Review: It's that time of year again! DJ Hybrid sends for the troops and instigates nothing but pure gully warfare. This year is no exception as the talent remains just as high and ruthless as previous years. Here's the sampler to get us in the mood... First up the main man DJ Hybrid breaks the ice with the classically minded 'War Inna Jungle'. Expect lots of pitched breaks and soundman samples. 'Big Bout Ya' follows. A big old collabo affair between DJ Hybrid, Mrs Magoo and Veak, this one focuses on the sunny side skanks warm soundsystem vibe. These are the ones you were looking for.
Review: Boh! A banger, a Nuusic Banger. Vibes, a drop of a gully, son! Nuusic bring the sounds once again with this fourth edition of their VA series. Loaded with exclusives and new remixes and VIPs, it brings the whole Liverpool / North Wales label's family together, highlighting the wide-armed provocative consistency throughout the album. Highlights include ELLM's Danny Byrd style VIP twist-up of 'Soundboy', Arkala Dre's slinky prowler 'Pirate Radio', Epicentre and Guzi's devastatingly huge and ironically titled 'Little Roller', the creepy tension and eerie feels of Geekcroft's 'Turn It'. The list goes on and on...
Review: DJ Hybrid's Deep In The Jungle slams straight into 2022 with another blazing collection of past releases, all curated and packaged together with the super sick stylings of one of 2021's runaway DJ success stories - Frenetic. Renown for her crucial three-deck blends and premium energy, she's the perfect match for the label's megamix as there are so many wounders and blinders to get through. If you know the label's output you'll already know this but just in case you're new to this Deep In The Jungle malarky, expect nothing but premium modern day breakbeat badness. Highlights include RMS's purring 'Streaks & Blurs', Toby Ross's mischievous '170 Style', Charlie B's 'Rave Up' and DJ Hybrid's tongue in cheek skank-out 'The Last Bumbaclaat'. Anthemic.
Review: San Diego crew The Foundation take time to look back over the last few years of badness with their latest 'Revisited' volume. First up are the very tunes the label launched with exactly two years ago 'Be My Own' and the T-Kay remix. Both still slapping the wind out of us with their harmonic riffs and clash-ready beats, now is a perfect time to catch these if you slept on them. Next up come three new VIPs of label faves from the last few years. 'Borda Clash' retains its sweet reggae plucks, 'Babylon System' hits with big rolling drum energy while a VVVIP of 'Ear It Come' closes the show. (The extra Vs are for Veak is Very talented)
Review: Brawlin Beatz return to their Jungle Juiced series which seems to land every two years but always packs a fresh, no holds barred punch. Take this epic third edition; a hectic breakbeat slap to the tastebuds, it batters us with a rainbow of flavours: strong shades of contemporary jungle (Veak - 'One Family', Kumo - 'HomeTown Roots'), full-thrust rave music (Gravit-E - 'Radio') bumping bassline badness (MCB - 'Key To The City'), rootsical sickness (Lion UK - 'Never Last', Dead Intent - 'EveryTime') and bone rattling bubblers (JAK - 'Never Last') are just some of the ingredients in this wholesome juice. More than your five a day.
Review: DJ Hybrid continues doing bits for the scene as he lays down this massive 31 track selection on Deep In The Jungle. Reflecting exactly where the mother genre is at right now in 2021, he's dug deep for a whole range of flavours, including a few cheeky exclusives. Every track is a banger but you'd be mad not to check Crom and Rider Shafique's theatrical slap-about 'Change', Xav's mind-blowing shock-out '1993', Mrs Magoo & DJ Hybrid's stripped-back and purring 'Back To 96' and the absolutely foul behaviour of Kumarachi & Epicentre with 'Patterns'. Trust us, this isn't even the tip of this jungle iceberg - cop it and bop it!
Review: Woi and indeed oi, Veak continues his blazing run of form with another swag bag of badness on Liondub International. So heavy we get the VIP before the original, 'Black Bombay' ignites the fire in ruffage jungle spirit before he treats us to a whole smorgasbord of sickness; the 'Basement Track' style garage vibes of 'Echo', the stinking early 2000s Ram flavours of 'Put Up Your Lighta', the deeper, introspective steps of 'Under The Influence' and the ridiculously tense deal sealer 'Feel The Rush'. Each cut primed for those moments when we're finally able to let loose again, Veak is killing it right now.
Review: Ghetto Dub Recordings have a long history of putting out music that takes no prisoners on the dancefloor and, whilst we're still clubless, this superb breaks-focused various artists compilation is sure to get your gun fingers raised at home. 'Feel' is the most interesting of the bunch, with an almost grime like approach to its steppy percussion and structured drum claps that reminds us of Diemantle. 'Nastya' is the other highlight, with a piercingly choppy arrangement that sees jabbing stabs tumble over on another in their haste to mess you around, all tied together with a massive reece bass. Oh yes.
Review: Iration across the nation! San Diego crew The Foundation roll out a brand new series on their ever-blossoming platform with one of the most consistent French junglists in operation - Veak. Following releases on the likes of Original Key, Bredrin Records and Deep In The Jungle come these five slaughter jams. Each one sprinkled with a little dubwise and reggae magic, the flavours range from sunny side bubblers ('Ear It Come', 'Jock Horror') to heavier shock-out pieces where crisp samples flip into gully Amen drops ('Hear Dat', 'Hay Z') via all-out rave blazers with big hooks and even bigger feels. Authentic junglist business.
Review: Veak has arrived on Proper Pro and you can hear why his music has been deemed to have made the cut. This release is a solid envelope of tunes which demonstrate a serious understanding of jungle's nastier end, the type of breaks music which some hate but which inspires a passionate love for the genre in others. The first track is the best example of this, its pointed, jagged-edged basslines are cutting and penetrating at the same time, snappy drums lie underneath and the whole tune is packaged with effortless finesse. 'Soundboy Get Slew' packs a bass that will haunt you into your dreams and baby, what a tune that is. Unreal.
Review: The second chapter in Deep in the Jungle Anthems 7 is upon us, and there is yet another cacophonous blend of fractious jungle riddims inside. Drawn from artists across the scene both old and new, this LP is the second leg of a journey that's pull you deep through the spiky, rough edges of a the jungle. The crashing force of K Jah's 'Quest' is a good example, as repetitive breaks needle their way into your soul amidst a wobbling sub and jazzy samples. Bish is on remix duties for label boss DJ Hybrid and his tune 'Badboy', which samples possibly one of dance music's most iconic film lines and does so amidst a relentless, rolling instrumental. Sick - there are over 30 tracks inside so get involved.
Review: Wind your derrieres! Veak and Danny Styles go toe-to-toe, point-to-point, lip-to-lip on the first in a new series from San Diego junglist family The Foundation. One fierce Frenchman, one UK foundation legend, both cuts rattle and shake hard. Veak goes on a classic jungle rinse-out with 'Selecta'. Powerhouse breaks, a juicy fruit sub bass, sunny-side skanks and twists and turns that would sit nicely in a Remarc set, it's a timeless homage to jungle's most enduring characteristics. Danny Styles, meanwhile, flips for a much starker slice of jungle futurism. Ice cold feels and disarming vocal samples. J'adore!
Review: Deep in the Jungle continue their onwards march with this, the seventh edition in their widely acclaimed Anthems series, a compilation that always finds the ideal mix of current and future talent to showcase. In the case of the former, well-travelled producers Epicentre and Kumarachi roll things out and tear them down on 'Light Em Up', which features a gnarly array of interlinked bass nodes and torn low frequency sonics, al underpinned by a percussion section that's the perfect blend of rusty and sharp. New talent emerges in the form of Trobe and Mirage, who have their first label release with '89', although you wouldn't have guessed it based off this tune's razor clean percussive edge and expert use of space, a hard thing to get right and one this pair blow out the water here. Rave samples, expansive basslines and a synth arrangement you won't be able to shake - unmissable. 34 tracks later and Deep in the Jungle have nailed every single one of them - big ups.