Review: Break is back on his own Symmetry Recordings and it's the label where he's normally at his usual best, which, in this case, amounts to a storming two-tracker torn between a ritualistic sacrifice to the dancefloor on one hand a drilling, penetrating minimal cut on the other. The first, 'Never Say Never', is absolutely classic Break, with a pitch-perfect set of rolling drums that stretch out underneath a corker of a bassline, a call-and-response line which flips between jagged steps and twisting, bending tones. The flip is stripped back and based around percussion which tunnels into your consciousness, and Break has nailed the repetitive element. Classic Break - unmissable.
Review: To our ears, the re-edits, reworks and 'disco adjustments' released by DJ Kaos's Jolly Jams label are some of the most impressive around, in part because there's little in the way of cheap 21st century studio tricks and the imrpint's source material always tends towards the eccentric, interesting and obscure. Predictably, the label's latest eight-track collection is full of corkers, from DJ Kaos's own mini album-opening early house style revision of AOR disco classic 'Long Train Running' (here renamed 'Proton Edit 1') and the surging, Clavinet-heavy disco-funk sleaziness of Conor's 'Proton Edit 3', to the flash-friend, Talking Heads-go-Latino no-wave funk of Pete Herbert's 'Candy 8', and the 10-minute swamp funk brilliance of Spring Break Edit's 'Candy Edit 2'.
Review: There are few things as exciting as a new Break LP dropping into the inbox. That tangible feeling of excitement is made all the more intense by the knowledge that any new music from the Bristol-based master is 99.9% certain to be incredible. Dusty Demos is no different, and it says a lot about Break that even his discarded music from years gone by is still right up there with the best of it. The tracks in this album span 2003 to 2012, and one of the earliest is 'Super Blue' feat. Mark System, who gets involved in a luxurious, lounging piece of music that's at its best in its crisp percussive highs and swelling, summertime pads. 'All In' from 2006 is foreboding as hell and packed with movement, whilst 2007's 'Take Me There' is possibly the dirtiest tune on the whole EP, with a torn bassline that moves in furious gestures. It's classic Break that spans the whole stylistic and temporal spectrum - unmissable.
Review: To celebrate notching up 50 releases, Uncanny Valley offered up a septet of colour-coded EPs featuring never-heard-before cuts from its growing roster of artists. With that campaign finished, they've now collected together all of those tracks on one suitably epic compilation, All Colors Are Beautiful. It's a pleasingly positive, life-affirming and kaleidoscopic collection all told, with the likes of Lauer, Jules Etienne, Johannes Albert, Cuthead and Basic Soul Unit taking it in turns to deliver cheery, synth-heavy cuts that variously join the dots between deep house, nu-disco, synth-pop, proto-house, jacking acid, crunchy electro, Motor City techno, ghetto-tech and glassy-eyed late-night sleaze. The results are uniformly excellent, making this one of the most essential compilations of 2020.
Review: Does it get more legendary than DLR and Break? Not really, to be honest, and the pair have honed their rough yet precise, energetic dancefloor sound over a decade plus of hard work. DLR's Sofa Sound label has carved out its stylistic niche with aplomb since it was launched and this single is bang on the money, with the man himself dropping a single that's just as good as you'd expect. Break features on the a-side - 'Hit The Target'- which layers deeply satisfying rolling percussion over a choppy, jump-up infused bassline which oozes character and funk, an extremely hard balance to pull off and one that's been perfected here. They've also managed to incorporate the sounds of the German Stuka dive bomber from WW2, the instantly recognisable siren from which injects that extra element of aggression and fear. The b-side is even more venomous, with a spiralling bassline that twists in the knife with every turn, angled in its sharp edges and moody in its attitude. Unbelievable, Geoff.
Review: The most recent tune to get online D&B heads' knickers in a twist... Break has taken his beautiful 2018 GQ collaboration 'Whispers In My Ear' and given it a big droney bass twist. Switching the slinkiness for pure greasiness, it's Break on his darkest flex. He's in good company, too as Break & Total Science's 'Dogs Dinner' gets a total tearing up from man like Mefjus. The results speak for themselves. Give the dogs a bone!
