Review: Spearhead are back with another compilation featuring some of their music from the past, as well as a handful of brand new cuts. The final track on the release - The Vanguard Project's remix of 'We All' by L.A.O.S is the highlight, a brand new outing which rolls out a euphoric string section to great effect, a hands-in-the-air anthem which will make want to be in the rave. Phaction's remix of 'Mirror Image' came out last year, and we've been in love with its cascading drum section and adrenaline-fuelled vocal magic ever since, a truly wonderful number that's bright, shiny and full of pure vibes. Wicked compilation.
Review: With some massive Metalheadz dubs causing hype this year, Phaction super-charges his golden vein of form with this powerful package on Bcee's Spearhead. It's an all-star cast, too; the equally unstoppable Bristolite Charli Brix links in for the dreamy title track, Riya adds her gilded tones to two tracks - the subdued waves of "The Fall" and the skippier sunshine charms of "Obsession" with Hugh Hardie. Elsewhere we go deep on "Cherished One" and sign out with an exceedingly naughty take on Technimatic's 2013 Spearhead jam "Mirror Image". Premium dude, premium.
Review: Having just celebrated their 15th year with one of their best ever collections, Friction's Shogun Audio look back over a strong year of sonics. Flexing a stellar rollcall of all the label's talents - Ed:It, GLXY, Technimatic, Pola & Bryson, Monrroe, Document One, Koherent and many more - there's an exciting energy to the label's collective and this collection captures that vibe. Highlights include Ed:It's fast-lane percussive roller "So True", the deep dream manoeuvres of Koherent and Charli Brix's "Voices" and Document One's epic electrified shredder "Holy Moly". These are just three of 20 reminders of why Shogun have had such a great year in 2019.
Review: It's been 15 years since Shogun Audio burst into life on the South Coast and under the watchful eye of Ed Keeley AKA Friction, as well as K-Tee, it's grown and grown into one of the best labels in the business, without a doubt. From the classics like Perez's seminal 1984, to more recent, futuristic numbers from the likes of Koherent and Document One, the label is truly diverse and that's represented extremely well in this 15 Years Of compilation. Featuring a litany of acts both old and new, including Technimatic, Pola & Bryson and Friction, this one is for the proper fans. Document One's 'Vibration' is a favourite of ours, with a stupidly cool, distorted bassline that packs a tasty hardware edge, undergirded by a click-and-snap drum line. Pure quality right here.
Review: Shogun dream duo Technimatic's third album is here. Without a doubt one of the biggest and most hotly anticipated releases that 2019 is likely to see, Through The Hours is another herculean collection of rolling liquid cuts, atmospheric jungle and slower, steppier numbers. It's vintage Technimatic, basically, and 'Through The Nightfall' featuring Jono McCleery is the perfect example: luscious, deep, smooth as can be and so, so well produced. 'Goodbye Kiss' takes the cake for us, though, with a stereotypically euphoric introduction that drops down into sublime D&B - this is the genre at its best. Make sure you check this - you'd be stupid not to.
Review: When a label as consistent and as well rounded as Shogun Audio announce a 'Classics' release it obviously sends shivers around the drum & bass community. It's hard to imagine condensing thirteen years of dominance into a minimized box of thirty classics, but just looking at the tracklisting is awe-inspiring. We see classic reappearances from the likes of Friction, Spor, Break, Icicle, Rockwell, Spectrasoul, Alix Perez, Camo & Krooked and that's not even half of the names involved. To break it down simply, this compilation summarizes why Shogun hold such a legendary status within the scene, through incredible consistency and magnificent diversity of sound.
Review: Shogun soul soldiers Technimatic unleash the parts to some of their best tracks and share them with kindred rolling spirits. The results speak for themselves... Break adds a little dark Brizzle magic to the lads' already on-point west country homage, LSB flips "Parallel" into a seven minute rising feels-lifter while Perez licks up a little switch in the kicks on the bluesy Jono McCleery-fronted "Hold On A While" and Fracture tears "Parallels" a new one with his cutty/shutty break-rattling refix. Complete with two heavy VIPs from Technimatic themselves on red marbled vinyl and you've got yourself a winner.
Review: Talk about best man for the job. Charlie Break, while not Bristol by birth, represents the exciting sound and energy that still emanates from one of the UK's most exciting cities. Loose, rattling, rolling with a latent funk and jazziness - Break has consistently delivered the vibes Technimatic were celebrating with the original tune. Naturally he's done them proud with a switch in the lower end hook and a rugged set of drums. Precision reversion.
Review: From Prolix to Technimatic, Total Science to Was A Be by way of Icicle, Joe Ford, Fourward, Spectrasoul, Phace, Ed.It and many more, Friction's label digs deep from the genre's most innovative corners and eras. As we prepare to close off 2016, they've taken a detailed look back over the last 18 months of crucial output to not just represent where the label is at, but the genre itself. An ideal opportunity to fill any holes in your collection cuts such as Fourward & Linguistics demonic stomper "Storm", Was A Be's rudeboy-slewing halftime damager "Blind" or Break's sparkling "Emerald" and complete with a journeyman mix of the tracks themselves, this rounds up yet another serious year at the very forefront of drum & bass.
Review: Drum&Bass Arena: The longest-standing, and one of the most respected, platforms for all things jungle D&B celebrates an impressive 20 years in the game with this ridiculously hefty document that pays respect to the genre's every twist and turn. From scene-shattering megahits ("Tarantula", "Feel The Love", "Rock It", "Afterglow") to unarguable historical underground scene-smashing megabangers ("Machete", "Aztec", "Nasty Ways", "The View", "Champion Sound", "Turbulence", "Up All Night", "Deadline", Ram Trilogy's remix of "Pacman") by way of tracks that may have slipped under the radar ("Defcom 69", "What's Wrong", "Song For Lovers") the whole album is loaded to the lips with some of the most important records the genre's enjoyed in the last 20 years. Time to get nostalgic, time to fill those holes in your collection, time to educate your dancefloor. Here's to another 20 years!
Review: Exactly two years since their debut album Desire Paths, Shogun duo Technicolour & Komatic dish up their sophomore and it's even slicker and consistent than the first. With a finely honed signature that's unmistakeably their own, no other act do liquid in this way. From the cloud-bouncing floatation session of "Parallel" and raw string power of "Clockwise" right the way through to the final salvos of the soulful mourns of "Hold On A While" and the halfstep dreaminess of "It Must Be", every track here has a purpose without so much of a hit being chased or a vocal being added for feature's sake. Authentic and unashamedly deep.
Review: What a crazy trip it's been.... Four months ago Shogun commenced their 100th release celebrations with the start of a four-part series that's seen some of the label's finest releases and broadest scope in recent years. Now all 16 tracks are available in one package, ranging from the horn-hazed bliss of Friction & Karma's "No Return" to Phace's deep space synth tear-up "Mumbo Jumbo" by way of Technimatic's string-surged "Transference" and Ivy Lab's impeccable shake-up of SpectraSoul's "Glimpse", if you're uncertain on just how on-point Shogun are then this collection firmly states exactly where Friction's label is at... And where they're heading.
Review: 12 years deep, 100 releases strong, Friction's Shogun imprint continues to spread the strong words with what's shaping up to be a very exciting series of exclusives. For the first EP we hit paydirt from the off as Ulterior Motive play the consummate robot charmers on "Radian". Cousins in crime Icicle and Proxima follow with a dagger-sharp tete-a-tete two-stepper while Technimatic provide essential contrast with the rainbow soul "Transference". Finally Alix Perez returns to Shogun for a cheeky minimal twist of Friction and Fourward's "Battle Scars". Gold on gold on gold, Shogun aren't messing around with their 100 series.
Review: What a year it's been for Shogun Audio: albums from Spectrasoul and Rockwell, new signing Karma, the epic Point Of Origin collection and killer singles from every artist on the roster. Here they wrap up the year with 34 bangers, blissers and blunderbusses. If you've been following the label you'll know just how heavy this weights in bass gold. If not, it's the best possible place to play catch up. From the Jenna G-fronted Submorphics chiller "The Divine" and the gospel-level heaven of Spectrasoul's "Shelter" to the much darker, thunderous slammers such as Friction and Icicle's "Crucifix", Fourward's "Exile" and Calyx & TeeBee's gamechanging remix of Spor's "Aztec", this is a spotless sonic calling card for the label and its many multifaceted talents.
Review: Their first new material since their evergreen debut album Desire Paths, Shogun duo Technicolour and Komatic deliver four breezy rollers in time for the warmer months. "Secret Smile" is all about Lucy Kitchen's arresting delicate vocal while "Dirty Hands" takes us deeper into Reese territory with its surging bass and ghostly vocal echoes. Deeper again we hit the title track "Flashbulb", a reflective halftime stepper with another instantly infectious vocal texture. Bringing us to sweet, string-soaked steppy finale, "Remember You" pushes us further into the D&B cosmos with a timeless, almost progressive feel that wouldn't have gone amiss around 10 years ago. Stunning through and through; Technimatic can do no wrong right now.
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