Review: The legendary Fokuz label outta the Netherlands hits a 110th release and opts for a selection of remixes from various artists. AirK & Cephei open up with 'Desire,' a slick roller with booming bass and epic synths. Break then comes through with tight remix of A2 Soligen & Type 2 's 'Can't Go' complete with expertly design hits. Break then goes it alone on the original 'Coming 4U' with its low end oscillations and closes out the EP back in remix mode. His take on 'What Are You' is a roaming, textural affair with twisted leads and flurries of toms.
Review: Drum & bass giants Hospital Records get involved with this year's Record Store Day by serving up a limited white vinyl that also serves as further 25th anniversary celebrations. This is on top of the huge 25 rack album that came back in March and features a load more essential remixes, reworks, VIPs and covers of NHS drum & bass classics. Together they serve as a fine snapshot of the label's past, present and future with Camo & Krooked, S.P.Y, Kings Of The Rollers, Lynx, Think Tonk, Kessler, Villem and The Caracal Project all coming correct.
Review: The Time Is Now label single-handed ushered in a new era of garage if you ask us. That was a few years ago but the label continues to lead from the fort here with a new EP from Samurai Breaks & Napes who make their label debut in explosive fashion. They are skilled studio talents who are nudging at the boundaries of the current UK bass sound and here they hybridise bassline, jungle and garage. You won't easily be able to fit these into one stylistic box but they will do damage on the floor, from the ghetto restlessness of the opener to the manic melodies of 'Correct Technique' and onto the turbocharged 'FrogMob'. Thrilling stuff.
Review: Swedish d&b pioneer Seba continues to roll out more reissues from his Secret Operations label vaults, taking back over 15 years to some of his most career-defining work. The swaggering opener 'Your Deepest Love', the ice cold finale piece 'Legion' and the breath-taking 'Forever' all take us back to the mid-2000s (2006/7 to be precise) when Seba and his label really started to make their own independent mark in drum & bass. For good measure and balance he's also including 'Inkasso'. A little more recent in his discography at only eight years old, but just as hard hitting and timeless - Seba always hits the spot whatever era you find him at.
Review: Silent Force Records unleash a brand new series SFR Titans and its down to the mighty giant Sicknote to launch it. Naturally he tears the series a new one before it's even started. 'Craw' takes the lead as Sicky links with old mate and long-time collaborator Escher for some tense, emotional volatility. For 'Lates' on the B-side old Notey chops goes solo and takes us proper darkside. Think 'Angel Fell'-era Dilli with a slice of old Digital and you're in the right armshouse. Titanic.
Review: Man like Skeppy doing the gosh-darned thing! Swinging high from the Rubi rafters, his new label hits the 002 release with heavyweight charm and dark soulful panache. 'Rhubarb' is the dreamy cut of the bunch, easing us in gently with its gentle swirling strings, before 'Capsize' pushes us deep under the water with its robust murky militancy. Finally we have 'Foiled'. A classic minimal Skeppy set-up with a little nod towards the traditional jump-up sound, it's yet another open-and-shut case at the Rubi supreme court today.
Review: Random Rap Records offshoot Dinked 45 has hit gold with 'Happy (Hammond)', the first single in seven years from Chris Read and keyboardist Rob Barron's occasional So Much Soul Players project. As the title suggests, it's a cheeky and cheery Hammond funk reinvention of Pharrell Williams' classic which features Barron playing the famous melody - alongside a few wild solos - atop a sweaty, bass-heavy, breakbeat-driven dancefloor groove. It's a simple idea brilliantly executed all told and a guaranteed party-starter to boot. Over on the flip you'll find a slightly tougher, shorter 'Instrimental Mix' that cuts down the use of the melody in favour of elongated Hammond chords and more prominent beats, as well as a short 'Bonus Beats' drum track for DJs who like to get busy in the mix.
Review: Bay Area badness! Soeneido lets rip on his own Lotek imprint once again with four absolutely savage jungle cuts. Comprising pure drummage and slight elements of hardcore throughout, each cut hits hard and unapologetically. Those looking for a little mystic charm and space should head for the A where 'Midori' and 'Choose The Sword' err on a deeper, eerie touch while those on a hunt for pure breakbeat adrenaline should flip for the wild industrial drums of 'Ninja Hunter' and the heavyweight finale 'Noon Saibot'. Blimey.
Review: Sonic Deadline AKA Party Force AKA Eyeski AKA Master Editor boils up the Hard Boiled machine once again with an eggsellent four-tet of rave fizzers. Strictly vinyl, all four cuts slap with a playful housey hardcore edge. 'Memories Of Blue' is a proper Dred Bass style springy breaks cut with mega scratches galore and 'My Feelings Can't Explain' shows some seriously twisted Saturday loving (if you catch our drift) Meanwhile on the B: 'Road To Nowhere' takes us into a darker state of emotional consciousness while 'Our Mind Was Trapped' closes with a big bouncy, hands-in-the-air hoorah. Times up.
Review: Submorphics deals in a unique sound: lo-fi drum n' bass. Yes, what was once reserved for a new style house can definitely be abstracted into other genres, contrary to what the less open-minded among us would have you believe. 'Verona Highway' is just that: working in old soulful house samples and self-recorded highpassed radio synths, the Netherlands-based artist works in a serene palette of sounds to convey a drum n' bassy idea of a late night Detroit to Chicago road trip aesthetic.
Seba & Bjorn Berglund - "Diamonds" (feat Samuel Lancine) (4:38)
Public Beauty (5:34)
Seba & Blackeye - "Thoughts Run Free" (5:58)
Progression (6:41)
Review: Back to 2022! Seba reissues his third album Ingaro on this beautifully presented and precision-pressed yellow vinyl box set. With four 12"s, all 10 cuts get generous wax space and sound amazing as a result. Especially highlights such as the Spirit-like super charge of 'Sequence 5', the cosmic jungle thrust of 'Outer Worlds', the powerful and provocative 'Thoughts Run Free' with Rupture legend and killer MC Blackeye. And that's just for starters; the Bjorn Berglund-collaborated and Samuel Lancine-fronted downtempo cut 'Diamonds' is a sense-arresting moment and the dreamy finale 'Progression'. Seba, we salute you.
Review: Time to stare right in the eye of Jupiter again as the legendary and un-accidental hero Sonic rolls out his fourth solo studio album Embers on wax. Previously dropping LPs on the likes of Western Lore and Sneaker Social Club, this one comes courtesy of check-on-sight fringe fusionists Yuku and it draws heavily on his roots in the jungle / hardcore primordial soup in the most exciting creative ways. Big synth blasts and steamroller drums ('The Holy Breaks'), ominous tension and rising drama ('Fatal Crash Test') and the all-essential de-climatising end-of-journey meltdown ('The Shadow & The Light') A stunning Sonic trip in all the right ways.
Review: This special anniversary edition of Squarepusher's debut album Feed Me Weird Things is released almost exactly 25 years to the day after the original. Back then it came on Aphex Twin's now defunct Rephlex label and has not been available on streaming platforms ever since. All remastered from the original DATs and with a new, original booklet filled with note and ephemera it is an essential cop for fans old and new. The record broken out of the tight genre restrictions of the time to pair complex rhythms with disarming melodies.
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