Back catalogue: Drum & Bass / Jungle

Review: J:Kenzo is known more as a dubstep pioneer, but it's always refreshing to hear producers such as him break away from their pre-established style - in this case, the revolutionary sound is drum n' bass. 'Zegafunk' locks in four new heaters for Metalheadz (it's his debut for the legendary drum n' bass label), establishing a no-nonsense throwback to the earliest incarnations of jump-up and techstep, only repackaged for the present day. In the words of Metalheadz, there's a real classic feel to it, with the unendingly dystopian and robotic sound of late 90s drum n' bass shining through; 'Tiger Moth' and 'Kalibrate' are cases in point, with conveying moods of unswung menace and malicious awe.

Review: Forever flipping through the tempos and the styles, Artikal bossman and all-round legend J:Kenzo has the honour of being the launch artist on Alternate Recordings - a brand new label from longstanding Bristol party crew. Hot on the heels of his Metalheadz release, Kenzo keeps things d&b with both of these raffish, rugged cuts. 'RawZ' bashes and bumps in all the right places, aided by shimmering percussion and a sweet vocal stab placed at all the right moments. It's backed up by the sultry, sexy 'Typhoon' that flexes on a halftime groove for most of the track and features a smouldering vocal you'll instantly recognise. Stunning.

Review: There's just no stopping Vibez '93 at the moment - the Dutch jungle label is swimming in legit gear and sharing it with the world. We're still reeling from the anonymous Punkrocker and Self Aware EPs. This time around there are names on the plates, as four artists throw down in maximum style. Janaway is up first with the ragga jungle badness of 'Reaching Out', while InnaSelf brings some more introspective pads and synth touches to their amen trickery. Evasion weaves a plush tapestry of ragged breaks, dreamy vocal licks and atmospheric flourishes for a curly advanced slice of jungle perfection and then Cheetah rounds the record off with the truly snare-rushing 'Bunnin' Up'.

Review: As their superb name suggests, The Jazzassins make jazz tinged drum & bass. Never was that more apparent than on this silky new split 12" for Jazzsticks Recordings, which features Paul SG on the other side. His opener 'Kings Town' is a bubbly, reagge-laced rhythm with blasts of rapping bass and tumbling drums that demand you dance. He then offers 'Parts Of Me,' a harder edge stepper with big and icy hi hats. The Jazzassins for their part seduce with 'Evolution' and then get more edgy and artsy with the hopping 'Bawrley.'

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: Dead Dreams Don't Die Vol 1 is the first release from the new label Half Grand Records, which we're told will be focused on no-frills, raw talent electronic music. And so it proves on this split EP which brings together a diverse bunch of names. Nimam kick off with the jungliest breaks and fizzing future energy of 'Cilinger Slobs' before Jon Doppler mangels synth modulations and more airy breakbeats on his 'Feel Like.' On the flip, A Stantz brings the darkness with raw, frazzled electro stylings on 'Vags Ande' and Cracktros closes out with 'Deosil' which is a deeper techno cut with star-gazing synth leads.

Review: UKJ keeps the flame of old-school breaks and jungle afire with its latest four-track V/A 12", with contributions from label co-boss Junglord, Supa Ape, Sully, OmniRhythm and Simply Dread all in tow for the inflammatory sacrifice. Unlike your usual jungle, these four cuts verge on the insane, thanks to this label's commemorative grounding in the earliest days of jungle in its hardcore breaks and graff-adjacent days. We wager that back then, there was more room for experimentation before the "sound" got standardised and fetishised. Here's a cogent recollection of that time - a time of vocal one-shots, dramatic classical music samples and rave stabs, sure - but above all, just a generally wilder and more rapacious indulging of the promise of what was once called breakscience; Junglord's 'Ready For Retaliation' and Dread's 'Hard To Tell' tend towards UK hardcore on this front, ultrafast breaks-drilling and buzzsawing away, with glee.

Review: Dutch label Cat in the Bag builds on early momentum with a fourth EP, this time featuring label regards as well las newcomers. The main man Tommy The Cat takes care of the a-side with a brace of brilliant throwback jungle cuts. 'Purple Sky' pairs deep basslines and kinetic breakbeats with thoughtful pads and smeared cosmic ambiance that makes for something perfectly heady yet hard-hitting. 'Way Back When' is a brief but brilliant hip hop joint that you will want to last way longer than it does. Duburban & Jahganaut then bring the menace with a darting, ducking and diving d&b bomb steeped in classicism and newcomer Zoomie takes you into a world of deep hip hop beats with 'Time Travelling At The Speed Of Life.'