Juno Recommends Drum & Bass: March 2023

Review: In 2021, the UK's most dedicated publisher of dance music-oriented oral histories, Velocity Press, unleashed Who Say Reload, a comprehensive look-in to the origins of drum n' bass in the 1990s - from its inception as an emerging trace of breakbeat hardcore by DJs such as Fabio & Grooverider, all the way through to latter-day incarnations such as jazzstep and techstep. The book is among the cream of many that have recently jostled for the pole position as 'the' book on drum n' bass. To cement their claim, now comes a new compilation of many of the seminal tracks to feature in the book's 'significant releases' segment. Volume one here, one part of two 12" records, features scene-defining bangers from the likes of Omni Trio, DJ Tamsin, Origin Unknown and Slipmatt.

Review: Following his recent slew of slap-abouts on Requisite Music, man like Friske returns to the Metalheadz mothership with 'Supplier'. Four cuts deep, each one charging us into the future with hands off the wheel and no seatbelt on, 'Supplier' sees Friske tapping into his Renegade Hardware roots with uncompromised and unabashed technoid fusion. Highlights include the deep space bass and industrial drums of the title track, the jazzier introspection of 'Street Lights' and the brute force of 'Bad Influence'. Take it higher with 'Supplier'.

Review: We are gathered here today to celebrate the holy matrimony of our souls with the dancefloor. United by a 'Love So True' for reaching for the lasers, leaping around like a fool and grinning like a cat who hasn't just got the cream but owns an entire cream conglomerate... We shall never be parted. Certainly not as long as Prayer continues to make music like this. Stunning, undiluted rave sounds with all the twinkles and rushes we've inherited from our 90s ancestors, this vinyl version of his 2022 release contains a whole new testament of cuts. Joining the stompy 'Reflection', the dreamy 'More Than I Could', the uncut rave gospel of 'Take It Easy' and 'A Love So True' are four more belters such as the triumphant 'Love Fantasy' and the emotional 'No One left'. Elevating the original EP into more of a mini album, this is an outstanding dispatch from the Hooversound crew.

Review: Well, we don't know anything about the artist behind this second EP from the As We Enter label. Presumably, it comes from the bosses given that they rower under that same time, and beyond that all we have is the music: it's a rich drum & bass outing that fuses past, present and future sound. 'Da Licence' is a full-on cut with dusty breaks and sci-fi bleeps, then 'Fallen' really stands out with its silky metal lines and bottomless subs. There are then two restless percussive workouts in 'Kalima' and 'Velvet Space' on the flip. Whoever you are, keep it coming.

Review: Lenzman's North Quarter label continues to represent for a particular strain of crisp, moody but broadly appealing D&B, and they're welcoming back London-based Freddie Dixon for another EP mere months after the collab 12" with Satl. There's loads to catch a hold of on this record, not least the rabble-rousing 'Mama Told Me' featuring Hella spitting bars over a moody slice of neuro. 'Shawn Kemp' is a taut workout which teases peaks and troughs of intensity around a razor sharp lead line, while 'Double Drizzle' gets a little wobbly in the upper mids for a peak-time mid-set roller. 'Sails' rounds things off on a sentimental tip, letting FD's melodic instincts take the reins with stunning results.

Review: Bournemouth institution Drumfunk launch a brand new foundation-flavoured imprint Junglefunk. Bossman Judda takes the lead with a hardcore jungle edge. 'Damn Right!' is a concentrated headbutt of hardcore elements tightly wrapped up in a positive affirmation; big detuned stabs, rusty breaks and hypey vocal samples. 'Let Me Tell U' touches more on the ravey elements with pitched up vocals and more focus on the riff. Damn good.

Review: BCee and Villem's Vanguard Project returns for the first time in 2023 and it's a full-range assault of the d&b loving senses. 'Adoration' is a gentle opener and almost Balearic in its guitar plucking charm. It's in good company - 'Isolation Station' keeps it jazzy and vibey, 'Just The Ticket' takes us back to the late 2000s/early 2010s Brookes Brothers sound while 'Sticky' plunges us deeper into the underground, rolling deep sound. Adorable.

Review: San Francisco based noise-rock titans, Kowloon Walled City, return with arguably their strongest output to date in the form of the obliterating, 'Piecework'. Slipping directly into the cavernous cracks between doom and sludge metal, yet approached with a post-hardcore mindset; these hefty pieces convey a despairing ethos not necessarily akin to their brand of trudging anguish. Cathartic, dissonant and emotive, the sum of their discordant parts culminates in a wearisome fusion with plenty of ethereal space left for the arrangements to swell and breathe. Part noise-punk/part sludgy slowcore, few projects within these scenes war with their own dynamism in such fervent fashion.

Review: Zero T's 4th album is a conceptual Drum n Bass marriage with legendary high-tech pianist ONJ, who has been on the cutting edge of music equipment for over 20 years. The 2 are returning once again for another release on The North Quarter, expanding the pair's 2 track EP 'Everyday Struggles' into a full-length project. Zero T pulls once again from Jazz influences, paired with his bright and expansive breakbeats. The amen breaks on tracks like 'Twenty Three' and 'Some Type of Way' meld with the jazz piano and saxophone riffs perfectly, broken up by lo-fi interludes, even a lounge piano portion on side D with 'Expendable'. Kilburn is an authentically British union of two polar opposite genres, and yet it just works so well. It's got to be heard to be believed.

Review: Just whisper the names Loxy and Resound in a 10 mile vicinity of any jungle drum & bass fan and you'll have them rippling in goosebumps. Throw in a murmur of Skeppy and you've got a very stimulated situation. Such is the case with this outstanding slab of previously unreleased dubs from the three men involved. Some dating back quite a few years now, they all hit with timeless energy and dynamics. 'The Ebony Blade' is a classic bone rattling percussive affair, 'Psyche Remix' goes straight for the body blow with frantic hip-wriggling results while 'Mordu' brings untold levels of drama with its sudden splash from dubby minimal to percussive maximal. Finally we have the bass-heavy slammer 'Lik Walls' which has been a secret weapon for Loxy, Resound and Skeptical for so long it's criminal. Stone cold classics!

Review: There are some seriously heavyweight and well respected names from the world of drum & bass on this gorgeous EP from Footnotes. First up is the legendary mic man that is Manchester's DRs, then fellow Mancunian Tyer Daley appears in a project aside from his hip-hop collaboration Children of Zeus, and then Calibre is on the beats. 'I Remember' is simply perfect if you like soulful drum & bass rollers with proper piano chords, vulnerable vocals and longing grooves. On the flip, 'Too Late' (feat LSB) is another one to melt the heart with its silky smooth bass and pensive chords.

Review: Eusebeia continues to tread his own unique little path within the Samurai Music world. His debut Fall Then Rise was a fine one here and this follow-up builds on that with four more effortlessly stylish and deep cuts. 'Auspice' opens up with dark and sinister sonics that snake around hefty drums and from there 'Omen' ramps up the pressure with more edgy and textured breaks, darting bass and cavernous sonics. 'Indicia' slows down to a dubbed-out and stoner vibe and 'Signs & Signals' is a warm and inviting yet menacing cut that pairs precision breaks with old-school hustle.

Review: Shogun Audio's limited edition black series is back with more of that addictive 12" crack. This is an eighth volume of their Shrunken series and another classy various artists affair. GLXY get things rolling, literally, with their soulful roller 'New Soul' complete with meditative vocals. Koherent's 'Endless Haze' is another beautifully deft and deep drum & bass seducer with angelic vocal hints and Linguistics, Dogger & Mindstate then come through with the optimistic chords and mindful bars of 'Change' feat Blind Mic. Gest leaves a darker taste with the more tense 'Shame.'

Review: Dub-Liner and Prizm link-up for two timeless breakbeat missives on Jungle Cats. 'Journey Within' takes us on a cosmic, dreamy exploration with a twinkling arpeggio, dreamy pads and walloping dubby bass. Meanwhile on the flip 'Bewildered' is a much darker, piece where full focus is fixed on the bellowing sub bass and the precision breaks and breakdown into a classic sample all ravers will recognise (and consequently melt to). Very cool for Cats.

Review: Following his series of self-releases, Last Life returns to his spiritual home Samurai with four brutalist slabs of drum pressure. Sitting somewhere deep in the jungle/techno hinterlands, each cut brings drama and an edge that's designed to raise the blood pressure and stir feels deep inside. The intensity and pneumatic relentlessness of 'Elements' and the intergalactic tribalisms of 'Incubus' are two particularly impressive highlights but trust when we tell you the whole EP kicks hard. We swear on our last lives.

Review: Neurofunk was always an enviable art, but for far too long it remained in the strict purview of artists deserting pop drum n' bass - and in turn trying to prove who was the cleverest sound designer on the scene. En Vy's new EP for Critical Music signals we've had an attitude change; this is 'neurofunk' that approaches the sound from a much more measured stance, swapping out all the crazed sound design turns and out-of-place Reese womps for more meditative and critical musicianship. The EP shows off a good ear for subgenre knowhow; 'UFO' has a jump-up feel to it that is nonetheless nicely skippy and pure, while 'Beautiful Dreamer' is by far the standout - with dreamy vocals compelling a tonal lead rhythm to produce an overall sub-heavy dream-vibe.

Review: Tommy The Cat's never-ending rave renaissance mission continues with the latest edition of the Oldschool Shoes series on his label Cat In The Bag. This time he invites over good friends Sam C and Riffz for some pretty mesmerising breakbeat magic. Sam C takes us into deep space with the highly cosmic 'The Return Of The Space Invader' while Riffz gets a little more playful with his springy breaks, mischievous ravey synth blast and dubby jungle elements. Hardcore, you know the score.

Review: Senses has been away from production for a while but now makes a welcome return. He was a pioneer back in the 2000s with drum lead styles that came on top labels like Bassbin and Inperspective. Here he shows his skills remain very much intact with an EP featuring some signature sounds: 'Pharaway' is a smooth roller with balmy pads and silky breakbeats. There is a more brooding atmosphere to the amens of 'Fatal Fountain' with its crunchy textures while 'Different Wax' layers up liquid chords with stiff drum loops. 'Starry Eyed' is our favourite with its sultry sax lines drifting way up top.

Review: Hotline Recordings has you pressing all the right buttons with another devastating deep dubstep outing. This one is from Cardiff boy Quartz and has all the classic genre hallmarks next to some fresh new perspectives. 'Black Decay' rides menacing bass and crispy hits with some jungle fills and eerie sustained chords. 'Abstract' picks up the pace with a broken beat that rides over a booming bottom end with plenty of fizzing synth energy filling in the spaces and 'Pale Tongue' layers up tough drum patterns and dark warehouse vibes.

Review: Charli Brix has been one of the hottest voices in drum & bass for some time, which means a debut album has long been awaited by fans and critics alike. Finally, it arrives in the form of The Art of Change on Flexor Audio. It is an expansive and ambitious collection of sounds on transparent orange vinyl with some hefty collaborations. Visages & DRS appear on the opener for example and bring that pensive wordplay next to Charli's soaring soul. Elsewhere there are slow jams like 'Sometimes', neo-soul smoochers like 'Reminisce' liquid gold grooves like 'Afraid Of Love'. A loved up and feel-good long player for sure.

Review: Standby for another red hot drop from the emerging Parade label. This third outing is another surefire dance floor winner with some mad fusion sounds sure to amp up any crowd. 'Ready' is first up from the eponymous production team and it layers a Fugees vocal over a flurry of breakbeats and ragga vocals with a monstrous bassline powering it along. Carnage. 'Slippers' then flips the script completely mid-tune as a stoned dub gets spun back and flipped into another all-out raga jungle assault with an Underworld sample dropped in along the way.

Review: First there was Machines, then there was Rituals, now comes Enei's third album Humans and it's quite possibly his best and most accomplished one so far. Flexing from all-out rave fire ('No Man', 'Acid Shot') to slinky heads-down bubblers ('Move In Silence') to purring soulful vibes ('Show Me') to percussive hypnosis hurters ('Falling') and back again via massive grizzly dancefloor blow-outs ('Calm'), the London-based Russian maverick has delivered a serious trip that keeps things 100% dancefloor, fully heavyweight, fully DJ friendly but totally sick to listen to as an album experience. Nine thumbs up.

Review: The irony is delicious! If there's one type of music that's incredibly hard to remain settled to, or feel down when it's being played, it's the type of timeless jungle breakbeat Settle Down is treating us to right here. 'Overgrown' is one of those magical cuts that both hits hard and oozes space and soul. 'London Jungle' meanwhile is a ruffhouse slammer that flexes heavily on the swinging breakbeats and grunting bass tones and is steeped in cool vocal cuts from the original birth of jungle culture. Huge respect to Settle Down!