Wildlife! At Juno Download

Review: An all-star outing for Wildlife on the ever-reliable Man Recordings, featuring contributions from Daniel Haasman and, most impressively, Sheffield bass mogul Toddla T. The latter's collaboration, "Hear Dat", is arguably the EP's stand out moment. Kicking off with a smacked-out low-end buld, it quickly transforms into a rush of Juke-tempo percussion, dancehall bass and ear-piercing sirens. The Haaskman collab, "Paragon", is almost as impressive, offering a rolling blend of UK funky-goes-tropical drums and cut-up vocal wails. Elsewhere, the dubwise "Clapperz" impresses with its stoned blend of head-nodding drums and vintage Sheffield bleeps.

Review: Cripes! Berlin-based Man Recordings have commissioned a string of new mixes for Wildlife's baile funk banger, and boy are they heavy! Nic Sarno takes "Hear Dat" to the dark side in beautiful style by tuning the bass down low for a deep, slow jam. "Paragon' features label boss Daniel Haakesman and is remixed within an inch of it's life by EQ Why, who turns the whole thing into trippy and eccentric drum machine workout. Piri Piri remixes "DNO", delivering a ponderously percussive electro joint with voodoo overtones. Last but ot least, The Phantom goes all dub-hop, or hip-step on "Hear Dat", display some serious talent for haunting atmospherics in the process.

Review: Originally released on a super-limited vinyl, mercifully Wildlife has seen fit to give us turntable-less common folk an opportunity to check out his unique project. Highlighting the strong relationship between punk and reggae of the late 70s, he's taken the reggae originals, the punk covers AND original vocal artists of the time to create entirely new-versions. It's a unique perspective, and one that really works. Some rubs you'll instantly recognise, such as Junior Murvin VS The Clash VS Wildlife and Charlie Harper is an instant charmer. Others are much more fractured and less obvious ("Armagideon Time"), but that makes the guessing game even more interesting. A genuinely interesting project.