Jussa Come (Lil'T & Eli Soul Clap dub) - (6:46) 123 BPM
Jussa Come (Lonely C Soca instrumental) - (3:02) 121 BPM
Review: Those who know their house history will remember Sha-Lor's Jump Street garage classic 'I'm In Love' from back in 1988, but now vocalist Lori Lava returns with daughter Ashanti Maynard in tow and teams up with the Soul Clap boys on a dancefloor workout that pays homage to her Caribbean roots. The House Mix brings MAW's 'Work' to mind and is accompanied by a Lil' T & Eli Soul Clap Dub, while Lonely C takes the track into straight-up soca territory, delivering vocal and instrumental passes with the drums front and centre. A track built for carnival season if ever we heard one!
Review: As we've enjoyed watching Livity Sound mint an array of new artists to its label like Forest Drive West, Laurel Halo and Leif, it's also been fresh names like Toma Kami, Two Shell, and now Kouslin, that are keeping Livity's undercurrent in motion. Given a full debut, Kouslin emerges from the 2010s with 2020 Vision, supplying Livity Sound with four shaded bassline dubs, diving into various forms of sub-aqueous melody, tribal rhythms and far-flung, trippy percussion. Find touches of rave, trance and bleep culture in "Ice" with more references to dubstep and streetwise Bristol spook in the EP's lead track and "The Beast Of Bolsover". Clear.
Review: What we have here is a fantastic selection and representation of the future of reggae music worldwide as the Nice Up! team unveil the fifth edition of 'Nice Up! The Session'. The release features some pretty top draw names, including the likes of Parly B, Gardna, Seanie T, Gappy Ranks and more. From the junglist flavours of Fleck's 'One Step At A Time' rethink, to the future dancehall delights of 'Bad Mi Bad' from XL Mad & Gappy Ranks, we witness the full breadth of reggae's development in 2019, with other favourites including DJ Madd's crispy rethink 'Chasing Dreams' from Rider Shafique & Precha, along with Folding City's experimental overhaul of 'My Yout' from 'Origin One & Irah'. Excellent stuff!
Review: As ever with the Moonshine Recordings crew, we are in for a serious treat with their latest drop as they welcome in Parly B for three tracks of pure fire, alongside some exquisite dubwise collaborations. We begin our dive into this one with the slow marching drums and reggae-style chord syncopations of 'Heart Clean', alongside Mystic Pulse, before moving swiftly into digi-dub delights of ;The Program', this time employing the high tempo production talents of Bukkha and Dubbing Sun. Bukkha also gets involved on the final track 'Come Ya', a dancehall inspired electronic roller, driven by it's nostalgic drum sounds and Parly B's impactful toasted vocals!
Review: Eleven slabs of pure, authentic roots, Rebel MC's foundational agenda-setters (penned under various names such as Blackstar, Rebel MC and Congo Natty) have been tethered and tied up to form this on-point history lesson in breakbeat and jungle culture. From the 'heads down' drum magic of the previously rare dubplate version of "Alaska Ride" to the instantly distinctive hook of The Revolutionaries-sampling "Kunta Kinte" via the Buju Banton-fronted siren session "Stamina", this album is a reminder of just how much Michael West contributed to jungle's development. Forefather fire!
Review: Blackout Ja has teamed up with label boss Liondub for a dubby (no surprises there) double sided outing on an imprint which bears all the hallmarks of a classic UK label, with jungle, drum & bass and dub music intertwined the whole way. This respect for the history is apparent on Rize Again, as two loping, plodding cuts of funky, upbeat music come at you with the grace of a stoner and the enthusiasm of one too. The title track is lovely in its percussion and Blackout Ja has nailed the dancehall vibe on the vocal line - you won't forget this one.
Review: NY x TO x JA! The international link up continues as Marcus Visionary and Liondub hook up once again under their Rumble alias. Recent beats have been graced by young upcoming talents whereas their latest workout "Sound Gangsta" has been created especially for a man that is somewhat of a veteran and legend in the game; Red Fox. The Jamaica raised New York resident has a breathless flow and a unique talent for effortlessly switching tones, flows and dynamics. All of his skills are on show for this one.
The A side Dancehall mix gives an interesting polished production take on Rumble's brand of dancehall with plenty of contemporary rap and hip hop influences. Think Mr. Collipark meets Tarik "Rvssian" Johnston.
Liondub's signature sounds are evident in the NYC mix, which swaps claps for snares and the modern polished sounds are swapped for stripped back for old school New York HipHop sounds in a constantly fluctuating 8 bar dancehall form. There is a tasty jungle mix that time stretches the vocal and synth hook and under lays it with booming sub bass and rattling tribal beats. Red Fox's slowed flow sits perfectly on top of jungle beats which probably tells you that all these dance promoters like Jungle Mania are missing a trick not booking him! There is a whole set of instrumental mixes for when you have vocalists on set and we are looking forward to hip hop and dancehall vocalists jumping on these for freestyles and ciphers over the next few months.
Review: It's always a joy to hear of a new release from the mighty Rumble (aka Marcus Visionary and Liondub). Yes back they are, and they're brandishing a brand new weapon, "Gyalis", strengthened by the help of Mr Lexx, Suku Ward and their mics. The original tune sees the latter pair duel, with the former's dominant bassy tones and the latter's higher, toaster shout-outs actually working together perfectly. Underneath the vocals is an electronic dancehall bassline with light, DnB-meets-ska beats, and there's even a "Riddim" dub version thrown in for good measure.
Review: With the All Out label grooming Glasgow talent Casement for successive releases on labels like 1Forty, Deep Cover and a 2018 album for Wile Out, it's the Nice Up! label up next that delivers three dubby variations of urban and club sounds from the UK. Dubstep leads the charge in "Shards" with syncopated drums and stepped percussion submitting to stabs of huge reverberating bassline rave, with touches of baile funk nestled in behind cosmic melodies of synth in "Cables". "Night Garden" adds a solid trip of tropical weightless grime to the EP as well, and a nice left field alternative for the dancefloor or club.
Review: Polish premier league dubster RG takes us on one of his best version excursions to date. The YT-fronted "Stay Calm" is one of the many highlights from his second album Subconscious and here it comes complete with three brand new reflexes: the "Digitalizer Dub" is a straight up digi-dub instrumental twist, "Sound System" sees him teaming up with Irish don Cian Finn once again for a raw, club-focused repurpose while El Fata adds a softer, more soulful vocal polish that's not dissimilar to that of Horace Andy.
