Back catalogue: Drum And Bass

Review: No matter your particular preference in the deep house world, this various artists' outing from Q1E2 Recordings is sure to have something for you. Mike Riveria & Marco Ohboy, for example, tap into an early sound on 'Euphoria' with its big, brash piano stabs and whistles, while A Soft Mist Production keeps it all cuddly and deep with languid chords draped over gentle drums on 'Upside Down Rainbows.' DatSIM brings in some space-tech vibes for a deft rhythm and neon infused sound on 'Influx' and The Rabbit Hole's 'Tail Groove' has a mad double bass sound jumping about beneath frantic jungle breaks.

Review: Furthur Electronix's first two Furthur Journeys Into compilations tune plenty of heads and shift plenty of copies. The third one keeps the quality levels high with more explorations around the periphery of underground electronics. Chris Coco opens with a soothing synth sound before Jake Slazenger brings crystalline synths and abstract modulations to the mid-tempo '168B.' There is more pace and twisted acid energy to Global Goon's untitled contribution and then old school jungle comes to the fore on the super stylish and atmospheric Gavin Masih cut. Monika Subrtova's 'Alata' is a serene and widescreen ambient synthscape that brings things to a suitably poignant close.

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: 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: Repress! Myriad have been cooking up beefy bits this year with Madcap's 'Heaven' EP and the recent remix collection with Loxy, Villem, Nectax and T-Cuts last month but now time to reflect on earlier releases as their second 12" gets a reissue and we're reminded of how sweet that classic sample-based liquid sound can be when it's cooked right. 'Shine' lives up to its name and you can hear both Furney and Madcap shining in it... Furney's ability to roll out for days and Madcap's punchy breaks both hitting all the right spots. 'Thursday Nite Club' is a little more blended. Deep jazzy cosmic overtones but a big old subby undertone. Could fit anywhere from a film noir score to a 2 Bad Mice set. Myriad vibes.

Review: Okbron Records carry out the divine task of reformatting an early yet rare Micky Finn and Aphrodite tape cut onto vinyl. 'AWOL' is a clever pun, serving as an acronym for both the wartime connotations of the phrase "absent without leave", and the spiritual paths implied in the phrase A Way Of Life, which also happened to be a leading early jungle night that produced multiple Micky Finn tape packs recorded in East London. 'AWOL' and 'Dark Selector' have likely existed for decades, serving as lost tunes from the rough point in time when Finn and Aphrodite laid down their timeless Takeover Bid mix for Mixmag. Packed with funk licks and gulping basses, all tunes heat the dancefloor stovetop in no time.

Review: Vibez '93 top up their relatively rare named artist series with a new one from Minos and Just Mack, two furtive and undersung artists whose collaborative efforts here move through an insane heat. Minos takes on the two establishing A-siders with 'Phantasm' and 'Roadblock', scoping out most of the midrange in favour of two hellish extravaganzas of plumb bass and mitre-saw breaks decapitations. The Just Mack collabs bring up the B-side, and move relatively dreamier and wildernessy, though they're not without their militant breaks focus; 'Run That Choon' is especially pitch-happy on the sample cutup, twisting and wringing the break out to high asphyxial heaven.

Review: Repertoire presents Modal's debut vinyl release on the label. A four-track barrage of hardened metallic artillery fire, this staccato collection includes fitting collabs with various Metalheadz alumni as well as a fresh London scene faces, bringing a traditionally informed yet equally fresh flummoxing to the fore. 'Thieves' and 'Heads Or Tails' complement each other in an unlikely fashion, the former sounding like the many grappling hooks and rifles extensible from the armour plated chassis of an urban Evangelion gone rogue; the latter contrasts this with serene, inner-city-downbeaten femme vocals over soft air raid sirens and breaks-embedding Reeses. Collaborative onslaughts emerge on the B, with Jaise backing up killer sound design on 'Strangers' and Double O gobsmacking with some classic rufige.

Review: New York-based minimal electronica artist Brendon Moeller takes cues from drum & bass and lowercase on his latest record for ESP Institute. Like a sonic Hockney painting, just six generous tracks span a curtly two sides on 12", as classy deluges marry with designer percs, conspiring to make a large but radially controlled splash. Every experiential stylistic base Moeller has passed so far, such as IDM or ambient dub, is revisited and checked off, and combined to form a wet emulsion here. 'Vibrations', the highlight of ours, pays special attention to fricative, stimulant audio-exploits in the sound design, with its synthetic mid-claves and potent rubber basses sounding like the reflex responses it predicts and expects from us. No wonder ESP liken the entire record to one big tingling sensation.

Review: Samurai Music has always dealt in sophisticated sounds across the drum & bass spectrum. That has been true for almost 17 years now and 100 vinyl releases and to mark that milestone the label has curated a series of killer various artists' EPs. Each one does a fine job of reflecting the eclectic yet coherent output of the label. This one kicks off with dub techno figurehead Brendon Moeller exploring languid jungle rhythms on 'Walking On Glass', then takes in the double time bass power of The Untouchables, ambient drift of Ancestral Voices and future mean of the broken beats of Last Life.

Review: Future Retro continue rebooting recent history with these repress and it's great to see the demand for high grade timeless jungle music. Especially this one. The enigmatic Mr Sensei and the bossman himself go toe-to-toe on two very different breakbeat workouts. 'Strictly Ragga' goes full foundation with a very thick subby mixdown and layers of percussion. 'FM Dial', meanwhile, goes much more contemporary. Militant cuts and hits but bags of space and sudden twists. With Kid Lib on collab duties, too, some argue it's one of the most powerful tracks FR have ever blessed us with.

Review: Wipeout XL was a game changer for electronic music, video games and the marriage of the two and it no doubt, inspired legions of fans of both throughout the last 25+ years. This adrenaline-charged album - inspired by the iconic series - delivers six high-energy tracks, each contributed by two artists known for their mastery in electronic music, immersing listeners in a fast-paced, futuristic anti-gravity racing adventure. With thunderous breaks, atmospheric jungle rhythms and liquid drum & bass, the album captures the essence of 90s and Y2K video game soundtracks, while evoking the smooth vibes of artists like LTJ Bukem, Peshay and Soichi Terada. Each artist brings their own flair, contributing three tracks each to the limited-edition LP, which comes housed in a heavyweight 350gsm sleeve designed by the legendary junkboy, creative director at Mojang Studios. The vibrant artwork perfectly complements the album's energy, creating a visual and auditory experience that transports listeners to another world. Following a string of successful releases, this album offers a turbo-charged, nostalgic escape for fans of synthwave, jungle and drum & bass, while also appealing to those who cherish the golden age of video games.

Review: Brilliantly described as a label outfit specialising in "N/Ambient", A Strangely Isolated Place welcome the very next LP from equally brilliant music production singularity Monoparts. Trip hop, dubstep and ambient collide on the Polish duo's spiffing debut, which suffered a brief period of production hell and remained accursedly unreleased for years. With Olga Wojciechowska (Scanner, Infinite Distances) on vocals and Tomasz Walkiewicz on production, the pair make an earthbound, rustic statement here, likening the record to the process of "becoming one with the earth itself - feeling the rawness of the wood, tasting the earth in your mouth, and sensing the presence of ancient spirits." As of a manic vision, forest eidola and erl-kings do indeed seem to appear as we play back the opener 'Abandoned Woods', with its fantasy birdsong and lullabying bell sounds scored over pinball drums. 'Invisible Body' murkifies the vibe with filtered snares and breathwork vocals, while latter-record treats such as 'My Reality' and 'Scattered Parts' hark back to an organic era in ambient dubstep, where producers like Jan Amit and Asa ruled the roost as foregrounders of foley sounds for use as drums.