If you’re not familiar with Levela then its about time we level with you. Undoubtedly one of drum and bass hardest working producers (who doesn’t always get the credit he deserves), Levela has spent the last few years digging deep to uncover his sound one that is darker, deeper and groovier than the jump-up driven artist who initially burst onto the scene over a decade ago. Following on from his epic debut ‘Heat Beams EP’ on Elevate with Document One which was something truly out of this world Levela is returning to the label with his ‘Watch Your Step’ single. Born from the artist testing out a new soft-synth/sampler plug-in DC Breaks built called HALO, ‘Watch Your Step’ is a track guaranteed to get even the most subdued dance floors bopping with its infectious bass riff.
Levela‘s ‘Watch Your Step’ has been out for a minute now (release date was 9.24.21) so some people might think it’s old news; but frankly I don’t care and I think this track deserves some love from us. Not that it needs any help, cuz it’s currently sitting at #42 on the top 100 DnB chart on Beatport. And it’ll likely be up there for a bit. Did I mention that I don’t care and think this effort deserves some love? I did? Oh good. Well, I agree with the press release from the label above: Levela is one of the hardest working producers around and has been for some time. But, he doesn’t always get the credit that he deserves. And so…here we are.
I’ve always loved Levela‘s work personally and he’s been on my radar for quite a while. You can count on his work to have that drive and punch that get feet moving and booties shaking on the dance floor.
This track is no different and delivers the goods. Starting out with a simple hi-hat and some atmospheric synths and what sounds like an warning alarm in the background. Pretty quickly a undertone of wub wub wub builds up to a brilliant sample “I know that I should accept reality and make my peace. But, fuck that” and then right to the drop.
That wub wub wub wasn’t just an intro element. It’s turns into the main bass line riff of the track and that warning alarm sound isn’t just an intro thing either. It’s there in the background building tension towards the breakdown. ‘Watch Your Step’ has all those elements that make a solid track: clean crunchy snares, really well separated arrangements, and so on. But, what really stands out to me is Levela‘s mastery of pitching up and down at the fills with the bass riff and his command of tone with the layers in the background. It really adds a lot of depth and texture to the music. He also makes some great variations in the back half of the track just to see if you’re paying attention.
I can honestly say that I have tested this track out in the lab myself and it has been found effective. So, what are you waiting for? Get it and start making them booties shake.
Buy
https://www.beatport.com/release/watch-your-step/3489595
Levala
https://www.facebook.com/djlevela
Elevate Records (UK)
https://www.facebook.com/ElevateRecords
Source: https://dnbvault.com/levela-watch-your-step-elevate-records-uk/
