Review: Hooking up with Aussie breaks titan Nick Thayer on the latest in this series of cheeky, hip-hop bootleg cuts, A-Skillz keeps things very funky on "Rock The Spot" - a mix of chanking guitars, thumping drums and tons of accapella cuts from tunes such as Pitbull's "Bojangles". "19.99" is a souped-up take on Prince's classic, with the original accapella layered over a schizoid-funk beat and plenty of fresh MC hooks.
Review: Hooking up with Aussie breaks titan Nick Thayer on the latest in this series of cheeky, hip-hop bootleg cuts, A-Skillz keeps things fresh over four new tracks - with the Fun Loving Criminal's getting jazzed up on "Booty Snax" and Kool & The Gang getting a thorough rerub on "Jungle Banger". Elsewhere, M.O.P's still-huge "Ante Up" gets looped, sped-up and generally effed with on "Yap That Fool, while Doug E. Fresh's seminal "The Show" acts as the basis for the sample-fest "Nothing Like A Bonus".
Review: A stellar partnership for this latest volume in Bombstrikes' series of funk 'n' breaks party weapons, which came about after Ali B called in on Nick Thayer during a recent Australian tour. The pair fuse together a wild set of influences and sounds, as on opener "Music" which evokes Cypress Hill, Jay Z and classic '60s soul whilst still staying true to their block-rocking breaks sound. "NE Way" dips into a riff made famous by Dillinger and pimps it out gloriously with heavy drums while "Back To You" samples a line from one of De La Soul's classics and adds a Moog-ish bassline and all manner of funky sampled breaks.
Review: Sometimes it pays to be a label boss, like for example here, on this latest Bomb Strikes comp where head honcho Mooqee has decided to hand himself the reigns. Manning the decks for nearly an hour, he whips up a frenzy of party breaks delirium over the course of 24 tracks. The tracks are supplied individually too, with highlights including the tropical trap-house of "Ladies Look Pretty" by Basement Freaks, the furious electro-bass mash-up "Get Got (VIP mix)" by Nick Thayer & A Skillz and the strompingly retro electro-funk of "How We Do This" by Tom Booze.
Review: Mooqee's label Bombstrikes is doing all right for itself. So much so in fact that they've reached that milestone - a label's first compilation album. Here Mooqee has selected 25 sizzling bangers new and old that do it for him, and hopefully will do it for you too. Highlights include the compressed electro steamroller that is "Back To School", the crunch synth funky freakout of "Come On Bounce" and the devastating bass that's eaten all the pies of "Let's Do It Right Now". Heavy!
Review: Purveyors of some of the canniest mash-ups and bootleg-style beats for quite a while now, Bomb Strikes return with this new dancefloor destroying EP from Aussie breakbeat titan Nick Thayer. Incorporating his usual electro-laced breaks for three excellent mash-ups, he drops The Who's seminal "My Generation" over a woozy, bass-punch beat while Rakim's "Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em" acapella is layered over a swaggering midtempo beat on "Rhythm Method". Continuing on the hip-hop theme, LL Cool J's "G.O.A.T" is transformed into a hard-rocking monster with copious amounts of bass spilling out over some block-rocking drums.
Review: This instalment in the long running Bombstrikes series sees Nick Thayer teaming up with fellow Aussie breakbeat producer and self-styled DubRave don Will Styles on this pair of incendiary party starters. "Party People" is a bouncing, "Where's Your Head At" sampling gem which utilises its numerous hip-hop cut ups to great effect, its shining robot electro vibe guaranteed to get you moving. "Shake Like Ya Mama" meanwhile is equally as fun, taking the classic riff from "Walk This Way" and fattening it up with analogue leads and more infectious hip-hop vocal work.
Review: Currently in the midst of popping open champagne bottles left, right and centre, Mooqee & Beatvandals, are celebrating the tenth birthday of their popular party breaks label, Bomb Strikes. Following some retrospective anniversary releases, we now get a selection of "Future Bombs" to enjoy. Highlights include Neon Steve's brutal dubstep/hard funk hybrid "Kill Em With The Vibes", the wobble-heavy synth epic "Rumble" by Herbgrinder and Mooque's own breaky electro-houser "Piano Thing".
Review: Two albums for the price of one... Not only is this a fantastic showcase of Pimpsoul's mixing ability, DJ dynamics and selection skills, but, as individual tracks, Funk N Beats Volume 1 also acts as a great nu-funk collection. Joining the dots between formative genre-setters (Breakestra's "Cramp Your Style" and Skeewiff's "Feelin' Fine") to modern day dancefloor bangers (Rory Lyon's "I Got 5 On It" and Mr No Hands' "Feeling Fine") this touches every corner of the party-loving dancefloors. Nu-funk is riddled with label compilations but very few albums that reach further than in-house output. Big props to both Pimpsoul and Bombstrikes.
Review: Destination: Latvia. Bombstrikes welcome label regular Dubra to the stage to take selection duties for the third in their floor-firing Bass Funk mix series. Digging deep into the groove vaults, he's picked some outstanding timeless classics such as Krafty Kuts and Dyna's swaggering entrance theme "We Do This", Stickybuds' life-affirming glitch-slapper "Clap Your Hands" and A Skillz & Nick Thayer's body-slamming "Drop The Funk". Elsewhere we get our alien freak on with Opiuo, we get our heads knocked off by Dubra himself on "Keep It Going" and Punks favourite "You Don't" from Horger and Steve among many other straight up party-battering bass jams. 24 originals and a killer mix to boot, Bombstrikes are causing some serious damage with this collection. Strike while the dancefloor is hot yo!
