Review: Bad men selectors Brain Brainstorm and Speaker Louis collide for these two monster sessions on the always consistent German imprint Original Key. Big system shakers with all the dubby, dancehall references you could shake a Trojan record at, 'Come Again' kicks us off with the big widescreen kicks, cheery horns and a cool vocal sample while 'Dance Haffi Gwan' takes us deeper into the night with a nagging vocal sample and a bassline to dive headfirst into. Rewind and come again...
Review: Oh gosh... Jungle Cakes look back over their delicious back catalogue, and the wider jungle vista, to bring together 74 of the finest recipes known to mankind for this Gold level baking session. Featuring some of the biggest dishes in existence, one minute we're skanking out to Klue's insane 'Rudy, A Message To You', the next we're getting slapped by Spyda on Serum's 'All Ganja Man' then the next we're being tickled by seminal classics such as M-Beat & General Levy's 'Incredible'. The list of incendiary cuts goes on and on and on... Bossmen Ed Solo & Deekline's 'No No No', Potential Bad Boy's 'Over My Head', Dope Ammo & Taiwan MC's 'Babylon Falling' - every single cut is as hot as your oven on baking day. What a package... And there's a mix thrown in for good measure. Gold... Always believe in your soul.
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: 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: 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: 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: 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.
Dubtime - "State Of Emergency" (feat Da Fuchaman/Sativa D Black 1) - (5:56) 175 BPM
Jinx - "Tear Out" (feat Infoe) - (4:49) 174 BPM
Salaryman & Veak - "Omerta" - (4:13) 175 BPM
Dublic - "The Streets" (feat Infoe) - (4:41) 175 BPM
Skru & Opius - "West Coast Ting" - (6:03) 174 BPM
Kutz & Yush - "Dark Moon" (VIP) - (4:25) 175 BPM
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: 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: 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: Can we get a 'wicked?' Jungle Cakes continue to team up with some of the biggest donnies in the game with this latest Welcome To The Jungle collection. This time curated and fronted by the General himself, as you'd expect this is a full-on jungle assault that covers every single angle and every single era. 47 tracks and one killer mix, hosted and toasted by Levy himself, this is one of Jungle Cakes most comprehensive collections to date: From the foundation-setting, historic vibes of "Incredible" through to contemporary bangers from the likes of Kursiva, DJ Hybrid, Jam Thieves, Benny Page and all things in between, everyone involved has delivered something special. Massive.
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: 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.
