Review: UK purveyours of funky breaks, Bombstrikes Records, may have a controversial name but there's everything to love about their sound. The fun loving and dancefloor bothering label run by Mooqee & Beatvandals was founded in 2004 and they claim that if you have been to a club since then you will most likely have heard their releases. Well then! Starting off with the low slug funk of A Skillz's "Mooger Fooger (dub mix)", Mooqee & Beatvandals themselves appear with "Back Up" and the legendary Cut La Roc is still at it; "Sunday Morning People" (Herbgrinder remix)" proves that he's still got his finger on the pulse. Other highlights include Pimpsoul's ever soulful "Is This Love (feat Pat Fulgoni - Pimpsoul funk remix)" the street attitude of A Skillz & Beatvandals "Simply Playing (feat Real Elements)" and the legendary Martin Solveig (remixed by the equally legendary Mousse T) who appears with the James Brown sampling "I'm A Good Man".
Review: Hankies at the ready... This 30 track best-of set is Ground Level's final release. Celebrating eight years of fuelling the breaks scene with exciting and authentic original material, the label boss Andy McAllister has decided to close its doors and get busy on a new project called Four Three Six. As with any well-selected best of compendium, each and every track is a highlight. But if we're going to pick a few that really sum up the unique spirit of Ground Level then chow straight down on the Orbital-on-triplets vibe of Stylus Rex's "Spangle Wagon", Rebel Sketchy's super-slam bass jam "The Ride" and Andy's very own "The Theme". With its mischievous horns, hype-rising riff and techy undertones, it acts as a great final salute to a game in which they've scored many many wins. Ground Level will be sorely missed.
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: Phwoar! Bootlegs don't come bolder and juicier than this trio of treats from the Bomb Strikes crew. Pimpsoul take Nina Simone and gives her such a hard sonic slap the police really need to be informed. Herbgrinder takes the classic Dance Conspiracy horn sample (from Lafayette Afro Rock Band) and throws Barrington Levy's broader than Broadway lyrics over the top. Mr No Hands finishes the set with a slamming stepback to the 30s, completing one of Bomb Strikes' best releases to date (which is saying something).
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: Attention: DO NOT take the title of this delightful bass romp literally. One person here at Juno did, unfortunately. With a hammer. Really nasty, actually. No, Alaska MC means the figurative, moshing style. And you'll likely to be banging a few more limbs when Pimpsoul's bassline really takes hold. A true smile-inducer it's officially his best bassline yet. Remix-wise Erb N Dub throws down a wild switch-fest that flicks from half step to firestarting D&B with all the essential modern glitches and high-end bleep flickers. "Place To Be" completes the set with a more traditional nu-funk vibe; a swinging groove, bubblesome bass, warm organs and a sexy-assed talkbox.
Review: The Bomb Strike Sound System strikes again! This time Pimpsoul's taken the controls, picking up various co-pilots along the way. First up is "Merry Go Round". Co-written with Neon Steve, it's a really cool piece of sample mastery, taking a really obscure Supreme's vocal refrain and giving it a complete funk facial. "To The Beat" sees Pimpsoul flying in tandem with fellow Bomber Mooqee on a more stomp-angled number that incorporates a very Fred Durst sounding vocal snippet and a Fela Kuti horn sample. Finally Pimpers goes solo for "What". The prize banger of the bunch, it kidnaps the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, holds them in nu-funk's county jail and throws away the key with glee.
Review: Will Nina Simone's original ever stop lending itself to contemporary twists? We really hope not. Mooquee and Pimpsoul's take is a fine example: bold strings strike back and forth with gusto as Bianca belts out the sing-along vocals with both respect to the originator and her own originality, it's a guaranteed party piece. Remix action is high, too. The funk version almost trumps the lead track with its low-swung bassline and free-spirited bellows of sax. Looking for something with a little more pep? Look no further than Nappy Riddem's rump-ruffling take. Rolling with a solid breakbeat and some fantastic live drum crescendos, this tickles parts of the dancefloor the other versions can't quite hit. Oh, and there's an instrumental and an acapella too.
Review: Kings of funky breaks Bomb Strikes are the kings of hefty party-starters, and Into Battle Volume 3 EP doesn't disappoint, featuring Pimpsoul's huge La Roux rerub "This Time", the Hendrix-heavy "Hear Ya Say" from Harvey, bitcrushed rock from Neon Steve on "I Got Tha" and the supreme '80s funk-flavoured "Whoa Now" by Slynk. Get into it.
Review: The adrenalin junkies at Bomb Strikes HQ launch a new series of EPs designed to demonstrate the studio skills of their main artists. Here, Pimpsoul and Neon Steve make their debut on the long-established breaks bootleg/mash-up imprint, offering up a trio of heavyweight jams. As ever, all three have that typical Bomb Strikes vibe, which marries tried and tested breaks and back passage-bothering bass with just the right amount of rap and some sneaky little melodic hooks. Pimpsoul's "Set It Off" slightly flips the script, working in a cute easy listening/slacker pop vocal. Otherwise, it's floor-baiting business all round!
Review: Switching up formats from their trusted Bombstrikes mash-up series to this new Into Battle set of releases, this label still have the freshest breaks-led bootlegs on tap, as evidenced by this split release from Featurecast and Pimpsoul. While Featurecast's "Stick 'Em Up" takes a Lenny Kravitz classic as its sample source, adding a slew of hip-hop acapellas into the mix for good measure, Pimpsoul does a mighty treatment with a Nirvana acapella on the heavy-rumblin' "The One".
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