Review: Man like Macky Gee steps up with his fourth artist album and it's by far his most diverse, direct and deadly album to date. Instantly kicking off with pure theatre of "Emperor", Gee then hurls down the stairs with a cavalcade of thumpers, bumpers and bangers. Highlights include the riffalicious spring of "Fever" with Zinc, the icy licks, groaning bass tones and Shotta's powerful bars on "Draw For The Draw", the grotty toxic riffage of "Turn Up" (with Erb N Dub), the swaggering dreamy emotional number "Cloud 9" and the lighter raising anthem-in-waiting "Moments"... And that's just the tip of the banger iceberg. Macky is doing it like no one else right now.
Review: Bassline talisman Skepsis continues his high profile run of releases with the full selection off his brand new 'Check This' EP via the epic Crucast imprint. We begin with the title track, a high energy vocal collaboration with grime legend P Money who runs riot over fine Skepsis production work. The EP also includes the full release of the long awaited 'Lock Off' collaboration with FineArt and the synthy madness of 'Mad World', resulting in a fantastic overall project.
Review: Well what a year 2017 has been for Skepsis. The simple fact is there are very few DJs or producers that have taken part in such a rapid rise to infamy in recent times. The original composition of 'Goes Like' was an absolute storm come release day, with the track receiving incredible DJ support from UK heavyweights such as My Nu Leng, TQD and even the likes of Diplo. On remix duty, Skepsis has brought together a powerhouse selection, with Darkzy providing an vibrant bassline rework whilst The Prototypes and Frazah supply high energy drum and bass redesigns of the track. As well as this the release is blessed with his own official VIP, which has been damaging dances for a hot minute. This is a fantastic way to round off a fantastic year for the CruCast collective.
Review: What a start to the year it's been for Crucast, who have continuously set levels and raised the bar with every release they have put together. This track, entitled 'Lock Off' sees Fineart work in fusion with the bassline flag flyer Skepsis, and the results are fantastic. We are treated to masterfully crafted distortion as different bass synths stab and stutter in true UK bass style. When you couple that with smooth drum arrangements and catchy sub riffs you are in for a treat. Crucast look set to continue their power surge long into 2018 and beyond.
Review: Sheffield's Project Allout don't mess about, having developed a reputation for championing all directions in the ways of bass. Every take on that three letter word is important to this label and that's why they cram so many hot jams onto their comps. Basically they're the Ferrero Rocher am-bass-adors and they are really spoiling us with 49(!) lengerz. Highlights include AT's bleepy 8-bit hip-hop groove "Flash Bang", the epic, symphonic trap of Dubzta's "Lord Of War" and the almost disco tech grooves of "Murkers' by King Hydra. All killer, no filler!
Review: For all those of you out there who had lost faith in ever hearing another instalment in the Saucy Selections series...rejoice! The wait is over. It's over a year since Vol 2, but the Saucy crew are back bringing serious fiyah over 22 fresh new jams. As usual, the quality is never compromised, particularly on such standouts as the mercilessly pounding, RnB sampling "You Better Know" by Libra, the futuristic 2-step synth stabs of "Eyes On You" by Jello and the dry warehouse beats and buzzy bass bounce of "People Dem Dance" by Lucent & Karl Vincent.
Review: In:Flux Audio open their first Get Fluxed compilation with the ludicrous bounce of Swedger's "Shellsuit Temptress", and it gets even sillier with the tinges of electro-swing in 1Point5's "Villian". There are more streamlined, deeper passages though, like Pavv's remix of "Hold Up" (neat vocal samples to boot) to Prude Lerude's "I Need Your Love". For beats more stripped and torn check Ramage's "Happy Days" and the Samphet's "Badman", but the best old school UKG flavours come through on Gammy and Mr LA productions. UK garage never sounded so 2015.
Review: Well well well, we have to say we heard tell of a mega compilation that was set to be emerging out of the bass scene in the near future, but nobody could have predicted it to be this powerful as Holy Goof unveils his Globes compilation, championing all aspects of 4x4 bass music to the maximum. We see A-list appearances from top to bottom with Notion, Chris Lorenzo, Fine Art, Skepsis, FooR, Bushbaby and more all gracing the listing with top draw originals. For us the immediate standouts on this one have to include the emotional expanse of Freddie Martin's 'Stubborn', which comes complete with cracking original vocals, along with the rapid fire LFO shells of Livsey's 'Supersonic' and the big room synths of Skue-K's 'Flows'.
Review: We take a second here to look back over some of the top quality releases that the guys at CruCast have been putting forward this year and wow, what a collection it is. This brand new compilation entitled 'We Are CruCast showcases just how powerful the band has become within the bass scene, racking up an impressive track listing featuring names such as TC4, Bru-C, Skepsis, Jamie Duggan, Simula, Cajama, Distinkt and more. This is a display of real intent for sure as begin to look to 2019 and wonder what else this fantastic label has to offer the weird and wonderful realms of UK bass music.
Review: Has bassline ever been more influential than it is currently across the UK? I think most people would struggle to argue otherwise. To celebrate this, bassline heavyweights DJQ, Jamie Duggan, Skepsis and Darkzy join forces for an allstar compilation album, including a selection of full tracks and exclusive mixes. The full project includes exclusive drops from the likes of Champion, Shanti, DJQ, Flava D, TQD, Preditah, Bushbaby, Darkzy, Bru-C and many more. You are going to struggle to find a more comprehensive bassline selection this year!
