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Pearsall presents 100 Circles Vol. 1 [Modern Drum n’ Bass in the Mix]

The first in a four-part series digging through years of crate-digging in drum n’ bass and jungle – one hundred records, one hundred circles, split across four mixes. Volume one opens deep and half-tempo, then rolls harder as it goes.

Pearsall presents 100 Circles Vol. 1

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Pearsall · 100 Circles Vol. 1: Adventures in Modern Drum n' Bass

Mixed in Berlin, June 2025
100% Vinyl
(75:46, 182 MB, 320 kbps mp3)

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Direct link to the mix:
https://mixes-upload.pearsall.workers.dev/mixes/100circles/Pearsall-100Circles-ModernDrumNBassV1.mp3

Tracklisting:

  1. Vromm – For the New Dawn (feat. Agama) [Cosmic Bridge]
  2. Necrotype – Tree Tops [Repertoire]
  3. Oliver Yorke – The Gift [Cosmic Bridge]
  4. The Untouchables – Lifeforms [Rupture LDN]
  5. Double-O – Repatriation (ft Theory) [Rupture LDN]
  6. J:Kenzo – Righteous [Amar]
  7. TMSV – King David Riddim [Cosmic Bridge]
  8. Ill K – Draht [Foundation Audio]
  9. Homemade Weaponz & Gremlinz – 11th Hour [Samurai Music]
  10. Amit – Burning the Retina [Amar]
  11. Moresounds – Reality Tune [Astrophonica]
  12. Noh Vae – Flow [Through These Eyes]
  13. Richie Brains – Voyage [Exit]
  14. Rumbleton – Perilous Times [AKO Beatz]
  15. Mantra, Decibella & Tim Reaper – Dash It [Future Retro]
  16. Marcus Visionary – Something Divine In You [Inner City Dance]
  17. Digital & Spirit – Stolen Desire [Function]
  18. J:Kenzo – Rum Punch VIP [31 Recordings]
  19. John Rolodex – Formless [Metalheadz]
  20. Brayzn – Copycat [Western Lore]
  21. Justice & Necrotype – Beatdown [Parallax]
  22. Law – We All Fall Down [Beyond Electronix]
  23. Response & Sealord – Running Through [Rupture LDN]
  24. J Majik – Point of Return [Infrared]
  25. Haste & Drowncast – Celestial Plain [Twilight]

I’ve got a lot of recorded mixes that never made it out into the world. Time to fix that … starting with a series I’m calling 100 Circles.

The idea is simple: 100 records – 100 circles spinning – 100 tracks split across four mixes, all exploring modern drum.

A bit of backstory: over the last 15 years or so, I have got back into buying new drum and bass and jungle. I’d given up in the early 2000’s and even sold all my post 1999 stuff, focusing only on 90’s tracks. Eventually I started picking up new records again, a bit here and there, just stuff to listen to from labels and artists that I like. I make no pretences at being someone who could drop a full upfront set … I’m just not! However, I realized that it would be fun to get these tunes into mixes so that I could listen to them more easily. So: a mix series to bring it all together. That’s 100 Circles.

Putting this one together was a genuinely fun process. I love a process! For 100 Circles I pulled out a huge stack of records, maybe 200 plus tunes, and then randomly sorted them into four piles, one per mix. Then I grabbed one pile, which became this mix, and then split it up into several more piles, organized thematically. I built the mix section by section from there, working through each pile in turn. Whatever records were left over got folded back into the piles for the other three mixes.

As of writing, I’ve finished three of the four mixes, with the fourth still to be recorded. The plan is to get it done soon and post the whole series.

To give a sense of my laziness, I actually recorded this one about a year ago and have been listening to it ever since. Yeah it’s about time I get it online! What I like most about it is the mix of styles – it covers a variety of moods and textures over the course of the twenty-five tracks.

It opens in a half-tempo, deeper register. First up is a track by Vromm on Cosmic Bridge, Om Unit’s label. Om Unit is one of my favorite producers; I did a tribute mix to him a few years back. This one’s deep, powerful, and – unusual for me – a vocal track. I love it. Great opener.

Over the first half I slowly, gently evolve the pressue, building things up, sitting in that half speed, deeper space, the kind of tunes where you really hear the dub influence. Plenty of artists and labels I love turn up in there: Moresounds, Amit, TMSV, J:Kenzo, Double-O, and more.

Then, around track 13, it starts to pick up, the beats get rougher, the bass gets more pumping, a shift that kicks off with Richie Brains’ “Voyage.” Richie Brains was an all-star collaboration project that appeared on dBridge’s Exit Records – a great album if you haven’t heard it. From there it moves into “Perilous Times” by Rumbleton, who I believe is Canadian; that one’s on Stretch’s AKO Beatz.

From there it’s a run of great rollers, including one of my favorites on the mix: “Something Divine In You” by Marcus Visionary, on Toronto’s Inner City Dance label. A great tune by one of North America’s jungle pioneers. Track 17 is Digital & Spirit’s “Stolen Desire” – Spirit passed away tragically a few years back, but this is a very solid track he made with his long-time collaborator Digital, released on Digital’s own label, Function Records. There’s also J:Kenzo in there again – a great producer who works across both drum and bass and dubstep – plus a John Rolodex track on Metalheadz. John Rolodex is another Canadian; there are actually quite a few Canadians on this mix.

Toward the end it moves in a deeper, more melodic direction. There’s a track from Law – who’s the main guy behind Repertoire Records, though this one’s on a different label – and a Response & Sealord track on Rupture that’s quite a deep one. It closes out with two powerful, deep tracks: J Majik’s “Point of Return,” then Haste & Drowncast’s “Celestial Plain.” I don’t know anything about Drowncast, but Haste is a guy from Southeast London who’s been around the scene for a long time – I used to really enjoy the mixes he’d post on the rolldabeats.com forum back in the day. He runs a great label, Twilight, which is well worth supporting – I even met him a few years back in London when I went to Peckham to buy several of the Twilight releases off him. Very nice guy.

Overall? I love this mix. I think it’s great. It’s one I can come back to over and over again, because there’s such a range of sounds, textures, and moods on it. Calling it a “journey” feels like a cliché – I don’t know if I’d go that far – but it’s a nice detour. It’s great music for working to, great for a walk, great for sitting on the sofa with.

I’m really happy with it, and glad I’m finally getting around to sharing it. Looking forward to putting out the rest of the series – the next episodes will be coming soon.