Review: Over the many years of ENiGMA Dubz awesome career, we have seen him sweep into so many different areas of electronic music, with this brand new album being a culmination of all of those styles, showcasing his production mastery in serious style. From the grizzly LFO and euphoric synth lines of the dubstep-inspired 'Replicants' to the heavenly vocal displays and jungle-inspired drumlines of 'Afterlife', he really does cover all bases in this outstanding display. It's a truly outstanding collection, with our highlights including the beautiful harmonic layers and garage-style rhythms of 'Enlightenment', next to the shuffling trap-like arrangements of 'Lost Souls' and the downright tearout vibes of 'Bump In The Night', which fits right onto any Rampage tracklisting. An incredible body of work to say the least.
ENiGMA Dubz - "Too Close To The Sun" - (4:00) 140 BPM
Review: What a year it has been for the Duploc team, who have continued to strive to push the 140 scene further than ever-before. As always, they have come together to unleash their full 2021 catalogue in one singular monumental drop, unleashing 40 system-smashers for us to enjoy over the Christmas period. Featuring a heavyweight catalogue, we get to explore releases from the likes of Dalek One, ENiGMA Dubz, Tappa, Hebbe, Ternion Sound, Oddkut, Juss B, Distance, Mungk and more. It really is a testament to how strong their movement has become when you look at the strength behind this year's catalogue, with the overarching theme of every contained release being perfect for a system-backed shell out. Awesome work and the perfect closer to the year!
Review: The Duploc / ENiGMA Dubz collaborative history continues to grow into something truly beautiful as they link up once again for another sizzling display of dubstep mastery. This new project houses four more system-ready scorchers, kicking off with the alarm-like synth melodies and grinding LFO expressions of '40 Fathoms', before 'Earth Giants' unveils an aquatic sounding display of jittering melodic grooves and harmonic structure. From here, the eerie strings and gnarly bass manipulations of 'Silverback' roll into play, once again showcasing the pure finesse we have come to associate with any ENiGMA Dubz creation, before the more emotional designs of 'Too Close To The Sun' close out another killer project with some serious flare. This is a collaborative link up we would be happy to see time and time again.
Review: Well when we say Duploc are on fire, we couldn't be more accurate than on this latest link up as ENiGMA Dubz is joined by a fabulous host of friends for two incredible remix creations. First up, ENiGMA himself steps forward on remix duty for 'Wayside', originally crafted by the combined talents of Hebbe, Melle & Mr.K. He twists and reformats this one into a haunted basin of horror-core synth work and delicate drum tap dances, giving us something truly unique. On the flip, the inevitable Ternion Sound arrive just in time to send 'The Eyes' through the remix blender, unleashing an earth shattering combo of bass pulses and flamboyant LFO swipes, providing a potent match for the A-side. Awesome stuff!
Review: Over the past few years, there haven't been many labels or dubstep-centric projects who have been able to keep as up to date with the scene as a whole then the legendary Duploc. They came together for this new compilation project with the title 'Identity Of Dubstep', exploring the best of their previous creations. There's no doubting this one's potent tracklisting, which features corkers from the archives with artists such as ENiGMA Dubz, Juss B, SBK, Surreal, Ternion sound, Dalek One & more providing fearsome additions. As this is a compilation to celebrate the full depth of the label's catalogue, we felt it important to highlight tracks that may slip past people, with our favourites including the grizzly LFO expressions of Sweepa's 'The Circle', alongside the wonky rhythms and downright dirty bass designs of Sam Cosmic's 'Stickin Ona Rock', which again explores the more raucous side of the dubstep spectrum. A fantastic anthology of dubstep flavour.
Review: As soon as we saw that Enigma Dubz had again teamed up with the Deep Dark & Dangerous family, we knew we were in for a treat. This tidy new five track display sees the veteran producer perform at his dubstep optimum, kicking off with the gnarly synth growls and haunted percussive delays of 'Area 51'. Next, the vibrant soundscaping, stunning vocal chops and sweeping synthetic flavours of 'Into The Ground' give us something a lot more emotive before 'The Cosmos' gifts us glittering pads and power sub-pulses below. Finally we finish up with two more heaters, with 'No Sleep' giving us a trippy dive into the edge of a more wave-influenced sound, before the crunchy percussion and heavily syncopated synth melodies of 'Tunnel Vision' put the cherry on the cake.
Review: Having risen through the ranks thanks to a stream of successive titles on DUPLOC and Dub Sector, to From The Vine who released his last album, ENiGMA Dubz makes his way onto Slime. Coming Down presents his first release for 2021 which converges elements of trap and dubstep with the post-rave sounds of Eurovision trance with some UK bass mechanics. With something more melodic and Tiesto-esque in "Silhouettes", it's "Move With Me" that will channel the garage, R&B and vocal pop lover within. Add some extra talent in "Coming Down" through a collaboration with AKACIA and you've got all the ingredients for a stay at home/stadium hit.
Review: Well, when we saw this title land in the store we were as surprised as anyone to see that Four40 Records, one of the most active and exciting UK bass labels across the full breadth of 2020 has just turned 10 years old. This is a pretty outstanding achievement, for a label that is still at the forefront of it's sound to this very day. The compilation of course features some of the biggest releases from across the breadth of Four40's incredible catalogue of content, from the likes of Hybrid Theory, I Killed Kenny, Pavv, Limita and more, condensing ten years of musical progression into one extended tape. We also get to hear a bag of exciting new exclusives from the newer breed of the Four40 roster, including music from The Phat Controlla, Blakk Habit, Lucas Maverick, Gemi, Badger, Patrick Kane, Yozhi, George IV and more. What an incredible way to round off the year!
Review: Over the years we really have seen nothing short of an excellent display from ENiGMA Dubz, whose sound has grown to include garage, grime and more over the years. This time around he's back in his home territory however as he lands on Dub Sector for three potent stepper originals. We begin with a look into the winding basslines and unpredictable dubby snare delays of 'Steppas' before the title track 'Greedy Gutz' throws out some super nostalgic wobbling synth sounds, reminiscent of early Coki, combined with the acidic melodies that follow. Finally, we dive down a deep and dangerous route as 'Descending' rounds us off with some stunning low end processing and metallic reverbs. It's an incredible return to dubstep for ENiGMA Dubz, who appears to be able to do very little wrong at the moment!
Review: To look back over the last 18 months of Duploc releases would take us hours and hours, but we are sure we wouldn't be disappointed to do so. Their consistency and efficiency has set a fantastic example to the rest of the dubstep scene, which is why we couldn't wait to dive into this brand new mega compilation entitled 'Duuplates Collection'. Featuring a tracklisting consisting of stepper heavyweights such as Rygby, Ternion Sound, Hebbe, Mr. K and more, we knew we were in for a treat from the off. The project is a goliath in its field showcasing twenty bombshells, certain to cause havoc in dances worldwide. Our immediate stand outs would have to include the crunchy drum slaps and hypnotic chime melodies of 'You Said' from ColtCuts, alongside the highly energetic vocal switches and lethal bass drives of 'Left Behind', a masterpiece from ENiGMA Dubz. Incredible work!
Review: The Dank N Dirty Dubz team have become synonymous with top quality releases over the past few years and this latest selection is a continuation of that theme as they welcome ten of the best inside for a fantastic 4/20 compilation. The roster is incredible, with heavyweight names including Roommate, Pushloop, Roklem, Enigma Dubz and more. There are some incredible tunes throughout, with our favourites including The Widdler's phenomenal dubwise creation in 'Toker, the purple synthesizer slams of 'Cider from Bisweed and of course the breaksy brilliance of Jafu's 'Nuken'.
Review: We are huge fans of the Duploc movement here at Juno Download, especially when they continue to roll out projects as powerful as this one as they unveil twelve war-inspired remixes. The roster they boast is outstanding, with the likes of Pushloop, ENiGMA Dubz, Rygby, Ourman and more all getting involved with some tasty overhaul involvement. For us there are two clear standouts from this one, including Ternion Sounds subtle yet hard hitting refix of 'The Eyes' from ENiGMA Dubz, alongside Dalek One's glitch-driven reimagining of 'Seek War', originally put together by Ghostek. This is Duploc at their absolute best and we can't get enough!
Review: Following on from last week's release of 'Deep', the Deep Dark & Dangerous crew continue their 'Trilogy' series with the second edition: 'Dark'. They have again assembled one heck of a line up for this one, welcoming in the sounds of Enigma Dubz, Leon Switch, Khiva and Pushloop just for starters. The project is a perfect encapsulation of the darker side of the DD&D discography, with a couple of immediate standouts being 'The Devil In Disguise', which sees JLEON and Outsider link up for an incredibly spooky harmonic thrill ride, alongside Brassic's 'Footsoldier', which deploys a regiment of lethal horn stabs to turn any rave into a ruckus!
Review: If we were to give an award for label of the year based entirely on consistency, it would be hard to see Four40 not running away with it as they finally round off what has been an untouchable year with one last killer compilation. Royal Flush takes the role of compiler on this one, pulling in some scorchers from the likes of Soulecta, ZeroFG, Jack Junior, Tuff Culture, Earthnut and of course Royal Flush himself. There are a couple of tracks here we feel really hold their own amongst a stacked line up, with Pavv's classic sounding '3210' being one of them, alongside 'Guilty Twitches' from Ozwald and the choppy vibes of 'Love Is Coming' from the legendary EL-B.
Review: James Vine aka Enigma Dubs lays down a fresh taste and complete recipe for an R&B-infused and lowly swung garage number. Bringing the mainstream appeal of something like Craig David but stripping it back to a deconstructing dub while adding swathes of deep pads, breathy vocals and detuned bounce. Melodies and floating grime influences deliver a slow-motion appeal in "Dancing In The Snow", with "I'm Gone" an urban love ballad for the UKs mean streets and hinterlands.
Review: So Duploc are back at it again to give us yet another tasty dosage of steppers flavour as they invite in the multi-talented production stylings of Enigma Dubz for four tracks of pure heat. We kick off with the haunted overtones and warbling LFO structures of 'The Eyes', leading into the more stripped back, sub-driven compositional structure of 'Lurkin'. Next, 'ET' arrives on the scene with some heavily swung drum manoeuvres and bleeping atmospheric pressure, before we round this one out with a leap into the epic soundscaping and choppy rhythmic presence of 'Left Behind'.
Review: Now as far as compilations go, this without a doubt has to be one of our favourite dubstep selections of the year so far as Dank n Dirty unveil seventeen original creations, featuring high profile appearances from the likes of Aztek, Arta, Liquid Memoirs, Enigma Dubz and more. For us, this compilation showcases so much, from the emotional tones of 'Shaking & Withdrawn' from Legend4ry and the dubwise inspired arrangements of Otz's 'Moody Dub', to the super shuffling rhythms of 'Kashmir' from Khromi. For us, there are some real standouts to this one, the first of which comes from living dubstep legend: The Widdler, with his spacey, dub-infused original entitled 'THC'. As well as this, the potent collaboration between Roomate and Dokter named 'Overstanding' packs a serious punch.
Review: It's a fantastic time to be involved in UKG at the moment, with a tonne of exciting releases dropping week in week out, courtesy of well organized and maintained platforms such as Slime. They here invite Enigma Dubz in for three tracks of forward thinking heat.The 80's style cinematic synth harmonies and stunning vocal additions of Ed Geater come first on the title track 'Moonwalk', before we dip into delicious drips and organic percussion of 'A Night In The Forest', another incredible piece of soundscaping. Finally, 'All On You' makes an appearance with a bag of futuristic UKG flavour, wrapping up a truly incredible body of work.
Review: The strengthened dubstep outpost of Duploc returns to the fray with another packet of heaters here as they bring together ARtroniks and Enigma Dubs for a pair of awesome remix projects. We begin with the eerie sub growls and explosive atmospheric pressure of 'Extinction', here remixed to perfection by the cunning styles of Enigma Dubz. On the flip, ARtroniks gets to work with his haunted overhaul of 'Dirty South', boasting seriously impressive synth work and spacious processing combined with jittery vocal stabs.
FooR - "Don't Judge Me" (feat Dekar Da Don) - (4:52) 138 BPM
Pete Graham X Chris Lorenzo X Jamie George - "Let Me Down" (Nu Era remix) - (5:07) 128 BPM
Review: When it comes to compilations, it's important to keep them as jam packed with entertaining material as possible and it's safe to say that the Four40 camp have knocked this one out of the ballpark. As a project 'This Is UK Culture' is an incredible selection of bass, garage and grime creations, spanning the full breadth of the electronic dance music sphere. Comprising of 16 high profile inclusions, it's difficult to select highlights, but our stand outs would have to include Jamie George's soulful UKG remix of Ahadadream's 'Pray For You', the intense patois flavours of Tomb Crew's 'The Sermon' and of course the dance destroying arrangements of 'Lust' from UK Bass giants Hybrid Theory.
