Review: It's WAR: Deep In The Jungle charge forth with another battle set that features some of the label's heaviest prize fighters. Shells across the spectrum: duck and cover as Epicentre's supersized warped bass jungle slapper "BIG" comes flying upside your noggin, Veak's awesome samplecraft on "Heavy Load" sends you into a hazy spin and the total drum hurricane on Sound Shifter's "Urban Style Formation" knocks every puff of wind out of you. Elsewhere Soul Defiance's "Pariah" coats you in sticky napalm bass before drying you off with soul-stirring pads, Crinnion traps you with a drone sub pincer movement and Sikka provides the final blow with some of the eeriest bass textures ever heard on DITJ by way of his Kumarachi remix. These are the dubs you are looking for.
Review: The man, the myth, the monster... Kumarachi returns to one of his strongest stomping grounds Deep In The Jungle for a furious four piece of amen addled action. "Sound Boi" sets the hair raising tone and pace before we're treated to a whole cavalcade of collabs.... Newcomer Veak joins the fray for two stinking space gazing work outs while the similarly unavoidable Sl8r brings the badness on the finale "Freeze" where low slung subs worm, wriggle and melt beneath evocative rave pads and head turning pitched drums. Phenomenal scenes as always.
Review: These 3 are some of Manny's best forthcoming talent, a collection of artists who prioritise genuine vibes and naughty head nodders over pretentious introspection or chin-stroking punditry. Hardcore Vibes is an exemplification of that worldview, with four system-shaking cuts of jungle-influenced hedonism that range from the funky to the downright dirty. 'The Masses' falls into the latter of these two categories and it packs a tapestry of different low-frequency slivers and punchy bass notes, all underpinning a raucous set of jungle stutters and vibrato breaks. Wicked stuff.
Review: Let us see your war face!! Just in case the "Ravey Misbehavey" collection on his Audio Addict imprint wasn't enough this week, DJ Hybrid has also blessed us with this killer "Jungle Wars" series edition. As always the vibes are high with each track rolling like a 10-strong trip to Holland. Highlights include the dancehall damage of Euphonique & Kelvin 373's sticky icky "Hot Spliff", Veak's rusty break gut-puncher "Nuff Respect" and the classic rave stabs and thundering drum work on DJ Hybrid's "Stand Up".
Review: Don't be misled by the title: this is no thrown-together 'greatest hits' package but rather a 40-track label showcase from DJ Hybrid's Audio Addict label, coming complete (if you opt to buy the whole album) with a fast and furious, 52-minute mixed version by Canada's RMS, aka Paul Currie. Tracks come a mixture of relatively new names (Martyn Nytram, Saffire Dubz, Confusious) and more established players (LJ High, Scartip and of course Hybrid himself), while stylistically the album touches on various different D&B sub-genres, but with the emphasis always firmly on cuts that are built to tear up the rave.
Review: Deep In The Jungle is a UK based label dedicated to resurrecting the jungle stylings of yesteryear and bringing them back to their rightful place: front and centre of the dancefloor. Next up on the label are Canadians RMS & Veak with some hard drum and bass steppers on the Foundations EP, which undoubtedly give a respectful nod to the old school. From moments of fierce darkside breakbeat science as heard on "Fiyah Burn" or "Amen Props", through to the title track or "Hear It Come" which use late '90s reference points such as Dillinja or Loxy & Ink.
Review: Run Tingz are a Bristolian crew with an ever-expanding pedigree in the unique blend of Dub, jungle and D&B that comes out of the city. The sound there is honestly like nowhere else and these guys really capitalise on it, their releases always strike that balance between fun and seriousness and they land hard but also chill out at the same time. Salaryman and Veak team up for this one and it's all very sick stuff, especially 'Ghetto Youth', which combines some slick lyrical business with a fluid, wobbling back end. Lovely.
Review: The start of the year. A time for reflection at Double UV Towers as Hyde shreds through the vaults and reminds us of the label's raw ageless firepower over the last six years. Ranging from the caustic roughage of Veak's jungle slap-down "Android Revenge" to the battering-ram bass thrusts of Eazy's "Kill Them" via Dub Bezerka's ivory-snapping hammer horror hoedown "Gates Of Hell". You'd never guess some of these cuts were five years old. It's a powerful reminder of just how on it Double UV have been since day one.
Review: From deep in the jingle, Deep In The Jungle arise from their Christmas chrysalis with their biggest album to date... 44 absolute beasts from some of their closest allies, freshest friends and long-time sparring partners. From the soaring synths and twisted drum switches of Kumarachi's "For You" to the classical rave feels of Demented Frequency's "Amens On The Nile" via absolute toxic gully from the likes of Galvatron, Didak, Veak, Redline, Epicentre, Sweet N Sikka, Conrad Subs, Martyn Nytram and the bossman DJ Hybrid himself this is a pure steel steal. Nothing short of essential.
