Yamatai Records 🇬🇧 – Various Artists – Safari / WD40 Review Melinki & Sklart Mafia – “Safari” / Interlock – “WD40” Yamatai Records — YAMREC064 Release Date: 29 May 2026 Genres: Drum & Bass / Bass Music / Minimal D&B Review by Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio — Voice In The Void Written by Gordon Lawrence Taylor
Review by Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio — Voice In The Void Written by Gordon Lawrence Taylor
Although this release arrives under the Various Artists banner, Safari / WD40 is not really a compilation in the traditional sense. This is a compact, focused, two-track Yamatai Records release — almost a double single — bringing together three UK drum & bass names across two heavy underground cuts.
On one side, we have Melinki & Sklart Mafia with “Safari”. On the other, newcomer Interlock steps forward with “WD40”. Two tracks, two different forms of pressure, and one label continuing to carve out its space in the modern drum & bass underground.
The release is framed through Kannon — Goddess of Mercy, with Yamatai Records drawing on the darker legend of Princess Miaoshan: suffering, compassion, sacrifice, descent, transformation, and ultimate mercy. That mythology gives the release a deeper atmosphere before the music even begins. Yamatai has always had a strong sense of visual and conceptual identity, and here that mythic shadow sits perfectly beside the music: dark, controlled, physical, and built for movement.
Yamatai Records is a Bristol-based independent drum & bass label, publicly described as supporting emerging drum & bass and fresh, innovative sonics. That mission comes through strongly on Safari / WD40, because the release balances established underground experience with new blood.
Melinki & Sklart Mafia – “Safari”
“Safari” is all low-end movement, thick groove, and controlled club pressure. It does not waste time trying to be pretty. It moves with purpose.
The track has that steppy, underground drum & bass character Yamatai clearly loves: tight drums, a heavy rolling bassline, and a sense of motion that feels designed for a dark room and a serious system. There is a deep physical pull here. The bass does not just sit underneath the track — it drives it, pushes it, stalks through it.
Melinki brings real experience to the release. His public Facebook page lists him as a drum & bass producer and DJ, owner of Four Corners Music, with bookings through info@fourcornersmusic.com. His SoundCloud page also connects him directly with Four Corners Music and the wider drum & bass world. Sklart Mafia also carries strong underground weight, with his SoundCloud page listing music support and features across Four Corners Music, Soulvent Records, Yamatai Records, SWU FM, Rinse FM, Hospitality Podcast, SkankandBass, Forbidden Frequencies, and more.
That experience shows in “Safari.” This is not a track trying to prove itself through chaos. It has control. It rolls. It breathes. It knows exactly what it is doing. The groove is thick, the pressure is clean, and the production feels like it has been built by people who understand how drum & bass works on the floor.
There is something nocturnal in it — a moving-through-the-dark feeling. It has weight without becoming messy, menace without becoming cartoonish, and power without losing its groove.
“Safari” is veteran drum & bass: deep, rolling, club-focused, and built with serious underground intent.
Interlock – “WD40”
Then comes Interlock with “WD40”, and this is where the release shifts into new territory.
According to the promo, Interlock is a new artist discovered through a close connection to the label, and Yamatai clearly sees strong potential in him. The promo mentions inspiration from DLR, Molecular, and the wider Bristol sound, and that makes sense when you hear the track.
“WD40” feels mechanical, sharp, and precise. Even the title works perfectly. WD40 suggests machinery, metal, movement, friction being loosened, something stuck suddenly coming alive again. That is exactly how the track feels. It moves like a dark machine waking up.
The production is polished but not over-clean. There is grit in the design. The drums cut with discipline, the bass moves with tension, and the whole track has that controlled minimal drum & bass feel where every sound matters. Nothing feels thrown in for decoration. Everything has a job.
For a newer artist, this is a very strong statement. Interlock does not sound like someone guessing his way through a style. He sounds like someone who has listened carefully, studied the architecture, and understood the pressure points. “WD40” fits the Yamatai sound, but it also gives Interlock space to announce himself properly.
Where “Safari” brings the veteran force, “WD40” brings the future signal.
Overall
Safari / WD40 works because it is focused. It does not try to be a full compilation. It does not overstay. It gives you two tracks, two angles, and a clear picture of where Yamatai Records is operating: deep in the underground, between club pressure, minimal drum & bass, Bristol influence, and forward-thinking bass music.
Melinki & Sklart Mafia bring the weight, the groove, and the seasoned control. Interlock brings precision, new energy, and a clear sign of future promise. Yamatai Records brings the mythology, the label identity, and the underground frame.
This is a release for the heads, for the DJs, for the people who understand that drum & bass does not always need to explode to be heavy. Sometimes it only needs to roll properly, breathe in the dark, and let the bass do the damage.
Two tracks. No filler. Bass pressure from the shadows.
