Review: Word to the wise, pay attention: Coda is sitting on some of the best and most forward-thinking material he's made in his prolific career so far. It starts here with this wild barrel of Natty Dub funk - 'Mister Beat'. From the cover art to the very last burping bass, everything about this EP bumps... 'Mister Beat' hits with classic jump-up funk, 'Satellite 2001' is a lesson in minimal groove craft while 'Last Chance' has a turn-of-the-century Ram records charm to it. Finally 'B-Side Funk' is a proper rusty rattler that nods rather heartily in the direction of Krust circa late 90s. Don't miss this.
Review: Twisted Individual's Zombie Recordings makes like a tree and gets serious wood for Christmas with this killer VA of undead proportions. Now at edition five, you should all twig the concept now... 'Within The Woods' sheds light on some of the most exciting producers on the label and celebrates their unique sounds and styles. From D-Flex's abrasive opener 'Baseball Bat' to Coda's wonderfully springy and futuristic closer 'Rumpus', the whole collection is as infectious as a zombie infestation and twice as life affirming. Complete with high jams from the likes of DJ Outlaw Star, Lundy & Damageman, Beat Merchants, Jenks and Warhead, this one is so heavy you won't be able to see the wood for trees. Don't leaf home without this!
Review: Roll up! Roll up! OG workhorse Coda crash lands on Heist's Calypso Muzak with this mighty selection of bruisers. Bubbly, rattling, full of fun and great to chop in on the mix, every cut is a guaranteed floor melter. Highlights include the Zinc-like cascade up and down the notes on 'Heebee Geebees', the euphoric blasts of 'Limits' and the ruffneck distorted grit of the EP title track 'Roll The Tape' but the whole EP is an essential listen. Get taped up!
Review: Putting the bang into bangers and the hurter into hurters, Natty Dub wrap up 2021 with this box of heavyweight weaponry from some of their closest family members and affiliates. Coda takes the lead with a stampy, stompy heads-down piece with a stern reverse warp bassline and thicc-assed kicks. He's joined by an all-star cast: K Jah & Vytol link up for 'Another Tomorrow', a pipe-snapping stepper with big harmonic bass breathing beneath, Erbman gets all roughhouse with his early Clipz style bass textures, Jaxx calls time with his swaggering 'Tickin Clocks' while Damagement concludes the EP with the focused fire and fury of 'Odds & Sods'. Ready? Aim.... Fire!
Review: Coda crash lands on Natty Dub with two naughty barn-stormers. Taking things back to basics, there's a premium whiff of timelessness here on both cuts as Code reminds us of his groove science. 'Smoked Out' rumbles and grumbles with an old Die style bubbler bassline while the beats pump and pummel relentlessly. 'Jabberwocky' is the more upbeat and lively with a Serum-style Q&A riff rising and falling up the groove. Infectious.
Review: Coda & Coy are taking us back in time this week with their latest single, this one on Weapons of Choice Recordings, by rolling things out over two tracks in the stripped back, sample heavy style so renowned in the 1990s. The title tune packs a sample you'll have heard from producers like L-Side, and it stretches its legs over a wonderfully subtle yet hard hitting combination of moving basses and rolling drums. The flip-side features more nostalgic sampling, which builds a ravey atmosphere into a feeling of suspense, cut away on the drop in wicked fashion. Sick single.
Review: This single from South Central Recordings is all about the remix vibes, as Coda and Euphonique step up to remix two different tunes from K Jah, Dilligent Fingers and Cheshire Cat. The first - Dutty Like a Bumbo - is from Coda and it's a gargled, rough and ready tune which sounds like an old school Mampi Swift tune with its simple but powerful bassline, and its hypnotic vocal lead. Euphonique steps up for the b-side and it's even dirtier than the flip, with another naughty back end that twists and turns in on itself with powerful ease. Banging.
Review: Coda has had a wicked past year or so and now, he's on Natty Dub for a four-tracker that sits comfortably on the intersection between jungle, jump-up and darker bits, a nice concoction of influences that come together for wicked results. The A-sidee is fresh and creative, with a skippy, Serum-esque drum line and moody bass touches that climb and fall in tandem with each other, forming a hypnotic main melody. The B-side is equally ferocious, with the whole releasing packing a seriously potent feeling of low frequency destruction. Banging bits here.
Review: Squad up! Natty Dub celebrate 50 releases with this absolutely stinking set from some of their nearest and dearest, closest and bro-sest. Firing from all cannons, every track is a thumper; Saxxon gets his squelch on with "Brockley Fox", T>I is all screams, wriggles and giggles on "Pointless Torture", Sikka delivers one of his best tunes to date in the funk-fuelled form of "You Know", Suv and Mood give us a Bristol kiss with the slinky, hip-twisting "Mambo" and Jaxx nods his cap at the wild west of the mid 90s on the percussion heavy "Hurdles". Timeless, authentic and full of dirty funk - Natty Dub are one of the most true-to-the-core labels doing it right now. Bring on the next 50!
Review: Humdruma Recordingz always try their best to replicate the no-holds-barred, anarchic nature of life on the 19th century, American frontier and they do so via the aggressive tones of modern D&B. This is a best-of compilation of tracks that have come out through the label and it puts that ethos on good display, featuring some seriously weighty acts like Coda and Ikon B. The former's contribution is especially potent, a gargling display of production intensity and a lesson to all budding artists out there in how to create a knockout jump-up track, its biting bass stabs teaching you all you need to know. Ikon B's tune - 'Really' - is equally as naughty but it rests on a much more potent set of drum hits, giving it an extra oomph that you can certainly hear. The others are just as good - check em.
Review: Coda on Natty Dub for a single that sits comfortably on the intersection between jungle, jump-up and darker bits, a nice concoction of influences that come together for wicked results. 'Chinese Finger Trap' is fresh and creative, with a skippy, Serum-esque drum line and arpeggiated synth nodes that climb and fall in tandem with each other, forming a hypnotic main melody. 'On The Take' takes things into darker, more jungle territory with a wicked bassline and some lovely stuttering breaks, wrapping up this single in style.
Review: Sniffing up the vapour trails of his Grid and Switch! EPs earlier this year, Coda returns to Natty Dub with two barn flattening bassline slap sessions. "Power Surge" is a nod to the early 2000s Bristol and V Records sound. Stark, grunting, unabashed and insanely addictive. "Want More" continues the heads down vibrations with another hook bass riff that's utterly infectious but delivered in more of woozy higher harmonic way. Feel the power.
Review: Jaxx powers up his gully roller steam engine for the latest volume in his label's Off The Rails series and the results are off the scale. 14 tracks of deep, forthright rollage from a broad selection of respect talents ranging from certified OGs such as Suv to established dons such as Cabin Fever and Verdikt to bright young upstarts like K-Y and Zere, the collection is one of the best Train wrecks so far. Highlights include the tonal chaos of Zere's "Loophole", Suv's peaceful party piece "Instead Of War" and Warhead's brittle bass lash out "Static" but to be honest the entire collection needs your attention. Full steam ahead.
Review: Version immersion: Switch return to Coda's 2016 release with two killer remixes from some well-rated and respected rising producers: Agro spaces out the classic juicy wobble on "Bad Guy" with more of a rhythm-based groove while Salvage & Shadre flip the elements and bring the Die-style bass groan to the forefront while filling in the background with a whole zoo of alien textures of their own. Bad boy re-rub business as always.
Certified & Silent Storm - "All Be Free" - (5:12) 175 BPM
Masker - "Dirty Business" - (4:26) 175 BPM
Review: Subway Soundz have get busy on the recruitment flex with five certified bangers from a whole cast of badmen. Higher Stakes bosser Pacso links up with Term for the grizzly opening salvo before Ego Trippin throw a few extra notes into the already infectious bassline riff on the Methodical "Barely Breathing". Elsewhere Coda tans our hides with a high harmonic Clipz-style bassline Certified & Silent Storm dust off the divas while Masker provides the final knock out with the super-bounce roller "Dirty Business". Time to get mucky.
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