UK Garage / 2 Step Recommendations October 2010

Review: The queen of funky drops this effervescent slab of brilliance featuring mixes from label head Scratcha DVA and the unstoppable pairing of L-Vis 1990 and Bok Bok. Cooly's "Dis Boy" first surfaced as part of her Dub Organizer series, and here gets a bubbly refix from Scratcha, who brings the rhythmic fire, a set of slow-release organ stabs and an expanding set of droning strings that make the mix live up to its "Hi Emotions" tagline. DVA's "Jelly Roll" is simply a classic, and in the hands of the Night Slugs supremos it's made even more kaleidoscopic as they beef up the up/down synthline and flesh out the percussion hits. Low-key and grimey, DVA's "32DA4" rounds off this essential single with some minimal drums and growling bass. Titans of future-funky united on one crucial release.

Review: From one of the most vital and consistently jaw-dropping labels on the planet right now comes this set of futuristic funky bangers from NYC's Kingdom. Title track "That Mystic" is an absolute monster, working in ominous one-note drones, Baltimore kicks and claps, stacked Miami Bass hats and an incredible dread-melody that's augmented with sinister childlike vocal samples. "Bust Broke" on the other hand comes over a little lighter, with Roska-esque percussion floating in and out of the mix with some canny LFO filtering added at points to give it amazing dynamism. The EP rounds off with the chopped R&B funk of "Seven Chirp", which spins a series of acoustic guitar samples into a truly weird place, all the while backed up by yet another perfectly sequenced beat. Yet another essential purchase from Night Slugs and yet more genius from Kingdom.