Review: Having previously collaborated on Eastern Promise a few years ago on Ram Records, North Base and Kitcha once again reunite this time on Drumsound & Bassline Smith's Technique Recordings. Paying homage to the popular family car of the 90s 'Cavalier' has plenty of mileage and room for manoeuvre. Elsewhere 'Roar' brings the va-va-room with real life growls and plenty of bassline grit before 'Bruck Out' chucks a little jungle charm in the gas tank for good measure. Last but not least North Base go it alone on the firing finale cut of the EP 'Sekkle'. Buckle up!
Review: Viper are a big, bad and dangerous label and their 2021 annual is an expression of what makes their output so potent. This whole LP is unafraid to be dancefloor heaviness in an approachable sense, and the whole extended roster has turned up, from label boss Futurebound to Murdock, Blaine Stranger and more. 'Dragon' by the latter is especially good, as a foghorn influenced bass node curls its tendrils amidst a a synthy forest of organic ambience and excellent production. Cyantific and Bl4ck Crowz also impress on 'Waiting 4 U', which stomps its feet in a petulance that's less childish and more chidingly sick, a true festival anthem for sure. The album is a must-listen for all those who rate the Viper side of drum & bass.
Review: Just look at the list of titans on this album.... The Prodigy, Sub Focus, Spor, Chase & Status, dBridge & Skeptical, Icicle, Benny L, Artificial Intelligence and so many more have all contributed to this worthy compendium from brand new mental and physical wellness festival Getahead. Not one contributor disappoints across the set as we're treated to 100 percent exclusives from across the board. From the rampant late 90s tech twists of Chase & Status's "All Crew" to the delicious halftime vibes of Proxima's "Trek" right through Halogenix's sense-melting remix of Koiya, this really is a massive piece of work... And proceeds going to Music Minds Matter. This is such an important release!
Review: Here is a man who needs no introduction, DJ SS has been a part of drum and bass' heritage since jungle was a mere twinkle in acid house's eye. You can't flick through any recorded history of our beloved genre without stumbling upon this DJ's well revered name. Trust us when we tell you he knows his stuff. Listening to the mixed album version of this LP you can't help but lose yourself in the up front barrage of sonic mastery. Get ready for a fast paced switch and blend with 20 badass tracks showcased in less than a hour for this commemorative LP celebrating the 10 year anniversary of The World of Drum and Bass in Moscow. The album starts with the epic harmonised vocals of the 2017 edit of last summer's smasher 'Forgive Me Lord', before descending into a twisted onslaught of mutated darkness. The LP the continues to move through a killer collection of metalic, grinding dancefloor, devilishly intense neuro and a whole heap of distorted, techy nastiness. A huge highlight of the collection for us is the second track, DJ SS's 'Midnight In Moscow'. The energy is insane, intense risers, a filthy squelching sub and constant requests of our visa. Another high point would be North Base's 'Ring Of Saturn'. For us the latter part of the album really is the fantastic finale the mix deserves, winding the vibe down, while still keeping the energy strong. Tracks like 'Waterfall' and 'Staring At Infinity' mix lulling vocals, real instruments and a funky groove to soften the end the LP.
Review: Manchester's North Base is normally found on labels like Shogun Audio and Audioporn, while Turno can usually be found on Low Down Deep or Sweet Tooth. Here though, these mighty titans collide on the Viper Music label. The results are typically explosive. A one-track release, "Third Eye" is a single epic that compensates for like, four of other producer's cuts. Beginning with moody synth work and an ominous rap from Harry Shotta, all mayhem arrives at 1:28 when the fierce metallic bassline and stop/start steppy beats blow up. Dancefloor chaos (in a good way).
Review: New Year doesn't officially kick off until Viper smack you silly with their yearly "Drum & Bass Annual". 2017's edition smacks even harder than usual with no less than 10 exclusives including a Culture Shock/Dimension style roll out from Misfit, Halflight's "Communication Failure" that has enough power to cause a civil war and North Base's "Woman" that has so much seductive soul power to cause a mess in your trousers. Elsewhere The Voss & NC-17 pay respect to the Book Of The Bad on "Mojave" and Blaine Stranger sends you off to cosmoses unknown on "By Your Side". And that's just a handful of the unreleased cuts amid some of the label's biggest releases in recent times.
Review: From Prolix to Technimatic, Total Science to Was A Be by way of Icicle, Joe Ford, Fourward, Spectrasoul, Phace, Ed.It and many more, Friction's label digs deep from the genre's most innovative corners and eras. As we prepare to close off 2016, they've taken a detailed look back over the last 18 months of crucial output to not just represent where the label is at, but the genre itself. An ideal opportunity to fill any holes in your collection cuts such as Fourward & Linguistics demonic stomper "Storm", Was A Be's rudeboy-slewing halftime damager "Blind" or Break's sparkling "Emerald" and complete with a journeyman mix of the tracks themselves, this rounds up yet another serious year at the very forefront of drum & bass.
Review: What a crazy trip it's been.... Four months ago Shogun commenced their 100th release celebrations with the start of a four-part series that's seen some of the label's finest releases and broadest scope in recent years. Now all 16 tracks are available in one package, ranging from the horn-hazed bliss of Friction & Karma's "No Return" to Phace's deep space synth tear-up "Mumbo Jumbo" by way of Technimatic's string-surged "Transference" and Ivy Lab's impeccable shake-up of SpectraSoul's "Glimpse", if you're uncertain on just how on-point Shogun are then this collection firmly states exactly where Friction's label is at... And where they're heading.
Review: You can do this the easy way or the hard way... Whether you untie your shoelaces or not, your shoes are going through the window the second "Unchained" drops. Signs has officially levelled up. Bringing up the rear are Friction and Karma with a walloping roller where the bassline takes a much more active role in the story than it would in a more typical liquid cut. "Turn To Nothing" is Ed.It at his finest; restrained, barbed and tooled up with a sharp sample. Finally North Base close the show with their most delicate track to date as "Unexplained" shimmers with Technimatic-level pianos. Don't even think about fetching your defenestrated footwear.
Review: Manchester collective North Base make their Viper EP debut with this heavyweight genre-flexing four piece: "Polarity" plays the role of the feel-good lighter raiser thanks its major chords and surging synths. "What R U Doing?" features co-production from ISVK and the iconic ragamuffin mic-mastery of the Ragga Twins and is so heavy it works at both 140 and 170. Finally "The Call" brings us back down to earth softly with sci-fi synths and an evocative melody line that wouldn't be out of place in a Hollywood blockbuster. Emotional.
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