Review: Leeds bass-boy Breaka comes through on the Holding Hands label with an irrefutably fiery blend of licked-up sonics and dubbed-out beats that perfectly encapsulate all the right things regarding UK bass. In detail, "Rory's Theme" is a slo-mo jungle experiment with a wonderful array of aqueous atmospherics, while "Puffer Jackets" breaks out more of a groove thanks to its quasi 4/4 beat, and the Desert Sound Colony remix ends on a gentle deep house tip that will carry you far out into space. Lovely stuff.
Review: Breaka is Leeds lad Charlie Baker who has previously released on the likes of Tsunami Bass Weight and Good Street. He now appears for London's Modern Ruin with the Express Your Groove EP and he's right at home on this Footwork/Juke/Jungle/Bass label. Starting off with the deep and emotive junglist groove "Pull & Release" which features some nice R&B vocals atop, there's more quality on the stripped back drum and bass of "The Mistake" which takes things down a much darker route. Itoa's remix later on also stays on the same vibe but with more rolling, intricate riddims reminiscent of Andy C. The title track is particularly impressive; a soulful drum and bass journey that calls to mind Calibre or Marcus Intalex's finer moments.
Review: It's time now to dive into some truly forward thinking compositions here as we take a first look at the first edition of 'Slam Jams' from various artists on the Holding Hands imprint. Yutaro Sugawara kicks us off with his super electronic imaginings in 'Warp', a subtle techno expanse which never stops evolving. Next comes Tape Fear with a fabulous fusion of spacey 808s, breaks and reesey tones, before Guava gets busy on a very atmospheric future garage creation. Finally, we finish this selection off with a more housey number from Breaka, combining euphoric chord structures and shattered vocal slices on 'Get Your Sweat On'.
