Review: Dominator sadly passed away last year, and to celebrate his legacy Low Down Deep have released a full LP of his music, including collaborations galore. The first tune features Nu Elementz and its satisfyingly solid, with punmching bass stabs and a rock-hard percussive base to go with them. All of the tracks on this release are just big, from the glitched-out width of 'Better Late Than Never' featuring Majistrate, to the subtle yet funk-infused rhythm of 'Atomic Playboy' featuring Ego Tripping. Scene legend Heist makes a couple of appearances on 'Sway' and 'Cowboy' and Sub Zero tears up the place on 'Terror Notts'. This is sick EP that does justice to another D&B figure who was taken too soon. RIP Dominator.
Review: Full throttle jump-up business, Dominator and Nu Elementz finally deliver two of the subgenre's biggest ID requests this year so far. "Dimension" rides with a pulverising drill bass that fluctuates through the tones on every eight. "Spartanz", meanwhile, adds a cheeky breakbeat swing in the background as a darker, oakier bassline takes the lead with a Q&A riff before dropping into a string-laced breakdown from out of nowhere. Deadly.
Review: Fair play it's been an impressive run from DJ Warden's Bagged & Tagged this year, despite the rona working its wicked way with 2020. Following massive EPs from the likes of Total Recall, BlckHry and Obbley & Maze the label now hits with its biggest release to date... An all-star remix EP featuring the likes of Heist, Nu Elementz, Slipz and D-Nasty. All off them given the green light to go nuts on some of the label's most distinctive cuts so far. Highlights include Heist's raucous harmonic twist on the bassline of Vital & Phenom's 'Hoe Money' and D-Nasty's skin-melting technoid riff. Disgusting. Bag this one right now.
Review: If there's any tune that can truly say I'll be back it's Hizzleguy's screech-funk stepper "Terminator". Released in January, it has returned in both VIP and remix form... And the results are even more hair-raising. The former is pure mimetic poly-alloy T-1000 with its stretched out bass textures and unnerving sense of danger while the latter (courtesy of Nu Elementz) will take your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle with its added grizzly bass tones and looser sense of funk. Terminated.
Review: Milton Keynes High R8 Digital are back with more dark side drum and bass shenanigans courtesy of their most recent recruits. Starting out with Hoogs' "The Comet (Majistrate remix)" which is reminiscent of classic Andy C or DJ Zinc from the early noughties, there's honourable mentions also to Sub Killaz with their stripped back and absolutely sketchy offering "Horror (Nu Elementz remix)" and of course Filthy Habits' "Hidden Secrets (Upgrade remix)" which is a seriously wonky journey through the dark side of breakbeat science. His remix up next of Dub Berzerka's "Born Bad" likewise demonstrates that this fella certainly 'ain't messing around!
Review: Want to hear something out of control? The ruffians from Hype's Playaz have come out to play for the seventh installment of the now legendary The Flavours series, and good gracious is it a scorcher. Featuring a tech-heavy stepper called "Very Exciting" (agreed) by newcomer Konichi to break you in, the second track is a deep, devastating roller courtesy of big man Philth with politically charged vox from P-Fine. The rest of the EP comes on strong with heavy-hitting tunes from Serum, the ever-gorgeous Chromatic and Nu Elements as well as some hugely promising newcomers. Do not sleep on this - you've been warned.
Review: The one and only Nu Elementz ushers us into a new lockdown era with his third studio album. Arguably his most comprehensive LP to date, he eases us in with sober reflective jams like the title track and 'Dark Times' before plunging us deeper and deeper into his savage sound palette where collabs with the likes Dominator (RIP), Sub Zero, Sub Killaz and label boss Majistrate await. Highlights include the all-out weirdness and dark funk of 'Reality', the bouncy-assed dancefloor slap and tickle of 'Lost World' and the purring deep soul hums of 'Don't You' but that's not even scratching the tip of this ice cold iceberg. Lockdowns were invented for albums like this. Turn on, tune in, 'Blackout'...
Review: Nu Elementz is one of the big success stories from the new school of jump up producers and he's risen to prominence on the basis of a stabbing, aggressive tonality of production which has resonated superbly in recent times. With 'Lucky', a forthcoming single on Sweet Tooth Recordings, he strips things back and this one could easily be an Original Sin track from the late 2000s, with booming stabs popping through the range and gully sense of roughed up aggression emanating from all corners of the arrangement. It's a proper club tune and we're looking forward to hearing it out.
Review: Nu Elementz is one of the many rising stars in the newly invigorated jump-up scene at the moment and, despite being a stalwart of that scene for years now, his popularity has surged in tandem with his production skills. His new album - titled X (very catchy) - is evidence of that shift and we're loving it, a ten-tracker packed full of the type of bangers that've seen him performing all over Europe. The surprise of the bunch is 'Didn't I', a sample-laden liquid track that rests on some seriously nice sampling and a gorgeous atmosphere of nonchalance and relaxation. With the others, however, it's back to business as usual - you don't need us to describe it to you.
Review: Nu Elementz is gearing up for his forthcoming album X. Landing almost three years since his still-thunderous Prophecy album, if this sampler is anything to go by, we're to expect a broadsword smorgasbord of styles. "Streamtrain" adds a new, trippy harmonic twist to the current drone style of basslines while his 2016 cult sledgehammer "Repent" enjoys a VIP upgrade with a whole new springy, cheeky bassline. Tailored for the most insane double drop reactions. X marks the spot!
Review: Would you like to play a game? Nu Elementz return to Sweet Tooth for an old family favourite "Mouse Trap"... With a twist. Instead of playing a board game you get skanky to the laser bass and totally sucked away by the sci-fi breakdown. Everyone's a winner! Especially us because there are three more tracks on offer; "Smokin Barrels" is an infectious high-harmonic bass wriggler, "Hyrule" is a warped, stretched groaners while "Holding On" (with US duo Sub Killaz) plays the roof-raiser of the pack with its twisted squealing bass and sultry vocal sample. Game on!
Review: Last spotted on Maji's Sweet Tooth screaming prophecies loud and clear, the unstoppable Nu Elementz returns with more concrete body-slammers. "Operation" blasts with such a venomous hook it could remove your spleen so quickly you won't even notice. Looking for a bassline that purrs rather than screeches? Look no further than the danger-humming "Trainwreck". Looking for a reason to invite the queen to tea? Stick on "Royalty" and watch her throw her crown (and of course shoes) out of the window. Finally we have "Curious". A strange stepper with a wormlike rusty bassline that creaks and groans on every chop-slapping snare, if this doesn't have you questioning mankind's existence you are officially soulless. Good luck with that mate.
Review: It's kinda rare to see an artist delivering a full drum and bass album these days, but that's just how Nu Elementz like to vibe. Prophecy is a complete master blaster of an LP, with thirteen tracks of wild and diverse jump-up steppers charged and motored by devious swarms of mutant bass, reminding us of the that DJ Hazard school of thought that made the Playaz label what it is today. Tunes like "Speed Of Sound", "Evolution", and "Pablo Escobar" are the sort of gear you can break out if you're need of something nasty, something to bump sideways to amid a sea of hungry ravers. There are deeper moments, too, such as "Respect" or "Never Forget" featuring longtime drum and bass don Majistrate. No funny business, just pure rave vibes.
Review: Ahead of his debut Prophecy, heavyweight dagger-wielder Nu Elementz shows us his hand with two turbo-charged, super-lean tech-twisted bust-ups. "Chop Shop" stabs gleefully with an alien Q&A and a pirate swagger to the drum swing. "Pablo Escobar" takes a similar approach with its stark question/answer style riff that rips through unique bass textures but the breakdown is where the heat really lies... Spacey, Wild West and thugged all at the same time, this works a treat on a big rig.
Review: Subject to a recent remix competition, Nu Elementz's 2013 bubble-cut "C4" enjoys four wide-ranging revisions from names old and new. Banzai takes the lead with a sharp, higher-toned stabbier riff that switches the original's funk for something much darker, Skew gets ugly with a texture that's not dissimilar to that of the one Decimal Bass used on "Work For Nothing", Dub Bezerka & TechPro completely remove the original bass ideas for an angry hornets nest style tone while Too Greezey creates soaking wet alien sounds for his bass twist. Each cut boasting a life of its own, the only thing preventing them from being complete originals is the use of the original spoken sample.
Review: Nu Elementz returns to Sweet Tooth Recordings with just the type of drum and bass you've been looking for - mutant basslines, skatty drums, neo-goth and classical atmospheres to sci-fi effects and hospital bleeps; and killer drops. Both "Trauma" and "Understood" deliver steppy rhythms with the former squealing like a broken cardiac monitor, while the latter blips like devilish crickets at dusk. "Like It" adds a calming female vocal to offset its terror synths while darkly rasta chants fill the void between syrupy splashes of tear out bass and drums in a stripped back "Badman" - whump.
Review: Nu Elementz comes storming at us on Gun Audio with an arsenal of killer cuts and cracking collaborations across this five-track EP. First up is "Bow Down" with its rambunctious, jump up panache, drill-like SFX and apocalyptic vocal sample; next is the eponymous track of the EP "Hey Brother" with it's Hazard-esque rumbling wobbly bassline and gritty mid range. "Timeshift" blends rough, dancefloor-driven beats with epic movie sampling and soaring instrumentals to huge effect before "Ragga Skank" adds a nice dose of ragga jungle to the proceedings before "Pussy Whipped" brings the EP to a close.
