Review: Two stone cold classic Calibre remixes get a digital reup on Fokuz this month. His take on Submorphics' "Organ Grinder" takes us back to 2013 with that instantly distinctive dusty jazz sample those purring, swooning chords in the background. His more stripped back, darker take on Impish's "With You", meanwhile, harbours one of the most emotional breakdowns you'll ever find on Fokuz. As timeless, rolling, loose and soulful as ever, if you don't have either of these in your collection yet then now is a perfect opportunity.
Review: Most labels celebrate their 50th or 100th release but Fokuz have never done things by convention, which is what's made them such a unique success story in drum & bass for 17 years. Here we find them celebrating their 80th release (and neatly referencing the work of Quentin Tarantino) with their biggest project to date that stretches two albums, over 30 tracks and some of the biggest names in D&B: Break, Calibre, Technimatic, BCee, Need For Mirrors, the list goes on. If you know Fokuz's output you'll already be on this. If you don't, just jump on the velvet sub rolls of Calibre's remix of Impish, Lenzman's hurricane soul twist of Random Movement or Dreazz & Stal's percussive frenzy "Ethiopian Jungle" and you'll know exactly what's going on right here.
Review: Russian producer Impish has been working feverishly on his intimidatingly unique sound for some time now, bringing liquid forward to a mid-way point between easy listening and severe, cutting edge beats. This EP shows off some of his extensive talents for taking simple sounds and letting them run away with themselves, using natural and technical percussion together and tying everything with his own brand of rolling and at times ragged basslines. "Wake Up" begins as a deep, atmospheric roller, the dreamer of the collection. Second track "Solo Dancer" features Intersoul and his soulful influence can be heard in the light piano melodies playing under wispy washes of colour and atmosphere. Rounding off with deeply resonant bass and creaking, erratic percussive elements, it's a beautiful thing, full of experimentation and sheer down-and-dirty enjoyment and you need it in your collection.
Review: The latest signings to the Fokuz roster are these breakneck Russian beatmakers, and from the first few moments it's clear everyone's going to love them. "Broken Dreams" kicks things off with a glorious amalgamation of crushingly heavy, deep and dutiful bass and surges of dark synth, all held together with a minimal framework of breaks. As if by magic, the pair switch roles completely for "Fine", a sun-drenched instant classic, rolling out hard with deep, sexy bass and a sizzling sultry atmosphere. These two aren't playing around - D&B needs something different in the water and they might just be it.
Review: 15 years. Has it really been 15 years since Focuz became part of all our lives? To celebrate, some of D&B's finest have come out to play, offering up slices of pure gold as their presents to us all. Kicking off with Lenzman's beautiful remix of Command Strange's "Rock Steady", legendary producer BCee also joins the party along with Scott Allen, Lynx, Enei, intelligent Manners, Malaky, and newcomers Soligen and Type-2 and many more, creating a very special celebratory get together indeed.
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.