Review: Best pals, colleagues, housemates, collaborators; drum & bass's in-house Bert & Ernie AKA T>I and DJ Limited go toe-to-toe on the remix front as they get busy on each other's bangers. T>I takes Limited's skank-happy vibe-out 'Sun' and gives it a good old wonky rattling edge while Limited takes T>I's 'Changes' and completely flips them with a freaky trembling high freq riff and razzy bass revs. Serious swapsie action right here. Don't miss.
Review: Celebrating two decades deep in the game, Critical Music deliver this exceptional 22 track collection from some of the most innovative artists in the bass field. From old label mates such as Sam Binga, Mefjus and Ivy Lab to exciting newcomer talents like Spectral, Able and Cauzer, the entire collection is a blistering jolt of futurism that ranges the full Critical spectrum. Highlights range from the introspective tones of Buunshin's 'Forget About Me' to the dark, tense minimalism of Calibre's 'Verstat' by way of the barbed soul of Halogenix's 'IDGAF'. Here's to another 20 years...
Review: Have a word son! DLR's 'Sofa King Sick' series continues with another breath-taking collection of thumpers, bumpers and grumpers from an outstanding roll-call of talents. 14 cuts in total, highlights include the creepy tension of Industry's 'Chronic', Sweetpea's classic stepper 'Munka', the real stinky, swampy funk on DLR & Script's 'A Different Style', the stripped back drama and growling subtleties of Kyrist's 'Underfall' and the outstanding tear-up from Trex & Freddy B - 'Go Mad'. Fitting title for such a powerful display of leftfield D&B funk. Sick indeed.
Review: Lordy lordy! Audio Addict are hitting release 100 and they're about to celebrate with some massive dispatches. It starts right here with these two powerful remixes. First bossman DJ Hybrid and Haribo's 2018 bust-up 'Raised In The Jungle' enjoys a woozy and raw shakedown from man of the moment T>I. Then Teej gets busy on Martial Taktics' label debut earlier this year 'Katana'. Big chops for big systems, we'll give these 100 out of 10... And we know there's even amazing Audio Addict 100 vibes to come soon. Big up DJ Hybrid!
Review: Keeping it safe, each and every time; T>I lands on CIA with 'The Locksmith'. Yet another quartet of ridiculous bruisers, the title track has the key to every door in your sensory mansion as the off-grid drums rattle and roll and the bassline slinks away slowly like a boa constrictor with weight issues. Elsewhere 'Valid Statement' goes all bubbly and Zinc-like with its old school rave-like bassline riff, 'Bongolian Belt Roller' takes us even further leftfield with some wonderfully weird switches and strange noises before 'Let It Go' runs riot in a deliciously scatty way. Incredible scenes; no one is doing this style of dnb like T>I.
Review: Trex dusts off his shovel and tags in a whole team of Gs as they forage for gold in the grit. 'Undergrowth' is an instant treasure trove as Rider purrs over a stealthy but venomous bassline. Dig deeper: 'Scene' gets the oil drill out and strikes thick gooey bassline gold while 'Need U' goes fracking and pipes up an icy, shivering, breezy heads-down showdown. Deeper again: 'Answers' takes us to the core as heavyweights Teej and Pastry Maker join Trex to answer any queries you might have about the subterranean world while T>I rolls out the bulldozer for a final forage as he twists up 'Scene' into a high voltage excavation. Can you dig it?
Review: Tina Turner had steamy windows. Jilly Cooper writes steamy novels. T>I makes 'Steamy Rollers'... And he wants you to get all hot and sweaty by them, too. Coming at us courtesy of the steamy soundboys at Souped Up, each cut hits so hard you'll lose your undergarments within seconds... Those early Die style slinky bass hums on 'Jungle', those sultry guitar twangs and horrendously murky bassline on 'Paper Clipz', the twisted funk and slow burning build of 'Front End' and the riotous finale 'Steptrolasis'... All designed to get you so hot under the collar you'll disown clothing for the rest of your life. Body heat crew - this one you!
Review: Squad up! Natty Dub celebrate 50 releases with this absolutely stinking set from some of their nearest and dearest, closest and bro-sest. Firing from all cannons, every track is a thumper; Saxxon gets his squelch on with "Brockley Fox", T>I is all screams, wriggles and giggles on "Pointless Torture", Sikka delivers one of his best tunes to date in the funk-fuelled form of "You Know", Suv and Mood give us a Bristol kiss with the slinky, hip-twisting "Mambo" and Jaxx nods his cap at the wild west of the mid 90s on the percussion heavy "Hurdles". Timeless, authentic and full of dirty funk - Natty Dub are one of the most true-to-the-core labels doing it right now. Bring on the next 50!
Review: Killaz by name, killer by nature; Vital Elements and Tobie Scopes' continue to set the agenda as DJs, artists and as label owners. This third annual mix-up is certainly no exception as they plough through 59 tracks - many of which are brand new exclusives - to paint a picture of exactly where drum & bass is at right now. A thick smelly melting pot, everything is thrown into the mix: Upgrade's spine-trembling harmonics on "The Voice", ruded-out bassline badness from Voltage ("My DJ"), various jump-up hybrid creepers from Russian newcomer Ozma, brand new dark wobble lava from Serial Killaz themselves ("Rudebwoyz") the list goes on and on. This is a huge package and it comes with a superb mix too. Treat yourselves or defeat yourselves.
Review: Heist & T>I are two of the best guys around for the dirty, attitude filled side of the scene which blurs into the techier bits on the one hand and the pure jump up bits on the other. This release fills in the gaps in all the right ways and it comes on Heist's own Co-Lab Recordings, a seminal imprint. 'Ointment' is grating and harsh in its guttural funk and approach to destruction, with an array of stabs and basses all mashing together in harmony. 'Packet Monster' is more classic T>I sounding basses, laid over a snapping, snarling drum line. Excellent stuff here.
Review: T>I is the man behind many a gully, angry roller with a giant, attitude filled bassline. He has a certain quality to his music which I don't think many can pull off, that truly angry, aggressive pulsation to the edges of his low frequencies. He's back on Grid Recordings, a label whose sound is well suited for T>I, with this heavy hitting single. The title track has a unique structure and well-rounded percussion which sits below the main affairs, a gargantuan, pummelling main bass patch which warps in and out of the arrangement perfectly. The VIP of 'Turn The Page' is a chopping, stabby little thing that also rolls out in tidy fashion, each hit of the main bass line sounding exquisite in its punchiness.
Review: This one is dedicated to all the giddy aunts out there! 30 tracks of forward-focussed bass innovation from one of the most influential shows to have emerged in recent years: Noisia Radio has helped to expose so much exciting new talent and here they bring together just some of the highlights. Ranging from super experimental to absolute gully gold, among the big hitters from Noisia themselves we have trippy, drunken freestyle bass from Bleep Bloop and Tsuruda, savage break wizardry from the likes of Howitzer, 23rd century spooky funk from Samba, beautiful glitched-out steppy funk from the mighty MRSA (AKA Mat Zo) and absolutely loads more. This is an immense package of tracks right here. Just like every Noisia Radio show.
Review: T>I has gone from strength to strength over the past couple of years, he's put out two sick EPs on scene-leading label Critical Music and you can tell from listening to his music that his sound is being constantly refined. For this single on Murky digital he steps up with one original and one remix, and the it's the former of these two that is the highlight for us. 'Fine Balance' is just that - finely balanced. There's a tangible synergy between the bouncing yet penetrating drum line and the pulsating, subby back end that pushes down on the range with devastating monotony. T>I is a top producer - just check out the evidence.
Review: 2018 is the second year in a row that Critical Music dropped a surprise release for us on Christmas Day, 2017 seeing the Modified Sonics album full of VIPs and exclusive remixes. New Energy Vol.1, however, is a totally different deal and that's because it's 18 brand new, exclusive tunes from those deep inside the Critical camp and those just entering it. The whole roster is represented: Kasra, Enei, Mefjus, Emperor, Foreign Concept, The Upbeats - and so on. But, excitingly, there's new talent in the form of Bou, Synth Ethics, Simula, Kanine and more. Mefjus' remix of 'Projections' arguably takes the cake as the best tune on here - absolute murderation. This is Critical's statement of intent for 2019.
Review: Hot on the heels of his Souped Up EP comes another barmy batch of rolling blunderbusses from the currently unstoppable T>I. Four slabs of flabby bass fire, each cut hits you right in the loins, soul and solar plexus: "Blue Panda" wriggles with some beautifully loose Bingo style breaks, "Treacle" is as sludgy and bittersweet as its title suggests while "Serve Cold" aims north for the jugular with a crisp groaning slap that's not so much as cold but totally glacial. Finally "Blocks" wraps up T>I's first session of 2019 with a high voltage bassline, trippy textures and some drums so beautifully crafted you want them to kidnap you from reality forever. Another strike from Norfolk's maddest man. Don't be blue, Peter...
Review: T>I on Souped Up... It was only a matter of time before this alignment of gully stars occurred, and of course it's 100 percent stankage. "Dye Migration" is a juggernaut driving up behind you with full beams and 1000 horns blaring up your keister before he launches into a couplet of caustic collabs; "Swington" with Serum is a low riding, knuckle scuffing groaner while "Blue Lagoon", with Current Value, takes us down lovers lane for a breezy roll out that's loaded with equal levels of grit and emotion. Finally "Bullnose" sees T>I wrapping up the EP solo with nothing but a bucket load of pure filth and bleeps. Absolute gold... But would you expect anything less of the Drum&BassArena Award winning label?
Review: In terms of legendary status for labels over on the jungle/jump-up side of the scene, it's pretty hard to beat Serial Killaz. Run by the duo of the same name, the imprint has arrived with the second instalment of their mixtape series and it's unsurprisingly good. Full of big tunes from guys like Serial Killaz themselves, Vital Elements and Upgrade, it's the latter of these guys that takes the cake with 'Steel Drum'. You've probably heard this one doing the rounds and it's actually already been released, but oh boy what a tune this is: a screaming, siren-lake mash of grating metallic synths and punching drums all come together to make an unstoppably good piece of music. Don't sleep on the rest of these tunes though, and a special mention goes to DJ Hybrid's 'Beatbox' - naught jungle vibes.
Review: This is a big release, both literally and metaphorically. Sitting at 58 tracks, it's clear that the Dub Damage crew wanted to pack as many of their best moments as they possible could into the album. If you're a jump-up fan, think of this as a bit like the holy grail of jump-up and the inclusion of remixes and originals from dons like Original Sin, Annix, Turno and Sub Zero cement that fact. Aside from those legends, DJ Alpha comes through with 'The Man With The Golden Gun', a riotous blend of punched out bass synths, whilst Kre & Basshoven low-key steal the show with 'Toronto Blue'. A fat album this, and a lesson in how to do compilations right.
Review: Bou & Dutta's Diamond Audio cuts through the noise with laser like charm on their latest V/A collection. A signature since the label's launch last year, this is their most supersized batch to date as it includes more fresh names and a full spectrum of underground styles; the footwork pace of Aesthetics opener "Questions", Bou's barking groaner "Frequencies", Jeopardize's matchless trippy funk stepper "Contemporary", Leaf's wonky woodblock knocks and freaky funk on "Watch It" and MelloDrama's hospitalizing space stepper "Thrill" are just some of the many album highlights. Shiny shiny.
Review: Some people say T>I stands for totally incredible, others say it stands for terrible infection. The truth is no one actually knows what his name stands for, but we know what his music stands for... Pure trouble insurgency. No one makes rollers or bumpers that unite the scene like this guy. Literally every DJ across the board plays them and there's a good reason; they pop with character, weight and furious funk. "Gains" and "Turn The Page" are no exception; the former is an understated bouncer with a quirky spoken word sample while "Turn The Page" brings the drama with sharp orchestral stabs. Make some gains in your own life and cop these today.
Review: Growing in volume, presence and prominence with every release, Murky up their game once more with the first part of their heavyweight V/A album Turbid Transcendence. Highlights rattle and smoulder from every corner; the almost ballad-like bass groans of Too Greezey's "Sequence", the hot-stepping jungle drum rolls of Raz & RV's "Shadows", the pure dungeon tones and pensive grit of Damageman & Craftamus's "Demons" and T>I's blubbery rubber subs on "Run Flats" are just some of the key points on this killer first chapter. And with eight more bruisers to come, this is only half of the album so far. Big.
Review: It was only a matter of time before a man of T>I's stripes landed on a label of Critical's calibre. A verified roller wizard, he's been supplying the big guns with gully workouts for years. Here are four prime examples of his skillishness: "Rotations" takes a classic house vocal sample and flips it around a loose drum groove with all the wobbles, "Crunch Times" is a lean stepper with trippy fills and a velvet sub hook, "Six Mile Bottom" pays homage to your old lady in the most lewd and surly manner thanks to a grunting, distorted bass push every four bars while "Packets" provides the finishing move with some precision rolled drums and a bass hook that couldn't be more Bristol if it went around shouting "get lush". On-point.
Review: Elsta's Murky Digital look back over five years of uncompromised murk-mastery and handpick 15 of their favourite moments. A great way for us to fill any holes in our collection and a timely reminder of the label's timeless weight and sense of dark groove; highlights and power points rattle and slap from every corner. Key cuts include T>I's humungous subbed-out roller VIP of "The Gorgon", Zero's twisted orchestral cascades on "Corrupt Cop", Fena & Barbarix's urgent vocal-looping sizzler "Devoted" and Too Greezey's husky dusty dark jazz charm on "Take My Hand". Here's to the next five years.
Review: What a label Diamond Audio is shaping up to be. Four releases deep and they're already two albums and two massive EPs deep. Just look at the tracklist and you know we're right on the forefront of nex-gen drum & bass. Bou, T>I, Klay, Aweminus, Rawtee, Version... The list of hotly tipped future headliners here is impressive. Highlights include T>I's sweary stepper "Pull Up", Klay's radio-melting trip-out "Clap Back", Aweminus's gamey retro pacer "It's Ok", Rawtee's hornets nest bass and barbed soul on "Searchin'" and Version's cascading kicks and harrowed bass on "Facades". 10 diamonds in the rough... These will last forever.
Review: Usually when man hits road with a VIP it goes harder, right? Not in the case of this fugly roller from a true king among junglists T>I. Here he's taken the heavily supported and highly distinctive bassline of last year's banger "The Gorgon" and pressurised it into a much more physical sub bass sensation to subtle heads-down effect. The same can be said for his take on Damage Report's "Snooper" as he switches out the in-you-face weirdness of the OG bassline and teases us with the texture over a much more dense sub twist. Basically the bigger the systems you play this on, the better they sound.
Review: If you know T>I's productions then you won't need to read this, you'll already be on them. The man has saint-like status among the very top best roller and riff selectors such as Andy C and Serum. It's because of tracks like these. Each cut hits hard, rattles with funk and is clearly made for the mix. Both "Permanent Marker" and "Absence" really fix our focus on his deeper rolling side, "Don't Stop" switches up a well known break with an understated groaning bass whip, "Rolling With The Nines" takes us on mystical trip, Thresh Hold is freaky creeper with ghostly pianos and strange otherworldly basses while "Move On" closes on a superbly restrained soul stepper that opens out into some beautiful synth strokes midway. This couldn't be more on-point if T>I opened up a knife sharpening franchise.
