Whistla At Juno Download

Review: Some Juno Download exclusive future garage business here from Whistla, released on his own L2S Recordings imprint. First up the Swivel promoter drops the deliciously fresh and crisp title track "Darlings Of The Tripstream" in which an old school garridge beat sits beneath a contemporary melange of clipped vocal elements and a seductive horn-led melody. The breakdown is particularly sublime! This is complemented by the tougher drums of "Take Me On" in which multiple vocals are again whipped up into a visceral stew. Tip!

Review: Following on from his The Swivel Sessions for Sub FM and releases like "Swivel Like You Mean It", L2S head honcho Whistla keeps spinning with this new full length album. A long-time exponent and champion of future-garage, Whistla shows off his slick 2-step chops straight from the off with the creeping beauty of "The Underground", while he really lets fly on brilliantly hyped tracks like the raw percussion-fest "Music In My Dreams", the blurry bass-punch of "Horny" and the charging stomp of "N35". Excellent work all round, Whistla's done a very tough thing in making such a consistent and surprising dance album.

Review: While consistently being a haven for upcoming future garage producers, L2S hadn't actually dropped any new material from head honcho Whistla. Step forward these brand spanking new tracks from the Sub FM man: firstly "Knosis", a dark and twisted bass fantasy complete with hyped old school drums and trippy mangled vocals layered over epic strings, and, secondly, "Coconut Udder" which is simply brilliant. A simple yet jacking dry beat with some chopped and soulful guitar stabs and more blurry acapella work sets it off perfectly. Great to hear Whistla on such effortlessly funky form.

Review: One thing's for sure, Whistla is not one to mess about. Going straight in with the bold statement "On Drugs", the artificial beats and computerized voice immediately create a heightened sense of existence, with bleepy SFX and repetitive rhythms and disorientating atmospheric sweeps. There's an immense remix package to accompany from the likes of Enigma Dubz, Kanji Kinetic, Bojcot Selectah, Totte, Itchy Robot, Rude Boi Brand, Impact and Smerk which each give their own individual twist on the original. And trust - it's well worth listening to them all.

Review: L2s' main man Whistla finally drops the long-awaited "Pillow Talk", backed with seven remixes from some of his favourite producers. With the original already a spankingly fresh slice of future garage, complete with brutally sharp hats and affecting detuned vocal shots, names like Duncan Powell, Para, VVV and KMA all step up to add their own twist to this essential tune. Special props go to Submerse who simply smashes it with an itchy, tambourine heavy mix that brings in some high-pitched guitar samples that sound thrillingly unique. Highly recommended stuff.

Review: Although this is technically future garage, "This Love" is what one might call Clapham house. The L2S bossman Whistla has really nailed the positive, jazzy and soulful good times vibe that has always defined the kind of dance music popular in West London. Conversely on "Future Jammin" the production is less traditional with staccato beats, trippy and repetitive organ riffs and a recurring wide-boy vocal sample that's add some appreciated edge to proceedings. Classy stuff!

Review: Self proclaimed founder of future garage, Whistla steps up for the 27th release on his own L2S imprint with the When Eyes Meet EP. A stuttering and tinny percussive groove is immersed in soft chords and deep bass stabs on "Never Again" which is punctuated by some exceptional chopped female harmonies. "London Love Story" is a neat example of the future garage style as abrasive metallic rhythms are deluged by an assault of synth stabs, overlapping vocal samples and grimey 8 bit basslines with psychedelic results. Grimey string samples abound on the rugged sounding "No One" and the EP closes on the future retro sound of "No Treasure" where old skool garage synths meet a fresh steppy riddim.