Back in stock: Hardcore/style

Review: To make it to 40 years in any job is a fine achievement, but to do it in the fast-paced world of electronic music is even more rare. But that is exactly what EBY has done - he has been turning out acid house jams for four full decades now and to celebrate the milestone has put together a special release on Foxbam Inc called "it's an ACID thing" and it comes in various different formats. This one is a black and grey splattered 12" limited to just 100 copies. It features the ragga vocals and crushing beats of 'Bun Da Acid', the brilliantly gurgling 303 lines and ice-cold drums of 'Acidanus" (feat Soap MC) and the darker and more moody vibes of 'Eggtrip'. An Outlander Eggs & Shells remix shuts down in style.

Review: EBY is an acid house artist who has more than made his mark over the years. 40 years, to be exact, and to mark that rather notable occasion he is back with a special release on Foxbam Inc called ACID Thing and it comes in various different formats. This is a grey vinyl version that celebrates the classic acid sound while infusing it with a modern twist and plenty of big basslines, squelchy synths, and potent rhythms. The standout 'Acidanus' includes MC Soph who made her debut on Acid Indigestion Pt4 at just eight years old and now returns at 25. The EP also features a remix of 'Eggtrip' by renowned Belgian producer Outlander who you will likely remember from his iconic cut 'Vamp.'

Review: Trust us: we know when a reissue has been done lovingly and not in a meritless way. Vinyl Fanatiks fall into the former category, evidencing their ability to turn us to fanatical vinyl proselytes in turn, with this new edition of Nexus & Blowback's 'The Cat's Whiskas'. First released on the UK label Stranger Recordings in 1992, this 12" was just one of two records to ever grace the outlet's decked-out halls; label owner Sam Tierney was also behind the short-lived fixator alias, Obsession, the other releasee on the imprint. As if to put into words the emotions and affects attached to certain lingo native to the early breakbeat hardcore scene, track titles like 'Totally Cabbaged', 'Dinosaurus' and 'Law Of The Jungle' suggest a viviparous vive, their brisk breaks, colic choirs and explosive pianos making explicit the aliveness of a ravebound youth. Also pairing the music with allusions to animalia and the jungle wilderness, the EP grows increasingly experimental as it progresses both through the thicket and back in time, with 'Dinosaurus' serving up a triassic extinction event by the hand of catastrophic synth-struments, such as buzzing square waves and nuclear breaks.

Review: It was way back in 1994 when original rave hero and genuinely foundational DJ Ellis Dee (real name Roy Collins) offered up his one and only 12" as Norty But Nice. 31 years on, that two-tracker returns to stores in remastered form via this coloured vinyl reissue from Vinyl Fanatiks. Lead cut 'Do You Want It' is spacey, intoxicating and - as you'd expect - breathlessly energetic, with Collins placing piano riffs, vocal samples and intergalactic electronics atop a jungle-style hardcore breakbeat and booming bass. On flip-side 'Give It To Me Baby' he opts for more deep space synths, rolling bass, deeply layered breakbeats and more rushing piano motifs. Both tracks are, of course, genuine breakbeat hardcore classics.