SEBA Vinyl & CDs

Review: Seba is a name that has long been synonymous with the cutting edge of drum & bass. He has been active in the game for more than 25 years now and has never let his quality labels dip. He backs up that bold statement here with One, a new album that draws on everything he knows while also looking to new, unknown territory. There are hits of the great sounds he has dropped on the likes of LTJ Bukem's Good Looking Records, Goldie's Metalheadz and his own Secret Operations here with driving beats but also plenty of cinematic sound designs and widescreen synths. It makes for an involving and ethereal work right up up there with some of his best output.

Review: Secret Operations deliver two thoroughly well-compressed remixes of respective tracks from fellow drum & bass heavyweight Seba's recent album, Ingaro. First up, we've Mako with his well-fashioned Reese filtration systemic sizzler version of 'Horsepower'; we're surprised Mako is going by the metric of "horsepower" at all, not least since he's broken the speedometer. Then there's Phil Tangent's 'Eztli', but despite the name, he hardly breaks away on a tangent at all, moving parallel to rather than obliquely away from the original's well circumscribed preference for liquid rollage (though there's no less weight brought to this new version, that's for sure).

Review: Back to 2022! Seba reissues his third album Ingaro on this beautifully presented and precision-pressed yellow vinyl box set. With four 12"s, all 10 cuts get generous wax space and sound amazing as a result. Especially highlights such as the Spirit-like super charge of 'Sequence 5', the cosmic jungle thrust of 'Outer Worlds', the powerful and provocative 'Thoughts Run Free' with Rupture legend and killer MC Blackeye. And that's just for starters; the Bjorn Berglund-collaborated and Samuel Lancine-fronted downtempo cut 'Diamonds' is a sense-arresting moment and the dreamy finale 'Progression'. Seba, we salute you.

Review: Since launching way back in 2014, Soul:R's FourFit series has showcased soulful D&B workouts from artists including Skeptical, Calibre, LSB, Mako, the late, great Marcus Intalex and Seba. Here, the latter's contribution to the series - volume seven - is given the reissue treatment, complete with fully remastered tracks. The 2016 EP remains one of the Swedish producer's strongest four-trackers. Check first the punchy, hot-stepping beats and waves of attractive synthesiser melodies that is 'Hide The Tears', before getting your ears around the rumbling sub-bass, sweaty d&b beats and trippy effects of 'Dark Horse'. DRS and Trickiykid lend a hand on the atmospheric 'Fade To Red', while 'Desire' sees Seba add dreamy textures, effects-laden vocals and spacey synth-pop sounds to another stepping d&b beat.

Review: Swedish d&b pioneer Seba continues to roll out more reissues from his Secret Operations label vaults, taking back over 15 years to some of his most career-defining work. The swaggering opener 'Your Deepest Love', the ice cold finale piece 'Legion' and the breath-taking 'Forever' all take us back to the mid-2000s (2006/7 to be precise) when Seba and his label really started to make their own independent mark in drum & bass. For good measure and balance he's also including 'Inkasso'. A little more recent in his discography at only eight years old, but just as hard hitting and timeless - Seba always hits the spot whatever era you find him at.

Review: Rolling since the mid 90s and showing no signs of slowing, Swedish D&B maestro Seba bounces straight from his Ingaro LP on Secret Operations to deliver this retrospective of highly sought after classics on Fokuz. Seba originally released 'Dangerous Days' in 2009 backed by his remix of Polar's 'Hi Voltage', and both cuts of dreamy drum funk make a welcome return here, with the title track in particular being an immersive slice of ambient D&B to write home about. 'Metropolaris' and 'A Wonderful World' both came out a little further back in 2003, but they equally complement the other tracks with their soft-shaped synth tones and crisp, intricate beats.

Review: Seba & Paradox reunite on Metalheadz with their first joint release for the label in over five years, reaffirming the synergy of two of drum & bass's most distinct voices. Known alike for their brooding musicalities and breakbeat precision, the pair unite styles once more on 'Cypher' and 'Orlean', resulting in a razor-sharp two-tracker through surgical drum edits and cleaving depths; the kinds of immersions both artists are celebrated for. Their return feels both timely and timeless, reminding listeners of the subtle power in expertly crafted, uncompromising d&b.