Back catalogue: Drum And Bass

Review: On a mission to "make d&b great again", Finland's Straight Up Breakbeat pass through once more with the second of three EPs formed to showcase modern junglism. Kicking off, 'Mystery Machines' sees Glastonbury's Dead Mans Chest slam down some deadly amen choppage reinforced by haunting vocal FX and paranoid drones. Aeon Four & FFF's 'Look Inside' is a jungle-tekno roller, served with chunky hardcore style amens and a side of warm old-skool pads. Keeping the mid-90s vibe alive, the tripped out 'Green Fields Forever ' from Fanu - which drops hot on the heels of his greatly received remaster of Source Direct's 'Stars' - delivers airtight amen trickery, weaving synth washes and blissful dubby basslines. Esc & Mineral round things off with 'Photosynthesis', a pensive stepper highlighting cut-up breaks waltzing with cheeky synth nudges and a wide, rugged bassline. If the pioneers had buried some beefed-up tracks in a time-capsule to inspire future generations, they would probably sound a lot like 'States of Art II'.

Review: The proverbial 'Soundboy Killa' is an enduring trope in soundsystem culture at large, referring to the apparently inherent enmity and villainy of the turntablist. Said to have originated in the days of system clashes, the assassin in question presumably refers to the opposing MC, whose barraging verbiage may pack enough semiotic punch to K.O. the opposition through mere utterances alone. Here Natty Campbell and the Freestylers pay tribute to the theme as progeny of the 90s big beat scene; having come up in the age of Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers, the supergroup first faced off in a whirl of tricky dub and armour-plated cold cuttage, dispatching two honorary tracks in the style of each artists' respective greatest scene-hitters: Dub Pistols' 'Cyclone' and Freestylers' 'Roughneck'. Now 'Soundboy Killa' and 'Jump On It' in turn hear a remix from Allergies and Guadi & Don Letts, the latter of which is especially experimental in its use of a peaky, 2-step shuffle.

Review: Founded by Coventry rave pioneer Neil Trix back in 1992, alongside Gavin Watton, FBD Project were right in the thick of that neon coloured explosion betwixt jungle, rave and hardcore at the time. Rampant on the techno but just big on the emotionals, they caught the right balance between euphoria and energy, especially on these three untitled tracks. Nameless 32 years ago and nameless now, each of these tracks hits the dance with the right balance of mischief, tension and futurism. For badboy DJs.

Review: True to the name, FFF's releases do tend to make us teeter on the edge of profanity, inciting us to utter a hearty "FFF...!" whenever one of his pre-drop seatbelt warnings is sounded. With what sounds like a copyright lapsed, twilight zoney TV sample musing on the terror of true freedom kicking off the opener 'No Holds Barred', we're inducted into a true blue jungle asepsis here, with an unstoppable, untainted 808s extending over both tracks, full time and halftime alike. Only the breakbeats on the A singe the mix to the point of well done break steak, where the track's atmospheres are otherwise clean and twinkly; FX's remix, on the other hand, hovers dirtily and indubitably between jungle techstep and trip-hop, delivering a consciousness expanding mind mutator.

Review: Drum & bass bastion Future Retro consign two next-gen producers, FFF and Tim Reaper, to a full ten minutes of raggatonic shell-shockage. Both try their hand at the now-rare 'VIP' treatment (the acronym stands for Variation In Production, but how this differs to the term "remix" is truly up in the air, save for the fact that VIP often means "self-remix" or "remix by original artist"). Following 2024's 'Meeting Of The Minds' VIP release, which followed the same format, Reaper notes the two tracks' creation in April 2020, made from parts of the other artists' original tunes. 'World Championships' by the pair of them is the variable tune of choice here, with Reaper's version providing a glimmery ambience, while FFF's is much stodgier, rougher, less padded.

Review: If you like your drum & bass hardcore then add this one to the basket immediately. It's a banging fifth outing from the Oldschool Shoes crew that comes in the form of a three-way collaboration between Flex Luthor, Msymiakos and Riffz. Opener '777' is brain-fryingly intense with a barrage of rusted drums, snares and drilling baselines all set to explore any set. 'Abyss' keeps the pressure on with more manic drum programming and 'Ripples' then explores more stripped back but no less kinetic patterns. 'Delayed Response' shuts down with thrillingly dark soul.

Review: Forest On Stasys takes the plunge here and launches a new label, Aura Sonora, which debuts with a hugely limited and high-quality new 12" from the boss. The imprint will be "a platform designed for sound experimentation" and the first missive backs that up with a great blend of drum & bass, half-time and techno. 'Magnetismo' is a prickly opener with slippery rhythms underpinned by bold bass. 'Domo' is a darker sound with menacing low ends and prickly percussive patterns while 'Sideral' is another late-night prowler with low sling sounds, eerie atmospheres and a real sense of futurism. A great start to life for Aura Sonora.

Review: One of the most interesting artists to have emerged from the Czech and Slovak based crossbreed movements that dominated the first decade of the century on the harder side of d&b, Forbidden Society has evolved and morphed with the times to a much deeper, emotionally-wrought but still hard-assed sound. This seventh studio album (released on Noisia's iconic Vision imprint) is the best version of his fusions so far. From the dark industrial strength dubstep swagger of 'Wish' to the sci-fi hurricane of cuts like 'Deception' and 'Reaching Zero', this is an incredible body of work from an impressive and unique craftsman.