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Taxman
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Review: Now here's where taxes finally get interesting... The addition of swords. Taxman shows us how: First you take your blade, then you chop up your returns and self assessment forms to shreds to the epic grind and dark swagger of this latest Souped Up banger. 'Never Give Up' cuts just as a deep but with more of an emotional blast and a sudden hurricane twist on the drop. Stylish.
Played by: Agro
Review: As a real legend of the game, it's always exciting to see new magic from Taxman making its way into the store, with this hard hitting two track display being yet another wicked addition to his mythic catalogue. We open up with some classic, modernised jump up flavour in 'Special Request', a constant flicker between gnarly synthesiser designs and choppy drum textures, broken up by some classic soundclash cuts for good measure. On the flip, the intensity is most certainly upped as the hard hitting bass swoops and expansive LFO textures of 'Out Of Your Mind' cause some serious damage, with a constantly shifting backdrop of drumlines giving us a very nice alternative. Hard hitting stuff indeed!
Played by: DJ Ollie, Juno Recommends Drum & Bass, Harley D, Jfal, Loop Skywalker, STRICTLY RAGGA JUNGLE, AGENT K, Kickback, BasskicksUK
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Review: Wrapping up a serious year of heat, Hype's Playaz look back over their many releases of 2021 and brings them altogether in one place for those who missed out on the label's many big bruisers, bumpers and thumpers. Ranging from Xtrah's trippy, leftfield 'Droplets' to straight-up face-melters like Spaow's 'Amd Planet' with a whole range of fire in between from some of the label's (and the scene's) biggest and most respected names like Taxman, Voltage, Limited, Dunk and of course the mighty DJ Hazard, it's a pretty forthright reminder of just how much clout and musical muscle the longstanding label has - even when half the year was spent with the clubs and raves closed. Playaz ain't playing around!
Played by: Juno Recommends Drum & Bass
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Review: Playaz are rounding out this year with their first compilation for quite some time, and their 2020 roundup relies on a fairly small handful of long-term label stalwarts across twenty tracks. In this case, less is more and the likes of Annix, Taxman, DJ Hybrid and Tyke all come seriously correct in this compilation, their collective decades of experience really shining through. Taxman's 'You Can't See' is absurdly good, with wonderfully stuttering breaks which emerge from shimmering synth lines before cutting into a raucously stabbing bass hits, a proper rowdy collection of sounds which get right to the heart of the Playaz sound. Bristol trio The Sauce pop up on the label with several contributions, including 'Spooked', an eerie roller with choppiness right at its core - big stuff from the crew.
Played by: Juno Recommends Drum & Bass
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Chase & Status - "Fabric Presents Chase & Status RTRN II FABRIC" (continuous mix) - (1:11:33) 174 BPM
Played by: DJ Ollie
Played by: Brian Brainstorm
Review: Quite possibly the most consistent artist Playaz have ever known, Taxman is always there for you when you need him. After his monthly assault of tunes last year he returns with yet more fresh goods in the form of "Can't You See". Breezier and lighter than his usual sledgehammer signature, the sensual vocal, dreamy chords and subtle rave elements roll-up together with total uplift... And allow just enough space for a stinky bassline to cut through in all the right places. One for the dancefloor dreamers.
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Review: With Hazard rounding up another killer year for Hype and Pascal's label with his first release in five years, Playaz take stock of 2019 with this savage showdown from all their main mandem. From the eerie gurgles and scraps of Annix & Kanine's "Jackpot" to the flabby wobbles and groans of Limited's "Soldier" to the sweet seduction twist of Jam Thieves' "Love Forever" this 25-track pack covers the entire spectrum of proper rave-primed drum & bass with all manner of curveballs and boundary-pushing badness. No compromises, a healthy balance of elder statesmen, new headliners and young talent and a sound that's distinctively theirs, Playaz are about to bulldoze into a new decade... And this is how it all begins.
Played by: Juno Recommends Drum & Bass
Played by: Shrust
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Played by: Juno Recommends Drum & Bass
Review: Taxman is one of Playaz's most reliable bass merchants, a man who consistently, if somewhat infrequently, drops music that's full of the old-school jump-up attitude that made Playaz so good back in the day. His Echo Vibes EP continues on that trend. Four slices of dirty, roughshod D&B that gives you a dirty look as it steps over your body. It genuinely doesn't care; it's not trying to be anything smart or sophisticated; it's not looking to impress you. All this EP cares about is giving you a sick night while scaring you to death at the same time and it does it fantastically. Our favourite is possibly the title track 'Echo Vibes' - not one to be missed.
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Review: The Taxman has come to take your soul, you're gonna die tonight! A stark warning to any soundboys who are looking to take the crown of Dominic Tindill as king of jump up, coming in the form of three brutal digi-dubs on the Playaz imprint. Lead track "Die Tonight" features a call and response between a naughty jungle style sub and what sounds like manipulated samples of an elephants trumpet, crazy but genius! The ominous roots reggae "You will die tonight" hook and the iconic jungle "Warning" sample will surely give any sucker soundboy the chills. "Radar Jammer" again goes heavy on the call and response baselines but this is an altogether more untameable beast. This is peak time rinse out sounds for especially rowdy dancefloors; one of those beats that make the MC start rhyming an octave higher when it drops. Hectic! Taxman switches gears for "NTS roller", perhaps inspired by the cult radio station, this one is a much more sophisticated affair; airy vocals, slick drum fills and square-waves. 3am vibes!
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Natalie Williams, Goldie, Steve Williamson, Julian Velard & Ricky Reid - "I Adore You" (feat Ulterior Motive - Total Science remix) - (5:22)
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Review: Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and Taxman smashing your sensory organs with every remix he ever delivers. Here we find him in fierce form on last year's mischievous one-note dungeon hummer "Mysterons". Adding that signature scratchy high pitched grainy texture to the A of every bassline Q, this is Taxman at his most savage and playful. Elsewhere we find Professor Greezey cooling us down with "Heroes". A much more stripped back bassline shaker with subtle-but-strong jazz undertones and blissful keys, it's the perfect foil to Taxman's obscene remix.
Review: Considering Taxman typically sends out a key release once a year, the fact this has landed so soon after his "Amended" EP is already a blessing. The fact that the sounds on here are properly next level takes us into bless overload..."Scanners" has a unique rolling looseness thanks to some addictive shakers (and an elephantine bassline), "Wonky Riddim" lives up to its name with a strange trippy sci-fi feel while "On The Wire" is a classic gutter-chomping riot piece with an array of stretched bass textures. "Chameleon" plays counter to the ruffage with a cool cosmic funk vibe that's kinda reminiscent of J Majik's early 2000s work while "TDK" goes even further back to the jungle foundations with some head-melting drum edits. As with everything Taxman releases - this is serious business from start to finish.
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Played by: 6Blocc
Review: Time flies when you're a junglist... Reflecting the bossman DJ Hype's all-style signature as a selector, Playaz output covered the spectrum in style last year. You want sun-dappled soulful fire? Look for Potential Badboy. You want dirt munching gully? Look for Annix. You want leftfield stripped back surreal dark funk? Look for Bass Brothers or Jam Thieves. You want to get knocked the heck out? Look up Taxman, Prestige and Tyke. So many corners covered they smashed walls down to create new ones, Playaz killed it in 2016... Here are 25 reasons why.
Review: Fewer things are certain in life: death and Taxman delivering outrageously sick bangers. Here we find some of his biggest and most reggae-licked cuts dating back to 2006 amended and revised by either the big man himself of his peers: his own twist on the perennial "Too Bad" is worth the whole EP alone thanks to its level-shredding bassline that could melt entire villages. Elsewhere Upgrade adds a few spikes to the mix of "Nightshade", Bass Brothers add a fresh bounce to "Original Ninja" while Taxman shuts down the show with a twisted new bass texture on "Creepshow". You know say this is ruff.
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Review: Creepshow sees the welcome return of Dominic 'Taxman' Tindill with his first new material since last year's fine debut album Synthetic Visions. Once again issued through Hype and Pascal's Playaz platform, the six track release sees Taxman wearing his influences on his sleeve when it comes to the title track which takes both its name and ample sampleage from the 1982 horror classic Creepshow and will please fans of Tindall's classic sound. From here, "Reprazent" goes deep into a kaleidoscopic jungle groove with some nice steppy rhythmic touches whilst "Billy Big Bollocks" lives up to its title, and dukes it out with the VIP version of "Falling Up" for our favourite cut on the whole EP. Welcome back Taxman!
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Matrix & Futurebound - "Control" (feat Max Marshall - Matrix & Futurebound's STFU mix) - (3:58) 174 BPM
