Review: You can almost smell the 90s rave dancefloor when you look at the artwork on this one, which is certainly a good thing and rusty jungle vibes abound from start to finish. The opening rave vibes on 'No Ordinary Sound' quickly devolves into a rising mash of drum hits and repetitive but solid synth work, whilst 'Concrete Jungle has a stripped back percussive feel that sits perfectly alongside it's low-frequency warmth. It's the roughness, the lack of precision and the don't-care attitude that makes this release good, so if you're looking for brightness then it might not be for you -it's for the proper heads.
Review: The bright-light, groovy aesthetic of Jungle Cakes is back, as it so often is, so get out your Red Stripes and don ya wavey garms because the legendary Brian Brainstorm isn't messing around with this display of both the jungle and D&B sounds. Two ragga-infused tunes are here for you, uplifting samples abound and suddenly it's not December - it's June, July and August and the sun is shining. This doesn't stop any of these tracks from coming out in a moody way, though, and it definitely doesn't it stop either the jungle or D&B mix of 'Judgement' from attempting to knock your hat off. Jungle Cakes always manage to pull out the stops in a way that makes you nervously smile - this one is no different, and we love thee combination of jungle and full-speed rolling sounds.
Review: Brain-basher number one: German heavyweight Brian unleashes the parts of last year's massive "Forward" EP to a whole host of super-respected peers. The results are every bit as forward-thinking as you'd hope. Highlights include Bassface Sascha & Phlex maintaining the piano-laced vitality of "Inside The Vaults", Serial Killaz adding heavy layers of jungle murk to "Kill A Drum Pan", Bou continuing to show expert trippy science on his take on "Red Eyes" and DJ Hybrid stretching the elements for a roomy skanked out jungle twist on "Moving On". That's the tip of the remix iceberg. Time to push things forward...
Review: Calling all Brainiacs! Brian's back and he's packing some serious jungle heat. "Anything & Everything" is a roasty skanker that's precision tuned for the current heatwave thanks to its hurricane drums, soaking wet basses and refreshing dubwise horn section. "So Easy" maintains the Jamaican flavour with a surging, urgent vocal and a jet engine drop that could scorch your ear hairs from a 10 mile radius. Easy does it!
Review: Achtung baby! Cologne's Brain Brainstorm returns to Liondub with this powerful seven-piece collection. Dubby flavours, hazy skanks, junglist beats and toxic levels of bass all play a lead role throughout: "Kill A Drum Pan" hits with tidal textures, "Forward" strips us back even further to the drum groove, "Moving On" fuses some expert cosmic drum work and sensual soul from Lady D-Zire, "Inside The Vaults" is all about the contrast between the euphoric pads and sizzling Lomax-style bass riffs while "Red Eyes" hits with an emphatic and heavily conscious vocal. Finally we're treated big horn magic on "Let It Go" (don't worry it has nothing to do with the Frozen song of the same name) before concluding with the rippled waves and tightly plucked guitar of "Brooklyn Dub Pt 2". An impeccable collection of modern jungle - this is close to a whole album. No filler in sight.
Review: Last spotted on Liondub showing us no mercy whatsoever, Cologne's Brainstorm returns the label's Street Series with another fistful of fire. Rich variety is clear from the off as we glide to the smooth subby sounds of opener "Brooklyn Dub" before getting hurled headfirst into a Hoogs-level jump-up riff bash. Further on we shock out to whistling, breezy jungle on "Right Now" while things get pure ugly with two gritty early-2000s style riff cuts with Ricky Tuff. Serious street smarts.
Review: Fresh from earning his Technique stripes Cologne-based Brian Brainstorm makes his Liondub debut: "Already Dead" comes with such an arresting sample he switched it into two furious forms: a skank-happy jungle version and a foul stanching jump up mix. Deeper into the EP you'll find Annix-level bass chaos on "Run Choon", classic Moving Fusion style warbles and wobbles on "No Mercy Tonight" and an authentic ode to jungle's original roots on the sub-squeezing, sample-smashing "Unity". Lighter!
Review: The life of Brain: get up, make a banger, sleep, repeat. An inherent vibes man, he's clearly not tied by any one subgenre and just makes straight up dnb heaters from the soul. It's been this way for a long time for the German gully merchant and Liondub International have been part of the journey since the very early days. Now comes the latest chapter; five originals with some of the finest vocalists in the widest jungle circles: Daddy Freddy ,Brother Charity and Yemi Bolatiwa. Highlights include the utter ruffness of 'Original Wicked Man' and the velvet soul of 'Off My Mind'. Lighta crew!
Review: A collection of modern dancefloor jungle, remixed and released for your pleasure. 'Nah Matta' is based round a forward moving, fast shuffle decorated with sirens, a ragga vocal and a big fat sub. 'Blackout' is a powerful beast of a track with hard and heavy hitting drum and a weighty bassline, lightened with the occasional classic 90's female vox. 'Lionheart Bizzness' is a loud and crashing sonic assault with a techy break down. 'Stay Tough' has a cinematic vibe, straight out of a thriller, we have a spoken warning and a killer sub.
Review: Legendary reggae / dancehall singer Da Fuchaman joins the dots with his debut excursion into jungle. He's rolling with the best company as Run Tingz have recruited a crack team of on point craftsmen for him to vibe with: Serial Killerz, Isaac Maya, Frisk, Numa Crew, Choppa, Brian Brainstorm join the Run Tingz Cru themselves as Fuchaman brings the consciousness over a menu of gully textures. Highlights include the stench like bass on "Babylon Falling", the pure fire of the opener "Jungle Love" and the classic horn waves and snaking snares of "Call The Police". A unique and vital album that celebrates fusion at its deepest melting pot roots.
Review: Deekline, of the guys behind the prolific Jungle Cakes, is back on his own imprint with Brian Brainstorm, Specimen A, Sweetie Irie and KIlla P, an all-star lineup that have produced a ferocious blend of crashing jungle and menacing vocals. The structure they've concocted makes this tune so sick, with stepping halftime sections that utilize Sweetie Irie and Killa P's wicked vocal talent to build suspense, creating rhythmic diversity that then falls away on the drop into punishing breaks and warped out basslines. Proper club friendly weapon from the Jungle Cakes crew.
Review: Originally released in 2018, Dope Ammo's Influence album is the gully gift that keeps on giving. And right here it reaches the peak with the full remix set. Delivered throughout the year, this is the full collection and it takes Ammo's broad sound to the furthest possible places. Ranging from Kleu's gritty distorted take on "Old Times" to the Audiomission's piano-tickled purring steppy twist on "Take Me Back" by way of some of Ammo's own refixes like the sick tempo flexing on the Indian-flavoured "Repent" and turbo-growls of "Risky Business", these remixes don't just reflect the range of the original album but boost it even further.
Review: Wake up and bake up, Jungle Cakes are back in the kitchen with their prize dish range 'Welcome To The Jungle'. This time the guest chefs are none other than Dub Pistols who've been flexing all styles and sizes of breakbeat since the very beginning. Currently coming correct with 50 tracks, they cover the full range of D&B through their dubwise, reggae-roasted selection. From the steam engine skank-ups like Isaac Maya and Daddy Freddy's thundering 'Bring Dem' to Deekline & Ed Solo's instant sing-along smash-out 'Bam Bam' to the dancehall bashment of Selecta J Man's 'My Style', this isn't so much of a jungle welcoming but more of a full jungle takeover... And you'll never want to leave.
Review: It appears that the Ghetto Dub Recordings team has assembled one hell of a roster for this one as they unleash the fully unmixed version of the Dubz: ReRubbed album project, allowing us to enjoy each and every tune in its full majesty. We find the perfect balance of high intensity dancefloor danger and more stripped back rollers throughout the compilation, from the Phibes remix of Wrecked from Vinyl Junkie & Sanxion giving us a gritty, synth lead smackdown to the much more junglist inspired recreation of Java's 'Screwface' from Aries. There are a few standouts throughout this eclectic selection, including Epicentre's monstrous sub-driven rework of 'We Up There' from Bill & Ed, alongside Veak's neurotic overhaul of Subcriminal's 'Mack 10' and the system rattling recreation of Flat T's 'Proceedings Closed' from Durban. What a selection this is!
Review: From Bristol to the world, long-standing jungle collective Run Tingz wrap up 2020 with a serious jolt of positivity as they take in the internatty landscape and bring the full crew and many new faces together for this album rammed to the rafters with original - and largely vocal - dancefloor skank-ups. Highlights are instant as the opener 'Beautiful World' sets the vibes to stun. Elsewhere 'Lava Mouth' with Junior Morgan fuses savage breaks and disco stabs, Jinx and Deanie Rankin go for some proper gritty late 90s Dread vibes on 'Hooligan' and Cru newcomer Dublic dishes out a serious grumbler with the Total Science-style 'The Streets'. These are just the tip of the iceberg. Go global or go home.
Review: Reload and come again: our 'Juno Download Selects' edition with the mighty US dnb HQ Liondub International continues for another session. Once again featuring an A-list rollcall of now household names, it's another reminder of how much heat Liondub International have cooked up over the years, supporting artists from their earliest moves. Highlights on this set include the turbo slammage and necksnap switches on Jayline's 'Anglo Saxxon', early hurly burly from the man like Macky on 'Black Widow' and the always-devilish bubbles of Motiv's 'Vultures'. And that's just three of 15 crucial example's of Liondub International future-focused benchmark. Get to know!
Review: Link-up, look smart; we've connected with one of the most exciting labels in dnb for a collection of their biggest hitters, rising stars and highest sellers: Liondub International. Headed up by Eric Liondub in NYC, Liondub International have broken and nurtured more new talent than most put together, and these first few volumes showcase. First up come these 15 examples as the likes of Kumo, Bou, Jayline, DJ Hybrid, Saxxon and many more all deliver timeless heaters. Highlights include Sub Killaz' broadsword skank-up 'Murderah', Brian Brainstorm's junglised slash-up 'Kill A Drumpan' and Bladerunner & Johnny Osbourne's ever-sweet 'Night Fall Dub'. All this and plenty more; whether you've been following Liondub since day or you're new to their consistent onslaught, there's plenty to catch up on here. Selector!
Review: Following the likes of Ray Keith, Nicky Blackmarket, General Levy and many artists of high don calibre, Dope Ammo and DJ Hybrid are the next to take the controls as Jungle Cakes' Welcome To The Jungle series. As always, the selection digs deep across the board to include classics, absolute bangers that have been criminally forgotten and no less than 10 exclusives made strictly for this album. From the sun-kissed soul and key-tickling evangelist jam "Salvation" to the absolute rave carnage of "What's Going Down", the boys have gone in on this collection maintaining its still spotless reputation as one of the most consistent and prolific mix series available in the genre. Pay close attention to the Jukebox Jungle track, too. This needs your loving.
Review: Lion Dub have reached a decade of activity. A decade! To put it in perspective, if someone was born the year Liondub started, they're about to enter high school/secondary school. It's a crazy achievement and one matched by the craziness of the music they have on offer to celebrate, a four-part journey through their past, present and future. This instalment is all about their past and it's exemplified best by Serum's VIP of Sound The Alarm, a Liondub classic, which Serum has flipped into a characteristically badboy, stabbing little roller. The vocals float above in a haze of reggae smoke, whilst the beat pulsates below. Awesome stuff.
