppers version excursion. Finally, Bass Clef's Coseph Jonrad alias brings the EP to a luminescent finale of fractured sound and hypnagogic vocals



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Pev marks his return to Punch Drunk for the first time in 3 years with this collaborative 12" with Hodge More

Zhou is a UK soundsystem act formed of digital stepper Ishan Sound and Amos, one half of Hip Hop duo Jabu. Both are members of Bristol based crew Young Echo, whose members also include El Kid , Kahn & Vessel, as well as a sprawling extended group of Djs and vocalists. Shows are focused around a continuation of soundsystem culture and an aim to uphold certain key values in a time where dance music in general is moving in increasingly rapid cycles. 2013 will see the second physical release via the mighty Punch Drunk and a number of individual and collaborative releases including a Young Echo album with RAMP. More

Intrusive Incidentalz Volume 2 is the concluding part of Ekoplekz?s collection of dark, oppressive atmospheres and violently unstable interludes, inspired by childhood memories of terrifying electronic soundtrack music from the 1970s. Developed through studio improvisation and channelling a sense of dread informed by the social, economic and political climate of life in 2012, Ekoplekz has delivered some of his finest, most vivid work to date. A bleak retro-futurist fantasy, or oblique soundtrack for a broken Britain? The truth probably lies somewhere between the two. More

Following a busy year of stylistically varied releases under various guises on his own Magic + Dreams label, Ralph Cumbers delivers his first long-player for Punch Drunk. With a title lifted from the lysergic prose of a Brian Aldiss novel and grooves informed by the loopier, more Martian aspects of Chi-town jack and Detroit techno-soul, "Reeling Skullways" marks a subtle, but highly alluring development in the evolution of Cumbers' primary recording project.
Long-term Bass Clef fans may be surprised by the lack of samples on this album, and in many ways it follows a similar creative process to his recent work as Some Truths, with most rhythms and textures sculpted from the raw, elemental waveforms of modular analogue synthesis. But with tighter editing, contagious melodies and perfectly positioned drum patterns, the end results reveal Bass Clef simultaneously at his most stripped-back, focused, playful, complicated, emotional and irresistibly groovy. Unfettered by fashionable production tricks, imbued with a timeless machine-soul heart, "Reeling Skullways" is one of those albums you'll be reaching for again and again. More

Staying true to it’s half decade strong objective of documenting next generation, cutting edge sound system music from the City of Bristol, Punch Drunk is proud to introduce newcomers Zhou for it’s final chapter of 2011. As part of the Young Echo collective, alongside peers such as Kahn, Vessel and El Kid, they have forged a unique identity within the city limits as producers, collaborators and live performers. Defining their sonic vision of submerged aesthetics and low end pressure, tracks ‘I Remain’ and ‘Noboru’ comprise the duo’s debut 12”, delivering a tense and intoxicating odyssey into their chamber of dub.
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Following critically acclaimed releases with Mordant Music and Further Records earlier this year, Ekoplekz delivers his first album for Punch Drunk. Dispensing entirely with notions of accessibility and dancefloor friendliness, 'Intrusive Incidentalz vol.1' is a 12 track collection of dark, oppressive atmospheres and violently unstable interludes, developed through studio improvisation and inspired by childhood memories of terrifying electronic soundtrack music from the 1970s, yet combined with a post-dubstep sensibility and a sense of dread informed by the social, economic and political climate of life in 2011. A bleak retro-futurist fantasy, or oblique soundtrack for a broken Britain? The truth probably lies somewhere between the two.
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Fresh from the release of his stunning third album, ‘Inner Space Break Free’ on the Magic + Dreams label, the unique and acclaimed live performer, Bass Clef delivers an anthemic summer 12” for the Punch Drunk label. An integral piece of Bristol’s musical jigsaw, Bass Clef’s live shows and dj sets have wowed the city for years. His Punch Drunk 12” debut is long over due. Rollercoasters of the Heart’s euphoria fuelled piano refrain combines with dub echoed beats and rolling, ground shaking bass before delving deep into acid bliss, juxtaposing the darker, melancholic yet tough and club ready So Cruel on the other side. If you get a chance to catch Bass Clef live, you won’t regret it!
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