Kniteforce 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: It's tie to spin it back, all the way back, to 1995. That year, John Lisners aka Baraka, served up the only two EPs he era made under this alias and the both came on Boogie Beat Records. Now, Kniteforce Records is reissuing the first of the two with on this newly remastered 12". Up first is 'Nutty Bass' which has just that. It is a clatter of percussion and jostling breaks that eventual resolve into a high energy drum & bass banger with bass pinging about the mix. On the flip is the more soulful and cosmically minded 'I'll Be There' with its loon bird calls, pinball melodies and liquid rhythms. Essential.

Review: The whole history of UK music is contained within these potent two tunes, from early rave to jungle, gabba to breakbeat, dub to techno and even indie house. It is a hugely sought after tune from Baraka that comes hot on the heels of his 'Nutty Bass/I'll Be There' release. 'A Million & One' (feat Cinderella has crashing breaks, Happy Mondays samples, euphoric chords, ragga vocals and techno drums as its flips through moods, grooves, styles and tempos with ease. On the flip is a slightly more heady version with heavy studio effects as well as the bruising beats.

Review: Kniteforce is back with a third no-frills hardcore outing and this one casts it all the way back to 1993, when Bay B Kane dropped this Forwards In Reverse album on Whitehouse Records. It has been fully remastered and officially licensed for this reissue which is sure to win it a whole new raft of fans. There is a real lust for this sort of authentic old-school energy right now - barreling breakbeats, raved-up synths and brain-frying pads that cause utter carnage on the dance floor. Even all these years later it still sounds as good as anything in its genre.

Review: Seminal business: DJ Rap's 1995 anthem 'Intelligent Woman' remains one of the most relevant and iconic jungle tracks to this day and still demands a reload 27 years later. Fully backed up by a harder, more D&B-focused 2020 re-lick, Kniteforce pay respect to Rap and her influence on the drum & bass game with this long-awaited repress. Grab it and invest in a slice of serious history.

Review: Timeless hardcore breakbeat action as label newcomer DJ Stephano makes his debut on Luna C's seminal Kniteforce imprint. 'Heaven' sets the scene with all big flavours from the time; euphoric pianos, wild time-stretched drums and a feel good energy. Deeper into the EP we rave as 'Stella' takes us into deep space with its prowling arpeggio and alien-landing pads. Flip for more piano positivity and hardcore style pitched up vocals while 'Out There' brings the EP to a contemplative close. Classic Kniteforce tackle.

Review: Previously operating as Deadly Nightshade, Stuart Brown ignites a brand new alias for this fantastic Kniteforce debut 'Outer Limits'. A love letter to the primordial hardcore soup of the early 90s, each cut flexes a different tempo and vibe as he pays homage to a different shade of hardcore/jungle/techno. 'The Pulse' sounds like something that would have come out of the Jack Smooth HQ in 1991, all rampant pace, heavy kicks and lush pianos. 'Into The Unknown' hits with a Blapps Posse style swagger. 'Feel The Bass' is pure UK hardcore breaks with big Belgian sweeps while 'Memories In Time' brings us to a Subliminal Cuts style euphoric finale. Authentic to the core; keep your finger on this guy!

Review: From silver beard to golden platter; Ray Keith is celebrating 30 years of Dread Recordings and looking back over his own career with 'The Golden Years', a collection of classics and rarities from the earlier phases of jungle drum & bass. 'Monsters 99' is a hard hitting Amen happy slap with plenty of over-driven bass and a Dillinja-style groove. 'You Got The Love', meanwhile, is as sweet as Candi as Ray goes all-out with the tear-up textures AND the iconic sample reference. Good as gold.

Review: Living his life like it's golden: 'The Golden Years' sees jungle pioneer Ray Keith serving up a series of specials from the special primordial post-hardcore era of early drum & bass. We kick off with two of his most influential and enduring anthems. Both engineered by Nookie, 'The Chopper' and 'Terrorist' capture Ray at his heaviest and anthemic... And here they are in two highly sought after remix forms. The choppy 'Chopper VIP' remix has been the stuff of legend for years while the Old Spice remix takes things to operatic new levels. Go for gold.

Review: The superb Kniteforce label takes no prisoners once more with a blistering new EP from The Rood Project that is a perfect time-warp back to the heyday of 90s rave. The Crack Of Dawn 12" actually dropped in 1993 and is an experimental jungle techno mash up for peak time listening. It's dark, energising and packed with great samples about being high. And that's just the title track - 'Scary' is like a rollercoaster that breaks free of its rails and 'Crimestretch' is a cacophony of dark, brutal breaks and drilling bass.

Review: 31 years have now passed since Smart E's gate-crashed the charts with their contribution to the (short-lived) 'toytown rave' movement, 'Sesame's Treet' - a rather silly (but, in its own way, joyous) breakbeat hardcore tune featuring snippets of the theme tune to 'Sesame Street'. Here the track gets the 2023 remix treatment. Fast flowing 'chap hop' rapper Professor Elemental stars on 'Sesame's Treet 2023', a funkier but no less celebratory re-imagining that retains core elements from the original mix (the raw rave stabs, the boisterous breaks and, yes, bits of that oh-so-familiar theme tune), while the HSI remix is an energetic, extra-percussive, sample-heavy take built around a deliciously wobbly bassline and saucer-eyed chords. The EP also features remastered 1992 album track 'Magnificent', a slightly darker but even more potent hardcore workout.