Back catalogue: Drum And Bass

Review: There's lots to get your teeth stuck into on this new and blistering collection of electro from Adepta Editions. And don't let the title fool you - it's not all accessible summer festival fare, in fact none of it is. It is all head down and serious tackle. 7053M4R14's '4 N3W HUM4N' is a driving, dark, visceral sound with raw breakbeats powering through the cosmos. Rec_Overflow offers a moment to catch your breath with some slower, dubby rhythms on 'Pocket Dial' and Pauk explores twitchy future synths capes and post-human transmissions on 'Shiawasena Fukushu'. Promising/Youngster shuts down with a sense of optimism and hope with the airy melodies and slithering electro drum patterns of 'Arbey.'

Review: 'Perfect' by Mason is one of those tunes whose melody everybody knows, but few, save for the timeliest of Eurodance heads, can recall the name of off the top. Later rehashed alongside American rapper Princess Superstar, the track invaded the Western collective cochlear cortex circa 2005, whence its plucky drive-lead roused dancefloors and iPod shuffles the world over; an eerily engineered earworm arising seemingly out of nowhere. This reissue from Armada hears a comprehensive set of interpretations from various EDM giants in the years after its release, perhaps motivated by the track's use in the 2023 film Saltburn. Aside from a David Guetta re-up, the 1991 pop-d&b is a sleeker slew of ultrafast beats, as though the original's distinctive pluck line had been pre-primed for shelling at faster velocities.

Review: The second release from Alex Egan's Utter sub label Quoth finds a link-up between Pearl River Sound and The Horn - two outlier operators with plenty to say when their machines collide. Pearl River Sound has been scattering outstanding releases on Further, Seagrave and Further Electronix amongst others, while The Horn comes from serious Devon techno heritage having cut his teeth on Evolution back in t'day. This is all about upfront material though, with a tendency towards microtonal braindance that veers from the self-explanatory collaboration 'Modular Grime' to solo forays into off-kilter, acidic electro funk. Nowhere near as derivative as a lot of current braindance, this is real freaked-out electronics for those with discerning taste.

Review: Brighton imprint Furthur Electronix continues full steam ahead with its prolific output this year, and it's a big week for them. Alongside a great EP by Aussie Lou Karsh, we have this new one by Greek producer George Kontogiannidis aka Pera Sta Ori, who has racked up some impressive releases thus far on Musar, Brokntoys and Yellow Machines. As on previous works, the Sick Apian EP further explores Kontogiannidis' love of classic UK rave sounds. For instance A side cut 'Antio Zoi (TGRCCC)' utilises pitch shifted hardcore breaks underpinned by a dystopian electro atmosphere. Over on the flip, its '95 all over again on the breakneck junglist stepper 'Xypna' followed by the complex and hypnotic riddims of 'KodS0520 Fyllorroo'.

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: Taking off where her debut album Spurn Point left us in 2014, musical innovator and serial boundary blurrer Shelley Parker returns with another long playing adventure. Her debut on Hypercolour, it's another immersive and very fluid experience that rattles through a whole range of flavours and forms. From the slower hardcore breakbeat style cuts like 'Glisten' and 'Cage' to more up tempo fires like the dubbed out 'Scrubs Lane' and the rampant sci-fi sizzler 'Coldstream' by way of raw, uncompromised experimentalism like 'Deluge' and 'The Faun', Wisteria is another exciting reflection of Shelley's wider work as an installation artist and sound performer. Highly recommended

Review: U Know Me present a fresh, modern object of intrigue, with Balance Remixed, which takes Pepe's 2023 album of the same time and makes it over into another full-length vinyl only release, throwing back to the days of vinyl only DJ sets, which were necessitated by technological limitation alone. DJ BLIK, Envee, Molehead, Riffz, Tropiki, true.dat, and TVB top up Pepe's original house, funk and disco blend with a brasher bass bisque, mastered and masterminded by cyborgish music titan Eprom. Spanning ever bassy tempo-set from 87 bpm to 164, we've a thrilling range of momentums here.

Review: Phatness is new and so-far anonymous side project from two producers based in the Swedish capital and who have connections to soundsystem culture through Trensum Tribe, Soft Pace and Otonos. This is their debut outing and it's a fresh blend of original jungle infused with inspiration from a wide world of sounds. There are tropical but physical sounds like 'Diplomatico Dub' packed with smart effects, minimal head spiders like the sci-fi styled '$nkt Erik Jamboree' and experimental vignettes such as 'Olearie$ Dub' with well-worked vocals and snaking basslines. It's colourful, unusual, and perfect for late-night sessions.

Review: Photek's masterpiece for the new millennium Solaris catches a repress on Proper recordings. From propulsive, metro-setting opener 'Terminus' to the elegiac, trouble-in-paradise closing synth meditation 'Under The Palms ', Rupert Parkes casually shakes off all expectation with a flurry of infectious head boppers channeling everything from the fragmentary half-step of the nascent broken beat stylie- read: 'Juno' (sic), to the snarling Valve-era techstep of Dillinja and Lemon D on 'Infinity' via Larry Heard's late 90s deep lounge leanings on the peerless 'Mine To Give' (note the similarity in artwork with Heard's Genesis). Solaris is very much a product of its time, the highest praise possible given the early 00s was one of the most amoebic and fluid periods in UK dance music history. It speaks to the undying british dancefloor tendency to allide tempo and atmosphere, casually felling boundaries in genre to create something as reverential as it is innovative. Classiq.

Review: It's finally here! Pola & Bryson's fourth studio album Overgrown has been building up hype and suspense since 'Phoneline' called us up and whispered sweet nothings into our ears way back in 2023. Over time they've been hammering out the anthems ('Stampede', 'Listen', 'Want It', 'Falling 4 U', the list goes on) and now it's time for the whole package. Featuring an epic range of collaborators from Break to Charli Brix to Goddard to MPH, this is the sound of a headline dnb act really taking their sound to the highest places they can. From the endlessly rising chords and powerful sense of hope on 'The One I Need' to the grizzly dancefloor melter 'This Chance' to the chugging dancefloor / technoid romp 'Magic', the message is clear... The world is Pola & Bryson's and we're mere ravers on its dancefloor. Massive album.