Review:
After a brief absence, we are super excited to see the Titanium Audio team return in full force as they pull in the services of the highly sought after: Creep N00m. The russian grime revolution has become a serious player amongst grime producers, defining his weighty sound with real efficiency. We begin with the monstrous tones of 'Trotyl' before rolling into the demonic 808 rolls of 'Patch'. Next up the project takes a dubstep diversion as 'Doom' runs wild with evil weighted subs and lethal LFO growls before the EP is rounded off with 'Cyrax', a droning wildfire, designed to bring the heat to any 140 dance.
Review:
Zygos makes his return to releasing with a gem of an EP here as he teams up with Rarefied on his brand new SFG project. At first the evocative eastern inspired melodies and shuffling bass and drum movements of the title track 'SFG' take the lead, before dropping into the more syncopated and darkened arrangements of 'Forward', driven by its hypnotic spacial textures. We then finish up the EP with an outstanding collaboration alongside Soukah entitled 'Late Night Escort', which allows itself to be driven by a pile of dubbed organic percussion and yet more hypnotic texture loops.
Review:
The Deep Dark & Dangerous movement is starting to become a frightening prospect, as they put together yet another storming release, this time alongside St Louis native: Rez. From start to finish the EP is a dubsteppers delight, as we tuck into the delicious designs of the title track 'The Valley', followed by the minimized growls of 'Item 9' and incredibly punchy drum/ reese combos of 'One By One'. From here we step into the evil atmosphere and metallic bass maneuvers of 'Borders & Boundaries' before finishing up with the matured percussive rolls and spacious drum work of 'Diagon Alley'. This is a great overall project and yet another instant classic from the DD&D team!
Review:
2017 has been an incredible year for Zha's White Peach imprint, with a plethora of high profile releases hitting stores at regular intervals. The latest in this impeccable line comes from Bristol's own; Bengal Sound. The title track is a work of art, with heavily swung mysterious eastern sounding samples and rolling hi hats taking the lead. We move quickly from that to dubstep fueled artillery with '2 Worlds' which focusses on tremendously heavy sub frequencies and unpredictably skippy drum arrangements. The EP continues with the dubstep theme as we move onto the B-side with 'Silence Soundboy'. This one is pleasingly reminiscent of early DMZ releases, bringing the combination of subs and space out to play. Finally we wrap up with the haunting dub-infused arrangement of 'Pablo'. This one is ghastly, with plenty of percussive and melodic vibrancy lurking just below the swampy surface. This one is definitely another winner from the seemingly unstoppable White Peach brand!
Review:
Not content with absolutely smashing the game with their Deep Dark & Dangerous label this year, Truth return to one of their strongest spiritual homes: Deep Medi Music. Naturally they're packing some serious sentiments: "Lion" is a pounding roller that chugs with an industrial strength toxic bassline and demonic call from Teklife's Taso. "Messages" flips the situation for a much lighter, mystical and spatial exploration with fluttering break echoes and unhurried, yearning chords. Finally we're knocked seasick by the slobbering kicks and boa-like bass of "Ruffneck" which doesn't so much as live to up to its name but sets a new benchmark in dangerous, knife-edge ruffneckism. Powerful frequencies.
Review:
As far as labels go, there aren't many that can boast such a productive year as Zha's 'White Peach' imprint. Throughout the year they have worked tirelessly to provide us with forward thinking dubstep and grime from both established high flyers and blossoming newcomers. They round their year off with this fantastic selection from London's own dubstep don: Mr. K. The title track 'One Skin' is a powerhouse dubby roller, equipped with perfectly timed delays and unpredictable syncopated percussion. We roll straight from that into the monstrous sub-driven march of 'Take Time'. On the B Side we have two more absolute belters by way of the more wonky sounds the sit upon 'Real Time' featuring Le Lion and mega weighty arrangement of 'Inca'. This one screams instant classic.
Review:
This is the first time that Egoless and Von D team up for an EP, but already we can hear them syncing up perfectly thanks to their love for deep and sweltering UK bass. In all honesty, Von D's "Analog Sound" is a traditional dubstep tune, the sort of heavyweight swelter that knocks you from side to side and gets your head nodding from pure kinetic instinct - this will surely go down well at the DMZ showdowns. Egoless' "Bubble Beat" is something slightly different and, although it is also part of the 'classic' dubstep template, the tune breaks that groove pattern into something quirkier, more leftfield and reminiscent of Egoless' other choice material.
Review:
Bristol's Joker is without a doubt one of the most respected 140 based producers in UK dance music, constantly bringing fresh flavours to the forefront of the scene with his unique ability to sniff out a quirky melody. Here we see him team up with Newham Generals' own: Footsie for a dubstep driven tearout with beefy lead synths and super crunchy drums topped with trapstyle lyricism. We are also treated to 'Polka Dot', a shuffling gem of melodic genius, made up of experimental chord progressions and skylined synthesis.
Review:
Released over the course of 18 months, dubstep OG Caspa's "Vibrations" series has been a wild ride. All tailored for those intimate dark rooms and well tuned systems, the 10 track project has been nothing but serious heavyweight underground stinkage and an exercise in unapologetic rawness. From the still thrilling operatives and brazenness of "Get Higher" to the techno like creeper "Ruff House Rose" and the beautifully freaky and tripped out the latest and last Vibration track "Don't Watch Man", this is the sound of a man who's flown the flag harder than most of his peers put together. The series is over but the vibes live forever.
Review:
Signature drop Calibre's best work to date with "Steptoe." A deft halfstepper that displays rigid programming and sumptuous bass weight, this is a subtle killer from Calibre. It has hint of jungalism and the peaceful melodies set it apart from the rest of his work. B-side "Silence" is less refined but rolls out a worthy number in itself.
Review:
Don Mclean could learn a trick or two from New Zealand's Headland; you could drive a Chevy (or any other brand of motor vehicle) up this "Levy" all day long and it'll never go dry. A true marching tune that gradually rises in intensity without ever losing its stately pace, it's the type of tune that was tailored for nights like System or DJs like Amit. Elsewhere we get seasick with the trippy glitches on "Seen" before going all-out darkside with the haunted humanisations on the foreboding "Cold Warning". Seriously heavy duty stuff as always from Headland. Man's having his pie and eating it right now.
Review:
Stockholm's Eva808 returns to the ever-juicy White Peace with her first full EP for the label. Following the damage and soul exploding sounds of her Encrypted EP last year, once again it's a woozy unpredictable affair: "Oyuki" is a seasick damager with its warped textured and slurring momentum while the string-snapping "Empress" is straight out of Hitchcock's playbook. "Ro$e Gold" and "You Don't" play perfect counterpoint as hazier soft-focus antidotes to her peaktime venom. The former is like being in a church under the sea while "You Don't" is like having honey poured in your ears. TIP.
Review:
Last seen flexing on the likes of DUPLOC, White Peach and Version Collective, Mr K's credentials speak for themselves. As do his precision murk-raking, infectious compositions. Take "Fidget", a stripped back wriggler that recalls the days of FWD with its sleazy bass bends and toxic addictive hook. Elsewhere we hit the pensive sunrise walk through the loneliest of graveyards that is "No Air", we're submitted into the abyss with the purring spatial dynamics of "Focus" before closing out with a little mystic science and rudimental dub aesthetics on "Where I". A serious label debut; we reckon we'll be seeing more of Mr K on Truth's triple D imprint very very soon...
Review:
After that recent killer EP for Vision Collective, Hebbe lands on his native Subway imprint with four ice-cold dubstep licks for the corner dwellers. In fact, this is some pure rewind gear too, if we want to get all technical! "Dubmedika" literally stutters its bouncing bass bumps across glitchy percussion swings, while "Flute Song" unleashes a wavy haze of smoke in the air not too dissimilar to the sort found in Dutch jungles. Our man then teams up with Samba on "Subway", a harder, more imposing piece of steppers, leaving "Shanty Town" to provide the 'outernational' vibes thanks to a more swinging, more off-kilter set of percussion jingles. LUSH.
Review:
The creative genius that is Joker is at it again and ever, it's weird, wonderful and completely unpredictable. This two tracker comes to us courtesy of kapsize and kicks off with the incredible sound design and rhythmic presence of 'Boat'. We hear evil reese-like leads shimmering away amidst sharp percussive stabs and subtle melodies. On the flip side we hear 'Deploy' which is a throwback to early Dub Police styles with it's gritty leads oscillating alongside intense pitch bends and emotive chord progressions. Joker has shown once again why he is rated so very highly!
Review:
Time for a latter platter; Utah abyss explorers Durandal and Funkmod make their debut on the mighty DND with five stinking bass creepers. Vibes range from soaking wet frog bass and alien weirdness on "Choomah Dub" to pressure cooked bounce dynamics and shimmering skanks on "Wise Up". Need more you greedy animal? Jump on their remix of Pushloop. Pure filth.
Review:
Coming through on the likes of Eatbrain, Methlab, Shogun and Vandal, it was only a matter of time before French firesmith Signs appeared on Division. He's brought out his gnarliest finery for the occasion, too, as we're flung and flipped chaotically amid the abyssal space between the futuristic halftime beats. From the warped atonal prang outs and slimy drums of "Strangers" to creeped out vocal manipulations and trippy block-knocking rhythm of "Paper Bag" via the sludgy robot march and broken glass shatters of "Purple Frog", Signs has cooked up something seriously sick right here. Time to go skinny dipping.
Review:
Erstwhile Global Communication guru and wonderfully unpredictable man about the dance, Mark Harmonic 313 Pritchard has dusted off the old jungle spirit, pitched it down and re-sampled it with a harder dancefloor step. Armed with a groove so booty shakingly beautiful he's supplied a naked instrumental and two MC-led licks, this is 313 at his most sprightly and party-minded. If you're looking for something deeper, darker and MC-free then head for "Dutty Bounce". The name says it all.
