Black Butter At Juno Download

Review: An engaging and interesting four-track EP here from 3 Hrs on the Black Butter label, which kicks off with the title track "Absolutely" - a shimmering little number with glistering synths, rumbling bass, ribbiting beats and chopped up, repeated vocal snippet. "Clap Work", up next, continues in a similar vein, with faded, clapping beats, booming sub bass and distanced, echoing vocal element, with repeating insistence to "clap!" Penultimate cut "Fear To" is an eerie, ominous slice of darkness, whilst "Nite Time" slows the pace down, with a stripped back soundscape as the EP draws to a close.

Review: Taken from 3HRS' debut release for the moody bass label Black Butter, this highlight from the Absolutely EP is a perfectly-pitched coming together of underground drum machine sounds and the titular claps, all wrapped around a complex pattern and a spooky set of acapella shots and background dialogue. A crisp and insatiable beat, with plenty of brooding menace built in.

Review: The first fruits of a working partnership between excellent tropical bass man Foamo with fellow UK producer Rack N Ruin, Gorgon City's debut surfaces on Black Butter this week. Title tune "The Crypt" draws in fellow Black Butter family members Rubi Dan and Navigator who verbalize over the dancehall/electro hybrid beats, while "The Truth" plays host to singer Janai and thrillingly fuses grimey bass with hooks and a tech-tropical beat.

Review: Scotland isn't exactly the first place you think of when listening to Edinburgh dwelling Hostage's Listen EP, (his first for the esteemed Black Butter imprint), soaked as it is in the essence of Rinse FM circa 2002 grime instrumentals. You can pick out the far off eski synths in opener "Listen", and closer "No Bitch Equal", but they're joined by echoes of dub as well as searing basslines - it's quite a cocktail but one that Hostage balances finely. "Dutty Horn" melds a similarly rude bass, and ridiculous horn sample to similarly fine effect, whilst "Dreams" distils the essence of classic hardcore into a UK Funky package, but it's the savage crunch on the kick drum that is bound to impress. The second half of the EP is undoubtedly the most effective - seeing him drop the tempo and allowing his music to breathe a bit more. "Desire" is a bizarrely slowed down but wonderful version of a jungle track, whilst the jackhammer bass of "Razrr" offers some visceral onomatopoeic thrills, made all the more effective for its slowed down pace.

Review: After releases on Squelch and Clap, Matt Relton aka Kidnap Kid steps up with this new trio of songs for Black Butter. Already boasting DJ support from Skream, Redlight, Martelo and Jaymo, the EP gets off to a killer start with the swirling 2-step of "Vehl", which fans of Deadboy will instantly take to, while "Lazarus Taxon" smoothes out proceedings a little with a boogie acapella thrown over a bubbly, chopped bass beat, while the creeping intro to "Be More" and the ushering in of some stellar snares might just be the highpoint of this hugely impressive EP.

Review: This collaboration between Marco Del Horno and DJ Swerve ticks all the UK funky boxes. Wobbly, bass-heavy riddim? Check! Touchy-feely breakdown? Check! Essential MC vocal to whip the party into a frenzy? Check and check! In addition to all of these things, there's also a solid instrumental dub (handy if your own MC of choice wants to spit some bars) and a string of solid remixes. Skeptiks provide an aggressive dubstep take, whilst Kutz employs some fantastically organic (maybe even live) drums on his energetic revision.The standout mix comes from Woz, who drops a sonic assault of military drums and bowel-bothering bass.

Review: Mixed by RacknRuin, this first journey into the vaults of the Black Butter label throws up some huge grime/UKF bangers. A label that's been showcased by Annie Mac and Zane Lowe in recent months, Black Butter artists like Tomb Crew, Marco Del Horno, Warrior One and Rudimental get put through their paces over these 16 tracks -available either individually or as one continuous mix by Racknruin. Definite highlights include Hostage's deadly remix of Noisses' "The Don" and Warrior One's jungle-influenced take on RacknRuin's own Jessie Ware-hook up, "Soundclash".

Review: The Black Butter crew deliver another EP of essential jungle inspired cuts from a number of big names. RackNRuin & Hostage collaborate for "Dangerous", a breakbeat infused roller filled with roaring bass wobbles, nicely offset with some eski synth action, whilst Pixel Fist remixes Warrior One's "The Jump Off", delivering a huge dubstep inspired breakdown, complete with exceptional flow from Durrty Goodz. Finally, Tomb Crew deliver an electro house inspired cut laden with tropical percussion and dirty bassline action with a garage flex in its insistent rhythms, coming to a soaring glitch fuelled climax. Well worth checking!

Review: Boasting a growing roster that includes P Money, Serocee, Rudimental, Hostage and more, London bass label Black Butter Records just keeps dropping essential bad boy material, like this latest from UK garage/grime/breaks producer Warrior One. Teamed up with singer Ayah Marar, he fuses together jungle beats running at 130bpm with nasty grime bass shots and swirling string textures on the dropouts. If you prefer an even tougher flex, Warrior One's own VIP mix in collaboration with Bojcat has got you covered, while mixes from Des Demure, Baxta and Io round off this stellar release.