Here's 10 Tracks Culture Shock Needs You To Hear

Underground ​Drum & Bass producer Culture Shock is on the verge of releasing 'City Lights', his most in-demand track of the past few years.

Grabbing I See MONSTAS singer Bryn Christopher for the radio-friendly vocal, we might just have our next name to sit alongside the likes of crossover faves Sub Focus, Sigma and Wilkinson.

To celebrate the release of his brand new single, the DJ/producer - aka James Pountney - has picked ten tracks you really need to check out right now...

1. Culture Shock - 'City Lights' (Instrumental)

"Great to be finally releasing this and the response has been overwhelming. It was really exciting to produce the amazing animated video for the original so we thought it would be good to do another one for the instrumental. The track title obviously means it’s a very fertile ground for visuals and I’ve definitely enjoyed being able to create a few videos for this release."

2. Crystal Fighters - 'Love Alight' (Culture Shock Remix)

"I love dropping this tune towards the end of my set - it always gets such a big crowd reaction. Sometimes when you’re asked to remix another artist's track, the creative process happens really quickly, this was definitely one of those remixes."

3. Jonas Rathsman - ‘Wolfsbane’

"Jonas Rathsman has been bubbling for a while, but has really stepped up in the last 12 months. Wolfsbane is a big melodic instrumental and works so well - just great techno. It’s great to hear this sound being ‘of the moment’. Sure to be big at Sonar and in Ibiza this summer. It’s just got such a huge bassline."

4. Ram Trilogy - ‘Evolution’

"An absolute Ram Records classic. It has such incredible production - with such amazing detail in the percussion and the bass sounds. Ram Trilogy (Andy C, Shimon & Ant Miles) were untouchable at the time. The rolling beats coupled with such an uplifting vibe and the disco stabs create a perfectly balanced tune."

5. Howard Skempton - ‘Lento’

"An amazingly simple and pure piece of music, made up mainly of strings, which was brought to my attention by techno producer Pantha Du Prince who sampled it brilliantly in his track ‘Saturn Strobe’. Some of the best tracks have such obscure samples, and when they work like they do in Saturn Strobe, they work brilliantly."

6. Vaughn Williams - 'Fantasia On A Theme by Thomas Tallis'

"One of the most impressive string composers and similarly, such an impressive composition. A popular piece of classical music for good reason. I grew up listening to some classical music and I love the purist and delicate sounds that are contained within tracks like this. An old favourite."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAtx578yaZ8

7. Fono - ‘Real Joy’

"This is so distinctly British. Such a big house riddim doing the rounds at the moment. It always amazes me how the formula of house doesn't ever get old, there's always something new that hasn't been done, just when you think everything has been done...something like this comes along."

8. Maurice James - ‘Heartburn’

"I've been labelled a perfectionist before but this Berlin based producer takes that even further. A close friend of mine, who is finally getting his first release out on MTA Records. Deadly serious techno, impeccable production. This has one of the most important qualities in electronic music - it feels real. This track will take you on quite a journey."

https://soundcloud.com/mtarecords/mauricejames-heartburn

9. Bungle - ‘Arcadia’ 

"Such a great D&B tune that hasn’t left my sets for months and brings Brazilian producer Bungle straight back into the scene. Wicked, techy, minimal production. It sounds just as great on a heavy system in my sets as well as in the studio. Bungle has delivered so many classic D&B releases over the years, and he still delivers here."

10. Leftfield - ‘Dub Gusset’

"I love the whole of the Rhythm and Stealth album and used to listen to it on repeat. The production especially had a big impact on me, it's all rhythms and texture with a dirty, gritty sound; while still having a quite clean mix and sound overall. I find this combination makes for a super satisfying experience on the ear drums. A huge early influence."

Culture Shock’s ‘City Lights’ (featuring Bryn Christopher) is released on Ram Records/Virgin EMI on 24th May.