Night Slugs At Juno Download

Review: Bok Bok has played a significant role in reinvigorating the contemporary bass music scene with the unique brand of neon-tinged grime/dubstep/house purveyed on the Night Slugs imprint he runs with L-Vis 1990. It's strange then to think that he hasn't graced the NS label with any original material of his own until now, but the Southside EP delivers on the hype and expectation that preceded the release. Kicking off with "Charisma Theme", it's all swirling, hazy atmospherics and taught chiming for the first part. Immediately demanding attention, the hollow thumping kicks of the intro swiftly build into a clipped, rolling riddim with clapping beats and quirky, fidgeting melody and undulating b-line below. "Hyperpass", up next, is a much deeper, darker beast, with ominous dread vocal, a dubbed out soundscape, the sound of rainfall and urgent, insistent beats pumping out menacingly. Moving on, "Reminder" is all hissing hats and searing snares, coupled with lassoing synths and a simple, repetitive bleepy melody. Then, there's "Silo Pass" with its scythe sharpening intro, and distant voices, weighty subs and rattling SFX, before grime-infused half step smasher "Look" concludes the EP, with poised and understated prowess.

Review: Canadian Egyptrixx drops his debut release on Night Slugs. Treading the line between house, techno, dubstep and experimental, "The Only Way Up" features some seriously twangy keys which are pulled and groped in every direction yet somehow emerge as a beautiful melody. "Everybody Bleeding" meanwhile takes the twang factor to new extremes, building a catchy hook from the key stabs - pure genius. On the flip we are treated to a remix from Hyperdub golden girl Ikonika, who transforms the title track into a melodic afterhours jam exuding sweetness and hope, while Brooklyn DJ Kingdom turns "Everybody Bleeding" into a serious dubstep workout with some serious R&B vibes and sub bass.

Review: After breaking through with some powerful EPs on Night Slugs, Girl Unit is back to continue what he started. Interestingly, the grimey element in his earlier output has been replaced by a screamingly loud electro influence, positioned in the kind of snappy funk favoured by EDMX and his Breakin Records posse. From "Ensemble (Club Mix)" to "Plaza", the sharp edges of the synth work chafe against crisp drum machine workouts, leaving six cold crush bangers in their wake. It's something of a departure for Girl Unit, but he's absolutely nailed the target sound with tracks that will absolutely tear up the dance.

Review: Despite having a moniker which sounds like an all-female pop outfit from the 90s, you'll be glad to hear that Girl Unit, is, in fact, nothing of the sort. A house aficionado of the highest calibre, the South London based producer blends elements of UK funky, 2-step, house, garage, Chicago juke and shades of dubstep with an iconoclastic irreverence for genre boundaries. Appearing on Bok-Bok and L-Vis 1990's label, Night Slugs, the I.R.L EP marks the third release for the burgeoning young imprint, which was established earlier this year. The EP - incidentally one of the most hotly tipped records around at the moment - begins with the title track. A dramatic, cinematic intro (rather reminiscent of D&B producer Rockwell's "Noir") initiates the proceedings with a thumping statement of intent and screechy, sliding synth embellishments. A hollow, clip-clop beat underpins the track, moving from dark, moody moments to more mellow, Mount Kimbie-style sections with masterful ease. DVA takes things down a tougher, rougher street with the tapping, grinding synthetics and raw industrial edge of his 'Hi Emotions' remix, whereas Young Gunz crew member, French Fries tunes in to a funky vibe, with shuffling rhythms, a nod to soca and lashings of sun-drenched tropical exoticism.

Review: Commonly regarded as the centrepiece of Night Slugs first year as a label, Girl Unit's incendiary ode to dirty south hip-hop is pretty much the epitome of a track that needs no extra embellishment. However we guess you can relent when Dirtybird deity Claude Von Stroke reveals an interest in tackling it. Thus Night Slugs present two of three Von Stroke remixes of the track - expect the third "Fully Dressed" version to appear on a forthcoming remix compilation. Strains of both the "Undressed" and "Butt Naked" remixes were heard several times over the Sonar weekend, and the titles lend some clues as to the stripped down nature of the results. The former slowly reveals an 8bit soaked variant on that distinct synth refrain over skeletal drums which explodes into brilliant colour at just the right moment. The Butt Naked remix is a far darker affair but no less potent.

Review: Keen observers of the Night Slugs movement will have noticed a consistent stream of Jam City tracks featuring in the DJ sets, charts, mixes and weekly Rinse FM shows performed by Messrs Bok Bok and L-Vis 1990 which even predate NS as a label entity. As Night Slugs draws close to a near perfect first year of business, they quit with the teasing and finally unveil the debut proper EP from Jam City. "Magic Drops" has been a staple of the extended NS family DJ set for yonks now so anyone with a semblance of club going in them will be more than familiar with the pressurised crunk grind meets blissed out keys and sludge drunk synths Eski riddim tribute. What really impresses is the richness in sonic detail throughout - you can listen to "Magic Drops" ten times in a row and find something different to captivate you. "Scene Girl" retains the industrial pressure style percussion, but lays down A saw tooth synth wash that positively bullies its way to the forefront, whilst "2 Hot" drops some half step menace courtesy of the massive cloud of outergalactic synth tension. This release combined with the preceding Refixes EP proves to be an auspicious portent of things to come in 2011!

Review: Lesser spotted Night Slugs alumni Jam City offers an auspicious insight into what we might expect from his often hinted at debut album on the startling Waterworx EP. It's likely you will already have a taste for the three tracks here after snippets appeared unannounced on the NS Soundcloud, however those 90 second samples don't fully hint at the magic on display here! "Aquabox" shoots muscular stabs of bass and neon flourishes skywards over a stumbling steppahs rhythm, pausing briefly to let the crystalline jah infused undercurrents shine. Up next, "Countess" sits alongside the recent John Roberts remix of George Fitzgerald in the "what do we even call it" stakes - if there ever was a track to definitely silence the wanton genre givers it would be this - with a tight strutting bruk riddim subjected to a schizophrenic array of snaking arpeggios and vocal squeals. "Barely A Trak" is really where those snippets don't reveal Jam City's brilliance, combining the rising pressure of the synth ripples with simmering stop start grime patterns before a genius left turn lends the track a utopian finish.

Review: Having already bolstered the Night Slugs mission across an EP and occasional other appearances, Kingdom returns to his neon-lit home with more of that R&B flavoured business. "Let You No" rides one of those quintessential clean, precise dubstep beats that the NS crew love so well, while the melodies fall thick and bright around a decisive vocal rip. It's immaculately produced, while "Stalker Ha" manages to eke out more of an edge with some wild samples and hits over a more punchy UK Funky beat. "Dreama" sees Kingdom exploring his sound more, slowing the beat down to let his imaginative synth work fly free. Check it.

Review: After the shimmering pop tendencies of his recent album and accompanying single, L-Vis 1990 hits up Night Slugs with five downright nasty slices of stern-faced jackhammer material. Whether it's the whumping bass of "Workout", the grinding hats of "Video Drone" or the more restrained techno of "Hard Drive", this is clearly a statement on how to make cruelly effective floor tracks with the DJ in mind. For a no-frills approach to tools, you'd be hard pressed to find a selection that slots in between the current mess of genres in clubs as easily as these grim rippers.