Juno Recommends Drum & Bass July 2019

Review: Med School's travelling wilbury Etherwood delivers his first collection of originals since last year's album "In Stillness". Written on the road throughout summer 2018 in his van, each piece depicts an entirely fresh view that ranges from the azure waters and soft sand of "See The Sky" to much darker, tense rollers such as "Driving Out". Highlights include the soft introspection of "Clouds", the delicate pianos and meany moody bass groan on "Lulerain" and the skippy bliss of "Away From It All". Time to get lost...

Review: LSB returns with the third chapter in his Footnotes series. Four more originals spanning his stark, restrained style, the title track sums up the spirit perfectly; big strings, a classic rave vocal refrain and a dynamic that will melt your trousers. It's complemented by the much darker, tunnel technoid "Space Stepper", the metallic harmonies and salubrious future funk flare of "Do Your Thing" and the emotion-laden, introspective "Melrose". Get footloose for Footnotes...

Review: Oh gosh. Total Science ante up for the summer with this exceptional V/A EP on their CIA imprint. Kicking off with a crucial new remix of their classic "Nosher" by their new hybrid gang comprising of themselves, DLR and Hydro, full breadth and variation abounds as we dip into the gilded soul of Zero T & Phase's "Talk To Me", the gnarled grizzles and dubby danger of their own "Devils Gate" with Scar member Script and the grand finale; a heavyweight purring roller from two of the most respected newcomers in the game right now: Ill Truth and SATL. Each one a persy for different chapters of the night, any further information is classified.

Review: Hot on the heels of Phil:osophy's latest treasure trove comes another bounty of bliss from Artificial Intelligence's Integral. This time with old friends Zero T and longstanding vocalist Steo. "Can't Hide" is pure soul heaven; delicate layers of Steo's harmonies arranged softly over a spacious beat and lilting pianos, it's T and Steo at their most evocative and feel-heavy. "Make Time" kicks with more urgency as techno-like synths stab hypnotically, balanced by Steo's falsettos and gently rising instrumentation. Elsewhere the unstoppable Monty gives their evergreen 2016 soul-out "Too Close To See" a bittersweet twist. There's no hiding from this one.

Review: Prepare to fire! Skeppy's got a brand new cut and he's and everyone's allowed a cheeky buzz on it. Yes it's finally time to get your grubby paws on the long-awaited "Musket". One of the Exit Records artists' most divisive of tunes, unlike his darker deeper tackle it's a jaunty, spiky jump-up tune. Addictive, fun to mix and guaranteed to get the crowd all wound up, this has all the hallmarks of a festival D&B anthem this summer. Grab it while you can.

Review: Rupture regular Outer Heaven will tickle your inner badboy with this highly anticipated return to the underground nuclear bunker of UVB-76. Four tracks of solid dark sonic matter "The Last Men" takes the lead with a powerful percussive hook maintaining a marching sensation that breaks into momentary splashes of breakbeat chaos. It's backed up the three more equally disarming and trippy tracks. "Blemish" is a swampy drill laced cut with noxious harmonics, while "Still Waters" takes us into the murkiest two-steppy territories you might imagine. Finally "Trapline" shuts, locks and bolsters the front door with a pounding steppy rhythm that's coated in echoes and dubby warmth. Buckle up.

Review: Coco & The Ghost: sounds like a 80s cartoon, actually it's the project from broken beat polymath that Sonar's Ghost, Myor bossman and all-round Dutch jungle devil Coco Bryce. Both sides are as hot as each other; "Turn It Out" is pure sample joy with a dizzying breakbeat pay-off on the second drop while "Trillion Shekel Man" shakes its rump to some nicely shuffled loose rolling breaks, cheeky emcee samples and ice cold pads. What a pairing; this sums up where we're at with jungle right now, in the right hands.

Review: While he may have released a multitude of singles since making his debut on Metalheadz way back in 1995, "Full Circle" is only James Spratling AKA J Majik's second album (his debut full-length, "Slow Motion", was released in 1997). It's a fitting title, all told, because the majority of the ten tracks on offer recall the kind of punchy-but-dreamy jungle/early D&B fusion that marked out Spratling's earliest releases. That means a succession of killer cuts that wrap deep space chords, ambient synths and heady electronic melodies around bustling, jungle style breakbeats and booming, mind-altering basslines. It's a giddy, unashamed blast from the past, but one that's certainly in keeping with the D&B scene's current wave of misty-eyed nostalgia.

Review: After a short break, Mako's Utopia Music have fired into 2019 all guns blazing with two long-awaited Break cuts and an album from Hydro and War. This label debut from Belgian MZine continues the heat with necksnap stepper sessions that maintain Utopia's consistent quality. "Equate" is all about those throaty moans under a yearning desert call while "Croon (feat. Afya)" takes us much deeper into the machine's stomach so you can hear every acidic gurgle and croak. Flip for two more danger sessions: "Brinkman" is made of springs and laced with glacial pads while "Generis" closes the EP with a star-gazing cosmic touch. On-point.

Review: Dead Man's Chest on MYOR off-shoot Diamond Life... You already know what type of damage this is going to cause before you drop the needle don't you? "Drum Shanty" lives up to its name. Coming on strong like you're coming up during a Ratty or Tango set in '92, there's mentasms, classic sensual vocal samples, a whole smorgasbord of breaks and pads that can shave every hair off your body. "Blue Mountain" (quite possibly a reference to the legendary Stokes Croft venue) is a little more pranged out with its reversed elements, deep shadows between the elements and alien textures that are designed purely to dark you out. Yes you.