Review: If there is one thing that the 1Forty team know how to do well, it's assemble a well balanced compilation project. This latest addition to their 'Funky & Garage' series, kicks off with an absolute belter from Murder He Wrote entitled 'Honey Riddim', which features funky flavours and a hard hitting vocal appearance from Snowy. Following this, Killjoy continues with the funky theme with some hard hitting rhythmic movements on 'Disturbance', before Smokey Bubblin' B injects a lashing of garage flavour into proceedings with the stripped back design of 'Brock Out'. Finally, the uplifting arrangements and chord progressions of ''Do Me Right' from Wolfe puts the finishing touches on a great body of work.
Review: Tronic unleashes its annual compilation, which as always contains the label's favourite tracks. "Luv Can Turn Around", a deep techy track from the late, great Pascal FEOS is a reminder of the many loved ones lost in the past year, while label owner Christian Smith's rolling rhythm and surging chords on "Hallucinate" signals a time in the near future when we'll be able to return to the dance floor. At the other end of the sonic spectrum Harry Romero delivers a bruising, jacking version of DJ Rush & Eric Sneo's "Take Me Back", while Sinisa Tamamovic's "Lost Memories" is a more intense iteration of that style, a steely, bleep-heavy techno track.
Review: Established in 1994, Christian Smith's Tronic Music has long been a reliable outlet for proper main room techno, with the latest edition in its 'Rockets // Launch' compilation series out now - featuring 10 new and exclusive tracks. Highlights come in the form of: the austere and grayscale fury of D-Unity's "Across the universe", the dystopian electro funk of Basic Shape's "Cosmic Traveler", rising Indian producer Shaun Moses with the relentless "Distractions" and Pagano delivering a Detroit high-tech soul vibe on the anthemic "Desire".
Review: The guys at In:Flux really do deserve a lot of credit for their tireless contributions to the UK bass scene over the last few months, having made themselves one of the most prominent Northern imprints within the wide span of the genre. We are here to celebrate and enjoy this compilation celebrating five years of activity from the label. They pull out all the stocks for sure, inviting the likes of Brent Kilner, Pavv, Pelikann, Dr Oscillator, J69 and more to join in the party, with our specific highlights coming from Tik&Borrow themselves, the leading forces behind the project. We look forward to many more years of the In:Flux wave continuing to run!
Review: As one of the grime and bass scene's standout label projects over the last 5 years, Project Allout have conquered much, constantly alternating between grime, dubstep, bass and garage, all with a real touch of finesse. This latest compilation sees the gang assemble in force as the likes of Sammy Virji, Killjoy, Palize, Deadbeat UK, Daze Prism and more heavyweight names bring their heat to the table. For us the standout tracks have to be Dunman's grimey roller in 'Chip On The Block' and of course Moony's amazonian funky ride out on 'M', a subby mover, designed to take the dance real low.
