Review: It was about time the Bassbrothers stepped up on DJ Hype's Playaz to deliver some rolling, twisted bass beats, because these two d&b deviants know how to mash it up good and proper. "WTF" itself is a pure hybrid tune, where dubstep and d&b become intertwinded, and the same goes for the tunes like "Kravitz" or "Dunno A Dead", except that the duo branch out and gather more influences, from R&B to ragga. "Pusher" delivers some of that classic Playaz sound, all bursting morph bass and dread, followed by the mean, lean stare of "Deadly Spawn". Killaz!
Review: Sticky-icky-icky! The JTs are back from their Sao Paulo kitchen and they're packing some of the tangiest, sharpest fusions you could ever spread over a dance. Highlights across this sweet sextet include the bluesy twangs and industrial strength drums of "Next Generation", the frazzled, loose-drum space voyage with Fre4knc "3rd Dal Universe", low-blowing groans of "Get Out Of The Way" where there's not even so much room for a please and the blink-and-miss neuro twists on the rattling sub-shaking Playaz homage "Brooklyn". Yum.
Review: Sticky fingers Brazilians Jam Thieves have been tearing up the dance in the last few years with their subgenre-smelting dancefloor-focussed D&B. Misbehaving on the likes of Radius, Serial Killaz, and Hangar, they've found their spiritual home on Hype's Playaz where all styles are welcome as long they make you bounce... Which is exactly what these 10 tracks do. From the wild west whistles and far-out bass bumps on "The Hangman" and the Qanun twanging "Favela Funk" (with the similarly talented hot blooded Portuguese-speaking duo Bass Brothers), Jam Thieves have delivered a straight-up album of dancefloor bruisers and funkers with nothing contrived or written for album's sake. Refreshing.
Review: Jam Thieves return with a collection of straight up bangers courtesy of the Serial Killaz fam. A shoe-in for 'duttiest bass of the year', "Cry Blood" opens up proceedings with a sky-shattering dubline that'll send dancefloors into a frenzy. It just gets better from there, with bass-heavy, thunderous tune after bass-heavy, thunderous tune and when T>I gets involved, things get really serious. If you were expecting to get some work done during "Business Meeting" think again. This dark and dangerous roller runs deep and demands your attention. Some real deal drum and bass right here, make sure you get your fix.
Review: The trend of drum & bass workouts has been a rising one over the last few years and you can see why, as it's hard to imagine a more potent set of sounds to get the blood pumping than ferocious breaks and bubbling basslines. This LP kicks off with the seminal classic that is 'Incredible' by M-Beat, which you should all know by the back of your hand by now, and moves on into other iconic Ed Solo and Deekline tracks like 'Bam Bam' and 'No No No'. There are fantastic contributions from Nick the Lot and Jam Thieves with 'Concentrated' and 'Mista Lava Lava', and Kleu blows things away with a superb remix of Marcia Aitken's 'I'm Still In Love'. It's a rolling listen from start to finish.
Review: Since launching at the dawn of the decade, Paul 'Mudd' Murphy and Simon Purnell's Leng label has risen to become one of the most consistent nu-disco labels around, with a trademark style that cannily combines chugging grooves, dub disco rhythms, and clear West Coast psychedelic rock and contemporary Balearica influences. It's for this reason that this celebratory 10th birthday compilation is such a treat. The multitude of highlights includes, but is no way limited to, the kaleidoscopic nu-disco rush of Pete Herbert's vintage remix of Apiento's 'She Walks', the kraut-folk-goes dub insanity of the Idjut Boys remix of Mountaineer's 'Golden Chalk', the intense drug-chug of Mudd's 'Slow Rave' mix of Tiago's 'The Source', and the late-night exotica of 'Luna' by Turkish producer Ali Kuru.
Review: Deeper Vision Recordings outta NYC returns with the worldy, instrumental and broken beat sound of Lungomare. Spearheaded by Ted Ganung - dropping memorable numbers like waltzing slow dance "Dream Connection Project" to the filtered and pitched calpsco of "I'm Grateful Riddim" - there's downbeat hip hop instrumentals in Jam Thieves "New Balance" to some subtle and sassy salsa in Rum Guzzler's "Cuban Goods". Find the chilled out dub reggae funk in Quincy Jointz' "Echo Chamber" and a sweet staccato piano house loop in the Wu-Tang reminiscent "Loaded Question".
