Review: Hot on the heels of Monty's EP comes another barbed and bulging EP from 1985 bossman Perez. Tapping into his darker, heavier machine funk tendencies, this is Alix in 3am drum & bass dance mode: "Lucky Charm" is a purring subby low-rider, "Blips" is straight back to 2009 with its angular two-step, sinewy sound design and badman bass and "Nighthawks" is a dark soul roller with subtle samplecraft and pranged out basses. "Missing Pieces" brings us back down to earth safe and sound with a much dreamier atmosphere wrapped lavishly around Perez's light-footed beats and Javeon's distinctive soulful tones. 1985 out of 10.
Review: We are absolutely loving the direction that the legendary Alix Perez has been taking recently, driving his uniquely techy production style into the dubstep scene with fantastic results. This latest project on 1985 music is the perfect showcase of just how good it can be, kicking off with the eerie atmospheric sweeps and gnarly bass excursions of the title track 'Last Rites'. Next, the engulfing subs and classic vocal fx sampling of 'Deep Six' burst onto the scene before the stripped back bass tones and impactful reverberations of 'Spooked' touch down. The project is rounded off with a dive into 'Melodrama', a track teetering with emotive energy and rolling sub tones, driven by it's unique, Burial-like lead vocal line.
Review: Sometimes the road gets too rough. Sometimes you just have to slap a senior member in your family due to the high levels of gully coming into your ears. Whatever you do when things get too stinky, however you deal with the body-blowing pressure of absolutely foul tracks, we know you're going to do it to this new EP from Perez who is on such a roll right now it's crazy. Following his dubstep EP "Last Rites" comes this awesome back-to-dnb-grit session. "Trinity" is just utter high voltage darkness, "Phantonym" takes things even deeper with some proper gruesome bass bubbles while "SWRV" takes us back to Alix's soulful side and "Vibrations" plays the perfect game of contrasts and shade. What an EP.
Review: Six months deep and already onto his third 1985 release, Perez takes us back to his roots with a sublime selection of subtle work-outs; "The Raven" persists with a rattling percussive riff and droning bassline, "Drifting" swishes and sways with a slinky two-step, yearning atmospheres and lingering keys while "Inside Your Love" is a pneumatic funk trip into two-step soul. Finally "Numbers" turns the lights down with purring, naked soul. Beautiful.
Review: What a trip it's been for Alix Perez and his 1985 imprint. Continuously pushing new concepts, sounds and artists, it's swiftly become one of the most exciting and crucially stylised imprints in the beat game, no question. Here Alix treats us to an early taster of his label's next big release with this one track treat. Returning to his soulful roller signature, it's black velvet number that purrs and slinks in such an understated yet mean way. Timeless Perez.
Review: So at this point in time, it's hard to imagine Alix Perez making a stale tune, as he lands here on the wonderful 1985 music for another twisted collection of heaters. We kick this one off with a look at the spooky overtones and warbling synthesizer growls of 'Ravana', before the shivering LFO designs and glitchy melodic plucks of 'Lifeline' stutter into play. Next, 'Post-Mortem' arrives with more lethal reese bass action driving the stripped back drumwork forward in a blaze of system energy, before rounding off with the catchy arpeggiator flexes of 'Ends' alongside Headland. What a project this is!
Review: Perez has always been ahead of the game but he is doing some serious bits right now. Following his Shades album (with Eprom), the bruising "Haunted" plus the consistent future shocks his label 1985 have been giving us comes this breath taking four tracker; "BXL" opens with high voltage textures that sizzle at 1.21 gigawatts while "Slink" closes on a subdued emotional tip with introspective vocals and a purring bassline. In between we have two absurd collaborations; Monty helps Alix turn bass into toxic treacle on "Caligo" while Icy joins the fray for a heavyweight droning roller laced with classic ravey vocal stab on "Live With It". Deal with it.
Review: Yes, yes! London's Alix Perez calls upon Fracture to land this latest collaboration on his own 1985 Music which, in our eyes, is one of the only last remaining meccas for true-school d&b with a forward-leaning edge. "Archetype" unleashes its sharp bass lasers over a slow-shifting, broken nu-jungle groove that sits somewhere in the vast landscape between dubstep and d&b. The tune will work like a charm for all those jungle heads looking to add a little flavor and pace to their DJ sets. Master-blaster type gear!
Review: Underground hero of the modern drum and bass sound Alix Perez delivers more smooth liquid breaks and bass again on his new effort titled Arkestra, in collaboration with Ivy Lab. Starting out with the deep breakbeat science of "Maiden" featuring some gorgeous vocals he then launches into the fierce peak-time soul of the title track, the dark sci-fi hip-hop vibes of "Tell Dem" and "Stop It" before closing out proceedings with more deep and slinky futurist blues on "No One Else". Legends such as LTJ Bukem, Alex Reece and Peshay would be proud that their legacy continues via the new breed of the sound.
Review: Alix Perez's 1985 continues to build its own unique lane with the first V/A release of the year. Following Monty's "Hypnotise" comes this sleek, stark four-piece featuring a range of innovative kindred spirits. Perez takes the lead with "Haunted", a powerful techno-influenced slab of darkness while Cologne-based next-genner SubMarine follows with a 20,000 league deep sea wriggle fest on "Malibu 1973". Deeper into the Folio we forage to find barbed soul and heavy emotion on "Rollcage" (with Halogenix) and fly-by-night finger-clicking funk and subversive soulful vocals on "The Glow" (with Monty and singer Benabu)
Review: Alix Perez's mighty 1985 imprint has been taking the D&B world by storm for the past couple of years and it's thanks in part to a series of wicked compilations, some big and some small. This is the second outing in the mini VA series Folio/ and they've pulled out all the stops, roping in a who's-who of forward-thinking music that includes Perez himself, SubMarine, Hyroglifics and others. Perez's contribution is classic Perez: moody, murky basslines and soothing, haunting samples that balance each other out into an equilibrium of pure satisfaction. SubMarine's 'Grunge' is more pure energy, a rippling number that's as fluid as it is devastating - perfect for the dancefloor. Tracks 3 and 4 don't mess around as well, but we're not really very surprised because Scepticz, Lavance, Hyroglifics and Visages are all just so damn good. Pick this one up.
Review: We love the way Alix Perez has branched out in recent years. While we used to associate him to the minimal d&b wave that spawned in the late 00s, he's begun to venture onto into more diverse territories, as of late. He's up on his own 1985 Music here, and "Ghosts" is exactly the sort of glitchy, pseudo hip hop sketch that we now expect from the guy, but the real heat comes from "Hack & Slash", a total hybrid tune that goes from juke to dubstep, and back to something we're not really sure how to label. But, this is exactly how experimentation works and how new genres are created, something which is also very audible from his collaboration tune with Taso, "'Andromeda". "Tempest" is perhaps the weirdest and most daring of the lot, and the tune where Perez's d&b roots really come out, whereas "Crush" is a swinging, London bullet rhythm, for the heads. All in all, a much recommended affair.
DBridge/Skeptical - "No Discipline" - (6:24) 174 BPM
DBridge/Alix Perez - "Through My Eyes" - (6:17) 170 BPM
Review: Darren White aka Dbridge has been carrying out some wicked experiments in what circles have described as the 'grey area' between deconstructed/post Autonomic drum and bass and techno/house. The outsider journeys kind of continue (though don't get too outlandish, rest assured) on VS004, with White teaming up with Metalheadz' Skeptical for "No Discipline" featuring a dark sub bass pulse carrying its dystopian atmosphere; the subtlety works wonders on this effort. Next up the label head honcho teams up with Shogun Audio's Alix Perez on "Through My Eyes" a lush and liquid deep drum and bass journey with a nod to legends of the craft like Marcus Intalex or LTJ Bukem.
Review: Second time around for Foreign Beggars and Alix Perez's Modus EP, with tracks from the original release - on which the veteran UK hip-hop crew made their presence felt over a variety of bass-heavy rhythms - getting the remix treatment. Calyx and Teebee take top billing, turning in a heavyweight remake of "Modus" that begins in half-time tempo before spiraling into a pounding D&B roller midway through. On the virtual flip, Nevermind weighs in with a typically murky, sub-heavy, string-laden dubstep remix of the ragga-flavoured "Deng". Both remixes get the perfect balance between dancefloor heaviness and original UK hip hop.
Review: Fire bun! Fracture continues spreading the most positive of vibrations with "Unite". Hot on the heels of his "Big Up The Ladies" EP on his own Astrophonica, he links up with the 1985 crew with four more absolute heaters. "Give Me Love" brings Fox into the fray to remind us why he's one of the UK's best melodic MCs over a freshly sharpened jungle riddim, "Feel 4 U" raises the spine-tingles with its rave pads while lowering your centre of gravity with its bashy beats and gutter-slopping bass shreds, "Realise" sees 1985 bossman Perez get mucky in the dark grumpy rolling mix while "Brothers & Sisters" taps back into the more techno-inspired aesthetics Fracture's been exploring lately. Imagine if Fracture was commentating a boxing match between Altern-8 and Rockwell down a dark alley and you're playing the right sport. Peace, love and "Unite"-y.
Review: What is there to say about Shogun Audio that hasn't already been said at length directly into your ear at 3am? Friction's brainchild has become one of the scene's biggest, most successful and perhaps most importantly one of the most highly-regarded labels in recent years. A decade might not be a long time in D&B talk, but 10 years has been long enough for Shogun to put its stamp on almost everything making its way from the underground and into the blinding light of day. From the experimental sounds of Alix Perez, Rockwell and Icicle to the spellbinding Technimatic, right through to the chart-bothering escapades of Camo & Krooked, this is a flip through the highlights of Shogun's life. In case you forgot, it's been a brilliant one so far. Roll on the next 10 years.
Review: There's absolutely no debate to be had about whether Monty is one of the breakout producers from the past couple of years. The man is an absolute genius and the ease with which he fits in at 1985 Music doesn't need to be said again, all that does need to be said is how bloody good this new release is. The title track is characteristically Monty, a sub bass wave of minimalist energy that just rolls and rolls, each small detail accounted for and each hit perfectly placed. 'Virgo' featuring label boss Alix Perez is another astoundingly good track and the way in which these two manage to carve an attractive melody out of dystopic soundscapes never fails to impress. The final two? Yeah, you guessed it - incredible.
Review: The future's so bright for Monty he has to wear shades. So will you too when you drop fithlets like these and see the carnage that follows. Some of the young Frenchman's best work to date, across the full EP we're treated to the full Monty and a few cheeky cameo collabos. Expect nothing but absolute brawlers ("STK", "Blinded"), slinky emotional ones ("Black Shield" with Visages) creepy, sewer-bound funk loaded with surprises and twists and turns ("Cursive" with the label bossman Alix Perez) and totally uncategorizable firing future funk ("Quest") Blinding.
