Review: Bonjour! Monty finally delivers his debut artist album and it's an absolute gem from start to finish. Featuring the many cuts he's been teasing over the last few months ('Hardware', 'Vibin' etc) the album takes a deep dive into every sound on the young Frenchman's palette. Flexing from the gnarled 140 bubbles and bumps of 'Dreamer' (with 1985 bossman Alix Perez himself) and the spacey garage vibes of 'Walking Home' to the soulful roll of 'Birdland' (with fellow Toulousian Redeyes) and the electroid night creeping title track, this is the full Monty on levels we've never seen before. Bass music across the whole menu, it's one of those rare LPs that will both slay a club and work well in any other listening scenario. Bonsoir!
Review: Few producers have carved out a production signature as twisted and unique as Monty, and the Toulouse-based artist is back on his home imprint of 1985 with another absolute percy of an EP. It's just as diverse as the others, and F4DE moves from jagged dancefloor rollers through to dubstep destruction and deep, distinct liquid sounds. The title tune smacks of previous conquest 'Quest', and its hugely complex array of interlocked sounds ooze sophistication in a manner that's befitting its clubland persona. 'Righteous' is a monster of a 140 track and you can smell the blood from the off, as a foreboding introduction leads you down the path of no return, straight into the belly of the beast. More minimal force follows on 'SVP' feat. Icicle, before two liquid cuts round off the lineup; we especially love the deliberate, purposeful bassline of 'Whatever You Need'. Sensational.
Review: Now over the course of the last couple of years, it's safe to say that the team over at Artikal have established themselves once again as one of the most consistent dubstep labels out there. This brand new chunky two tracker from Monty and T-Man is another perfect example of that mastery on display as 'Apollo' gives us a gnarly, system-ready roller to enjoy, with T-Man's high energy vocal lines sitting perfectly atop the gritty bass designs below. This project also comes complete with a very spicy remix from Mystic State, who switches up the flavours with a potent, sublow recreation, taking the track down a much more stripped back avenue.
Review: Redeyes has his third album on Lenzman's The North Quarter coming very soon and the first single is upon us. It's a double-sided number that serves up a double helping of rolling soul, and the Frenchman is starting to become truly unrivalled in his ability to gentle daub licks of sample-driven funk over a rolling basis. The A-side ropes in fellow France-based producer Monty, who is known for his work on Perez's 1985 Music, and the duo have joined their respective skillsets to superb effect; crisp drums and bubbling synths courtesy of Monty, and floating samples and wispy pads from Redeyes. The flip is classic North Quarter, as Mancunian MC [ K S R ] gets involved for an R&B-soaked, vocal-led soul ballad that moves and flows to the umpteenth degree. Unbeatable.
Review: Vandal's Modern Soul series of LPs has for a long time been a breeding ground for a wide variety of drum & bass, including formative tracks from Shield, Monty and others. This time around it's number five and the quality continues, kicking things off with a gorgeously light liquid number from Phase and Lameduza that brings old school vibes right to the forefront. Tech wizard Rizzle is known for his liquid depth too as 'Levitate' has a sumptuously mystical back end that falls and falls, whilst fellow minimal heads Invadhertz equally try their hand at wispy pads and far-off vocal samples. Monty makes an appearance, as does Amoss, SKS and Arcatype. A tour de-force.
Review: Alix Perez's 1985 sets the bar again... Edition 3 is another instalment of their spotless V/A series which covers the label's broad range of shades. This one is a game of two halves as the first five tracks flex around the 140 region with crucial slabs from Halogenix's Lordel alias and dubstep men of the moment Ternion Sound. Meanwhile the second half flips to D&B with a whole clutch of impressive designs; Visages' "Memories" is a mournful stepper, Bredren get bad-ass with the thumpy, bumpy "Only One", Machinedrum brings some outstanding soul on "Braided Leaves" and Perez delivers three of his finest. Bring on Edition 4.
Review: The future's so bright for Monty he has to wear shades. So will you too when you drop fithlets like these and see the carnage that follows. Some of the young Frenchman's best work to date, across the full EP we're treated to the full Monty and a few cheeky cameo collabos. Expect nothing but absolute brawlers ("STK", "Blinded"), slinky emotional ones ("Black Shield" with Visages) creepy, sewer-bound funk loaded with surprises and twists and turns ("Cursive" with the label bossman Alix Perez) and totally uncategorizable firing future funk ("Quest") Blinding.
Review: Well hello there Mr Monty. One of the many super-talented producers to emerge from the thriving Toulouse scene in recent years, he returns to Alix Perez's 1985 with five new fire-ups. Arguable his best material to date (which is saying something), the EP takes up from the viper-like rattles and slithers of the lead track to the naughty rump-shaking halftime of "One Shot". In between we're treated to glacial soul ("Limbo" with Visages) proper sandpaper funk roughage ("Legion") and epic cavernous deep rollage ("Intoxication") Never say goodbye...
Review: It's that time of year again! The scene's longest-standing platform Drum&BassArena step up with their annual flagship album and once again it's a fitting salute to all corners, all shades and all styles of the rich, wide scene. 60 tracks deep comprising absolute bangers and bliss-outs from the likes of Chase & Status, Noisia & Phace, K-Motionz, Rockwell, DJ Hybrid, GLXY and Seba, it's also home to exclusives from Kyrist, Brookes Brothers, Bou & Simula, Kanina, Kove and A.M.C & Turno. From jungle to jump-up, liquid to dancefloor and complete with three killer mixes for life when you're not practicing your double/triple/quadruple drops, Drum&BassArena continue to celebrate the widest possible scene.
Review: Straight outta Toulouse! Vandal Records celebrate 15 years with this serious statement: 17 tracks of some of the most forefront, innovative and exciting drum & bass from an on-point selection of trusted lifers and the most exciting new-gen names in the game. Highlights can be found on pretty much every track but you'd be mad not to check Rizzle's evocative and eerie "Ether", Was A Be & Synth Ethics' high voltage "Roughmouth", Nymfo's tense groaner "Semantics" or the twisted techno-like stab-whirlwind "Semantics". And that's just the tip of this on-point D&B iceberg. Some anniversary albums celebrate the past; this celebrates Vandal's future.
Review: 1985 Music was founded by Alix Perez a year or two ago and, since then, has rapidly become one of the premier destinations for forward-thinking sonics that inhabit the 85-170bpm spectrum. With a fresh roster including Monty, Submarine and Perez himself, Edition 2 is a showcase of both the producers and sounds that Alix has in his orbit. There are too many outstanding tracks to recount here, but 'Drones' by Cesco stands out as one of the most creative: a subby, stepping halftime cut with an ingenious drum pattern. There's weighty rollers, too, including 'Swayed' by Bredren and 'Good To Me' by Perez and Monty, both of which are sublime examples in minimal construction. A truly sick collection of tracks.
Review: There's absolutely no debate to be had about whether Monty is one of the breakout producers from the past couple of years. The man is an absolute genius and the ease with which he fits in at 1985 Music doesn't need to be said again, all that does need to be said is how bloody good this new release is. The title track is characteristically Monty, a sub bass wave of minimalist energy that just rolls and rolls, each small detail accounted for and each hit perfectly placed. 'Virgo' featuring label boss Alix Perez is another astoundingly good track and the way in which these two manage to carve an attractive melody out of dystopic soundscapes never fails to impress. The final two? Yeah, you guessed it - incredible.
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