QUICKIES BREAKBEAT/BASS MUSICREVIEWS
High Rankin
DJ Hero Necessary
Ingredients Part 4 Ground Level 6.5
The final album teaser release has our Hero crafting a solid breakbeat workout of ‘If You Want It’ by Break the Box & Andy McAllister, backed with a somewhat EDM-tastic ‘Revelation’.
Kick-OH Believe (SONIcC
Remix) Woot 6.0
Pretty sure this is the bleepy trap track that Steve Aoki was filmed caking people at Ultra in Miami to earlier this year. Definite ‘Harlem Shake’ vibes going on.
Rebel Without Applause EP Subverted 8.5
Schoco
Sunrise Top Drawer Digital 9.0 Just one sample track off the ace ‘Future Jungle Expeditions Vol 3’ compilation album, Boymerang steely breaks giving way to lush tropical rainforest Omni Trio vibes.
Smile On Impact Fuky Hnds
(Hexadecimal Remix) Drumb 7.0
The electronic white noise intro to this electro-breaks re-rub is so intense that it melts all the wax in your ears. Good to see Hexadecimal still making waves down
Stalwart of the bass music scene Will Rankin is nearly becoming as well known for his hilarious spoofing of superstar DJs and surreal comedy skits, but here he shows that he hasn’t become too distracted from his dancefloor productions. ‘Destination Unknown’ is a peak-time energetic rush-steppa, with sultry vox from his pal Tigerlight. ‘Are You Ready For the Hardcore?’ unleashes doomcore synths and then big bastard beats and bass for a hyperkinetic hardcore beast, and ‘Shouting At the Sky’ is ravey- davey piano-step for those E-rush moments.
Jurassik
Dopest & the Raddest Menu Music 8.0
Terry Hooligan and Jay Cunning’s well-respected label is back and firing on all cylinders, and following ‘Round the Globe’ by Lady Waks comes this by Londoner Jurassik. Mashing up elements of breakbeat garage and future jungle vibes on the title track, with tasty old hardcore flourishes, Jurassik demonstrates how his productions have come on in leaps and bounds in recent times. DJ tool ‘State of Mind’, meanwhile, utilises a great “Give me a motherfuckin’ breakbeat!” female vocal sample.
Rebel Sketchy JURASSIK SUPATRONIX
01. STANTON WARRIORS ‘Where’s the Beef?’ Punks “The new Stantons album is sounding dope in the extreme, and this one’s even
got an (anti-factory farming) message! Booming party music from the expert UK breakbeat bass maestros.”
02. VATO GONZALEZ VS LETHAL BIZZLE & DONAE’O ‘Not A
Saint (Deekline Remix)’ New State “My man Deekline picks up his UK garage toolbox and drops a super-cool makeover of the big smash.”
03. JURASSIK ‘Where It’s At’ Menu Music “Upcoming on the revived Menu Music, this is 140bpm breakbeat bass music
with two eyes on the future, not the past.”
04. ZINC ‘Overdrive’ Rinse “Very different but works like a charm on the floor. Zinc often has something
that works great in a breakbeat club, with that rugged urban vibe I’m looking for.”
05. DEEKLINE & ED SOLO ‘Can’t Hide It (Jurassik Remix)’ Rat Records “My own 140 jungle take on the boys’ ravey breakbeat number.”
06. TORQUX FEAT LADY LESHURR ‘Blazin’’ MTA “Just really upfront modern bass music with a wicked vocal that actually
makes people wanna dance, not fall asleep. We need more of this — and less hipster drivel.”
07. STANTON WARRIORS ‘MPC’ Punks “An ode to the old skool hip-hop sequencer. God knows where they’re pulling
these from right now.”
08. SALVA & BRENMAR ‘Let Me Bang’ Unknown “UK bass music with added booty terrorist flavourings. Drop this and watch the
bodies fly around the room.”
09. WORTHY ‘Dip’ Dirtybird “Brooding little tech-breaker with big, deep synth stabs and a savage vocal
cut.”
10. SKANX ‘Afrika’ Sub Slayers “Rough and rugged future junglism from one of the UK’s top underground
labels.” 064
Grinspiller Ground Level 7.5
Rebel Sketchy has been around a while, and his productions seem to just keep getting better and better. ‘Grinspiller’ uses pots and pans percussion and filtered strings in the intro to set the mood for a solid disco-funk groover. Electronic bass tinges and some natty hazin’ and phasin’ augment the dance, setting up anticipation nicely for his debut ‘Goodbye Gravity’ album later this year. Bromley from Bristol on the remix turn it into more of a future garage vibe, pivoted around a clanging, leaden bassline.
Sanxion
A Non-Euclidian Subspace Warehouse Wax 8.5
The on-point Sanxion here delivers a multi-dimensional EP for Vinyl Junkie’s equally on-point imprint. ‘A Short Story About Love’ recalls the mid- ’90s halcyon days of Foul Play/ Omni Trio artcore jungle before
CARL LOBEN,
carlloben@hotmail.com
Freestylers & Stereo:Type The Coming Storm feat
Takura Rub A Duck
9.0
skipping into half-time steppa’s heaven; ‘Move Your Body To Me’ begins with a “Move your body” chipmunk vocal before the bass-heavy bizness begins, and the wicked ‘Robot House’ is bleep- beat hardcore extraordinaire, with old skool pianos, wailing diva and uppy beats soon supplanted by bad-ass bass. Finally, ‘You Bitches Ain’t Got Shit On Me’ has hardcore stabs running throughout, with the title sample used sporadically as it unfolds.
Stanton Warriors
Where’s the Beef? Punks 8.5 In the wake of the horsemeat scandal, the Stantons have also been getting political on our asses with choice new cut ‘Where’s the Beef?’ Beginning with Jon Snow reporting for Channel 4 News before assorted sampled Americans ask “Where’s the beef?”, this is a pared-down Stantons track that makes more sense when you watch the accompanying video (various dancing cows in montage etc). With an almost ‘Voodoo Ray’ topline and on-point beats, this DJ tool is one joint that’s good enough to eat.
Terry Hooligan & Zombie Robot
Underground feat Ruthless Bass + Bars 8.0 Bearded wonder Terry Hooligan steps into the studio with Zombie Robot for the bass music original here, with rapper Ruthless assassinating with some commanding flow. Terry scratches it up as it progresses, and on his ‘2005 Breaks’ rework harks back to the glory days of breakbeat by introducing a crisp break — not the only ‘crisp break’ Terry has indulged in since his tuck shop days! DJ Mutiny’s mix boasts LFO old skool bleeps, vocoder, skippy
www.djmag.ca
Kicking off in a dubwise stylee, like a Bim Sherman reggae paean or summink, ‘The Coming Storm’ soon unfolds into a skanking dubsteppy beast. The Freestylers may have been active for over 15 years, but they’re still bang up-to-date on their ideas and production techniques, and this is like they’re newly politicised against the increasingly hated, worse- than-Thatcher, ConDem UK government. The track turns righteous jungle in the second part, while Ed Solo turns it fulsome d&b and Avtar takes it brostep.
two-step beats, heavy dubsteppy bass and dramatic cinematic strings. Strong release.
Urban Knights feat Daddy Freddy
Jamaica To Miami Sub Slayers 9.0
The linking of Urban Knights and Sub Slayers seems like a match made in heaven, and the original here buzzes with bass-heavy trap vibes. Daddy Freddy’s gruff ragga vox sounds great, and I’m loving the wiki-wiki crossfade skweee soundz too. Benny Kane from the UKs slaps in some extra beats on his revamp, while 6BLOCC enhances the low-slung trap vibes. His Skanx version then makes it bone-shakin’ junglist breaks, while Black & White turns it ruffneck drum & bass. Finally, Rebel Sonix does a bass music version. Something for everyone: Sub Slayers kru in full effect.
Various
Bring the Ruckus LP Part 2 Passenger 8.0
Aquasky’s latest comp gets its second sampler, their own ‘Make It
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