Review: Brighton's Josh Gunston and grime DJ KXVU (aka Jay McDougall) recently joined forces to launch Southpoint, a label determined to promote local talent and to revive their hometown's flagging bass and grime scenes. Here they really pull out all the stops for Integrate Vol 2 a collection featuring appearances from some of their most favourite young guns. Highlights include the moody late night hip-hop instrumental "Flatline" by Drax, the haunted wobble/ghetto banger "You Chat Too Much" by James Mannion & Bushbaby and the sub-heavy headnodder "Almighty Power" by Beanzo & Filthy Gears.
Review: Straight out of the west of the UK, Beanzo's own 'Siege Collective' have put together their second compilation release, featuring some of the most exciting names in grime music at this time. Having released a similar length project earlier this year focussing more on dubstep flavour, the Siege collective banner is keen to not be pigeon holed into one area. Consisting of 6 tracks, this project cover the grimey spectrum perfectly, from Beanzo's own grimey monster 'Nomad' to the wavey synths of Jakebob's 'Firing'. We also see fresh weight from Rajkay with 'Range', Tsundr's 'Test Your Might' and Mojoe's trappy roller 'Skylight'. This release even delves into devil mixes, courtesy of Swedger's fresh version of 'Big Lick'.
Review: Much like squashing a fly with a sledgehammer, Sheffield's Project Allout, counter Bristol's bass supremacy with this mammoth compilation. Yes, the second instalment in their eponymous series boasts a frankly absurd 39 new fresh bass cuts. It may take a while to get through it all, but that's half the fun. Inititial highlights include the speedy claps, fizzy hats and taut wobble vibes of "Manners" by 1Thirty, the horror move trap thrills of "Black Missile" by "Familiar Face" and the voluptuous house bass of Mooney's "At The Top".
Review: UK label Southpoint has been providing true dubstep heads with the right sort of material since their birth a few years back. While may labels are branding themselves as 'bass' specialists, it's clear that Southpoint have the true roots of the genre clearly in mind, and the artists that have been hand-picked are very much on-board with this mentality. This is the first compilation in a while, and it features some highly promising young talents from across the globe; tunes from the likes of Glume himself provide some true-school bass-weight, while others like Muttley's "Natty Dreadlock" take us back to the early days of Skream-style ragga influences. Drime's "Moody Hangover" is another beast, a tune capable of tearing apart any dark basement thanks to its staggering rhythm, but "Melocity Dub" by Eclypse surely provides our favourite moment through some serious dub-swaying and echoing goodness. HOT.
