Review: Ballin' for a little Brawlin'? Look no further as the heavyweight label recruits another epic far-flung V/A collection. First up is a Belgium vs Latvian bounce off as Basstripper and Kenji go mental over a rubber ball bassline. Next we head to Scotland for a gritty tubular burn up from Refrecta while Deuce goes below the belt with a flabby bass swamp stepper "Sudden Death". Last but not least Brighton's Horizon signs the deal off with another bouncy groaner; the happy twanging "Get Down". Glitchin' ain't easy...
Review: After a string of thumpers and bumpers on Pick N Mix, Bagged & Tagged and Brawlin Beatz, Refracta gets busy on Audio Addict with this epic EP. '88' sets the tone; bouncy, fun but full of weight and grit. Elsewhere 'Gravity' takes us into deep space with its sci-fi-like spaciness and zero gravity floaty feels, 'Tonight' flips between dark and light with cute keys over a roughhouse reese that grumbles from here to Glasgow. Finally we take a deep breath with the vocal-led arm-raiser 'Oxygen'. Lift up!
Review: Feeling fruity? Zest up your life with Refracta and the PNM crew as the young Scottish artist juices up vibey contemporary, cheekily left-of-centre, dnb with hard-hitting health messages. The results are as full flavoured as you'd expect; highlights include the tangy jungle nuances under the soft skin of 'Peach', the big horn drama and serious vit-c punch of 'Grape', the scurvy-defying, piano-tickling, breakbeat-busting 'Lime' and the euphoric charm of 'Passion Fruit' that's so potent it won't just keep the doctor away for a day like your common or garden apple but it'll keep that GP away from your door for months.
Review: Brawlin Beatz don't tend to release a lot of liquid, but perhaps that's why this four-track VA EP is called 'Nu-Forms', it's a new, updated form. Maybe not, but that's what we're reading into it and why not, as the music is good enough that it doesn't really matter. We especially love Gravit-E's contribution, 'Gimme Some Sugar', which rolls out beneath a sky of samples and above an earthern, grassy double bass line that makes the track oh so funky. Refracta keeps it simple but good on 'Tango', and 'Motiv' rolls out the old school drum sounds on 'Wonder Why'. Excellent stuff!
Review: Bag it, tag it, tell you mum about it; the B&T massive put together this 15 track collection to celebrate the label's 15th release and it's an all-out showcase of tomorrow's finest talent. Highlights fire from all sides; Ben Snow's 'Fire Iron' is a grunting staccato session of pure savagery, Refracta brings NFM-style melted bass to the fray on 'Embrace', Dunk & Teej get all mobster on us with 'Soprano', Parallel does his old school slap-about thing on 'Communications' and KL's 'Tension' is strong enough to blast us into the 23rd century. Pack your bags and your tags, you've pulled m8.
Review: Pick any of the most exciting new-gen names in D&B and we bet our bottom dollar they're repping in this collection. A debut V/A from Hedex's By The Producer brand, Collected 1 is bulging with the seams with fresh talent: Hexa, Disrupta, Dreadnought, Stokka, Klay, Bruk, the list goes on. With cameos from more established Gs like Total Recall and Jam Thieves - and a deep, rumbling, futuristic contemporary mood and sound running throughout - this captures 2020 in drum & bass perfect. Agitated, dark, moody, but hungry for a better future... And not afraid to have a little fun. One of the best V/As we've seen in a long time. Get collecting.
Review: Maurizzle, who we're pretty sure isn't the D&B alias of Snoop Dog, is only one of the artists featuered on this EP from Brawlin Beatsz, including originals from himself and then Vital, Refracta and others. 'Can't Let Go' is a bit Souped-Up in its basic but effective melody and stabby back end, it's the sort of tune you'd hear at Boomtown and it's definitely the sort of tune that would go down well. The best track comes from Bunnerz, who flips this one into a KoTR-esque stomper with big 'ol bassline and even bigger sense of dread. Super hans style.
