Drum And Bass charts

Review: Club Glow powerhouse and all-round Bristol bass-bin baiting badman Borai returns to his Higher Level label with three new drops of elevated breakbeat science. As well as his work alongside Denham Audio, L Major and Mani Festo in Club Glow, Borai has been busy landing uptempo slammers on Hardcore Energy, Vivid, E-Beamz and Infiltrate in the past couple of years, and he returns to home turf in peak shape.


The A-side lights up with the dizzying break-juggling ruffness of 'Lights On', a surefire call to squeeze the last juice from the party, while 'Bobbi' opens the B side treading an artful line between deep and depraved as immersive tones face off against taut, driving rhythms. 'Sargasso Sea' smooths the proceedings out good and proper in true B2 style with a pitched-down slice of soul-charged broken beat that smacks where it counts, Borai's established instinct for forward-facing melody shining through in the interplay between 90s keys, diva vocal samples and illustrious pads.

Review: The Craft Music label is back after a one year break with some fresh new cuts by resident Marco Lazovic. It's an EP inspired by the sound of the English club scene in the nineties and noughties, labels like Good Looking Records and artists such as Mike Millrain. Opener 'Losin Control' sure is a compelling mix of electro and breaks that soars on cosmic lines with euphoric vocals in the distance. 'Come To London' has a distinctly garage feel to it with its crisp broken beats and there is more high energy but melody-rich breakbeat action in 'Dark Gravity' while 'Space Jazzy' is s super sweet and deep jungle cruiser.

Review: DJ Fresh is a legend at this point. Whenever he drops new heat it is worth tuning in, especially when it's a 12" picture disc like this from Breakbeat Koas. The A-side is a collab with Buunshin. 'Dancing In the Dark' is a hardcore gem with pitched-up vocals and monstrous breaks over spin backs, raw bass and thrilling synth lacerations. Then comes an AMC Remix of DJ Fresh's 'Heavyweight' that is just that. It rides on silky breakbeats with a rising sense of tension that keeps you locked until the explosive bass and jump-up drum head to the level.

Review: Woi and indeed oi, V return to their vinyl-only Legends series where they dig deep into the vaults and pull out key dubplates that never saw the official release light of day. Key dubplates like these two big Bristol bruisers from DJ Die. Both written in 96, Die's Full Cycle rawness and innate sense of groovemanship is present and correct on both sides - the jazzier, busier work-out 'Capers' and the heavier, stripped-back 'Inside' which you can imagine was made in response to some of the game-changing sounds Krust was making at the time. Legendary business.

Review: There is a mix of old-school dons and new-school talents from all over the world here, each adding their own unique spin to Goldie's timeless. It's a record that remains a drum & bass benchmark, but also one of the most seminal in all of electronic music. The man behind it celebrated its anniversary last year with various different projects and now follows that up by handpicking a selection of remixes to take his most treasured material. Searchlight, aka Irish drum and bass producers ZeroT and Beta2, are signed exclusively to Goldie's Fallen Tree 1Hundred label and bring some lush jazz and broken beats to 'State of Mind' and later 'Sensual' while Metalheadz tastemaker J Kenzo brings dark, minimalistic and tribal sound to his Tribute remix of 'Jah'.

Review: When Hospital Records launched some 16 years ago, it was primarily to focus on the more soulful side of drum & bass. While London Elektricity's imprint is now about so much more than that, many of its' releases still bristle with an expansive soulfulness. This mixed, mid-price, two-disc affair pays tribute to the label's soulful side, delivering sinewy, string-laden gems, vocal anthems, and liquid D&B classics from the likes of SPY, High Contrast, Nu:Tone, Logistics, Danny Byrd, Phuturistix and, of course, London Elektricity. Who mixed it isn't revealed, but they've done a great job; both discs ripple with melody, emotion and, of course, skittering dancefloor rhythms. This is Fast Soul Music, after all.