Review: Aries welcomes us into a new year with a generous eight track version excursion from last year's album Jungle Style and talented refixes come from all angles; Marcus Visionary flips "Jungle Style" into a thundering breakcraft, Filip Motovunski gets his chainsaw out and carves up some sweet skanking roller pie for "On Road", Supa Ape goes breakbeat bonkers in the best possible way on "Jungle Music" while Dr Meaker gives "I & I" a beautiful bouncy take that's not a million miles away from a young Clipz. All this more, Aries road is never ending...
Review: Fresh from flexing the iconic vocals of David Boomah, Dub Shotta bossman (and all-round G in general) Benny Page now locks horns with one of the most distinctive and hype-raising Jamaican MCs in the game $pyda. Wrapping his dancehall damage harmonies to "Gangsta", this is nothing short of an anthem thanks to its sing-along feels, a gut-punching hook and raw energy that will pop any rave into pieces. With its rifle riff, sandpaper harmonics and higher-end tones "Flava" takes us round the back for something a little more illicit and intoxicating. Both absolutely smash the place.
Review: Benny Page and MC Spyda have the first single out on Spyda's brand new label and with this single they take you on a rough and ready journey through rolling D&B, one that's characterised by its reliance on the best elements of the older school of 170 sonics: big drum hits, reggae-infused MC work and a complete lack of pretentiousness or over-engineering. 'Serious Time' is exactly that and we love the spoken vibe that rolls out over the whole tune, a proper piece of mic duty from one off the stalwarts of the scene.
Review: Benny Page is a legend in the scene, and for this single he'd been joined by another legend: MC $pyda, who you'll probably know for his vocals on Pendulum's 'Tarantula'. This track is similar in a few respects: funky vibes, a big old rolling bassline and $pyda's vocals floating just above, with wicked effect. This is one of those arms-in-the-air tunes that taps into the history of reggae influence and sampling in the scene, its reminiscent of the recent Chase & Status stuff and it's definitely a style everyone can get behind. Shoutout to Page and $pyda for this one!
Review: You'd be hard pushed to name an MC with more of a distinctive jungle tonality than Spyda. With Fats coming a close second, Spyda has that musicality, hookiness but bare-faced brute force that instantly smacks with heritage. "Soundsystem Entertainer" is no exception as he does the dulcet damage over one of Solo's strongest bass hooks in a long time (which is saying something, considering his consistency high level) The end result is an instant floor-bubbler with all the funk and gusto you'd expect from the J-Cakes crew. Loaded with an instrumental for those rare arachnophobia association gala parties we all have to endure from time to time.
Review: Now this most certainly is a treat as we jump into a fiery new compilation and mix project from the Hot Cakes team, who invite the sounds of Lady Waks inside for a feature length exploration into breaks and bass music. It's a truly all star cast for this one as we dive into original creations from the likes of Stanton Warriors, Jay Robinson, Them&Us, Benny Page, Deeklike & Ed Solo, Origin8 & Propa, alongside many many more. Featuring fifty-nine outstanding breakbeat epics alongside a full length studio mix from Lady Waks, this is a perfect showcasing of the breaks and D&B sound in 2021, with highlights including the smooth soundscaping of Firestar Soundsystem's 'Pressure', the intense vocal pressure of 'Trigger' from Phibes and of course the nostalgic drum rolls of 'Boom Baby' from Slip 187 & Rax. Incredible stuff!
Ragga Twins & Cogee - "All In Check" (Remaster feat Aquasky) - (6:58) 138 BPM
Living Legends (Remaster feat Aquasky) - (5:45) 128 BPM
Coffee (Remaster feat Aquasky) - (7:07) 138 BPM
Who Inspired You? (DJ Chef continuous mix) - (1:17:42) 138 BPM
Review: Flinty Badman and Deman Rockers' historical compendium hits second volume stage with an equally firing collection of reversions, remasters and stone cold classics produced and remixed by the likes of long-term production partners Aquasky, Rico Tubbs and 601. From the sinewy acid wriggles of "Loko" to the rampant rips and tears of "Soundbwoy Killa" to the tech-drenched dancehall stamps of "Raggatron", this is an irrefutable lesson in UK bass culture from electronic music's most versatile and distinctive MCs. Step out!
Review: What happens when you get the iconic broadsword vocals from MC Spyda, the cricket bat-buckling riffage of man-of-the-mo Serum and a little love for the sticky-icky? This, basically. Hookier than a fisherman's convention, vibier than a whole cinema of massaging chairs, warmer than a picnic in the oven at gas mark six, this is guaranteed to get all the G-man and G-women singing along in harmony. The first track from BassLayerz' brand new imprint, this is the way you launch a new label!
Review: You can't see his face, but we bet our bottom dollar you can hear him... Taking Shy's Raggamuffin Mixtape banger and twisting it into a dark, ruded-up bubbler, modern day donny Skeptical has taken 'Balaclava' to the murkiest of new levels. Still featuring the high-grade MC rollcall of D Double, Frisco and Spyda, Shy's wry sense of gully remains fully intact as Skeppy tells us it will take more than a pandemic to hold him down. Ring the alarm!
