Juno Recommends Breakbeat April 2021

Review: Following searing drops from the likes of Borai and Tamoshi, Vivid come correct once more with this blistering 12" from Yosh. You may have spotted Yosh elsewhere, such as with the formidable One More Night EP for Timeisnow, but now they're back on familiar ground for more of that head-tweaking breakbeat science. There are more ragged ructions like lead track 'Destruction', and dreamier fare such as the blissful 'The Source', but throughout it's the diversity in drum palettes and needlepoint editing skills that make Yosh's tracks so vibrant and deadly. Miss this at your peril.

Review: DJ Normal 4 has boiled his name down for this latest trip out on Emotional Response, which finds the German breakbeat evangelist getting into a specifically tranced-out mode which should sit right with many a new age raver. The 90s is plastered all over this release, which rolls low and heavy like a good trance record should, and there's an honesty about DJN4's particular approach which makes the tracks land perfectly. Conceptual consistency is also key, meaning the twitchier cuts like 'X Capsule' can sit comfortably alongside unabashed wig out fodder such as the psy-tinged 'Mind Expander XS'. If you love the early, moodier strains of trance, this record is essential.