ALEX C
alexcdnb@gmail.com QUICKIES
Data Passive Aggresive (Stray Remix)/The Sprawl (Linden &
Blocks Remix) Inside 7.5
A certain robotic, mechanised charm as a regimented, renegade percussion hypnotises, spatially psychic chords are a poisonous breeze and katana blade Amen drums intermittently slice and dice.
Joe Syntax
Modus Bass Fun EP Med School 7.0
New face with a noticeably bright, breezy electro-geek flow. ‘Macro Man’ amongst others stands out because of how the greasy sliding synths bounce from one speaker to the other.
Killa Tingz The Hustler feat YT & KNERS (UK Jungle Mix)/The Hustler feat YT & KNERS (Stadium
DnB Mix) Run Tingz Recordings 6.5
A bumpy floor-filling fist-pumper with the right ingredients - MC chants, ‘TC’-type zooms and lively beats. But not much stamina, gets a little tedious after the third listen.
Sabre/Halogenix
Halo Danger/Laika Dispatch 7.5
One for the hed-phone/ hed-fuk peeps out there. Ghostly whistles and unswervingly murderous chords until a double- strength acidic bass riff permeates the percussive iron girders.
Dr Meaker
Fighter/Music In The Night V Recordings 7.5
As always, a strong single from the indomitable V Recordings, possibly now dnb’s most longstanding label as a result of the constantly correct A&R ears of the likes of JJ Frost, Bryan Gee and DJ Mosus on board. ‘Fighter’ is a playfully mischievous roller, brandishing a blade of sawtooth bass that swipes and slashes furiously over frenetic beats, while a female vocal punctuates the mayhem and gees you up further. An energetically clean production that’s still filthy round the edges.
Freestylers vs Wizard
Mount Zion/Sunblast Freestylers Records 8.5
SPECTRASOUL SHOGUN AUDIO
01. ALIX PEREZ & SABRE FEAT SAM WILLS‘You!’Shogun Audio “Alix is back with another one for the ladies. Sultry tones of Sam Wills work well over
the tight funky drums.” 02. ECHO PARK‘Stop Before We Start (SpectraSoul Remix)’Disfigured
Dubz “Skream’s latest signing is truly unique. We knocked up this 85bpm remix for one of the tracks on his LP.”
03. SPECTRASOUL‘Momento’Shogun Audio “This is one of our favourite tracks on our album. Definitely a proud moment for us.”
04. TWO INCH PUNCH‘Broken’PMR “We are massive fans of TIP. His r&b flavours and glitchy beats are really special. This
track is a stand-out example.”
05. ECHO PARK‘Cutlass Supreme’ Disfigured Dubz “Our favourite track from his new LP. Masterful.”
06. EXTRA CURRICULAR‘Last Day (SpectraSoul Remix)’Pigeonhole This “We twist this vocal-driven track on its head and give it some club-friendly treatment.
Another one for the ladies.”
07. OM UNIT FEAT. TAMARA BLESSA ‘Dark Sunrise’ Civil Music “Tamara is a fantastic vocalist. Couple her with one of the funkiest mofos in the UK
scene and you get a funk-filled killer.”
08. JAI PAUL‘Jasmine’ XL “This is old,-- but a goody. Can’t wait to hear more from Jai Paul. Amazing music.”
09. ROCKWELL & KITO FEAT. SAM FRANK‘Childhood
Memories’Shogun Audio “This is a slab of proper future funk. Huge.”
10. SPECTRASOUL‘Knuckle Waltz’Shogun Audio “Experimental flavours from us on this one. We ignored all our instincts and threw this
together in weird fashion!”
So nice to see that, amidst this current revival and grace of favor granted to the classic junglist blend, amongst those artists like the amazing Serial Killaz or Jungle Cakes label who base their updated ‘killer’ sound on traditional formulas, there are also those that push boundaries and experiment with new styles. Half-speed bass prowess excels here in a perfect example that’s resplendent with backward baseball cap scratches, bad-boy bleeps, overpowering ragga-DJ verses and amazing scatter-drum fills. Jeep-jungle.
L Plus
Amazing EP Technique
8.0
After a succession of jaw-locking dance destruction pieces, L-Plus seems to have calmed a little for ‘Amazing’ by bringing in a vocalist to juxtapose and contrast with his skyward beats and light-speed rave chords. A little more mainstream than normal, a bit like current Camo & Krooked output. Proceedings
revert to form for other bits on this EP like ‘Challenger’, however, conjuring up images of soaring through the heavens at speeds that peel your lips back and make your eyes water.
Lenzman How Did I Let U Go? feat Riya/
Wordsworth Metalheadz Recordings 7.5
Great vocals running one after another and coming faster and more furious than a car-racing movie sequel this issue. As soon as ‘How Did I Let U Go?’ begins here, you gauge the fact that this is the Lenzman signature flow almost immediately. Running alongside this sweet cherry brandy female vocal that oozes with soul is Lenzman’s trademark haunted backwards strings, a skippy beat and a ghostly piano riff that, all taken together, make this a silky- smooth slice of mellow madness.
Loadstar
Second Skin/Terror Drone Ram Records 7.5
‘Second Skin’ exists as proof that ‘grime’ tempo is no way as potent as full-speed drums. After a somewhat cheesy intro vocal here, a succession of incessantly itchy synth sounds irritatingly blabber around a half-speed break but suddenly, as soon as the script flips and the drums double their tempo, those same previously annoying sounds kick off big-time and get those knees up! Then the balance is further redressed on the flipside by a very cool android stepper.
NC-17 Slug Path (Upbeats Remix)/Slug
Path (Smooth Remix) Grindhou5e Audio 9.0
Two very special mixes take radically different approaches,
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almost to the point that they’re separate glowing gems in their own right. The Upbeats mix features a superb guttural groan bass that runs like a river of blood under an earthquake-ravaged landscape. Conversely, the Smooth mix propels the vibe skyward with daunting keys and ominously frantic moods that start off as a half-speed incendiary bomb, then smash your cranium as it goes full speed. ‘Speed’ being the operative word!
Prototypes
Pandora/Abyss Shogun Audio 9.0
Two slabs of raw sirloin steak cut from bio-mechanical beef that’s marbled with aluminium and bleeds liquid mercury. The aural equivalent of injecting condensed Red Bull directly into your Aorta artery. ‘Pandora’ utilises a dreamy, bleeped arpeggio in the opening, then tears the roof off with a serrated bass grind and migraine drums straight from the underworld, while ‘Abyss’ is more of a head-crusher as opposed to mind-expander, firing blisteringly fast synthesiser ball-bearings at you from all angles.
TC
No One/Tap Ho (Taxman Remix) Don’t Play 8.0
See the name TC in the ‘artist’ field and you know that it’s gonna be a goodie without me even saying! A great male vocal lies side by side with an admirably sliced and diced rare groove sound stab in the intro, and sure enough soon on in the sharp but bumpy TC flow kicks things off with polished rasps and skipping beats that make you dance like a boxer dodging an array of punches from your opponent!
Emperor
Monolith/Tensions Modulations
9.5
Cannot compliment this futuristic stunner enough for one reason. The existence of a disorientating, mind- numbing singular bleep that this whole piece arranges itself around. Disjointed breaks disembowel a skilfully edited bass rumble, while pulse-throbbing chords up the ante further. Then it gets even heavier half-way through as the bass rumbles move up a gear. More anti-matter quality on the flip. Implosions on a planetary scale. Surreptitiously slaughters.
DRUM & BASSREVIEWS
MONEYSHOT!
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