Back in stock: UK Hardcore

Review: Atlas and K Super echo a well-known drug advice line slogan with 'Talk To Frank', a supreme jungle techno sheller of risky but rewarding proportions. This sizzling five-track slice of 12" from the renowned DJ-producer pair echoes Mole The Dipper or Noise Factory with its free-flowing but still relentlessly factorial breaks slicers; the A-sided Double Drop remix of 'Red Marios' marks an impressive scission through both pitched up-and-down breaks layering come harmonics. Meanwhile, the title track and 'Partyline' dial the hysterics knobs up to eleven, deploying an unheard-of amount of jank and stab; the latter track feels especially destabilising, a central "oo-er" vocal sample heard buried well below the main melee. 'Supply & Demand' and Buda's version of 'Talk To Frank' round things off on twin notes of mecha-trance breaks and pitch quartz unleashings on an overtop lead sample respectively, proving the artists' rightful joint mastery over an incipient UK hardcore sound.

Review: Origin Unknown's The Touch was one of the biggest jungle and hardcore rave tunes of the early 90s. A track synonymous with the UK rave scene since the day it was first played back in 1993, with Origin Unknown made up of Andy C and Ant Miles. Liftin Spirits relaunched in 2019 to press up unreleased and classic material from the Ram vaults, with both 'The Touch' and 'Valley Of The Shadows'. The A-side starts things with the killer Ant Miles jungle remix while the Ruff & Ruffer remix is a great alternative version, while on the second side the New Decade remix of Valley Of The Shadows blends amen breaks along with some spacey elements. Finally, the vAwake 96' remix hones in more on the break creating a more stripped-down option. Liftin Spirits deserves major props for making RAM's catalogue more available for everyone.