Review: Remixes by 30Hz & DJ Quest. "Robots Ready From Mars" is tackled by Quest who gives the track a heavier, clubby breakbeat mix. Fits nicely next to tracks from the likes of The Stanton Warriors or Tayo.
Review: A² was the electro, breaks and tech house duo Andy Panayi and Alec Stone, and this outing on R.A.N.D. Muzik Recordings is a four-track collection that comes years after the tragic passing of Panayi so serves as a poignant tribute from his close friends and family. Honouring Andy's legacy, the release captures the duo's innovative electronic spirit and is both a celebration of their work and a touching farewell. Musically 'Street Renegade' is a lithe breakbeat sound, 'Upton Park Breaks' is more dark and textured and 'Electro Boogie' is just that while 'Reckless' closes on a more spaced out and cosmic tip.
Review: Breakbeat means many different things to many different people but in the case of this new EP from Aggresivnes on Electroshock there is something of a turn of the millennium nu-breaks feel. Synths sounds like video game effects from a retro future world with crisp drum funk powering each track along. Spoken word samples, sirens, rave-ready piano stabs and warped leads all add extra personality to the playful beats. 'Popcorn' is our pick for the sheer neck-snapping crispness of the drums and hits.
Toby Tobias - "Streets of Gold" (Alphonse remix) (5:12)
Pyramids Of Space - "Quantis" (5:20)
Dance - "Amber" (4:25)
Review: Voice Notes is a new imprint run by London underground veteran Toby Tobias with Alphonse. A five track various artist EP, Voice Notes 002 is a time-honoured memorial for its sister label London Housing Trust, that they shut down a few years ago after 10 releases. Featuring tracks by label boss Tobias who delivers some emotive electro on 'Streets Of Gold', his evil twin Alphonse on the UK flava of 'Rujac', plus introducing Dance with the dub techno deconstruction of 'Amber', Rodney Bennett with the classic Stateside deep house of 'Palm Sunday' and Pyramids of Space with the downbeat IDM journey 'Quantis'.
Review: Ilian Tape staple Andrea returns to the imprint, marking a big one for the Munich-based operation with a massive album by Skee Mask also this week. As always, UK and rave influences are abundant throughout the talented producer's work and this one is no exception. This EP is called Sktch and features the cavernous, glacial and downright knackered dub techno of 'Sarec', followed by the sinister subterranean breaks of Auxl and the meditative deep dubstep frequencies of 'Kjones' which sees him delve deeper into off kilter territory.
Review: British producer, party set designer and DJ Angel D'Lite is known for her sickly sweet and high energy mixes and solo work. An avid vinyl collector and happy hardcore indulger, '303 Dalmations' feels like biting into a sour sweet and the headrush from the sugar high thereafter. 'Just Trippin' and '7am' are evocative of the 90s records that D'Lite digs for in her local shops and collection and are bubbly dance tracks with classic breakbeats (Producers will recognise the opening amen break vocal sample on 'Liquid Skies' very well). The feel of the EP is a classic club experience, and you can't help but dance along and smile - as D'Lite says herself "Happy Hardcore is good for the soul".
Review: French finesse with German fusion... Willis Anne makes his Shall Not Fade debut with this killer 'Movement' EP. As with previous missives on his LAN imprint, the beats roam and romp freely between footwork, jungle and ghetto-tek with strong twangs of Detroit bringing it all together. Highlights include the wonderful layers of organs and vibrant chords of 'Direct Effect' and the fully-swung breakbeats and bellowing sub of 'Unison'. Get moving.
Heavy Water (D Tiff Floating To The Top mix) (7:18)
Diact (6:19)
Trouble Down Groove (6:45)
Review: The Cosmic Soup label did some mighty fine work in bringing Howard Dodd's work as Doc Bozique and Anoesis back into ear shot. Dodd released a fair clutch of wiggy, trance-inflected house and techno back in the wild old days of the mid-90s, and so it's no surprise to hear his music finding new relevance at a time when that sound is so warmly received on dancefloors all over the place. This release for German label Spray pulls together a few different bits from 1994, ranging from 'Heavy Water' and 'Diact' from The Anoesis EP to 'Trouble Down Groove' from Eight Day Music. Bringing the relevance with the current zeitgeist in no uncertain times, we're also treated to a remix courtesy of a scene leader in this field, D. Tiffany.
Review: As well as being one of electronica's most distinctive, recognisable and long serving warriors, Richard James is a man of many surprises. From his massive Soundcloud dump in 2015-6, to this unexpected 2023 EP - which was his first fully released material for around five years and appeared without warning - he likes to stay several giant leaps ahead of his public. Across its four tracks, it showcases his unmistakable, queasily melodic touch while revisiting the roots of his drill 'n' bass sound with a modern twist. Opening with 'Blackbox Life Recorder 21f', the EP sets a reflective tone, its light breakbeat and melancholy melody underscored by 80s-inspired drum textures, evoking a wistful yet futuristic atmosphere. This track encapsulates the beauty of his signature style, fusing emotion with intricate production. 'Zin2 Test5' shifts the mood slightly darker, with crisp production and an optimistic undercurrent woven through its melodies. It feels like a contemplative counterpart to the opener, balancing light and shadow with finesse. The second side dives deeper into experimental territory. In 'A Room7 F760' is a fast-paced, broken-beat journey through eerie soundscapes and sinister rave melodies, teetering on the edge of chaos while retaining a hypnotic allure. Closing with 'Blackbox Life Recorder 22 (Parallax mix)', the EP ventures into dubstep territory with a deeper, growling bass and ominous undertones. a dubbier reinterpretation that offers a more textured, shadowy perspective. Black (box) ops indeed - as ever.
Review: Longtime drum & bass legend Aphrodite carved out his own path, helming up his very own Aphrodite Recordings almost from the word jump. The infamously groovy humanoid figure on the front cover of each release (a bit like the Moving Shadow logo, albeit more spiritual) sums up the mood of his releases: hardcore, ecstatic, demi-divine. On 'The Stonka' EP, the producer leans far more in the former territory, however, with 'Stonka' portraying a sub-heavy reversy-breaks cacophony and 'Break Of Day' laying down a ragga-sample-inflected mind-expander, not to mention a clever pun.
Aquasky & The Breakfastaz - "Good Sound" (instrumental)
Review: Passenger have embarked on a limited edition run of instrumental 10" releases. These will be issued in strictly low quantity for the DJs who prefer their tracks without vocals. First, we strip down the first two tracks from the Teamplayers series which did global damage on original release. Grab them while you can because there will never be another chance.
Aquasky/The Drummatic Twins - "Bring It On Down" (Aquasky VIP mix)
Aquasky/The Ragga Twins - "Ready For This" (Baobinga mix)
Review: It was a year ago that the much anticipated Aquasky "Teamplayers" album was released and here is the final installment of remixed, revamped and rejigged tunes, released on the Passenger label.. 'Bring It On Down' features Aquasky loosening up the bassline of the original, slapping in a nasty new vocal and giving it a heavy electro funk work out. Also, Baobinga goes on a solo run with a party vibe meets dubstep feel.
Review: The basslines might be big, but Berlin collective Cheap Fast Worldwide are keeping budgets tight with their brand new vinyl concern. Already an established podcast mix series, now a fully-fledged label, this launch release lays down everything we need to know as we flip and fly between the flavours. Cats like Lou Raw lay down golden woozy UKG skippery, B is all about the lo-fi flavours and warm and warping house and Olli Oski and EE bring the EP to a wonderful psycho dub finale. What an entry EP.
Review: Plenty of neologistic fun can be had with the work "break", but we must admit that "breakflow" is a new one on us. Lisboa produtor b0n impresses such sonic and titular genii with a new, green-goo-hued four-track EP on Portgal's fantastical Magic Carpet label, spanning clean future progressive and garage-acid tempos. The title track and 'Sasha Palomal' only tease the unortho-breaks with tricky garage beats and straighter but admittedly still formative breaksteps; it's only by the point of the B-siders 'Positive Morph' and 'Fractures' that any such fluvial breakbeat is properly put back together and course-corrected. Be warned, the latter track moves through the nicely rare variants of freestyle and "electrance"; careful not to dance yourself to breakdown.
Review: San Francisco-based Indian duo Baalti really do bring plenty of freshness to this, their third EP outing. They have said this is their most personal and authentic rase to date and it is about as kinetic and impact as house music gets, all infused with myriad samples from their own heritage. Those nostalgic South Asian flavours derived from classic Indian, Pakistani, and Bangaldeshi sounds are carefully sprinkled into percussive workouts, leftfield dancefloor rhythms and club-ready grooves. A perfect fusion of modern electronic music as traditional Asia sounds.
Review: There's an abundance of crafty, ear-snagging gear coming out on Telomere Plastic these days and the steady stream of VA releases are a handy window into some of the freshest operators in the more creative ends of minimal tech house. Baenglund is having a jolly time of it tweaking out the freaky synth riffs on 'Funk Inspector', while Aspetuck creates a teasing, strung-out after hours sound which tips towards electronica on 'As The Fog Rolls In'. Anderson brings a little trance influence to the crooked groove of 'Aquabound', and Watch Patrol softens the edges with an acidic bubblebath on 'Wandering In The Garden'.
Review: Brooklyn is not often somewhere you think of when it comes to minimal, a sound more usually associated with European artists these days, unless of course, you're talking about early US originators like Dan Bell and Robert Hood. This release suggests that view is wrong with a trio of classy cuts. Mike Berardi's 'Helicopter Ride' is lively and jazzy and rides a nice broken beat. Samuel Padden's 'String Theory' is more icy and paired back to a minimal cosmic trip and Jay Tripwire's 'Floorboards' a wonky late-night charmer.
Review: Billus is a new name to be emerging from the Melbourne scene and here he shows his mastery of groove and percussion. There is a real lightness of touch to the breakbeats of the opener 'Cubic'. They mean you instantly take flight and drift through the skies next to pillow melodic clouds that cast your mind adrift. It's deliciously deep and colourful stuff. 'Shifting Sands' is another mix of suspensory chords that pan all around and bubbling, percussive drums that are hard to define. 'Splay' sinks into a watery world of dubby chords and skeletal but compelling beats and 'Under The Canopy is melodic minimalism of the highest order.
Review: The Betonska label is on an ongoing mission to release and re-release hidden gems and wantless must owns from the past. This time it's D.Wave's unrelenting yet funky techno offering Biotone that gets pressed up. The title tune is pure, thrilling club music with high-speed Millsian techno vibes. 'Mellectro' plays with a broken rhythm and alien sound designs that are as good for brain as body and 'Oscilloclast' then dresses a perfectly fused jungle techno sound with warped video game pads and 'Paper Tigers' ends on an all-out peak time gem.
Review: Community minded eclecticists Neighbourhood continue their unifying work with the latest boundary-bender from label co-boss Birke TM. With each cut sitting in a different tempo territory, he paints a vivid picture. 'I Dream Of Jeannie' is a mid-paced 160 jungle breeze while 'Eden' is a classic atmospheric two-stepper that wouldn't have gone amiss on GLR back in the day. Flip for a tempo dip as both cuts on the B smoulder with slow beauty. 'Sanctuary' hits like a cosmic UR escapade while 'Never Lose Touch' bids us an emotional and heartfelt 150BPM farewell. Visionary.
Review: Legendary Bristol-based funk and breaks master Boca 45 is back with more of his battle-ready DJ tools. This 7" takes the form of a second volume of Tools on the Cold Beer Music label and it offers a brilliant brace of cut n' paste, surefire party starters and floor fillers. 'Kick That' has old school feels with classic piano chords from a certain Fatboy Slim tune that really will get the floor going mad. 'Unwind Your 909' taps into another iconic sample, this time from a sax, with break-neck breaks and plenty of chopped-up energy.
Review: Transmitting out of Australia and packing some serious Antipodean rave heritage in their collective bones, Boo-Boo, Mace & Nutcase return with some precision tooled rave wreckers for those who like their electro-techno fun and freaky. Boo-Boo (aka Andy Rantzen) and Mace (Paul McDermott) are perhaps best known for their work reaching back to the early 90s as Itch-E and Scratch-E, while Nutcase has plenty of behind the scenes credits to his name. On this collaborative release The veterans trip through gritty, low-rolling breakbeat and spiky, bleepy electro on 'Digital Rubber' and 'Hejaz' respectively, while Rudolf C delivers tweaked out version of 'Digital Rubber' that feel indebted to the freakier end of the rave spectrum.
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