Review: It's been quite a while since Martin Mefjus last treated us to a full release, but boy have him and Vision-owners Noisia more than made up for it with this seminal release. Particles is a six-tracker with features on every tune: Camo & Krooked, Skeptical, Phace, IMANU, Break & Noisia. What a lineup that is, and it exceeds expectations as the Austrian trio of Mefjus and Camo & Krooked smash things to pieces on 'Sidewinder', a deeply unique track with a stepping, featherweight drum line, funky synth work and a seriously track structure which moves from hardstyle-esque sounds into drum & bass and back again. IMANU's feature on 'Transit' nails the neurofunk vibe (emphasis on the funk), whilst things get minimal on Skeptical's 'Amber'. Unbelievable Jeff.
Review: This one is dedicated to all the giddy aunts out there! 30 tracks of forward-focussed bass innovation from one of the most influential shows to have emerged in recent years: Noisia Radio has helped to expose so much exciting new talent and here they bring together just some of the highlights. Ranging from super experimental to absolute gully gold, among the big hitters from Noisia themselves we have trippy, drunken freestyle bass from Bleep Bloop and Tsuruda, savage break wizardry from the likes of Howitzer, 23rd century spooky funk from Samba, beautiful glitched-out steppy funk from the mighty MRSA (AKA Mat Zo) and absolutely loads more. This is an immense package of tracks right here. Just like every Noisia Radio show.
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: We're up to Part 3 of the Neosignal X EP series, a set of original tracks that aim to celebrate 10 years of the label doing some of the dirtiest bits with the dirtiest artists in the game. Phace, Mefjus, Black Sun Empire - you get the picture. All of the EPs so far have tended to have one standout tune and this release is no different. Proxima has been handed the keys to the legendary 'MPD' and he's absolutely smashed it, retaining the melody and grunge of the original but flipping it into a fresh, modernised stepper. Properly good stuff from the Dutch crew.
Review: Neosignal is celebrating 10 years and they're doing so with four instalments of remixes and brand-new originals. This is the second part and it's just as big as the first, with five stellar remixes from Mefjus, Yunis, Culprate, Joe Ford and Buunshin. The former is the standout, unsurprisingly, with the Austrian giving Phace's 'Basic Memory' a onceover that'll leave it permanently improved. A glitchy, spacious structure gives Mefjus' arrangement room to breathe and you can soak up this tune in all its technical wonder, each phrase bigs up the last and the whole experience gets progressively more intense. These tunes are all huge - go cop em.
