Lucky Beard Rec At Juno Download

Review: Having produced countless records over the last ten years, former jazzy Tuscan club saxophonist Cristiano Crisci (aka Digi G'Alessio) has finally cracked the big time. This, his second release for Lucky Beard, continues his newfound African inspiration and has lead to support from the likes of Diplo, Brodinski and Sinden. "Trwick" is a mass of cut up tribal loops with both flute and bass in abundance. Elsewhere "Addis Abeba" is all trippy crickets and bongo night beats, which is taken to the next level on "Black Therapy". Finally "Ivory" speeds things up and ends on a frenetic high.

Review: Italian producer Digi G'Alessio presents the Lucky Bald EP, comprised of six hard hitting bass mutations covering a whole spectrum of genres - "Mike Tyson" for example is a brooding grime influenced number, while "No Questions" and "Fi Pi Li" take a slower, dub heavy approach, but it's his (brilliantly named) juke cuts that really impress: the gruff vocal and driving arpeggio of "Juke The Ripper" are as visceral an experience as the name suggests, whilst "Juke Casella" takes a more threadbare rhythmic structure beefed up with punishing subs. "Juke Skywalker" is undoubtedly the best of the lot, marrying some mangled vocals with some twisted acid lines. Big stuff!

Review: Continuing his adventures into rough and ready hyper-modern rave business spinning off of the bass music zeitgeist, Distal comes bowling up to Lucky Beard with this rowdy selection of party smashers. "Hard House Cheer Squad" brings in all manner of dutty ass wiggling tropes, from trap drums to jungle breaks, while the melodies peal out in technicolour tones and the vocals come hopping in from all angles. "Diamond Leather Shock" is a more heads down affair that pushes the musicality to one side and focuses on intense drum programming and sample triggering in a frenzied attack on the senses. Bringing a different vibe altogether, "Chucky Saturn" strips everything back and focuses on a more ambient tone with just a smattering of the usual Distal drums, synths and samples compared to the normal overload.

Review: A key step in success for all gentlemen - grow a beard. Richard Branson, Mr T and Brian Blessed can all attest to this. Can't grow one? Subscribe to Lucky Beard's regular audio newsletters and experience the same level of achievement. This month's hairy heaven comes from Italian bass noob Fuuku; with support from genre-jumping DJs such as Martello, it's a swaggering synth-horn heaver armed with a mischievous low-swung groove. Looking for more high-end naughtiness? Head for the brightly-lit bleep fest from Lucky Beard long-timer Digi G'Alessio.

Review: Luckybeard is both the artist and label name of Italian producer Francesco Barbaglia. Proudly 'devoted to electro, house, dubstep and bass music', it's no surprise then to hear his latest release comprises elements of virtually all of these genres. Production-wise, Barbaglia deals in controlled chaos, and he does so to totally bonkers effect on the frankly incendiary "Descending Love", the apocalyptic crescendo of which has to be heard to be believed.

Review: Natlek is a 22 year old Italian producer called Giovanni Manzoli whose life motto is "never say no to a panda" Apparently a panda has never said no to him either (nope, us neither). Anyway it makes sense that this bonkers bass EP is being released on the equally bonkers bass label Lucky Beard. "At L'Ass" is a totally weird voodoo ghetto banger in the same vein as Marble Players. "Bart Wiser", based around a Diplo-style gunshot sample, sounds like a shoot-out at a strip club. Lastly "Beck's Bunny" is an insane staccato stop-starter featuring chopped up vocals and a malfunctioning keyboard. In other words, excellent!

Review: Following huge releases from Digi G'Alessio and Stabber in recent months, Crookers' Lucky Beard imprint comes through with another EP of weird and wonderful yet heavy bass hybrids. "Skills" takes a house structure and flips it round with its skeletal beats and vocal samples and thundering low-end, while "Crafting" takes 808 percussion and wraps it up in some moody bass rumble. "Thief", "Mage" and "Warrior" meanwhile opt for some dubstep-style half-time action, which despite their hip-hop shapes are undeniably heavy beasts.

Review: Lucky Beard introduce the hitherto unheard sounds of Italian producer RVBRA to the world with this two track EP of bass-heavy hybrid sounds that come stripped back and lean. The acoustic tones that open "Fisting Alliance" suggest a gentle ride, but that's before the stop-start kick drums come raining down, while chopped up vocals and abstract synths add to the track's dark and sinister quality. "Crude Oil" meanwhile is a more frantic affair, combining stark, jagged bass with syncopated percussion, taking the standard bass template and adding unique texture with its strange, reverb heavy atmosphere, coating the whole thing in sepia-toned grime.

Review: This Italian producer dropped the eyebrow-raising Fisting Alliance last summer before dropping...er, off the radar! Well, fear not because he's back and he means business. This two-tracker arrives sounding not quite like anything else: "Never Shaved" is a killer concoction of weird tribal beats (almost sounding like early Crookers in places), creepy night jungle noises and whistles and things. In short, the best voodoo party on the island. "Mungi" again features almost fidget-y beats (too early for a revival?), in fact that's pretty much all it features as it really is a totally percussive freakout, but it's all the better for it.

Review: It's probably best we establish that Stabber has never actually stabbed anyone. Don't go citing the trade descriptions act, though; all that red tape and paperwork will prevent him from making beats as rich and gnarly as this. "S4LM4" nods towards the burgeoning trap-step sound with firing sirens and a growing sense of nastiness. "LeadHer" is a successful series of warped stabs that ping back and forth with heroic hypnotism, building with an ominous sense of drama, while "Abduction" completes the set with true halfstep menace. It's probably best we establish that Stabber has never abducted anyone, too...

Review: Stabber's The Torsion EP comes courtesy of Lucky Beard Recordings and is a true gem, which should appeal to fans of the more experimental edge of underground electronica. The five-track EP kicks off with "Proven", in which chopped up vocal element reverberates around dizzying beats and heavy swathes of bass. Next is "Torsion Force" - an excellent cut with throbbing bass stabs, pounding beats and an industrial edge. "B-Ass" takes things on an even deeper experimental tip, whilst "Paul Hangar" gets dark and menacing and then "Wooh" brings the EP to a resounding close.