Back in stock: Breakbeat

Review: The revered DJ Stephano delivers his signature unconventional style on this blistering new outing for Kiteforce and manages to skilfully blend and bend genres while maintaining a razor-sharp focus on fierce and innovative jungle beats. He is already well known for his unique use of samples and experimental formats, and again here Stephano manages to pay homage to old school jungle but also adds his own fresh twist. The result is Love, an EP packed with creative energy as well as plenty of clout for jungle heads old and new.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned sees producer Liam Howlett deliver a hook-ridden album that nods to the British rave scene with uninhibited bass and bleeps, but plenty of blazing guitars that maintain The Prodigy's bridge between rock and dance. Hollywood glamour shines with Juliette Lewis on standout track 'Hot Ride,' channeling PJ Harvey's energy. Lewis also appears on the opener 'Spitfire,' an alluringly sinister track. The Gallagher brothers bring aggression to the closing track 'Shoot Down,' with Liam on vocals and Noel on bass, showing Oasis's punk side. Howlett's battle with Kool Keith on 'Wake Up Call' and the exuberant 'Girls,' featuring disco-punks The Ping Pong Bitches, showcase The Prodigy's willingness to experiment. Fans might miss Keith Flint's ghoulish presence, but the album's flair remains strong. Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned is a storm of apt samples, grumbling percussion, and memorable riffs, reaffirming The Prodigy's place in the dance-punk genre.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Amon Tobin and Ninja Tune is always going to be a combination that produces very impressive results, and in the case of Out From Out Where that's nothing short of an understatement. Taking a break from its new techno direction, this is more along the lines of what the label used to be more focused on, delivering a wild ride through various iterations of electronic noise, touching on hip hop, disco, drum & bass, Arabesque and so much more besides.

Opening on the very rave-y dnb driver 'Back From Space', it's not long before the intensity eases, giving way to the darker, 115BPM breakbeats of 'Verbal' take hold. And by that point you're hooked. Cue a relentless stream of incredibly deep, atmospheric and effective tracks that call to mind the likes of Kruder & Dorfmeister, Coldcut and other luminaries of varied synthesised stuff.

Review: Ilian Tape co-founder Dario Zenker has consistently served up some of the label's best releases and now he goes long on this double album, Reflection. He calls it "a reflection through wild times channeled into 63 minutes of machine funk" and we call it 12 tracks of devastating techno on both an emotional and physical level. His tracks often fix with wispy synth lines that bring subtle light to the dusty drums and muggy atmospheres and on the likes of 'Da Conducter' he offers up thumping house with grainy lo-fi pads and muffled leads that hook you in deep. The vast rhythmic variation and switch-up in tempos and moods throughout this album is what keeps it so fresh.