Review: We all love a swampy new one from the Subaltern team, who this time around, unleash a serious pack of sizzlers from Ome, one of the most exciting names in dubstep music right now. We kick off with the title track 'Raw', a gritty dive into gnarly LFO lines and eerie atmospheric backdrops, perfect for the heads down in the dance crew. From here, Busted Fingerz arrives for some additional work on the shimmering synthetics of 'No Runnin', which again adds to the weird and wonderful texture of the overall tracklisting, followed by 'Talkin' Mathematics', which sees Yoofee also get involved with some seriously chunky industrial drum work. Finally, the super wonky warbles and syncopated drum shuffles of 'Stinker' give us a final slap of steppers goodness, rounding the EP off in style.
Review: Whenever we see a new drop from the Foundation Audio team hit the store we know we are likely to be collecting up a brand new bag of treats, with this brand new helping from Dalek One being exactly that. We begin with the jittering synthetic swipes and eastern-inspired percussive chops of 'Duckin N Divin', a vibrant title track that kicks us off with a sizzle. Next, the mosquito-like lead synth drones of 'Flood Channels' are brought onto display with a reesey backdrop to match, before the pace quickens on 'Last Rights', which gives us a much more organic sounding LFO drip. Finally, 'Wayseed' gives us a tidy combo of shimmering synthetic stutters and clunky drum stumbles, rounding off a thoroughly enjoyable collection of original dubstep flavour.
Review: This latest offering from Keysound sees Calibre return for a full-length adventure into sonic-wonderland, exploring a vibrant array of sounds and styles across 9 buzzy originals. The range is the most impressive thing we notice when first opening up this project, with the almost grime-inspired skips of the title track 'Double Bend' pulling us one way, the future-garage-like melodic licks of 'Rare Groove' throwing us another and the intricate percussive infusions of 'Grinch' pulling us into a completely different zone all together. The whole project has a very refreshing feel, with each track boasting unique rhythms and sound design, with our favourites including both the bubbling LFO expansions of 'Hostage' and intense drum flicks and glitchy drum work of 'Im Ent'. Fabulous work!
Review: It's always a lively event when Manuka come to town, this time welcoming a vibrant collaboration indeed as head-honcho Hypho links up with both PAV4N and the Foreign Beggars flag for a seriously gnarly creation, throwing us back to the 2010's in sound and style. Hypho does the business with a properly gritty instrumental creation, driving forward with hypnotic tripletted bass stabs and churning synthetic layers doing the business, with a combination of harsh vocal slides and intense lyricism then adding an extra level of enjoyment to the table. A very good single indeed from the Manuka camp!
Review: The hold tight team have for sure assembled a powerful combination of artistry on this one as they welcome Ickle inside alongside two of the most recognizable vocalists of our generation in Riko Dan & Rider Shafique. Riko steps up first for a chest-heavy vocal display on 'Wicked', once again displaying his microphone dominance with a skank-inspiring display of intricate lyricism and skippy flows. On the flip, Rider Shafique dons a much more dubwise influenced sound, with scattered drums and a much more syncopated feel giving him room to maneuver his poetic approach amidst a sea of synthetic slides and beeping chords. HIJINX also provides a potent remix of 'Murda' for good measure, giving it an additional level up in the evil-sounding department. Lovely stuff!
Review: Over the many years of ENiGMA Dubz awesome career, we have seen him sweep into so many different areas of electronic music, with this brand new album being a culmination of all of those styles, showcasing his production mastery in serious style. From the grizzly LFO and euphoric synth lines of the dubstep-inspired 'Replicants' to the heavenly vocal displays and jungle-inspired drumlines of 'Afterlife', he really does cover all bases in this outstanding display. It's a truly outstanding collection, with our highlights including the beautiful harmonic layers and garage-style rhythms of 'Enlightenment', next to the shuffling trap-like arrangements of 'Lost Souls' and the downright tearout vibes of 'Bump In The Night', which fits right onto any Rampage tracklisting. An incredible body of work to say the least.
Review: Now if you were looking for an allstar 140 lineup, It's hard to look at this new single and not see it as one of the strongest drops of the year. Trends & Boylan are a dangerous duo at the best of times, but when you then combine the majesty and power of their unique approaches to production with the likes of Cimm, Youngsta and the untouchable vocals of Riko Dan, you are always going to end up with something special. The track takes the title 'Hear That', which Trends & Boylan tear to pieces, reformatting it into a rave-ready smash, layering Riko's catchy vocal line over the top of a cascade of lethal horn lines, powerful bass pushes and eerie piano melodies. This is one for the dances, make no mistake about that!
Review: Stickybuds is rapidly gaining the reputation as the guy that can rework any type of dancehall flavour, as he here unveils the remix project for 'Take A Stand'. No expenses are spared as he pulls together an all star cast of remixers, including the likes of A.Skillz, Beat Fatigue and Chris Munky to name a few. For us, there are a few clear standouts for this one, beginning with the Ahee remix of '99%', which reworks the original into a metallic snarling beast without dehousing Rubi Dan's fantastic lead vocal. We also find an immediate soft spot for Skope's album Goulash rework of 'Take A Stand' itself, which is packed with high energy synthesis from start to finish.
Review: Not to be confused with FWD's Youngsta, DDJs' Youngstar is also a veteran of the UK garage and grime sphere. In fact, this man has been doing it longer and his tunes have been firing up the scene since 2001. While he used to focus more exclusively on garage, this contemporary material is all about the grime bars and, as you'll be able to tell from the title, the bars are short but extremely effective. With eighteen cuts to choose from, this is the perfect material to use either as heavy DJ artillery, or for part-time vocalism if you're in the spittin' mood. One thing is for sure, though, this is A-class material from an underrated legend of the UK grime game.
Review: It's been a long time since we have been anywhere close to disappointed with a new Liondub International release, with this latest heavyweight collaboration continuing to apply the pressure, as Riko Dan, Trigon & Dave Gee join the Lion Dub team for a hard hitting new single entitled 'War Dub'. Right from the off we can tell we are in for a raucous affair as demonic horn lines and sizzling sublines provide the perfect skeleton for Riko Dan to run riot upon, unleashing a blistering display of clash-ready lyricism. This drop comes complete with the instrumental version for good measure, making it a must grab for any 140 DJ.
Review: Let's be real here for a second. There are few vocal artists within the extended circles of grime that boast as high a work rate as Flowdan, a legendary MC with a catalogue of clouty bangers. This latest project takes the title 'The Red Pill', showcasing a different side of his character. There is still a tonne of versatility involved with this one however, from the haunted overtones of 'Savage' alongside Jammz and 'Time Is Money' with Roachee, to the demonic, stripped back structures of 'Upset' with catchy vocal hooks from Snowman Baby. Finally, 'Tell Me Nothing' runs with a very experimental instrumental, letting gunshots and emotive chords run wild beneath Flowdan's unique storytelling approach. This is definitely a different approach, complete with instrumentals and acapellas to match!
Review: Now over the course of the last couple of years, it's safe to say that the team over at Artikal have established themselves once again as one of the most consistent dubstep labels out there. This brand new chunky two tracker from Monty and T-Man is another perfect example of that mastery on display as 'Apollo' gives us a gnarly, system-ready roller to enjoy, with T-Man's high energy vocal lines sitting perfectly atop the gritty bass designs below. This project also comes complete with a very spicy remix from Mystic State, who switches up the flavours with a potent, sublow recreation, taking the track down a much more stripped back avenue.
Review: Daryl Nurse aka Youngster is not cite often enough when we talk about grime, dubstep, and the evolution of both these genres. But, the UK bass scientist is very much up there on our list, and we're big into his sound from the early 2000's. Out on White Peach this week is a reissue of his '02 bombshell "Bongo", a raw and minimalistic bass stepper with a wild set of cowbells, stop-start rhythms and a nasty, unforgiving bassline for the heads. That's not all, though; there's three remixes to sink your teeth into: Hi5Ghost chucks in an added layer of slicing percussion sounds for total damage, Deep Medi associates Kahn & Neek slow the whole groove down to their singular, cerebral levels, and Impey drops his broken gunshot riddim version, aptly called the 66668 Bar remix. Fire!
Review: With an already impeccable catalogue of top quality releases, Sector 7 sees the return of the legendary Kahn & Neek combo for four new scorchers. We kick off with the title track 'In The Mansions Of Bliss', a highly harmonic steppy roller, fueled with twisted melodic grooves and pleasing sound design throughout. This is chased up by the slower tempos of 'Random Lab', a more dungeon-ready design again filled with chilling atmospheric layouts. Next up, the glitchy synth stutters and subtle eski-influences of 'Shimmer', before we finish up on 'Venus', a stunning piece of soundscaping, incorporating angelic vocal lines, emotive string lines and luscious pad textures. Very cool indeed!
Review: This is some big dog business, a new Butterz special that'll please the bass and grime crews alike. Swindle is the producer, a UK badman who has appeared on labels like Mala's Deep Medi Musik, and he's accompanied by the creme de la creme of grime vocalism. "Lemon Trees" is a fast, choppy bass swinger powered by funky synth melodies and D Double E's inimitable swagger, while UK hip-hop rapper Ghetts spills some truth over "Works Haffi Run". Flava D and JME go for a head-to-head battle on the house-driven dubstep hybrid that is "Mad Ting", and to cap it all of you got an instrumental each of "Lemon Trees" and Works Haffi Run". BAD.
Review: Top wobbler and mighty charmer Gramatik is back on his own Lowtemp with the first chapter of the new Re Coil series, a new strain of tunes clearly inspired by sci-fi and the ubiquity of technology. You got six tunes to swell your noggin' good n' propah, kicking off with the suave and laid-back sway of "Future Crypto", which falls neatly into the far-out jazz vibes of Goldilocks Enigma" featuring Anomalie. "Aymo" goes for an Eastern look and feel, dropping some banging bhangra chills, while "Voyager Twins" and "Recovery" opt for more cosmic pastures, and "Halcyon" ties the final knot with a groovy little slice of upbeat nu-boogie for the dancefloor.
Review: Following up his previous release in quick succession, we see another Spooky Bizzle drop land in store, this time presenting a full length LP drop. The project consists of 12 absolute scorchers, showcasing and explaining just how important Spooky has been to grime as both a DJ and producer over the years. From the skippy drum textures of the title track 'Moonlight', to the almost 80's inspired synth work of 'The Care Bears Nightmare' and then back to the mellow bass slides of 'Hot Shot', this album will definitely hold a few surprises for a lot of people. There is however one clear stand-out from the project, and with it's release being so highly anticipated, it would be wrong to not bring up 'Peckham To Hackney' with Boylan, one of the strongest instrumental grime collaborations of the last 10 years.
Review: After landing a powerful EP with the Tru Thoughts team earlier in the year, the one and only Crafty 893 makes his return to the imprint with three more corkers to enjoy. We kick off with '100 Racks', a trap-style roller, driven by a flutey instrumental and Crafty's wealthy use of lyricism. Next, the legendary Sir Spyro arrives to provide some colourful production assistance on 'Crafty 893 & Sir Spyro', unleashing some classic grimey energy before Big Zuu lands with a super impactful vocal addition on 'Back It' to round off another powerful selection. Top stuff!
Review: Two stone cold Coki/DMZ classics from the golden 2007s. The rapid flow of Vybz Kartel's "Emergency" is given full focus as Coki lays down subtle rolling snares and an icy leads with enough space for the Kartel's strong characters. Coki's famous shake-up of Mavado, meanwhile, is known to all; far-away bass groans, ricochet snares and elements so cosmic they still sound futuristic almost 10 years later. Never officially released digitally before now, grab a two walloping slices of history today.
