Fused Forces At Juno Download

Review: More known for dabbling in the heavier side of dubstep, UK duo Fused Forces play an unexpected blinder on their new EP for L2S. Going for a crisper, sharper 2-step sound, they mix itchy hats with blunt, Pearson Sound-style kicks on the endlessly enjoyable "Diamondz" - even working in a smart, unexpected half-step break into the middle to keep dancers on their toes. On a slower but equally vital tip, "Mind & Matter" uses shifting Detroit chords perfectly over another 808-riddled beat while "Nocturnal" allows the pair to get moody with some slowly rising pads over more razor-sharp beats.

Review: Breaking from their heavy wobblin' dubstep sounds, Fused Forces drop this pair of forward-looking garage beats and it proves to be a welcome change in direction. With the drums pitched up and swinging in a classic garage style, they slowly bring up a Joy Orbison-styled medieval organ on "Long Weekend" that ebbs and flows in the background along with some delayed vocal shots. "One Two Bop" backs it up with a slightly tougher, less melancholic beat bolstered by some punchy sub bass. A successful shift in sound from Long Weekend and an excellent example of future garage.

Review: A neat remix swap here between Fused Forces and M2J on L2S Recordings. First up is the M2J remix of "Skuffle Shuffle", which is all warping, swirling atmospherics and tripping beats underpinned with razor sharp snares and disorientating SFX. It's a superb effort from M2J which is guaranteed to light up the dancefloors til the early hours. Then it's on to the Fused Force's interpretation of "Silent Running" which focuses on chopped up, reverberating vocal snippets with hollow, pattering breaks and distant groaning atmospheric sweeps. A classy couple of cuts here.

Review: In their own words, Pesky Plates are "a new label pushing heavyweight air-wobbling dancefloor smashers". This description hardly does them justice though on the basis of this latest EP which comes exclusive to Juno and features four up and coming sets of producers.

Physical's Pharmacy is right on the money, a tough Dubstep rhythm that's given lots of space without the bass swamping the track's razor-sharp drums. Some authentic Dub horns and snare fills sit nicely underneath the rhythm, while the occasional vocal samples bring it all right up to date. Monkey's Never Knew is faster and funkier, again with some sped-up vocal shots that sit nicely with the minimal percussion. Like the EP as a whole, there's a lot of musicality on display, but it's always subtly used and surprising, never over-the-top and obvious.

Magenta's Scanner is another winner and features an ancient sounding Organ that slowly falls away into an epic drop. Fused Forces and DJ Cable's Jack Russell is probably the most aggy tune on the EP, bringing the bass in spades with a tough drum track to keep it in check.

With releases as quality and contemporary as these four tunes, prepare to have a lot more Pesky in your crates over the coming year.