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: 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: 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: 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!
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.
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: 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: 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: 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.
