Night Slugs At Juno Download

Review: After the success of the original Southside EP last year, Bok Bok has called upon his mates to rework some of the lead cuts with results that stretch across the board. Sir Spyro has some filthy bass at the forefront of his playful reworking of "Silo Pass", while the horns get teased in the appropriate places to great effect. Vjuan Allure instead focuses on dry beats working around a UK Funky template, with only scattered effects left to fill in the gaps. Bok Bok's own remix of "Charisma Theme" piles the tension on high with dread strings and a snappy dispersal of percussion. L-Vis 1990 gets jacking with his take on "Reminder", leaving it to Helix to delve into a funky techno rut to conquer "Look".

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: Jam City's Classical Curves remains one of the 2012's most unique albums, but some may have been upset at the slightly DJ-unfriendly nature of the album edits. This EP addresses those issues and then some with a raft of unreleased cuts. Featuring 12" versions of standout tracks "The Courts" and "How We Relate To The Body", dub versions of "Her" and "Club Thanz", and an instrumental version of "The Nite Life", the real gem is nevertheless the all new track "Now We Relate". A 9 minute epic which stretches out Jam City's hyperreal house like a piece of elastic, it constantly hovers on the edge of mayhem for what seems like an eternity. Keeping the kick drum back until halfway through, its peak time stabs skipping maniacally like a broken record before dropping in with all the force of some lost Underground Resistance production. Essential.

Review: For all of the genre bending insanity of his early singles on Night Slugs, it's unlikely that anyone could have foreseen Jam City coming out with an album like this. Across ten tracks the producer delivers music that runs the gauntlet between Prince influenced funk that flickers like a burnt out neon sign, Chicago house that sounds like it was made in an echo chamber and Philly club that sounds like it was made for an athletics commercial. Despite its air of detached ADD hyperreality it's an album that's never cold, and never once looks down on the listener ... in short, absolutely essential.

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: Serious Baltimore business right here. KW Griff and Pork Chop's dark, chopped up club rider rolls with beefy kicks and a classic break. Released last year it's been picked up on by L-Vis 1990 who's gone ahead and given it a royal Night Slugs makeover. Subby, stripped back and munching its way through 808s, all that remains of the original are the vocal snippets and the same authentic sense of edge Griff and Chop conjured up in the first place. Heavyweight stuff.

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.

Review: The unstoppable march of Night Slugs continues apace as their Club Constructions series starts to take shape with these three cuts from Lil Silva. Unlike L-Vis 1990's starkly functional jackers in volume 1, it's not quite apparent what sets these tracks apart as specific "club constructions", but no matter, they hit where it counts. "Quest" rolls with a mean sinking bassline, while the beat jerks and snags. "The 3rd" is the real standout track though, grating on a maddening groove programmed from way out in leftfield, keeping things sparse and angular but most noticeably twitchy. Boundless joys await in watching people try to dance to this one.

Review: Always a tricky customer to get a handle on, just when you think you know where James Connolly is headed with his release arc he swerves back the other way, from chart-testing pop-inflected jams to raw club destroyers. On this latest march on his Night Slugs stomping ground, Connolly is definitely looking to rock the dance but he's not holding back on the musical elements either. On "Not Mad" there's plenty of boogie flavoured synth flares to inject some colour into proceedings, while the title track gets into an almost Autechre-styled disposition with it's mechanical warmth conundrum. "Signal" manages to conjure a powerful blend of electro funk dynamics and sci-fi moods that it's very hard to argue with.

Review: With an ever-strong commitment to their very unique brand of modern electronic dance music, the Night Slugs posse are rounded up once again for a stocktake on the follow up to the successful Night Slugs Allstars compilation. It's only with a chance to reflect such as this you can appreciate the range that falls neatly into the Night Slugs remit. At one turn you can be doused in the blinding sunshine of Girl Unit's cheery electro as on "Ensemble (Club Mix)", or at the next be confronted with the staggered stab frenzy of Helix's somewhat ironically named "Drum Track". Try reaching them without being thrown by Bok Bok's 31st century grime madness or Lil Silva's hyper-kinetic throwdown of mechanical psychedelia and you might have a chance of getting a handle on the label as a whole.