Review: Matthew Farrow takes a break from his Kepler alias to deliver this sure shot of garage rudeness to Burnski's Instinct label, and he's sounding absolutely on point. "Inside" has plenty of MC flava sprinkled over it, not to mention all the 4x4 rudeness you could wish for from the bassline upwards. "Steppa" is a more soulful cut with a crafty breakstep twist to it, while "Rouge Fader" brings it back to that naughty middle ground between uptempo house and proper swinging garage, DX7 organ and all. "Break" gets tricky with the drum licks again, completing a set of good time rabble rousing business.
Review: The mysterious 0311 turns in this beguiling five track EP for Concrete Cut. As a member of the Warsaw based Underground Perception collective, this solo outing skirts the outer limits of future dubstep, seamlessly blending the influences. Opening track "System" is a sign of things to come, a skittering garage beat offset with smooth pads and swirling atmospherics. "Warsaw Dream" offers up a female vocal sample and chord stabs while "It's Not True" strips things right back to the core. "White Shadows" ventures further into garage territory while EP closer "Last Nite" has a quirky downtempo feel.
Review: Every now and then a producer comes along who changes the game with a forward thinking new approach to a familiar sound. Hailing from Leeds Dan Smith, aka 1Point5, is gearing up to be one of those guys. This, his latest for In:Flux, boasts three fresh new jams - the dubby, percussive moodiness of the title track, quirky, skippy 4 x 4 of "Brock 2000", a collaboration with GLVR, and the wobble/2-step mash up "Sun Comes Up". There are also three remixes, the best of which is the distorted crunch of Tik&Borrow's pounding rework.
Review: For his debut on Phucked Recordings, 1Point5 has delivered a very impressively produced offering indeed. Intricate, 2-step infused beats jostle for supremacy with bouncy dubby bass notes and a slick vocal from Al Rolfe, before they conclude that basically they all win. Remix wise, Moxix opts for a synth heavy post dubstep reworking replete with crying baby sampling whilst Nu-Direction offers up a futuristic doomy D&B revision.
Review: More UK-leaning hybrid house from the Project Allout collective, and it looks like we have a brave newcomer on the scene in 1Thirty! The young bass-slinger opens with the wobbly garage swings of "Brain Zap", followed by the equally off-kilter yet sexy and utterly danceable bass waves of "Throttle". "Warped Steel" is more on the two-step end of the game, thanks to its sporadic beats and stop-start motion, but the man's collaboration with Karl Vincent on "Revolt" is what'll surely get the floor rockin' sideways. Yes, yes - pull up!
Review: Jamie and Matt from Brighton, also known as 2 Rotten Scoundrels proudly mix up garage, house and breaks. "Hypnotise" by 2 Rotten Scoundrels is dark, UK bass influenced tech house for South London basement shut-ins. A heavy swing fuelled beat supports a razor sharp melody and heavy bass assault. Those Burial style R&B pitch shifted vocals are a nice touch too. "2 Rotten Scoundrels" by the mysterious Deepish (see what they did there!) gets a bit more on the progressive house tip it seems for a minute. With its hands in the air organ stab melody, but wait until that grimy UK bass starts tearing through the track, and it's absolutely sick.
Review: Bass music heavyweights Night Bass make another fantastic addition to this years release listings with a heated three tracker from San Francisco's own 219 Boys. The title track for this EP is an animated bass adventure, full of swerving bass synths and intricate rhythmic ideas. Following his we have "Back Down" which takes a more techy approach, focussing on low end moogy oscillations and a stream of choppy vocal samples. Finally we move into the jukey drums and fidgety synths movement of 'Strizzy'. This one is a certified roller and a great way to round up a quality EP.
Review: Having already gained interest from some compilation appearances, the Unmade EP is actually the first release proper from this San Francisco outfit. Night Bass have to really trust an artist to put out their records and thankfully 219 Boys don't let them down. There are three spacey and imaginative takes on bass music here, starting with the cheeky Les Grossman-sampling melodic house opener "FYOF". Next is "Unmake" which is a slinky slice of sauntering tech-funk, before "Risk" drives things harder bringing some heavy underground vibes into the mix.
