Review: The beauty about every Gutterfunk drop is that we genuinely never know what to expect, but boy are we over the moon with this brand new 'Works Gutterfunk' V/A selection. We begin with the 80's inspired synthetic drives of Nuff Pedals, who revamps 'Brand New Drop' from Addison Groove into a sunshine-ready roller, before DJ Die, Skuff & Prime Cuts join forces for a moody, organic display of modern rap mastery entitled 'Right About Now', laced with a damage-inducing bassline. The future-bass inspired synthetic structures and pulsating drum crunches of Yung.Raj's 'Fighting You' then switch the direction entirely, before Project Ryan takes it old school with a combination of hardcore and breaksy influences across 'SE4'. It's another successful outing for the Gutterfunk team.
Review: With Addison Groove being one of the most renowned names in UK dance music, his unique, clicky approach to rhythmic bliss is constantly yielding fantastic new originals. We see him land his latest album project on Gutterfunk and what a project it is. The album as a whole boasts a magnificent soundscape, from the experimental funky melodies of 'Rele Dawomey' alongside the wonderful Chouk Bwa, to the junglist switch ups of 'Dreamscape 12' and system basslines of 'Burning Spear'. There is also a touch of classic Addison throughout, through the clicky percussive blueprints of 'Bass Trips' and jukey switch ups of 'Out Of Nowhere'. We also can't get enough of the bubbly grooves of 'Brand New Drop', an inspired funky roller, personifying the organic energy of the project perfectly.
Review: Four-to-the-floor, let us hear you roar... Fracture's Astrophonica goes into techno overdrive with this crucial collection of 4x4 inspired jams. With cuts from the bossman himself, Lewis James, Addison Groove, Moresounds, Sam Binga and Om Unit (under his Philip D Kick alias) all running rampant at around 160BPM there's a heavy stench of hardcore rolling throughout this unique collection. Highlights include the acid funk frenzy of Addison Groove's "Redeye", the ghettotek badness of Binga & ONHELL's "A Mighty Quest" and the late night 23rd century car chase vibes of Lewis James' "Kit5000". These are just a handful of examples of the truly unique fusions on offer here. Astrophonica are way ahead of the game right here.
Review: The quality of the 50 Weapons output is always supreme and our German friends really do know how to pull together a diverse and extensive collection of their latest catalogue signings - a sure buy for anyone wanting a glimpse into the world of the most cutting-edge bass music around. Among the twelve stormers we have Dark Sky's "Shutter Speed" which pulls together wacky basslines and rolling tech beats; Addison Groove's usual footwork magic represented here as "I Go Boom"; "Malfunction (Despair) by the nuttiest technoid producer known to man - A Made Up Sound - and even Marcel Dettman's foreboding "Linux" monster. An essential collection.
Review: Stepping up with his second album for 50 Weapons, Addison Groove is once again mining the rhythmic excitement of juke and footwork and working it into his blue-hued melodic headspace. Standout vocal cut '"Just You" is a prime example of the upbeat flavour across the album, while "11th" matches the plush harmonies with moodier switch-ups, and "The Spirit Level" drops the tempo into a house bump that lends itself to the illustrious synth sweeps. Typically though the beats are in that twitchy middle ground between dubstep and footwork, leaving plenty of space for razor-sharp constructions and dazzling edits as best demonstrated on the dynamic acid roll of "Space Apples".
Review: Following the sad news of Rashad's passing, this latest single from the ever-productive Addison Groove takes on a more poignant nature as the late footwork legend guests on the second track. That the track is called "U Been Gone" only adds to the emotional weight of it, not to mention the wistful keys and yearning vocal lick. Elsewhere Addison Groove is on typically fiery form, from the rave baiting whiplash of "Push It" to the weighty bassbin busting badness of "Dat Ass". The samples are beyond cheeky in their recognisability, and it matters not a jot when the music kicks as hard as this.
Review: Bringing a measured kind of juke menace to the 50 Weapons camp, regular attraction Addison Groove this time links up with fellow Bristol bass maven Sam Binga for some short and snappy cuts that explore diverse corners of electronica while all riding that hyped-up tempo. "Rzor" keeps things strictly rhythmic with its rush of 808 beats moving through pitch tweaks and rubbing up against found sound percussion. "Thr3id" gets twisted up in melodic stabs and the kind of gnarly acid spits you might find on Drukqs-era Aphex, bouncing off steady central motifs in order to fire off as many drum machine samples as possible in a three minute time frame. "11th" is even further into deploying intricate melodic darts that zip through the rapid fire beats, delicate chimes offset by dreamy synths and stuttering samples. "Ol Man EK" whips all these feelings up into a perfect summation track, capturing the bittersweet-ness of early jungle and vintage deep house in amongst a positively futuristic flurry of percussion.
Review: With Modeselektor's highly lauded 50 Weapon's imprint on its way out after a great run of seminal releases, they're going out all guns blazing with two absolute killer tracks. The first from UK bass hero Antony Williams aka Headhunter aka Addison Groove, who throws down the jacking and unrelenting juke inflected monster that is "Allaby". Beware, there's some serious bass frequencies on this one! If that was not enough, they commission Berlin techno maverick and one half of MMM Erik Wiegand aka Errorsmith for some of his typically bleepy, massive and downright outrageous main room monsters in the form of "Airbag". If you thought the bass on the previous track was too much, just wait until you hear this full frontal sub assault.
Review: Bristol's Addison Groove is back and getting well funky on this one! The Groove boss and 50Weapons staple gets some low slung party vibes into full effect on "F1nk" - a wicked tool that's looped to perfection. Next up, he goes deeper into the night on the hypnotic and very exotic polyrhythmicity of "Sudoeste" which features good mate Bim Sanga - it follows up their excellent Where Are The People EP on Bags Inc. last year. This one was our pick of the two and is perfect for those heads-down or 'get weird' moments on the dancefloor. Tip!
Review: Following last year's Where Are The People release, Addison Groove and Bim Sanga get together to deliver another Bags Inc release. Drawing on deep house textures and a ghetto 'work' sample, "D Question" is a tough, steely affair, designed with crisp drums and angular rhythms. "Seven of Nine" is more stripped back and sees the pair deploy a repetitive sample, albeit over a noisy, jacking groove. Changing tact again, the duo deliver "Bashton Valed", where a predatory bass underpins dreamy synths and strings that float over an acid backing. Rounding off the release is "Tanga Toll", which marks a return to a more pared back, jacking approach, albeit with the duo using a smart cut-up technique.
Review: While it might be tricky in these open-minded times for Scuba to shatter preconceptions the way that he did with his Sub:Stance mix a few years ago, this compilation should be seen really as a celebration of the man himself as a DJ. After launching with a decidedly minimalist approach, the mix meanders between pacey techno, bluesy broken beat and rolling dubstep tempos. At times the flow feels unsteady, but then it just rings true that he put this mix together for himself. Without a dancefloor to look after, who knows where many of our favourite DJs might take us?
