Review: Marking Indica Dubs' 100th release in serious style, 'When Jah Come' by Danman takes the form of a powerful tribute to the late Jah Shaka, whose influence shaped generations of dub and roots sounds and musicians. This long-anticipated dubplate was famously championed by Shaka himself and comes laden with deep, earth-shattering basslines, spiritual vocals that touch your inner psyche and militant rhythms with unmistakable reverence. It is a celebration and a memorial that honours Shaka's legacy while showcasing Danman's ever-commanding voice and Indica Dubs' unrivalled production strength.
Review: Back once again, it's Ill Behaviour with yet another two pantherine jungle steamers to top up their eponymous series of black labels. With purring associative moods of a melanistic leopard on wax, 'Side A' crafts knockout jungle from mutedly distant, longing r&b samples and rampant drum snaffles, wafting a prowly energy not too far from the voracious ravishing of prey. 'Side B' goes speedier jungle techno, proving that this is no alley cat; the piano breakdown is particularly impressive, weaving successfully controlled, empirically tested vocal science chops around a well-controlled mallet melody line, one we could only too easily assume was played in by a feline philanderer.
Review: So what happens when a European post-punk outfit meets an American 'ambient country ensemble'? The answer: A Nanocluster. In fact, three. This being the third. Immersion first met SUSS in September 2021, and the results were mesmerising. Three years on and the impact was no less staggering. Originally landing in September 2024, part tres takes us into the kind of musical places we're used to finding Spiritualized or Mogwai, and even then the references are misleading. For as many times as Nanocluster Vol. 3 sucks us into a thick soup of ambient and atmosphere, inviting us to get lost in opiate cloud formations, it also asks us to jump on board a stream train of rolling and driving rhythms, juggernauts gathering depth and complexity as they forge ahead. A stunning collection of highly evocative and incredible musical instrumentals.
Review: Two ragga jungle ragers straight from the Infrared label. Ablaze with a rhythmic heat burning hotter than a pine forest caked in talc comes the untitled A; the track clears all in its path by virtue of its ultra-dry and somewhat still caked-in-mud breaks mix, which never once settles nor lets up on the oxidisation process. Apparently originally started in the 90s, the track was never finished until now, though more recent revisitations to the track were still doggedly insistent on use of an Akai Sample, just as it was in, you know, the "good old days". Track 2, the equally, mercilessly unsparingly named 'Untitled 8', meanwhile, was allegedly engineered by the crunch-drum maestro himself, Dillinja.
Review: It's spinbacks, rave stabs and "can't you see"s galore on Injectionz' debut tenth hardcore dubplate, released on their eponymous imprint. Faithful to the form, this is a debut that won't fail to impress even the more seasoned veterans of the scene either; intro track 'Gotta Believe' seems to make light of its debutante's ambition by way of slapstick scat samples and even an "oh my god, I'm a DJ" interjection, then spraying the 'phones with scratches, cutups and repitchings at a blasphemous rate of fire. B-sider 'Rockin' The House' demonstrates a laxer tendency, proving that many different auditory vaccinations are indeed on offer to the would-be fan.
Review: German Ivan Ave is a core member of the flourishing contemporary beat scene and has put out a coupe of crucial record on labels like Berlin's Jakarta. Now he branches out to Norway's Mutual Intentions with a crisp new EP, Mid Season, on 10". It showcases the dexterity of his voice which goes from offering up classic bloom bap era par's to more stylised Prince-esque deliveries on 'Mid' and downbeat, almost mumble rap styles on 'Names.' Four instrumental versions of the originals are included on the flip and will be sweet in the club, but you can't beat the vocals.
Review: Last year, the Expansions label kicked off a wonderfully intriguing 10" series featuring classics from soul music's rich canon complemented by contemporary cover versions and so far it's seen Blue Note troupe Quasimode tee off against Johnny Hammond and Bembe Segue challenge Norman Connors. A third edition duly arrives and hints Expansions are really enjoying the creative challenge the concept allows them with the jazz funk classic "Zaius" from Eddie Russ joined by a cover from the celebrated UK funk veterans Incognito. Originally appearing on the 1976 LP See The Light, "Zaius" is a blinding example of why Russ is described a master of the keyboard and it's complemented well by Incognito's B Side cover which appears on vinyl for the first time. Don't sleep!
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