Gutterfunk At Juno Download

Review: Bristol's DJ Die has gone one better than signing Addison Groove to his Gutterfunk imprint, he's only gone and collaborated with him on both tracks here as well! The footwork-influenced side project of Headhunter, Addison Groove assumes charge of "Keyhole" - a stripped back excursion into sultry voodoo beats. Meanwhile on "Hydropump", DJ Die takes the lead steering this ship into breaky hip-house waters in the process.

Review: Meanwhile back in Bristol, DJ Die teams up with singer Jenna G to pay tribute to classic soul. On the surface "1000 Soul Singers" initially comes across a well-executed slice of radio-friendly soul-pop: all caramel vocals, retro strings and clean, quantized beats. Of course this being a Gutterfunk release, the formula is given a twist with the addition of some accelerate DnB beats in the chorus. Remix-wise we get deep, choppy hip-hop (Addison Groove), tribal house (Jus Now) and hypey footwork-tinged DnB (Break).

Review: Dropping on DJ Die's pleasingly-varied Gutterfunk label, these two collaborations contain some absolute ghetto-bass gold. Interface and Minus rise up to nu-juke tempos and deliver a storming, Om Unit/Machinedrum-esque mix of pitched-up samples and D&B-inspired drum work. Die and Mensah however work a bleeped-out beauty on "Firing Line", with some unorthodox kick patterns and intense atmospheres providing a gritty yet hyped delight. Early support from Addison Groove, Claude Von Stroke, Eats Everything, Toddla T and Sub Focus among others suggests this double-sided release is going to be a very big deal indeed.

Review: From Bristol D&B legend DJ Die's new imprint Gutterfunk, this split single sees fellow Bristolian Mensah tear it up in an early-80s electro style on "The Resistance" - using a sack full of vintage drum machine sounds mixed with post-Detroit pads and grimey bass - while Pulsar and First Aid get even deeper on a hardcore minimal dub tip with the breathtaking "Bombaclat".