Review: Time for a little splish splash show as Jedi gets his bathers on and takes us down the 'Hydra'. 'Cold' sees us jumping in at the deep end with a very cheeky sample lurking at the bottom of the pool. 'Georgia' turns on the wave machine and gets wild with its pared back bass/beats combo before the title track tsunamis us all out of the building with its big horn drama and pant wettingly gnarly drop. Finally we head to the changing room for the grizzly blazes of 'Don't Want You'. Swim when you're winning.
Review: Super-prolific Jedi lands on burgeoning imprint Drum Lab Audio. The results speak for themselves... 'Crazy Monk' hits with that quirky, off-beat riff style that Jedi's made himself known for before we hurtle into a swirling pool of vibes and experiments. 'Betrayal' is a classic early 2000s Bristol style bumper, 'Get Nicer' shows off Jedi's junglist leanings in a slinky, purring steppy way while 'Weird Tits' closes the EP with a heartfelt nod to your old dear by way of a grizzly, wobbled-out bassline. Classic Jedi manoeuvres.
Review: Straight out of Walsall and straight into our sets and hearts; Jedi has been a jump-up tour de force in recent years, and this humungous five-tracker is no exception. 'Rich & Sexy' sets the tone instantly with its sweeping harmonic bassline sliding up and down the scale. The grit and drama continues throughout 'Let Him DJ' grunts and bumps with a slug-like bassline, 'Energy' is stripped right back to the grizzles and features a sexy vocal sample while 'Don't Run' goes back to the raucous styles of the late 00s with its savage widescreen riff. Last but not least MC Weedy joins the fray for the grand bassline finale. Bang!
Review: Someone fetch this man a ladder! Jedi needs to get higher and he's paying us in absolute fire tunes. One of his most generous EPs in quite some time, over six tracks the artist spreads his wings across the spectrum; 'Lay You Out' is Program-style bubbler with a fine balance of emotion and grit, the mischievously-titled 'Piss On Your Ashes' is a hurricane of jump-up grizzles and growls while the title track rips up the dance like some turn-of-the-century D*Minds Bristol effort. And that's only 50% of the rawness on display here. Bun the ladder, this man deserves a cherry picker.
Review: Call the emergency services! Jedi returns with a 'Blazing Fire' and it's getting out of control! 'Hear Me Talking' is the accelerant he poured liberally over the blaze by way of savage staccato bass hits. The weirdo wobbles of 'Do Some Damage' is the sonic equivalent of whole XXXL box of matches he's thrown into the blend just for the lols while the switchy wriggles and stripped back funk of 'Badguy' is him admitting to his arson but smiling giving zero effs about it. Finally we reach the inferno itself; 'Blazing Fire' hits with fat horn-based bass burps and more heat, brazen audacity and naughtiness than a shamed celeb caught frolicking out of lockdown rules. Heaters for your tweeters.
Review: Having marched right into the year on Dubstomp 2 Bass on January 1st, young Jedi dusts off his sabre once again for his second outing of 2021, this time on another regular stomping ground of his: Nuclear Bass. As always with Jedi, the vibe covers the entire spectrum while remaining rooted in his spiky dancefloor sound. 'Yeah Boy' takes a classic vocal and manipulates it around a vibrant arpeggio, 'Shapes' is a skittering, jittering bass wriggler, 'Watch You Back' is a gnarly slap-out banger of the pack while DEEb collaboration 'You're Dead' closes the EP with pure drama and aggression. Throw some shapes.
Review: Dubstomp 2 Bass are without a doubt one of the strongest jump up labels around at the moment and their output is so damn consistent, with almost a new release every week. This week it's the turn of Jedi, a regular on the label, and, this release is a four-tracker chracterised by its sheer veracity. With crisp drums and a tumbling percussive line, 'Bald Fuck' rolls out in style, hitting punches and stealing packed lunches left right and centre, with a really original, complex approach to make interlinked basses. The madness continies on the other three, and 'Ball Washer' is especially potent, with slicing basslines that cut through the air with untrammelled ferocity. Proper tunes these - no messing around, but then again what would you expect from this label?
Review: Dutty Bass Audio tend to deliver rough, urban-edged sounds that don't prance around or act fancy, they just get down and dirty. Jedi has delivered exactly that here, with a four-track EP of moody tones and no-nonsense drum lines. 'Quench Your Thirst' is a perfect example of said drums, with impossibly clean hits and a clear sense of space and progression, its bass stabs are almost shadowed out. 'I Would LIke' is the most futuristic, with a deep back end and seriously cool synth spasms that lend it a techier feel than the other cuts on the EP. The other two are equally top-draw - make sure to check these.
Review: Next up from the Audio Overload gang we jump into this well thought out four track selection from Jedi & Instag8, who deliver a range of flavours with some very well welcomed guests. We begin our journey with Instag8's 'Angels', a sizzling system smashing bounce, combining angelic vocal lines with lethal bass processing and high energy breaks, before Jedi brings a much more jump up-inspired synthetic approach with his remix. Following this, Jedi joins forces with Licks Latore for 'One Girl', an LFO driven ball of bassy madness, topped with euphoric pad lines and well processed rhythmic ideas. To round off, Instag8 sends this one to the chopping block with his mash up remix, layering in numerous lazer-like synthesizer lines to add an extra layer of intensity throughout.
Review: Dubstomping around the Christmas tree, have a happy holiday as DS2B continue this year's new V/A series with a generous blast of fresh talent for your festive season. Featuring a range of close label allies, and showcasing a sound across the board from sharp, scrappy jump up to ominous, bulldozer foghorns, it's another full spectrum D&B assault. Highlights include Jedi's Need For Mirrors-esque tripper stepper 'Guns Of Navarone', Midst's disco-tinged grot on 'Your Ears' and Pruf's firing rave homage 'Flashback'. The list goes on. Everyone dancing merrily.
Review: The 'Mothership' has landed, Jedi's the captain and there are more than enough seats for all of us to join the ride. Our adventure kicks off with 'Car Monkeys' and a sample of the cutest sweary kid you've seen on YouTube. Loaded with an equally cute synth riff, there's more than enough euphoria to scare the primates off your wheels. 'Spread 'Em' is a grimier cut. All swaggers and big melty bass but occasional flashes of synths and police brutality. 'Give Me' is flips for a lighter footed vibe with the breakbeats and pitched up vocal sample before 'Mothership' takes off for the grand finale with its rockets powered by grunting bass, rolling breaks and more crisp synth work. Ready for take-off?
Review: Audio Overload who have developed a reputation for going in all guns blazing, having released a string of releases over many years which don't play nice with your feelings. Now, they're launching the second part of their Jacked compilations series and it's top quality, with sounds that span a wide variety of styles, from rolling stuff to dirty naughtiness. 'Nuclear Inspectors' by Falco is definitely in the latter category and it's definitely one of the best on the release, with a cavernous bassline of spinning twirls and a pulsating epicentre that pushes out the rest of the track in a slick fashion. One to cop, this.
Review: Woi! Audio Overload invite a bunch of mates around for their biggest V/A EP to date. Jedi, Parasite, Falco and Midst all on one release and all sounding fine: Jedi takes the lead with a deeper example of his repertoire on the Die-style swing of 'Feels Naughty', Parasite goes all bubbly and Dread bass style on the rolling bruk-up 'Big Up', Falco brings the sunny-side skank vibes on the dubwise 'Business Deal' before Midst brings things to a powerful close with 'War Dogz'. A big subby hummer with a dusty old soul sample on it, this rattles with authenticity right down to the bones. Take it back, pay it forward...
Review: Man like Jedi returns with another batch of high octane party pieces and it's vibes from the off as 'Sounds Falling' takes a classic house sample and flips it into a riffy chainsaw party. Nothing but positivity, it sets us up for the rest of the EP: the strident euphoria of 'Sleepless Nights', the star-gazing, trance-like synth arpeggios of 'Shake Money Make' and the prize piece of the feast; 'Spiritwalker'. If you like raising your hands really high and feeling goosebumps, or you're a spiritwalker yourself, or you just adore sudden trippy bass drops, this one's for you. Don't walk away from this.
