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Reviewed this week
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If you judge a producer by their ability to successfully apply a winning formula to a variety of styles, Alix Perez is a master. While drum and bass remains his forte, there's enough on Chroma Chords, his second album, to suggest that he's growing as a producer. This EP discards with the synth-laden head nodders featured on the full album, though the four tracks here do still demonstrate the versatile nature of Chroma Chords. Thus the grimy hip hop of the Metropolis featuring "Blue Print" shares space with the soulful stepping action of "Playing Games" whilst the the excellent vintage Timbaaland does halfstep of "Shadows" (featuring breakout Eglo talent Strange U") joins up with the vicious "Burnout".
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Given his status as one of drum and bass's true heavyweights; you'd expect this eighth Calibre full-length to be one of the most hotly anticipated jungle sets of the year. Certainly, it's a fine effort, packed with emotion-rich atmospherics, fizzing rhythms and intricate, occasional beautiful, musical touches. He seems to be at his best when concentrating on musicality, as the delightful "Close To Me', soulful "Wilderness" and summery "Do Not Turn On" prove. There are, of course, rawer moments (see the tech-tinged "Simple Things" and dubstep flex of "Start Again"), but these don't hit nearly as hard as his effortlessly soulful compositions.
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It seems that the nu-disco trend of re-edits is one that just keeps growing. Everyone from Siberia to Greece is doing it, and now the fever has spread to Ireland too in the form of the Get Down Edits label. Thankfully these guys don't (usually) pick the obvious stuff - Fingerman samples Luther Vandross' "Never Too Much" on "Too Much" so they lose points for that, but generally it's all good jazzy, funky retro jams.
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Billed as 2013's biggest collection of reggae-fuelled party tracks, this madcap collaboration between New York's own reggae star Tuffist and newcomers Soul Rebel, DJ Tzinas and Bluntskull whips up new creations from some of reggae's finest tracks. From Toots and the Maytals to The Ethiopians, Soul Rebel, DJ Tzinas and Hammond Classics work together to bring a new flava, while Tuffist's jungle vibes and Bluntskull's breakbeat hype provide fresh new sounds to get the party skanking. Don't underestimate the power of reggae to get floors filled across the country, this series confronts non-dancers and shuns bad feelings. Embrace the party jams!
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London via North Devon imprint Shifting Peaks are keeping the party pressure on with this bumper-packed EP. It's a label debut from duo De$ignated (Nima Bazrcar and Rory Bowyer) who split their time between London and Hampshire. Having garnered some major hype from a string of remixes, they've managed to secure Kyiki from Crystal Fighters for this, this own single. "Valentine" mixes fuzzy urban funk with old skool 2-step and half time breaks. "Russian Roulette" however is a much harder post-dubstep gurning banger. Best of the remixes is Kaveh's thumping acidic afterhours workout.
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Mooqee's label Bombstrikes is doing all right for itself. So much so in fact that they've reached that milestone - a label's first compilation album. Here Mooqee has selected 25 sizzling bangers new and old that do it for him, and hopefully will do it for you too. Highlights include the compressed electro steamroller that is "Back To School", the crunch synth funky freakout of "Come On Bounce" and the devastating bass that's eaten all the pies of "Let's Do It Right Now". Heavy!
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Russian producer Valique is back with the latest installment of his successful disco edit series. He specialises in toughened, quanitised beats, lending old stuff a modern electro-house groove. Highlights here include his highly danceable take on The Smiths' "Barbarism Begins At Home", the skippy, cut up house shuffle of "Angry Brides" and the infectious electro-funk anthem "Like Dancing".
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Possibly named after his favourite retro toasted sandwich maker, Brevil is an Australian disco producer currently on his third outing for Kosta Ellis' Superbreak imprint. His sound is low-slung and dirty and any of the four tracks here are guaranteed to get everybody in the mood for some disco love. Highlights include the loopy and hypnotic "Slow N Low", the shimmering female funk of "Never Gonna Stop" and the rumbling bass and delayed drums-fest that is "Turn U On".
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Emperor began his journey not so long ago with his own brand of drum & bass that reaches beyond the depths. This EP sets out in stone his arrival into the inner circle. Starting off with the hauntingly savage "Begin" featuring the silken tones of Georgia Yates, there is no let up in the speed or accuracy with which tunes are flung forward. "She Said" is a double bass stepper Roni Size would be envious of, "Radar" rips through minimal synths at hyperspeed, "Precursor"'s strange, offset tape noise intro gives way to serious bass tremors and "Solar", featuring fellow English bass terroriser Centra blasts partway through the universe with huge neuro shockwaves. A serious contender for EP of the year so far.
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Sounds Of Sumo label bosses Kry Wolf return to their home imprint with a bold new sound in the form of Concrete; eschewing their usually lighter take on bass music, the title track is a dark combination of wobble bass and dub atmospherics, held together with some steely techno rhythms which comes across like Objekt's "Cactus", while "Bluffin" combines more abstract beats with ghetto house-inspired vocal samples and dubby stabs. Woz is tapped up to remix the title track, being considerably more sparing with the savage bass and rearranging its rhythms into something altogether more angular; Benton's remix of "Bluffin" is classic SOS, providing a bouncy piece of bass-heavy garage house.
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Originally released spring 2012, Foamo's monstrously heavy bass chugger "Sherlock" gets the treatment from a variety of talented players. Kry Wolf drop the tempo slightly for a resonant UKG strut, Taiki & Nulight continue the garage vibe with a more uptempo, menacing bass motif, Millions Like Us add some cinematic breakbeats and shivering synth washes to the mix, My Nu Leng take a leaf out of Bassbin Twin's booty-bass book while LKid calms us down with a very neat, early 90s house version. A great spread and not a duff rub in sight.
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The always onpoint Echo Beach serve up a long overdue second edition of their Reggae Germany Downtown compilation. Some eighteen tracks deep, Echo Beach give a true representation of the Dub scene in Germany, pairing veteran artists like Felix Wolter (Dubvisionist, TVS), Seeed, and the Senior Allstars with rising talents such as Aldubb, Brain Theft, aDUBta, Symbiz sound and Chazzy Wezar (the son of Matthias Arfmann). Reggae Germany Downtown takes dub as it's starting point and veers in various musical directions so expect sub heavy dubstep (the Giotto remix of "Let There Be Dub" from Aldubb" is a highlight) downbeat skank, rude electronics and dancehall torch songs. Germany is Dubland"!
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Been missing the hyperactive influence of Danny Byrd in your lives? Stop your whining and get your eardrums wrapped around this. The original party starter's latest collection of tunes has been designed to get glowsticks raised across the country. "4th Dimension" powerslams old school rave with high energy drum & bass to create an unmistakeable Hospitality soundtrack. "Bad Boy (Back Again)" adds some serious jungle vibing to proceedings, bubbling over with bassline bounce and a seriously sing-along-able vocal hit. With a hard-hitting remix from 303 as Flux Pavillion bring some swag with their "Bad boy" refix, get hoping for some good weather because these are going to blow the roof off clubs everywhere.
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Is it just us or are Basement Freaks albums getting funkier and funkier? As hinted with their Soul Digga EP last winter, the trio just keep getting more organic and authentic, this being their most engaging, juiciest funk LP to date. From the Alabama 3 meets the Daptones style "Gimme More" to the insanely authentic Parliament skit "Disco Boy" via the mild skank bounce, organ noodling and Troutman crooning on "Red Light Streets", this really is party dynamite. Basement Freaks are ruling the nu-funk scene right now.
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They always say that if you are disadvantaged in some way, just accentuate it and make it a badge of honour. So Birmingham's Tom Short has become Tom Shorterz and a glittering career can only but follow suit. Here he has remixed his own tune "Wot U Do", turning in a linear but bassy, seven-minute garage stroller. Onwards and upwards!
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Despite getting everyone all hot and bothered with the promise of their collaboration, Gorgon City - aka Foamo and Rack N Ruin - have been sparing with releases to say the least. Still, it's all about quality not quantity, eh? Both tracks on this EP scream class and are immaculately produced: "Intentions" is a slick deep roller, complete with bouncy bass, shuffly garage beats and a soulful 90s-style urban vocal. The percussion is pushed to the fore on the corresponding club mix, but it's the dark and positively subterranean bass vibes of the moody "Cycles" that really does it for us!
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Given Unknown To The Unknown's wide ranging remit, including bassline garage, Detroit electro and Chicago house, it was perhaps inevitable that a genuine 90s house record would find its way onto the label at some point. Originally released in 1992, OHM's "Tribal Tone" was supposedly the first tune to use the Korg M1 sound that was later immortalised by Robin S' "Show Me Love", and had considerable impact at the time, being championed The Shamen frontman Mr C, being licensed to R&S sub-label Global Cuts and US label Vibe, and finding itself remixed by the Sabres of Paradise trio. Here it finds itself with three similarly great remixes, a stripped-back, raw groover from Marquis Hawkes, a horn-heavy piece of 90s action from Capracara and a thundering mid-tempo effort from Northern Souls. Essential!
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Rinse's own Royal T has been listening to UKG for as long as he started stealing bootlegs from his brother. With the advent of online mixtape technology and the worlds of grime, bassline and UK funky at his feet, the Southampton-based producer's latest offering is a filthy culmination of sticky dancefloors, hastily-printed rave flyers, pirate radio and the dawning of crisply ironed trap. There's a feeling of nostalgia about the whole EP for times when listening to grime at the back of the bus really was the pinnacle. Nostalgia too often comes with negative connotations - rather than stale Royal T brings his own modern edge to the retrospective bubbles he creates with each track. It's a celebration rather than a museum piece. Long live the spirit of the underground.
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Newcastle-based trio of drum & bass production masterminds Sato, Phobia and Tyrone have booted a spring up the bad parts with "Intermission", an immediately arresting delve into the murky jungle pasts of all three chaps. Bassy in all the right places and filled with the classic jangle of vintage amens, it's a star in its own right. "Knock Knock" is a more contemporary affair, in so much as it uses all the futuristic Carl Sagan-esque sound effects in its power to create the sensation of being hurtled through space to an ice cool jungle break soundtrack. Raw and heavy these tracks hopefully herald a new future of decent jungle-inspired D&B. We can only hope.
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It's been a while since Freerange boss Jamie Odell (better known, of course, as Jimpster) delivered an album; in fact, his last full-length dropped way back in 2006. Seven years is a long time between drinks, but the rest seems to have done Odell good; Porchlight & Rocking Chairs is arguably his strongest album to date. While deep house remains his focus (see the intricate "Glowing Embers", Detroit influenced "Cracks In The Pavement" and Moodymann-ish "High Wire"), there's a soulful bagginess and barely concealed jazziness throughout. More impressively, many tracks hark back to his pre-house days as a producer of lovingly crafted downtempo gems (see "Jasmine Dragon", "Wanting You" and previous single "These Times".