Review: The consistency levels of Downplay remain incredibly undersung in our eyes as they continue their fantastic run of new garage releases. This time around they welcome Phonetix across four tracks of high energy fire, kicking off with the hard hitting, moogy bass grooves of 'The Pay-Off', giving the EP a serious jump to start. We dive down a slightly more grimey route next as 'Lighting Fires' combines grizzly horns with super skippy drum arrangements and an eerie vocal for good measure, before 'Get On Down' delivers a very tidy display of percussive perfection and minimal melodic bliss. Finally, 'Alyssa' joins the party for her contributions on 'Goodbye', which through a stripped back fusion of sweet chord action and delicate vocal performance, puts the finishing touches on an excellent project.
Review: As ever with Tuff Culture, he remains at the forefront of garage music, this time showcasing more goodness with the third edition of his 'Roots' series with the GS Dubs gang. This time around we're in for one hell of a ride with 'Attack Of The Retro Consoles', as we kick off with 'N64', a sumptuous roller, stuffed with a combination of colourful melodies and intricate breaksy action, followed by the sizzling subs and groovy drum skips of 'Mega Drive', this time focussing on bassy goodness and simple rhythms to kick start any dance. We then finish up with a dash of finesse as 'C64' delivers the most groovy arrangement of the lot, dripping in vibrant drum arrangements and crunchy textures all around. Lovely work!
Review: The run that the Wang Records team has put together over the course of the last year or so has been nothing short of spectacular, showcasing some of the brightest garage sparks with a fantastic run of top quality singles. Today they welcome Yumna Black, a long-standing resident of the Beastwang live project, who lands here with a vibrant new single entitled 'D.E.M'. Combining nostalgic garage production with a lively vocal presence from Kurly, this is a perfect example of re-tuning classic UKG sounds with a 2021 twist. The project also comes complete with Yumna's vibrant instrumental version of the track, which even as a standalone is jam-packed with good energy!
