Review: We're full of respect for the team behind Jalapeno Records, who have now been offering up the finest in funk, soul, hip-hop, disco and breakbeat for 20 years. It's a landmark that calls for a celebration, and with this compilation they've certainly marked their anniversary in style. The 20-track set is full-to-bursting with party-starting heat, with vintage gems from the likes of Skeewiff, Ikon, Kraak & Smaak and Featurecast being joined by more recent highlights from current imprint heavyweights such as Smoove & Turrell and the Allergies. Highlights are plentiful, with our picks including the break-driven revivalist soul headiness of Aldo Vanucci's 'You're All Show', the summery positivity of Gizelle Smith's 'S.T.A.Y' and the rushing disco brilliance of Dimitri From Paris's essential edit of Izo Fitzroy's 'I Want Magic'.
Review: Fun loving Party Breaks and Beats label Bomb Strikes serve up a retrospective collection curated by label bosses Mooqee and Beatvandals. With 31 full-length cuts plus a one-hour DJ mix, there's no faulting the VFM as we move through breaks, funk, hip-hop and the occasional gnarlier nugget. Standouts include Andy Cooper & The Allergies' rework of Run DMC's 'Mary Mary' and Beatvandals & A Skilz's 2007 cut 'Sunshine', which mashes up Roy Ayers and Indeep. But the one we keeping back to is Mooqee's 'Supacat Police' (2006), which makes devastating, ragga-fied use of chunks from a certain KRS-One classic that we won't insult your intelligence by naming!
Review: We were very happy to see Featurecast make his return to his beloved Monster Sounds Music as he reels off the third edition of his very popular breakbeat LP series, jam packed with another four original creations and a very enjoyable introduction. From the off, 'Shaka Boom' sets pace with some dangerous synths, followed by the dubwise arrangements of 'Rudeboy Sound' and the halftime flavours of 'Buzzsaw'. finally, we dip into the powerful drum designs of 'Made With Love', which finishes off the project in style. To round everything up, he also gives away 'Samples & Beats MS Vol 3', showcasing his sampling ability
Review: Bomb Strikes continue their quite frankly untouchable run with this latest release as they unveil the fourth edition of their 'Bass Funk' compilation series, showcasing some of the most forward thinking bass music about right now. As a compilation, it covers a lot of ground, from the tearout D&B stylings of Featurecast's 'Trigger Finger', to the futuristic post dubstep designs of 'Flexx' from Stylust. Other highlights for us include Kenny Beeper with his groove-infused scratch masterpiece 'Crown Jewels', the long awaited 'Back To The Flow VIP' from Krafty Kuts and of course, Champion's high profile appearance alongside the unmistakable vocal presence of Dread MC on 'One Time'.
Review: Strike it lucky, strike it gully, strike while the iron is hot; Featurecast returns to the mighty party purveying imprint Jungle Strikes with two tasty treats. "Lose Your Mind" is a family affair with some exceptional vocal slicing and drop into the original sample while "Trigger Finger" will have your floor dusting off their gun digits and firing blanks in every ceiling available with its early 2000s style Bristol wobble Q&A. Strike the blood!
Review: Destination: Latvia. Bombstrikes welcome label regular Dubra to the stage to take selection duties for the third in their floor-firing Bass Funk mix series. Digging deep into the groove vaults, he's picked some outstanding timeless classics such as Krafty Kuts and Dyna's swaggering entrance theme "We Do This", Stickybuds' life-affirming glitch-slapper "Clap Your Hands" and A Skillz & Nick Thayer's body-slamming "Drop The Funk". Elsewhere we get our alien freak on with Opiuo, we get our heads knocked off by Dubra himself on "Keep It Going" and Punks favourite "You Don't" from Horger and Steve among many other straight up party-battering bass jams. 24 originals and a killer mix to boot, Bombstrikes are causing some serious damage with this collection. Strike while the dancefloor is hot yo!
Review: Feel like you've heard it all before? Then hear this! Jalapeno jammer Featurecast returns to prize party stable Jungle Strikes for two more naughty version excursions. "Shut You Down" will bring serious D&B sunshine into your life with its instantly recognisable vocal and big old horn section. "Diddy Dum Day" fires off a big seven gunfinger salute with magnificence. W.O.O.O!
Review: Why so serious? Jungle Strikes continue to pump out quality, unashamed, footloose party jungle for the masses! Funky breaks man Featurecast continues his venture into DnB territory and we are oh so glad he made the trip! Despite holding such titles as "La La La" & "Relax Yourself" the music held within is not as soothing as the titles might suggests. Two tracks that make us feel like we just had a can of Monster and a double espresso in one go! Opening track "La La La" kicks us off with a rhythmical Bossa Nova piano hook giving it a real sunshine sambas feel, infectious feel good drum and bass that is free of inhibition. "Relax Yourself" opens a little more as the name would suggest a soulful hip hop intro (which is so good, quite frankly it could be a track in and of itself) makes way for the iconic "tears you down" vocal hook; made famous most recently by the Brookes Brothers. Then with the rattle and roll of a snare drum you are in, and the track quickly bursts to life! Crisp breaks to get the legs moving while twinkly jazzed out sample hooks to keep heads in the clouds. Festival ready beats that have us itching to head into a muddy field and have a good old fashioned knees up!
Review: Featurecast flexes hard into the crates right here: digging deep over 20 years of party breaks, he's put together the definitive journey of funk with the refreshing devil may care attitude we've come to expect. His selection excavations are here for all the benefit from... The Wiseguys's lesser-spotted jam "One For The Ladies", Lack Of Afro's horn-melting "The Outsider", Max Sedgley's sugar-sweet "Happy", Flevans' Afrofunk shake-up "12 Apostles" and Featurecast and Aldo Vanucci's 2008 hoe-down stomper "Blue Grassed Devil" are just some are just some of the floor-matured classics amid the 25 cuts on offer here. And that's before we even get to awesome mix. Don't dillydally on this one.
Review: Featurecast's Shout It Out LP came out one year ago almost to the day, so it was a surprise when this nifty remix compilation landed on our charts this morning! But, this is dance music, and the only rule is that there are no rules. Funnily enough, this is a rule that runs true even in terms of the sounds put together right here, and there's a few too many of them for us to categorise the EP under one genre banner. To give you a taste of the content, Ahee's remix of "Move" is a cut-up technoid bullet with gnarly injections of menacing wobble bass, whereas Inapt's grizzly take on "999" gives the term 'bassline house' an innovative new meaning, and Dub:ra's version of "Take It Down" steps into the darker and more unexpected world of electro-house, served up through a contemporary EDM filter.
Review: Sometimes it pays to be a label boss, like for example here, on this latest Bomb Strikes comp where head honcho Mooqee has decided to hand himself the reigns. Manning the decks for nearly an hour, he whips up a frenzy of party breaks delirium over the course of 24 tracks. The tracks are supplied individually too, with highlights including the tropical trap-house of "Ladies Look Pretty" by Basement Freaks, the furious electro-bass mash-up "Get Got (VIP mix)" by Nick Thayer & A Skillz and the strompingly retro electro-funk of "How We Do This" by Tom Booze.
Review: A little funk sensibility can be the best of remedies to sooth your winter chills, and this new 20-track compilation from JalapeNo is the perfect remedy. The imprint has it down when it comes to releasing contemporary soul-dance, and peeps like the Ephemerals, Basement Freaks, and Izo Fitzroy are all revelations in of themselves. Just to give you a little flavour of this steaming hotpot of sounds and grooves, there's a little tribal disco slaying on Soopasoul's "Hustlin'", vintage Motown soul with The Allergies and "Since Youave Been Gone", and contemporary r&b vibes through the vocal talent of Alexia Coley and her "Jekyll & Hyde" tune. There's something in here for all walks of life, so be sure to flick through this baby to find your kink.
Review: The clue is in the title here as Brighton-based funk label Jalepeno have rounded up fifteen of the best soul sister cuts from their mighty catalogue. Boasting a mix of old and new, and spanning quite a few different styles too, this compilation couldn't have come soon enough. Some of the many highlights featured include the powerful and bluesy soul-bearing opener, "Reckoning" by Iro FitzRoy, the candy floss tones of Berenice Van Leer on the 80s-tastic "My Mind' Made Up" by Kraak & Smaak and the muscular harmonies of Farina Miss on Featurecast's "Ego Tripping".
Review: Is there no end to Jalapeno's flavour range? Constantly splashing their signature funk to any genre or corner of the dance they feel, Brighton-nee-London indie Jalapeno dust off the handsome array of D&B originals and remixes they've released plus a selection of brand new cuts such as Serum's sublime homage to De La Soul & Chaka Khan's "All Good" and a chilly graveyard staunter from Cybass ("Departure") Other highlights include Max Sedgley's Moulin Rouge-burning soul-stamper "What've I Got To Do", Dr Meaker's instant-smile inducing party-primed remix of Aldo Vanucci, Technimatic's sunset twist of Ephemerals and the unabashed vibes of Deeline & Ed Solo's Featurecast remix. And that's not even half of it. Tasty.
Review: Featurecast has been dabbling in groove and funk for quite a while now. Matter of fact, in his own words he has been on a mission to "funk his way across the globe with his own brand of.. mid-tempo Breaks, Hip-Hop, Funk, D&B and downright dirty Bass together in his own remarkable way". The Shout It Out LP comes courtesy of the UK's funkiest dance label Jalapeno. Highlights include the hip-hop/heavy metal crossover of "Shout It Out" featuring Illvis Freshly's killer rhyming, the electro infused breaks of "No One Left" featuring Greg Blackman's soulful vocals and the funky block rocking beats of "What You Want" featuring the mad skills of Pugs Atomz, Wes Restless & Ill Legit.
Review: Almost a year has passed since Thriftshop merchant Featurecast last appeared on Jungle Strikes, but he's making up for lost time with these two absolute jungle slayers. "Woke Up" takes Jessie Royal to brave new tempos with shiny, sun-kissed charm but it's "Coco Loco" that really punches the hardest. With its Cuban heel-kicking sample that flips an accordion into a seriously hype-fuelled build up, this will cause nothing but trouble, sweet delicious trouble.
Review: For Jungle Strike's third volume of upfront drum and bass party-crashers, Featurecast perks up the troops with a loud and lairy summertime refix of Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco's take on "Move On Up". This has to be the biggest potential crowd pleaser of the year. "Mash It Up Again" takes things a little smoother, rolling hard with some sizzling Brazillian beach vibes and rocket powered percussion. Both of these massive tunes need adding to your summer sounds bag pronto.
Review: This is Jungle Strikes' first release and the artist has done everything possible to make it count. Sampling classic track "Express Yourself" for first siren-scattered party starter "Everybody On the Floor", this is a taste of feel-good, grin-inducing drum and bass that you don't hear all that often. Flipping over for "Payback Sound" the party continues, keeping the tempo and energy up with more classic references and rapid rolling drums underneath hot brass.
Review: This is a first for all parties: JFB's first official mix, Ghetto Funk's first artist-fronted compilation and Disco Cakes' first ever long playing release. Needless to say each party has really stepped up; JFB has curated a mammoth 37-track adventure exploring every possible corner of Ghetto Funk's sprawling sonic scenery, ranging from wholesome, down-home country funk (Grinny Granddad "Good Girl"), slick ragga-swing (Stickybuds "Clean Air") bump-shuffling electro ghetto (Featurecast "Around The Block") and raw, teeth-clenching bass filth (Skullee - "Badboii"). Leaving no stone unturned, this documents the Ghetto Funk movement with immersive mischief, AND it comes with a killer DJ mix.
Review: Mooqee's label Bombstrikes is doing all right for itself. So much so in fact that they've reached that milestone - a label's first compilation album. Here Mooqee has selected 25 sizzling bangers new and old that do it for him, and hopefully will do it for you too. Highlights include the compressed electro steamroller that is "Back To School", the crunch synth funky freakout of "Come On Bounce" and the devastating bass that's eaten all the pies of "Let's Do It Right Now". Heavy!
Review: Welcome to the mid-2000s. A few years before Jalapeno took him on and developed him into the nu-funk guru he is today, but after he'd scored international kudos by syncing to an Apple advert "Channel Surfing", Featurecast was one of the biggest bootleg barons on the scene. 21st century big-beat and turbo-hip-hop, Goodgroove released some of the cheekiest sample-heavy tunes of his early career. And here they are in all their remastered glory. Highlights include the Wild Cherry sampling bootie shaker "Funky White Brother" and the Vandross-DMX love-in "Get It On The Floor". If you weren't around the first time, now's your chance to catch up.
Review: Perfect timing for all summer soirees: London's premier funk dealers Jalapeno fire up yet another spotless collection of party nuggets. Showcasing their extensive repertoire, they've crammed in 14 unmissable, unmixed and unmistakeably swinging tracks by the likes of Featurecast, Beekeepers, Kraak & Smaak, Smoove & Turrell, Max Sedgley, Parker, Moneyshot and more. From prime-time party pieces (Hint's b-boy breaking remix of Kraak & Smaak's "Let's Go Back") to low-swung, hipster disco (Tom Drummond's "Keep It Moving) via deep house that's so clean and pristine you could do surgery on it (D'Steph's "Getting It On"), the whole compilation sparkles with sonic sunshine. And for those days when you just haven't got the energy to mix (don't lie - we've all been there), they've even thrown in a DJ mix of the tracks too.
Review: Switching up formats from their trusted Bombstrikes mash-up series to this new Into Battle set of releases, this label still have the freshest breaks-led bootlegs on tap, as evidenced by this split release from Featurecast and Pimpsoul. While Featurecast's "Stick 'Em Up" takes a Lenny Kravitz classic as its sample source, adding a slew of hip-hop acapellas into the mix for good measure, Pimpsoul does a mighty treatment with a Nirvana acapella on the heavy-rumblin' "The One".
Review: Teaming up for the first time, two of breakbeats leading lights - Krafty Kuts and Featurecast - unite to mash-up the Jungle Brothers among other hip-hop classics on "Head Banger". Surely made as a perfect set-closing last tune, the pair keep some anthemic brass loops tucked away with some low-end filters until they're unleashed for a perfect hands-in-the-air, hug-everyone-immediately moment of euphoria. Backed up in style by the Funky Four Plus One-sampling "We Blow Up The Spot" and the Ice Cube-goes-dubstep thrills of "Shake 'Em Up".
Review: The latest in Bombstrikes' series of mash-ups and breaks-driven party bootlegs sees accomplished remixer and turntablist Featurecast drop a pair of bulletproof bangers. "Stomp" sees The Game's "Break Him Off" a cappella going up against Red Hot Chilli Peppers' "Can't Stop", with a little help from The Chemical Brothers along the way. "One More" on the flipside rocks Chic's venerable classic "My Forbidden Lover" while adding a cappella loops of Public Enemy's Chuck D over the top. Guaranteed funtimes.
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