Review: Blackout Ja has teamed up with label boss Liondub for a dubby (no surprises there) double sided outing on an imprint which bears all the hallmarks of a classic UK label, with jungle, drum & bass and dub music intertwined the whole way. This respect for the history is apparent on Rize Again, as two loping, plodding cuts of funky, upbeat music come at you with the grace of a stoner and the enthusiasm of one too. The title track is lovely in its percussion and Blackout Ja has nailed the dancehall vibe on the vocal line - you won't forget this one.
Review: Feel the wrath of Blackout Ja and friends as he tags in long-time friend and collaborator Liondub for an empowering version flex. The beat is 'Rocking Time Riddim' from Liondub and Jugganaut. A dancehall vibe, warm and rolling with funk and roots samples in equal measures, it's a bop unto itself but for most it's all about the title track 'Wrath Of Supreme'. Lead by a reflective story on life's highs, lows and the need for gratitude and humility, Blackout is joined by Blakkamoore and Ranking Joe for a powerful piece of music that sounds great now... And will sound all the sweeter through a system when we can finally dance again in the future.
Review: The team over at Liondub have been on a serious roll over the last few weeks, supplying us with some seriously exciting new releases, with this new corker from Blackout JA and Kandiman being no exception. The pair join forces for a classic-sounding dancehall shellout over Liondub & Rumble's explosive '2020 Skandal Bag Riddim', deploying sharpened snare slaps and digital blips alongside a lethal bassline rhythm. It's dancehall in 2020 perfectly summarized and we simply can't get enough of it!
Review: It's been a hot minute since we last saw a brand new dancehall project that excited us as much as this one as Blackout JA teams up with Liondub International for a twelve track selection, channeling dancehall music into 2021. The list of collaborators for this one is the first thing that stands out for us, with the likes of Daddy Freddy, Ranking Joe, Blakkamoore, Echo Minott, Sophia May, YT, Ricky T & a bag more all getting involved with wicked contributions. It's an album that represents why dancehall still holds a key place in dance music in 2020. There are a couple of clear highlights for us across this release, with 'Love Dancehall' alongside Navigator & Sophia May being a really cool throwback to the original toasted dancehall sound, followed up by the super crunchy arrangements of 'Hidden Truth' with Souls Liberation providing a perfect outro track.
Review: Liondub's 10 year anniversary celebrations continue with this savage slab of ragga jungle. This time the captain Liondub takes to the controls himself alongside fellow US jungle veteran Jah Boogs while vocal guidance comes from one of the most distinctive MCs in the game: Bristol's Blackout Ja. Here we find him in fiery form as "Touch Up The Key" (and its complimentary VIP version) brocks out in all directions over a precision-tuned subby bass wobble. "Dread" flips for a sunnier side of the stack as Blackout pays homage to his roots with more of a melodic flow to his signature gravel-toned bars. Loaded with instrumentals too, this is the full package.
Review: Blackout Ja and Liondub unleash the first of their Blacklion Movements project and it's a big one; "Greatest Treasure" sees Blackout rolling out his distinctive gravelled tones, going toe-to-toe with another vital voice in modern day dancehall YT, while Liondub lays down a slinky, sexy dancehall rhythm. Weighty enough to buss up a system, roomy enough for both MCs to give all ladies in the dance a heartfelt salute, intimate enough to get everyone dancing up close... With Valentines Day en route, the timing of this could not be better. Treasure this.
Review: Brain-basher number one: German heavyweight Brian unleashes the parts of last year's massive "Forward" EP to a whole host of super-respected peers. The results are every bit as forward-thinking as you'd hope. Highlights include Bassface Sascha & Phlex maintaining the piano-laced vitality of "Inside The Vaults", Serial Killaz adding heavy layers of jungle murk to "Kill A Drum Pan", Bou continuing to show expert trippy science on his take on "Red Eyes" and DJ Hybrid stretching the elements for a roomy skanked out jungle twist on "Moving On". That's the tip of the remix iceberg. Time to push things forward...
Review: Based out of Brooklyn, Toronto, London and Kingston, Jamaica, comes the Revolution Liondub International label. Adding to the build up of Blackout JA & Liondub's forthcoming Love Dancehall LP (as Blacklion Movements) comes a dubwise preview in "Revolution", a 90s digi dub remake of a classic Derrick Harrriott riddim called "Tonight". With Blackout and UK legend Daddy Freddy going verse for verse in the ragga-tipped original, this 'tune about life' is described by Blackout himself as something uplifting for dreadful times.
Review: Liondub's Street Series is one of the longest running and best introductory series' in the business, pulling through some lesser known talent on an almost monthly basis with condense yet expansive collections of music. This time it's the turn of Danny The Wildchild, who lays down the gauntlet from the outset with 'Fresh' - a huge number with towering high points that tumble down into jarringly cool low points. It's a bit of a ballad to be honest. 'Body Moves' is the other highlight, a pummelling roller with a wobbling sub and deliciously satisfying percussive snaps. Big.
Review: Liondub are really rolling out the guns with this one and label founder and namesake Liondub is involved himself, which is when you know stuff is popping off. He's joined by Patexx and Kumo and the trio have concocted something deeply rolling, a release which lunges out over four tunes, including two Kumo VIPs, and keeps things banging the whole way. Our pick of the bunch is Kumo's 'Roller Check VIP', a double-kick laden stomper that keeps things punchy in the percussion and twisted in the low frequencies, it reminds us of Workforce's 'Don't Tell' and that's an extremely good thing. 'Caan Touch' is also deliciously funky whilst keeping thins heavy, a tough balance to strike and one well struck here.
Review: Jahdan Blakkamoore and Metric Man have some serious fiscal fears. So they decided to team up with leading bass-smith Liondub to get their message out there. Thanks to the rich warm skank, gargling bass licks and sprightly synths, their thoughts about the evil paper are made loud and clear. With remixes from Noah D and Marcus Visionary, their broadcast is galvanised furthermore. The former adds a cool, funky west coast synth slides to the vibe while the latter gets slap happy with a cheeky dancehall riddim. Heavy.
Review: LA junglists Noah D and No Thing get AAA access to the Liondub vaults and are told to do their damage with their unique fusion of dancehall, digidub, jungle and bass. Subverting 11 of Liondub's wide-reaching releases, the album-sized results are exciting, unique and full of surprises such as the vocalised synth layers on "Control", the rich vocal focus of Bunny General on "Soundwar" and the out-and-out badmanisms of "Nuke A Soundboy". A really interesting remix concept that works just as well as whole as it does as a collection of serious floor-firers.
Review: Navi and Junior Dangerous on the same jam? This spells trouble in best body-bumping way possible. Versions galore, we kick off with the digidub dancehall swagger of the original before a crack squad of players all sign up to the bang gang... Label boss Deekline goes all tear-out with a bassline that's not dissimilar D*Minds around 10 years ago, Potential Bad Boy flips it into a purring subby jungle roller while Aries reminds us of his bashy side with a proper tropical shakedown. Finally we body bang all the way to New York state for a springy sci-fi skanker from Liondub and Jah Boogs. Banging.
Review: Parly B is a vocalist who doesn't need much introduction, his releases over nearly 10 years have done that for him. He's landing on Liondub for an album and blimey, it's a big one. He's roped in a wide range of artists on production credits and the results are predictably fearsome, especially 'Black Lives Matter' featuring Sikka, who stretches out Parly's vocals over a stepping, funky yet bad boy beat. FleCK knows how to lay things down, and Parly is at his best on 'Lyrics Spree'. Big stuff.
Review: It's been a long time since we have been anywhere close to disappointed with a new Liondub International release, with this latest heavyweight collaboration continuing to apply the pressure, as Riko Dan, Trigon & Dave Gee join the Lion Dub team for a hard hitting new single entitled 'War Dub'. Right from the off we can tell we are in for a raucous affair as demonic horn lines and sizzling sublines provide the perfect skeleton for Riko Dan to run riot upon, unleashing a blistering display of clash-ready lyricism. This drop comes complete with the instrumental version for good measure, making it a must grab for any 140 DJ.
Review: Even just glancing at the amount of killer collaborators Saxxon's recruited for his odyssey you know this is a huge album: Navi, Coppa, T>I, DJ Limited, AK1200, Jaxx, Blackout JA and Liondub all play a role in this ambitious affair. And that's before we even address the music itself; rollers, slappers and vibers hanging from every corner like ill fitting suits, highlights include the heavily rotated bassline bust up "Rollcall", the trippy tripletty swing, strange buzzes and piano bliss of "Way Back", the woozy soul and fat wobbles of "The Night Before 420", the loose limbed jazz of "The Dopest" and pant swinging bassline slappery of "Wile E Coyote". And that's just the tip of the Odyssey iceberg. Huge respect to Saxxon, this isn't an album, it's a statement and way of life.
Review: Saxxon lets rip with a balls-out collabo fest loaded with the highest level vocal touches; T>I and Blackout Ja are the first to arrive at the party with a snaking funk bag of a jam that celebrates the sticky-icky while Saxxon goes it alone with Navi on the bubbling, happy-slapping sub bumper "Rollcall". Finally we have "Real Sound Killa" with Professor Liondub himself; a ripped and ready roller with guttural calls from Capital D, it lands just in time for your end-of-summer skank-ups. Need a 1up? Jump on Saxxy's killer VIP. Action stations!
Sotto Bless - "Sticky" (Prod Liondub) - (4:20) 88 BPM
Suku Ward - "Global" (Prod Liondub) - (4:12) 88 BPM
Liondub - "Sticky Riddim" - (4:13) 88 BPM
Review: Futuristic reggae champions Liondub International make a fabulous return here as they bring together three highly rated newschool toasters for some fresh heat over the 'Sticky Riddim'. We kick off with Sotto Bless's moody vocal stylings and and almost chanted lyricism on his cut entitled 'Sticky'. Following this we plunge into Suku Ward's intense vocal cut by the name of 'Global'. Both artists bring a unique take to the riddim, of which the instrumental version is also included in the full release package, making this a must have for any fan of future reggae music.
Review: Liondub International have a very important release out this week, as they pay tribute to Sugar Minott, who died exactly ten years ago this week. Tribute does exactly what its name would suggest, as a Liondub come out with eight remastered and remixed cuts from the singer himself. It's a touching piece of music that's matched by Minott's wonderfully smooth vocal talent, from the remastered version of legendary reggae cut 'Praise His Name' to the hard-hitting jungle VIP of 'Borderline' by Minott and Marcus Visionary. There's dub, reggae, jungle and drum & bass all wrapped up into one. Superb.
Review: The trend of drum & bass workouts has been a rising one over the last few years and you can see why, as it's hard to imagine a more potent set of sounds to get the blood pumping than ferocious breaks and bubbling basslines. This LP kicks off with the seminal classic that is 'Incredible' by M-Beat, which you should all know by the back of your hand by now, and moves on into other iconic Ed Solo and Deekline tracks like 'Bam Bam' and 'No No No'. There are fantastic contributions from Nick the Lot and Jam Thieves with 'Concentrated' and 'Mista Lava Lava', and Kleu blows things away with a superb remix of Marcia Aitken's 'I'm Still In Love'. It's a rolling listen from start to finish.
Review: Link-up, look smart; we've connected with one of the most exciting labels in dnb for a collection of their biggest hitters, rising stars and highest sellers: Liondub International. Headed up by Eric Liondub in NYC, Liondub International have broken and nurtured more new talent than most put together, and these first few volumes showcase. First up come these 15 examples as the likes of Kumo, Bou, Jayline, DJ Hybrid, Saxxon and many more all deliver timeless heaters. Highlights include Sub Killaz' broadsword skank-up 'Murderah', Brian Brainstorm's junglised slash-up 'Kill A Drumpan' and Bladerunner & Johnny Osbourne's ever-sweet 'Night Fall Dub'. All this and plenty more; whether you've been following Liondub since day or you're new to their consistent onslaught, there's plenty to catch up on here. Selector!
Review: Liondub are celebrating a decade of existence and they're doing a three-part compilation series covering the past, present and future of the label. By definition, then, these series' feature plenty of talent from all across the spectrum and time period of the genre. One of our favourite of the 26 cuts is Bou's VIP of Keep Away, a deliciously double-bass infused number that is both funky and heavy, the ideal combination, and he's flipped up the arrangement here with some precisely placed note changes. There are also features from Vital, Euphonique, Dutta, Marcus Visionary and more, with the overall vibe being one of toughness and power. Top stuff.
Review: Lion Dub have reached a decade of activity. A decade! To put it in perspective, if someone was born the year Liondub started, they're about to enter high school/secondary school. It's a crazy achievement and one matched by the craziness of the music they have on offer to celebrate, a four-part journey through their past, present and future. This instalment is all about their past and it's exemplified best by Serum's VIP of Sound The Alarm, a Liondub classic, which Serum has flipped into a characteristically badboy, stabbing little roller. The vocals float above in a haze of reggae smoke, whilst the beat pulsates below. Awesome stuff.
Review: Digital 6 are doing us all a favour with this release, simply because the big old US of A desperately needs more representation in a scene that is dominated by the European players. Although this is obviously in part because the USA has less D&B fans, the more American music in play the faster this is likely to change. Stateside Junglism 3 is a jungle heavy, breaksy release that doesn't take many prisoners. 'Murda Music' by Shamanga, featuring MC Zulu, is a perfect example of this, as his vocals lead you in with a distinctive reggae tone before a broken drop emanates with some serious force, subterranean wobbles abound and it's an all-round moody listen. The rest of the LP is just as strong - big up the Atlantic crew!
Review: It's been two years since Liondub last spun us around the globe with their long-running Jungle To The World series. But now biting into their 10th year, it's the perfect time to boost up the vaults with 18 specials, exclusives and unreleased versions. Pure high grade jungle through and through: we range from the utterly gully and industrial strength badness such as RAW's "Lock Up" to smoother skank-shined bubbly rollers such as Johnny Osbourne & Bladerunner's "Night Fall Dub" via slippery tech missiles like the dangerous darkside steps of Mr Explicit's "Crystal Blue" and the 24th century jazz of Jayline & Dutty Dubz long-awaited VIP of "Bacardi & Coke". And that's just four of the 18 weapons on offer here. Authentic jungle for 10 years and counting.
Review: With a plethora of artists to choose from, Volume 6 takes a look at the more experimental beings on Hype's roster, to interesting effect. Mob Tactics set the whole show in motion with Elephant Man in a dancehall-inspired club banger cut with insane bass and high-stress sound effects. Total Recall makes an appearance in the Eastern-influenced "Ethnic Origins", taking jump-up to new heights. Playaz favourite Survival adds a trademark neuro touch to fastmoving breaks and eerie atmospherics, and Jaydan show's a sensitive side with the crisp, rolling "She's Heaven". A mature sound from the Playaz crew.
Review: Can we get a 'wicked?' Jungle Cakes continue to team up with some of the biggest donnies in the game with this latest Welcome To The Jungle collection. This time curated and fronted by the General himself, as you'd expect this is a full-on jungle assault that covers every single angle and every single era. 47 tracks and one killer mix, hosted and toasted by Levy himself, this is one of Jungle Cakes most comprehensive collections to date: From the foundation-setting, historic vibes of "Incredible" through to contemporary bangers from the likes of Kursiva, DJ Hybrid, Jam Thieves, Benny Page and all things in between, everyone involved has delivered something special. Massive.
