Sounds Of Sumo At Juno Download

Review: Hailing from Vancouver, Canada, HxdB aka hexadecibel, is a producer on a mission to deliver forward-thinking bass music to the world. Judging by this, his latest EP, he's right on track. "Up", takes sparse garage beats and elevates them with spacey rave synths, killer staccato rhythms and claps, into a heavenly slice of dancefloor gold. "Stylish Cadaver" is an awesome excursion into tropical riddims, high-pitched vocals and apocalyptic synth chords. Bwana and Grenier provide rain-kissed and synth-drenched mixes respectively. Remixes of the title track come from Pasteman who evokes the spirit of Copacabana in his version and Bassmynt who's mix is all about trippy garage.

Review: Released by Sounds of Sumo, French producer Hybu shows off his passion for UK bass old and new on this latest EP. "Gemini" is a subtle, Euro-influenced take on modern garage with some truly panoramic melodies and stabbing chords, while "Water Planet" uses warped Detroit pads and blunt sub bass to create a charming yet fiery UKF burner. The hype come from "New Bump" though, with a fresh use of the Amen break interspersed with kaleidoscopic chords and chopped and filtered vocal shots. Slevarance smashes it out the park with a Bmore-influenced mix that is bound to garner even more praise for this up and coming producer.

Review: Having initially started out making faster, D&B style beats, UK duo Kingsin have settled nicely into a more 2-step/technoid groove, as this exciting new EP on Sounds Of Sumo shows. The chilly minimal-step of "Amazon Boogie" is an entrancing opener, while "Come Find Me" is a creeped-out compression fest mixing Bernard Herrmann strings and lush tropical percussion at around 130 BPM. The title tune is pure UK bass goodness, in the mould of Ikonika or early Joy O, and the outstandingly icy "War Den" rounds off the set with a nod to their D&B roots - a gnarly, fast tech beat bubbling under a sub-sonic bass with loads of dubby vocals swirling around the mix for good measure.

Review: We know about the boy who cried wolf. But have you heard the one about the boy who cried Kry Wolf? No, neither have we. But dropping this bottom end savvy b-boy workout will certainly keep the wolves from your door for a while. Elsewhere you'll find "Under My Skin", a bashy, darker number with an incessant rhythm and some nifty finger clicks and handclaps. There's plenty to chat about on the remix tip, too: Mak & Pasteman turn "Black & Blue" into a Guy Called Gerald flavoured acid house joint, Daniel Haaksman massages "Under My Skin" into a hypnotic Made To Play style mode while Real delivers a slice of two-step so sexy you'll want to marry it.

Review: Sounds Of Sumo label bosses Kry Wolf return to their home imprint with a bold new sound in the form of Concrete; eschewing their usually lighter take on bass music, the title track is a dark combination of wobble bass and dub atmospherics, held together with some steely techno rhythms which comes across like Objekt's "Cactus", while "Bluffin" combines more abstract beats with ghetto house-inspired vocal samples and dubby stabs. Woz is tapped up to remix the title track, being considerably more sparing with the savage bass and rearranging its rhythms into something altogether more angular; Benton's remix of "Bluffin" is classic SOS, providing a bouncy piece of bass-heavy garage house.

Review: Making quite a name for themselves with mixes of Canblaster, Reset!, Udachi and even Lady Gaga, as well as DJ support from the top tier of (such as A-Trak, Zinc, Roska, Lil Silva and Sub Focus), Sound of Sumo bosses Kry Wolf take a simple sax line and chop it to perfection on "Lost In Treme". In a Baltimore Club style, they sync the chopped samples up with heavy kicks to create a sparse yet hugely powerful sound, switching up octaves and adding misty keys on the process. "Begging You" is also included and is a straight up UKF banger, while mixes of both tunes from Dave Spoon, Mr Tickle and Unitz all shine on this excellent single.

Review: Epic and wonky house from this upcoming UK duo, who drop this EP for the Sound Of Sumo label replete with some excellent remixes. The original comes bursting with post-grime London 'tude, while Sam Tiba's mix strips things down for a deadly minimal half-stepper that spins off in its own direction perfectly. Zombies For Money work the tempos with a Canblaster-esque mix of crazy pitch-rises and tropical slow-downs, while Chaos In The CBD cooks up a dancehall/bass favourite.

Review: Mak & Pasteman deliver their long awaited debut for Sounds Of Sumo, with an EP that cannily blurs the lines between bass, dubstep and UK funky to spectacular effect. "Chakra" takes an Indian string sample and combines it with a growling bassline and funky snare rhythm, whilst "Move Something" is a fast moving bass roller with warm synth buildup and sweet vocals that recall Joy Orbison's early cuts. "Get With The Program" meanwhile sees the pair deliver a late night groover which filter a 90s house spirit through old school jungle rhythms, whilst "Heat" takes furious vocal pitching and melds it with a percussive masterclass to create a unique take on the big room sound. The EP comes with an embarrassment of remix related riches, from Tommy Kid, Bondax, Click and Kingsin, with CDBL's furious reworking of "Chakra" and Real's melodically rich reworking of "Heat", (which recalls James Blake at his finest) standing out for praise.

Review: Following up their last epic dancefloor bomb by label bosses Wool & Vortex, Sounds Of Sumo get deep down and utterly trippy with this extensive selection of bass bullets. Four original tracks, and six remixes, each cut is textured with all manner of fine-tuned noises, whooshes and rises. "Mami" leads from the front; a moombhaton inspired number with a speedy tempo and splintered vocal sample, it gets down to business quicker than you can say 'Lord Sugar'. "Postal" follows with a heavy Miami bass twang while "Lead Slipper" is a riveting take on both breakbeat and bashment. "You Seem" finishes the set with a far more subdued, future garage flavoured vibe. And that's all before we get to the remixes!

Review: You can count on Sounds Of Sumo to bring you the finest bass excursions but this time we have a very special remix pack from Nottingham's PY & Kadabrah. The original of "Black Magic" drops a hefty dosage of bass beats on top of the sexiest vocals we've heard in a while for a proper drum flex workout. Kry Wolf transforms the original into a rolling tech-house bomb; Tanka goes all deep and gorgeous, Murlo heads down the UK funky route with some wonderful drum re-wiring, while Real ties things off in 00's garage style - watch out for those vocal samples!

Review: Having previously contributed acclaimed cuts to Wolf Music and Pets Recordings releases, Squarehead makes his debut on Sounds of Sumo. In keeping with his previous output, Close is full of the sort of bouncy, retro-futurist garage fare that's so popular right now; all of the original tracks here are fantastic examples of the sound, from the MK vibes of the title track, to the sparkling pianos of "Part Deux" and bumpin' late night deepness of "Unreal". Remix-wise, head straight for the basement-bothering boom-bap business of CDBL's almighty tweak of "Close".

Review: A producer who has been a go-to guy for fans of forward-thinking bass and garage for the past year, Submerse builds on the excellent momentum of his solo releases (as well as his hook-ups with Resketch) with this delicious Bento Box EP. Whether he's mining shivery R&B textures on the tear-jerkin' "Move On", creating hyped house/dubstep fusions on "Need To Know" or truly mind-bending wobblers like the appropriately named "Monster", Submerse is simply on stunning form just now.

Review: Tee Circus returns to Sounds Of Sumo with an even ruder pair of tracks than those on his previous EP on the label; "MBH" is a tough piece of with a steely bassline and clipped 808 drums, while "The Wanderer" ups the squelch factor on the bassline to deliver a demented piece of UK funky with tweaked out vocals and incessant snare rushes. The release is completed with a pair of tasty remixes; Kry Wolf offers a tough tech-bass roller with fat bass stabs, tumbling percussion and cosmic synths, while Piri Piri turns in a sparse juke-inspired refix of "The Wanderer", whose crazed 808 cowbell and abstract sounds sound like Addison Groove on acid - worth the price of admission alone.

Review: London producer and DJ Tee Circus has already been receiving heavy support from Redlight and Monki on Rinse FM for "Plus 8" - a sleek yet effective bass winner that mixes rude acid swing with straight-ahead snares and hats - and for the more robust garage shuffle of "Flying Gangsta". As well as excellent mixes from Hidden Cat and Viers, incredible funky mentalists Jook 10 give "Plus 8" a filled-out UKF groove that simply shines.

Review: Straight out of Paris, Tommy Kid makes his debut for Sound of Sumo with this very large EP of murky bass treats. Title tune "East Street" recalls Boddika's spacey dub textures and crisp beats, while the more heavy-hitting "Foot Control" doses you up with sub-punishing bass wrapped around a chilly tropical-tech beat. "Alarm Riddim" is the real party starter though, with an upfront and jacking beat weaved into schizophrenic melodies and cloudy pads. With an extensive set of class remixes also on offer, our favourites so far are Misterweeks' hazy house rejig of "East Street" and Arcade's brilliantly twitchy UKF rerub of "Pump Up The Bass", but others from Kingsin, Squarehead Pasteman and more are all well worth investigating.

Review: In its original form, "Friends" is a track full of glorious contrasts. At times, it feels like an emotion-rich, melody-heavy tribute to touchy-feely dancefloor classics. At others, it stimulates the hips and feet with bleep-laden rhythms pitched somewhere between tropical, future garage and post-dubstep beats. The deeper, more atmospheric "Nothing" redresses the balance slightly, before "Effed Up" drags us kicking and screaming towards the dancefloor with some particularly pulsating garage grooves. Of the six accompanying remixes, it's the unashamedly positive vibes of Daniel Klauser that really hits the spit - though Sleverance's retro-futurist rave-up is also worth a listen.

Review: Sounds of Sumo present this rather stush remix package from the intriguingly monikered Whole Sick, which has already been gaining favour with electro house cognoscenti Crookers, Douster, DJ Ma1 and Brenmar. Arcade, First Down and Click all serve up remixes of a "Little Longer" - it's the mutant late night bass of First Down's version that ticks our boxes - while Murlo, Mak & Pasteman and First Down (again) tweak "Voodoo". Tropical rhythms abound!

Review: Someone who could well be a major player on the UK bass scene in the coming months - with releases forthcoming on Trouble & Bass and Top Billin - Whole Sick drops some fine and firey beats on this new EP via Sounds of Sumo. "A Little Louder" is a must for Sinden/Foamo fans with a winning mix of classic pianos, punchy, tropical drums and 90s vocal hooks. "Voodoo" builds on that formula magnificently, and has "anthem" written all over it, while "Episodes" is a more placid yet still hugely vital dancehall-themed raver.

Review: After the well-received "A Little Louder" EP, plus his hook-up with the mighty Tomb Crew for Top Billin' ("I Go Sick"), Justin Reid-Simms (aka Whole Sick) drops another seriously sick EP for Sounds of Sumo. Title-tune "Do The Do" is a seriously addictive mix of looped vocals over a hybrid house/garage beat, with some rogue piano stabs keeping it bubbly, while "Thinkin Bout U" is leans on a more UKF vibe, complete with ghostly detuned vocal stabs and some crunchy leads. Kry Wolf and Diamond Bass both weigh in with some top remixes of "Do The Do", while Wool takes "Think Bout U" on a deep and dubby voyage.

Review: Wool & Vortex's killer "Erotic Dancer" sees release on their ever dependable Sounds Of Sumo imprint, arriving replete with a raft of choice remixes. The original cut has an irresistible vocal, which rides smoothly atop a rock hard kick drum, splashing hats and phat bass line. This is backed by an altogether grubbier Dub version (our pick of the lot actually!) as well as refreshingly varies remixes from Grizzy alumnus Wafa and B-Ju, Piri Piri and Sonora. Another original cut in the shape of "Living The Dream" rounds off a frankly impressive package.