Keysound At Juno Download

Review: Beneath arrived on the scene earlier this year with two self-released white labels showcasing his unique strain of dark UK funky, and quickly won a number of high profile admirers. One was Keysound's Martin Clark, who has tapped him up for this superb six track EP. Traces of early Horsepower Productions can be heard in its combination of late garage and early dubstep rhythms, as can the early productions of Youngsta, creating a sub-heavy set of percussive rollers taking as much from the current strain of techno & grime fusions as UKF. "Prangin" goes in with a deeply tribal vibe, "Wonz" is filled with angular rhythms and Shackleton style atmospherics, and "Tribulation" even has the subtle Eastern tones of Pinch's "Qawwali", but the most striking track has to be Beneath's remix of Ballistiq Beats' "Concrete Jungle", proving that his productions absolutely shine with some classic grime flow.

Review: Always attuned to smart remix moves, Blu Mar Ten turn to the blossoming talents of the LHF collective to rework their "All Or Nothing" track. Coming to life on a bed of pads and haunting vocal howls, it's quite a restrained beat that Helix and LDM take on. The atmosphere is a much more mellow affair than you might expect, using lilting strings and gently bubbling bongos to soothe rather than agitate. As the track progresses, it builds in a subtle crescendo of symphonic melodies crafted from these largely organic means, until it plateaus on a beatless bed for the ultimate eyes-closed finish.

Review: Blazing a promising trail with his neon-lit funky styles, Damu delivers this four track selection to Keysound with an undeniable effervescence in his demeanour. The synths are surely the key players in these tracks, not least on the upbeat clarion call of "Ridin". Anyone who caught the sunkissed charms of the Oriol album on Planet Mu will find plenty of melodic satisfaction to enjoy here, albeit in a more steppy setting. As the EP progresses the weirdness creeps in, culminating to a brilliant end with the unhinged pitch-bending of "Karolina's Magic J", which will definitely appeal to your inner freak.

Review: With two EPs on Local Action and Keysound already under his belt, Damu here delivers his debut long player for the latter imprint. As you would expect from a label as on point as Keysound, Damu brings something unique to the table with his brand of UK funky, combining expertly sampled R&B vocals and neon synths. But it's the after-hours vibe and organic rhythms that permeate his productions which really stands out, particularly in the complex and shimmering melodies of "Breathless" and piercing melancholy of "Don't Cry In My Bed". Most impressively however, is the range of genres and tempos which Damu turns his hand to; "Maths Is Fine for Some" evokes the swampy techno of Andy Stott, whilst "Waterfall of Light" and "Plasm" call to mind the freeform juke template of Machinedrum. Essential stuff.

Review: Dusk and Blackdown have been operating on the progressive end of the dubstep spectrum for some time, having released their first material way back in 2005. Desaflex, their second full-length, continues where previous sets left off, offering a deep but surprisingly floor-friendly take on dubstep. Taking influences from a variety of sources - IDM, electronica, garage and UK funky, most obviously - they offer-up a series of well-polished but pleasingly analogue-sounding cuts full of energy and, most importantly, good ideas. At times, their brand of finely tuned bass-tronica sounds like early Black Dog with a dubstep pulse, at others like a futurist outing to Croydon. Throughout, it's a delightful listen.

Review: It's been a long time since Dusk & Blackdown committed themselves to a release proper, and they're doing so now on their own Keysound imprint. Kicking off with "High Road", which features a guest contribution from Burial, the atmosphere is a spooky one that employs smatterings of mournful vocal over a pacey rhythm and an immersive tapestry of sounds and samples that keep the track dynamic and ever-engaging despite its surface minimalism. "Focus VIP" is a more forthright affair, still drenched in drama but with a propulsive groove and lashings of strings, rousing details and a mean Reese bass line. That leaves it "Ex-Swing" to chuck the beat out of leftfield in a snappy 2-step reduction that maximizes on stop-start impact at the end of each bar.

Review: With 2011 being Keysound's most prolific year to date, the label enters 2012 with a fantastic EP from two of the label's old hands, Dusk and Kowton. Utilising a clipped UK Funky beat and restless sub with symphonic ambience, Dusk's "Fraction" expertly channels its rhythmic intensity, while Kowton's rework highlights the production's darker corners, utilising sinister melodies and collage-like movie samples to nightmarish effect. Kowton's "Looking At You" is up next; taking a brittle Destiny's Child sample as its main hook, it manages to sidestep the problems usually associated with contemporary R&B sampling by keeping its melodic elements to a minimum, concentrating on shackled garage rhythms and a growling undercurrent of bass. It's more overtly contemporary than his recent material for [Naked Lunch] and Idle Hands, but still has all the unmistakable hallmarks of his unique sound.

Review: Despite the somewhat questionable use of a sample from The Matrix kicking things off, the third installment of the LHF series on Keysound is a remarkable revitalizing of original dubstep ethics. Double Helix crafts an utterly perfect mood of edgy paranoia on "LDN", where intricate rhythms echo out in ample space while whispers of jungle flirt in the background. Amen Ra keeps the bar high on "Essence Investigation", as the half-step swagger does battle with occasional flurries of breaks and melodies. No Fixed Abode pushes things even further out into sparse rhythm and Indian folk elements, and just like that, dubstep sounds like the most exciting music in the universe again.

Review: With the series of 12" s garnering ever more praise among dubstep purists, Keysound capitalise on the appreciation of the LHF collective and issue forth a whole album's worth of material under the appropriate title Keepers Of The Light. The reason the crew is heralded is not because of some stout insistence on making endless monochrome 2003 style dubstep, but because the vitality the genre poses at its best is evident throughout their output. There's a heavy focus on Indian classical samples in many of the tracks which harks back to Dusk & Blackdown's Margins Music, but really the whopping 26 track selection is pushing a brand of freshness in a half-step context which is all their own.

Review: There were two tracks on LV's Message To Bears destined to get the masses grinning and raving, and now they've committed those two tracks to a surefire single package. "Northern Line" could almost be written off as pure novelty, were the production behind it not so sharp and addictive. The bouncy rhythm employs a sumptuous range of duelling percussion, while the synth stabs through the mix to keep things skipping forwards. On the flip, "Primary Colours" bolsters a stabbing rave hook with a rolling break and plenty of classic "yeah, whoop!" samples, while the growling sub anchors the kitsch surface elements.

Review: Under the control of Martin Clark, Keysound has been one of the more reliable imprints mapping the slow mutation of dubstep, garage and grime. Though its early years saw appearances from the likes of Kowton, Skream, Burial and Zomby, recent releases have seen the label develop its catalogue with a range of under the radar artists, maintaining a critical distance from flash in the pan trends with albums from Sully, LV and LHF, and singles from the likes of Beneath and Logos. Now the label delivers their first compilation; some 14 tracks deep, it's the perfect encapsulation of the fresh music Clark regularly represents on his Rinse FM residency with Dusk. Featuring a host of unheralded talent in the form of Rabit, E.m.m.a., and Samrai alongside established producers such as Beneath, Visionist and Gremino, the compilation's material is representative of the forward-thinking material Clark has been particularly vocal about of late, united by what he describes as a "130bpm heartbeat".

Review: Keysound bring together a gaggle of relatively fresh names to throw it down in a rowdy fashion. Walton rips into action under a hail of gunshots, deploying some deadly grime strings over a pulsing UK Funky rhythm. Gremino meanwhile has his own brand of virulent bass music to share, moving scattily through all manner of brutal synth notes before pulling off a shockingly long drop out, only to come back barking the same lurching mantra. Visionist is more dextrous with "Come In", scattering a manic array of vocal samples over a moody backbone. Vibezin rounds things off with possibly the most essential cut, catching a strange soundtrack vibe in the midst of a snapping found-sound beat that sounds as future as it gets right now.

Review: Bringing a classic approach to dread-filled dubstep paranoia, Wen steps up to Keysound with a swagger that would sit comfortably alongside the sub-hassling pressure of DMZ. "Commotion" rubs back and forth in a cold refrain devoid of melody in favour of unrelenting bass and distant wraiths of sound, only inhabited by a scattered slice up of an MC. "Nightcrawler" heads into a grimier territory, working some crafty synth moves and a keen sense of sound design into a dynamic stalker of a track, while "Spark It" deconstructs electro down to its barest ingredients, and slamming a hefty bass throb underneath. "Road" completes the package in morbid fashion, making it a sturdy four tracker of the most fearsome kind of dubstep.