Crate Diggin’: Mefjus picks Austria’s most influential D&B records

Since the earliest drum & bass raves of the 90s, Austria has been one of Europe’s key outposts for the genre. Vienna has always been a regular stop-off for the style’s top artists, and places like Flex club have been instrumental in showcasing the sound in the Austrian capital. Austria has also been home to some of the genre’s top producers. The likes of Mefjus and Camo & Krooked are most likely the first names that spring to most people’s minds, but the country’s historic love of drum & bass stretches further than many realise. Mefjus joins us to launch his Manifest album alongside Camo & Krooked next Friday, so before the date we asked him to list some of Austria’s most influential D&B records for our next Crate Diggin' feature. He dug through frantic neurofunk via emotive liquid obscurities for his list, explaining to us: "I wanted to pick some influential and unexpected drum & bass releases from the land of the Schnitzel that might suprise you. Covering a period of over 10 years, the following songs are some of the most important or controversial releases in Austrian drum & bass."

Carnage – Body & Soul & Fourward [Virus]

Carnage by Body & Soul and Fourward has one of my favourite snares ever made. I remember going to a show in Linz, I think Chase & Status were playing, and I texted Lukas from Fourward saying "Dude! C&S are playing your tune!" I think they were also the first Austrians to release on Virus Recordings, one of my favourite labels of all time. Well played guys!

Sacrilege – Camo & Krooked [Renegade Hardware]

I think only a handful of people know that Markus & Reini (AKA Camo & Krooked) had a release on one of the most legendary underground labels, Renegade Hardware. Varied and talented as the boys are, they had a period in their career when they released on pretty much every relevant label in the drum & bass realm. Personally one of my favourites from them. Stinker! I'm very happy to have them joining my album launch next weekend.

Shadow Play – D.Kay & Rawfull [Commercial Suicide]

A really good friend of mine who got me hooked on to the darker sides of drum & bass introduced me to this record. It was one of the first records I ever mixed on vinyl, and still to this day brings me back to those times where I started listening to drum & bass. I love how the trancy vibe totally works throughout the whole song without being cheesy. Fantastic track!

Never Give Up – Concept & Shnek [Free Download]

Amazing liquid track that was given away for free if I remember correctly. Concept & Shnek are among the key players in Vienna, and consistently delivered amazing tracks and DJ sets. The main vocal sounds super familiar, never found out where it is from though!

Speechless – Kruder & Dorfmeister [!K7]

Speechless was the oldest Austrian drum & bass song I could think of. To this day, Kruder & Dorfmeister are probably one of Austria’s most influential Austrian electronic music acts. Their back catalogue goes on and on. Very inspiring song. 20 years old!

Barcelona – D.Kay & Epsilon [BC Authorised]

Probably the most well-known Austrian drum & bass song ever. D.Kay is already in the list, but it would just feel wrong to not include this one. It was the soundtrack for a generation of drum & bass listeners, not just in Austria.