Review:
Back with his third album, Big Beat pioneer Lee "Cut La Roc" Potter has created a kaleidoscopic set of songs that make his early days on Skint suddenly seem like a very long time ago. As someone who grew up on hip-hop, it's maybe not surprising to hear so many influences at work at one time. There are plenty of B-Boy references, most notably on "Come Get Some" which features an amazing guest spot from MC Donald D, as well as a choice sample from Big Daddy Kane's "Warm It Up Kane". There's also the use of classic UBB tune Pussyfooter on the schizoid party-banger Jump Up & Down.

But surprisingly, there are a host of other styles on show here as well. Pop gets a look in on For The Kids, which uses a Robbie Williams chorus as a hook in between raps from The 6th Letter. Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol even makes an appearance on Mishka, with La Roc making a soundbed of sampled strings for the singer to let loose on. A pair of songs with vocalist Alex Larke also showcases some unexpected influences. Don't Stop seems pleasantly indebted to The Rolling Stones, while their other collaboration Candy Man is a slow and sentimental piano-led ballad.

There's still a lot of jump-up club tunes that fans would expect from a Cut La Roc album, like the awesome Nightlife Love and Hey Girl which features a great performance from Ragga MC Lion D. But it's refreshing to hear a DJ produce an album that takes them out of their comfort zone, especially when it works as well as Larger Than Life.