Review: Drum & bass VA compilations do not get any bigger than this badboy... Total Science's CIA celebrates a quarter of a century in true style with some of the biggest and most respected talents in the game. Calibre, DLR, Break, Digital, FD, The Sauce and many more all deliver supreme sonics as we slide and glide from groove to groove; Digital plays havoc with our senses with the powerful drum breaks of 'Raggamuffin Bizness', Zero T goes super creepy and tense with the crucial 'Cut Dem' while Total Science show us how it's done with the super breezy and jazzy 'Run It'. These are just some of the many many highlights... 25 years and still fresh. No one does it like Spinback and Quiff.
Review: The people's champion FD returns to Lenzman's HQ with four more supreme pieces. Each one flexing hard around the FD spectrum, we got every flavour you need right here... 'Shawn Kemp' is a real blaster jam with a rugged, crisp bass riff, 'Mama Told Me' sends us off to bed without tea for skanking too hard to Hella's prominent bars while 'Double Drizzle' is the consummate bubbler with its tubular bass glide and jazzy keys. Last but most definitely not least 'Sails' eases us back to earth with its silky soulful flow. The 'Pleasure' is ours.
Review: The North Quarter's second mix project is headed by two of the label's leading artists: Redeyes & Fox. The Amsterdam-based label believes that the mixtape is an important symbol in the formative years of many artists and seeks to continue the beloved tradition. Featuring a bunch of TNQ exclusives, there's a whopping 31 tracks across NQ State Of Mind, Vol. 2, featuring premium material by the likes of Alexx A-Game, Echo Brown, Satl, Submotive and many more plus a continuous mix by Redeyes & Fox. Join the label in celebrating five years in the business and the artists that make the label the respected entity it is today.
Review: FD hides his ingenuity behind deceptively simple, stripped back productions. His music relies on the basics done unbelievably well and A Vision Of Hope is a six-track embodiment of how effective this method is, as he rolls things out with clarity in the percussion and high quality in the low frequencies. 'Hazmat' featuring Fox is a perfect example and the pair are a force to be reckoned with, as FD lays out an unbelievably crisp percussive basis for a bouncing, infectious bassline, both of which pair superbly with Fox's little-is-more approach to vocal magic. There's just a quality to this EP, it's organic and well-meaning but still tough and gutsy; the bassline on 'Vienna Circle' lopes in purposeful steps, but squirms with anger on 'Bully'. There are liquid notes on 'Here With Me' and an instrumental to rounds things off, North Quarter style. Sublime.
Review: The North Quarter is rounding out their 2020 with the first in a new Various Artists series: NQ State of Mind. We're assuming this name is a hat tip to Jay-z and Alicia Keys' NY State of Mind, and the focus on urban funk comes through clearly across this album's 10 tracks. It starts with the long-awaited Tokyo Prose remix of 'All My Life' by Satl, and Tokyo has stretched out Steo's incredible vocals over an elegantly simple piano riff and solid percussive basis, a timeless sound that gets right to the heart of what makes this label so good. Zero T gives his 2017 album cut 'Slightest Moment' the remix treatment, taking it up from hip-hop tempo to full drum & bass to form a rollicking, nonchalant roller which skips along with such purity of spirit you'll forget where you are. There's a superb original contribution from Redeyes with 'Original Soul', a stripped back remix of 'Late Night Jam' from Lenzman, and a dirty old school roller from Sam Binary. What an album.
Review: Freddie Dixon AKA FD has been doing his thing across a variety of labels for some time now, but it's in the last couple of years, and under the tuterage of Lenzman's The North Quarter, that he's really begun to shine. Lanta Nights is a couple cuts of gorgeous liquid and then three bassy, naughty rollers that smash of dub and soundsystem culture. It's a potent blend, and Akemi Fox is especially fantastic on 'Lie To You', a lounging, hip-hop endeavour that rolls out with the nonchalance it deserves. It's a superb EP and capped off with The North Quarter's typically well-refined aesthetic. Fantastic.
Review: Lenzman's imprint serves up its first V/A right here with Quarter To Quarter. Featuring exclusive tracks from the likes of FD, LSB, Total Science, Kyrist, Tokyo Prose, Break, Zero T and so many more, it's a full spectrum representation of the label that ranges from sublime, sun-kissed soul such as Redeyes' "Lust", Atlantic Connection and Steo's "Night & Day" to bouncy, vocal high-vibe affairs such as Break's remix of "In My Mind". Along the way expect stunning strident, cosmic hypnotic workouts (Tokyo Prose - "Rescue"), dubby dreamers (Kyrist - "Untrue") unlikely rudeboy slappers (Total Science - "Killa") and every other authentic, genuinely crafted D&B sound you associate with the label. Quarter To Quarter ... No half measures.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.