B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Brand New Funk (Adam F Reboot) (5:35)
Brand New Funk (Blade Runner Reboot) (4:58)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
As well as this one coming on pink wax, Adam F is also dropping it on nice classic black vinyl. It features his classic track 'Brand New Funk,' which emerged after he acquired a second-hand Fender Rhodes Electric Piano, Vocoder, and Clavinet D6 Honerikey instruments of the funk era. This track pays tribute to its predecessors by blending classic funk elements with intense drum patterns, merging the vintage funk spirit with modern sonic complexity. Revived and refreshed, 'Brand New Funk' represents one of Adam F's most innovative and enduring sounds.
Review: Apparel Wax on Apparel Music records has recently started a 7" series of which this is the third instalment of. These 45 DJ friendly records are sure to be hits with house music DJs and fans both. The music does the talking as the tracks are simply called 'Track 1' and 'Track 2'. The first blends jazz, funk into a house instrumental frenzy that has all the makings of a classic late night success. The second one is quite unusual and unique, adding a broken almost jungle beat that goes great with the piano. This gives us some real early 90s UK rave flashbacks! This versatile 7" should go over great with those who hear it!
Lavery & Bow Street Runner - "Punani Mania" (5:08)
Lavery - "One Tune" (4:43)
Review: .The opening jam on this new EP from Sub Code has got it all - the driving breakbeats, the proper lush chords and the heart-aching r&b vocal sample, pitched up just enough. Bow Street Runner ensures they all coalesce into a standout tune that tugs at the emotions while also demanding you move your body. No wonder it's called 'Sex Tune 3.' Lavery & Bow Street Runner's 'Punani Mania' is just as super sweet with another brillaint vocal sample, tenderness in the piano chords and drive in the jungle rhythms. After that collaboration between Lavery & Bow Street Runner comes a Lavery solo 'One Tune', which is more naughty with air raid sirens, some mad mic work and warped bass filth.
Review: A bittersweet release... Laffin Buddah and Parallax link up to reissue last year's rave treasure trove 'Palomas' and help raise money for the family of The Bridge Project member Stuart Heath who sadly passed away this year. The original rave energy and crucial 4x4 stompage of 'Palomas' is matched by a brand new cut penned by the other half of the project Lee Shilton named 'Tune For Stu'. A firing, darkwave tear-up with all the blasts, shreds and twists Stu would have demanded himself, it's a fitting epitaph to a man sorely missed. Show some support!
Review: No one did bedtime stories gorier than Brothers Grimm and no one hits the contemporary rave game harder than Kniteforce. Especially when big names like Floyd Dyce (look him up) and J Majik are involved like they are here. Taking a 1992 Production House banger and flipping it into a timeless floor burner, J Majik goes for the jugular with drum switches and a big breakout into the classic dub sample. The original B-side Field Of Dreams also goes under the knife, this time by Kniteforce regular Stephano who whips up an almighty hardcore storm. Sweet dreams!
Review: Strap in for another blistering ride thanks to the Sonic Force crew who has tapped up Dissect and Abstract Illusion for a series of new tunes and remixes of one another. 'Tengoku' (Dissect's Heaven mix) is first up with some thrilling breaks that float just above the dance floor amidst nice lush pads. Dissect's 'Cosmos' then rides a lurching beat with more raw percussion and Abstract Illusion's 'Tengoku' ups the ante with crashing snares and hi-hats, plenty of turbulent rhythms and planning basslines. Dissect shuts down with 'Black Hole' which is a darker stepper with a menace undercarriage that might make it the best cut of the lot.
Review: DanJet proclaims itself to be the first Russian drum & bass label, which might be up for debate, but at the very least it would have been one of the first when it first operated in 1997. Spearheaded by DJ Dan, the label drops its fourth vinyl and chooses to, erm, pay tribute to The Prodigy on the A-side via Dan and Dima Pulsar's 'Hyperspeed'. There are more than a few elements from Experience twisted into modern d&b forms on this track, no doubt sure to please older heads and younger generations of ravers alike. Barbitura's 'One In The Jungle' on the B-side is an all-out tear-out driven by sirens, dark side bass and blistering breaks.
DJ Sofa & Tim Reaper - "Helsinki To London Connection" (4:53)
Ready Set Go (Dev/Null remix) (6:31)
Review: Repress! DJ Sofa's crucial collection for Tim Reaper's Future Retro gets the reissue treatment and you can hear turntables around the world giving a massive sigh of relief. One of the best jungle sorcerers in action right now, each cut on here does the business and will do for at least another 50-100 years. From the hardcore splices and dices of 'Panic At The Disco' to the northern sea traversing 'Helsinki To London Connection' with the bossman Reaper, Sofa's sharp ear for soul and high energy is so full strength on this collection you can almost taste it.
Review: Polish dub home-brewers Moonshine Recordings have commissioned an exceptional new release here from Bukkha, Dubbing Sun and Burro Banton; 'A1 Sound' really is more than worthy of its pronounced place at the top of the list, thanks to its unique fusion of heavyweight steppers dub production and a hardcore, doubletime beat worthy of any warehouse rave. The track bares an unusual push-pull, and it seamlessly introduces the A3 jungle mix too, whose tempo and pace matches the first two versions' dragged weightiness. But here it's all three artists' productive synergies that shine, the original mix flaunting a restlessly fickle fencing between hardcore techno, brusque rap-jaying and nu system dub, never totally settling on either sound.
Review: Incoming! Clipz is subtly dropping his debut album but in true Hugh Pescod style, he's not settling for usual convention. His debut album as Clipz is a remix LP as he deconstructs Richard Russell's collaborative concept album Friday Forever and rebuilds it into a diesel powered, borderline cantankerous jungle album. These are three of the many highlights; the Dope Dragon style brukage of 'Walk Alone', the deeper piano-licked roll-out 'A Dream I Never Had' and the dubby, Bass Bin style bubbler 'The Night'. And this is just the tip of the version iceberg. Serious Saturday Specials fever.
Review: The mission-statement-and-artist-name Gabber Dub Project, from Germany, take on a bold undertaking. Doing exactly what is said on the tin, this six track explosion dispatches every possible topological contortion of what could be meant by "gabber dub", traversing transient styles from UK hardcore and hardstyle in the process. LXC, Zimmertime and Hurra Hurra offer terrifyingly shouty, jackhammering remixes checking off moods of militancy and warmongery, with 'Dubbersaet' sounding especially propagandistic, described as a "maximum amen workout", shortly before side B both hastens the pace and buries the vibe in shockingly six-foot-deep soil.
Review: To Sweet Sensi Records come Krugah with a wicked turn of techstep, ragga jungle and drumfunk. The Brooklyn producer breaks brash ground on this latest 12", squashing mountains of freq-y sound below liminal, scraping drum toppers. Opener 'Tonne Weight' truly does weight a tonne for this very reason; our weighing scales barely make it out alive for the ensuing audio assault that is 'Wickedness Increase', which samples the raggamuffin ragings of an old clash tape of god-knows origin. 'Nuh Sound Curse' brings nitrate echoes to the same ragga sample, layering breaks-matics and three-note dreamoid melodies, while 'Off Di Scene (Dance)' bestows a bubbling experiment, by far the oddest but coolest of the lot.
Review: The usually prolific Matt Gresham has been a little quiet since the release of his eighth album, "Hologram", in 2018. We suspect a new album is on the way, because this new EP comes hot on the heels of the long-serving producer's sole single of 2019. Whether or not that is the case, "Headspace" is superb, with Gresham flitting between snappy and soulful vocal drum and bass ("Stay True"), sweet, synth-laden intergalactic rollers ("Rebuild"), rapper-sporting liquid goodness (the festival-friendly positivity of "Brand New Beginning") and nasty deep space intensity (the appropriately titled "Headspace").
Review: It's been a big year for Hospital. Shucks, every year is a big year for London Elektricity's imprint, but 2014 seems especially big with huge albums from the likes of Fred V & Grafix, S.P.Y and now Metrik. Repping his game, the label and the genre at the highest level, Universal Language is a highly accomplished calling card for Metrik that showcases his ability to create barn-storming rave homages ("Make The Floor Burn"), arena-slapping sing-along lighter-raisers ("Human Again", "Infinity"), techy underground rollers ("Slipstream") and unifying cuts that give the legendary Underworld a run for their money ("Resonate"). Maintaining a fine balance of great songwriting, muscular production and straight-up dancefloor abandon, this speaks to every corner, every sub genre and every tiny pocket of D&B. Just as the title suggests.
Review: Moeller expands his dub techno expertise into the 170 BPM d&b realm, crafting a full-length journey that feels both natural and innovative. Known for his cavernous sound design and machine soul, his shift to d&b territory is a seamless fit for the Samurai label, where evolving rhythms and fresh palettes are integral to the modern club scene. The album stands apart with its hypnotic arrangements, deep textures and monolithic reverb, showcasing his legacy and mastery of sound. The tracks blend club-ready physicality with introspective moments, offering a balance of dancefloor energy and headphone-worthy detail. From the snarling feedback to soaring synths and intricate drum patterns, each element is sculpted with precision, revealing his ability to capture both intensity and subtlety. Teeming with soul and engineered to perfection, this release highlights the producer's unique approach to 170 BPM, offering some of his finest work yet. The album is a masterful exploration of sound and rhythm, with attention to every detail, which is a hallmark of Brendon's meticulous fine tuning of dance music.
Review: Silent Force are d&b classicists who always bring the quality with their timeless sounds. And that very much continues to be the case with this first release for the new year. It's a collab between Opal's and Kimbr that opens with 'Alive', a breakbeat lead banger with looping drums and raw snares. 'Undergrowth' is a silky number with a menacing late-night feel in the groaning pads and tense drums. 'Demon Poetry' brings some darker vibes with a prying, distorted, menacing bassline and 'Keep Things Balanced' is another well-controlled, potent drum & bass workout with jungle influences and a dystopian energy to it.
Review: You can always be sure that whatever comes out on Unknown To The Unknown is worth adding to your racks. This new one is a seance instalment in the Rhythm Force series and it finds Shadow Child and DJ Haus going in hard on some throwback future jungle. 'Magic Waves' is pure 90s vibes with its busy breaks, twitchy sci-fi melodies and dousing of lush sustained chords that place you deep in the cosmos. It's a seriously big hitter. On the flip, 'Gravity Slips' has a darker edge and more broken blend of breaks with a menacing bassline keeping up the pressure down low. It's intergalactic, tumultuous, and brilliantly atmosphere.
Review: Skee Mask, who only recently was found out to be called Bryan Muller, comes through with his second LP to date, making a wonderful follow-up to 2016's Shred. Compro is, ironically, comprised of a much more explorative palette of sounds, with many corners of the album veering off into otherworldly ambient, often through a striking new-age sensibility. The most impressive element of this album is its flow and evolution across its 12 tracks, sounding a lot more like one single-minded thought rather than a collection of disparate dance-not-dance tunes. The quality of the recording is noticeable, too, with tracks like "Rev8617" or "Via Sub Mids" sounding professional, both in vision and style. Through an intricate collage of breaks, samples, polyphonies, and subtle electronic manipulations, Skee Mask has truly mastered his own art, and is giving a new direction to the wider 'UK rave' sound. BIG.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Alix Perez - "Militia" (with Flowdan) (3:07)
Drone - "Everyday" (5:06)
Cesco - "Big Fi Dem" (with Sparkz) (3:58)
Hijinx & Cesco - "Attention" (4:54)
Alix Perez & Visages - "Circadian" (4:44)
Onhell - "Black Candle" (2:33)
Visages - "Evidently" (with Snowy) (4:36)
Paige Julia - "Indisputable" (4:16)
Submarine - "All I Need" (4:39)
Trail - "Halation" (5:00)
Trail & Monty - "Wraith" (4:37)
Visages - "Dol Guldur" (4:35)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
A vrooming new V/A comp from London's bass music bacchanals 1985 Music, following up a sellout show at the Roundhouse earlier in 2024. Helmed up by pensive liquid purveyor come bass musical all-rounder Alix Perez, the label now compile several star tracks from throughout the year, setting them side-by-side on wax for the first time. Including trax by Perez, Drone, Cesco, Visages, Hijinx and Onhell, the general movement is from sociopathic grimescape though to bear trap tricksiness, shortly tied up in an extended jungle and d&b coda on the B; Paige Julia's 'Indisputable' is as brazenly fearless as Flowdan's opening flows are, though a continual liquefaction occurs therefrom; the best element heard towards the end has to be the erratic bubblegum cutups heard on Visages' 'Dol Guldur'.
Review: This double 12" compilation is a celebration of liquid drum & bass, showcasing 14 classic tracks from some of the genre's most iconic figures. Immerse yourself in the lush soundscapes and soulful melodies of this beautifully arranged blue & red marbled double LP, a captivating journey through a diverse musical landscape. Highlights include Keeno's euphoric 'Indispensable', the deep and emotive 'Deep Sands' by Technicolor & Riya, and the ethereal beauty of Maduk's 'Nayru'. Other standouts include Seba & Collette Warren's soulful 'Never Let Them Break You', Etherwood's infectious 'We Felt It', and the vocal harmonies of Telomic's 'Silent Treatment'. With its impeccable selection and pristine sound quality, this compilation is a must-have for any fan of liquid drum & bass.
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