1985 Music is a forward-thinking electronic music label with its roots cemented in 170 / 85bpm and beyond. Founded by Alix Depauw aka Alix Perez in 2016, the London-based label has seen stand out releases from the likes of: Dogger, Fracture, Halogenix, Hyroglifics, Mindstate, Monty, Skeptical, Spectrasoul, Visages... and of course, the big bossman Perez himself. Expect anything from deep soulful D&B flavours to moody minimal rollers, half-time steppers and the occasional weighty dubstep production thrown in for good measure. Perez also drives the label’s overall creative output, monochrome aesthetic and popular merch range.
Review: Few artists cover the bass hinterland with such brazen badness as Napes. Rising up on labels like Born On Road and OCC, his sound has developed into a brutalist fusion of breaks, grime, jungle and dnb that transcends the usual categories. Now making his debut on 1985, he levels up once again with powerful results... 'Shooters Hill' is all about those switches and bendy basses, 'Déjà vu 93.2' slinks with the swagger, 'North Road' is a Zinc style tear-up made of pure venom and diesel while 'Tokyo Drifting' closes with big synth strikes and even bigger chops. Militantly brilliant.
Review: Man like Submarine goes another fathom deeper for this stunning new collection on 1985. 'All I Need' is the dreamer of the bunch... All hazy vocals and floaty pads. Elsewhere 'Kowai' hits hard with its stark, dark, stripped back attitude and 'Spark Up' is pure techstep attitude that sounds like Virus revisited in the 2020s. Finally 'Weaver Walk' sends us skyward with its interesting drums and trippy textures and FX. Submarine is a genuinely unique individual.
Review: 1985 Music delivers another standout release, and Cesco's 'Fake EP' is no exception. This offering is a bold journey through innovative soundscapes, further cementing the label's reputation for pushing boundaries. Opening up we dive into 'Big Fi Dem', a thunderous introduction alongside the skippy vocal mastery of 'Sparkz', followed by a sizzling D&B roller of a title track. From here, we jump back into the 140 space as Sepia joins the party on 'Bulletin', a ferocious chop through warbling synth flaps and moody subs, with 'Ahyeah' then giving us the final juicing across a uniquely arranged roller. Fiery work!
Review: 1985 doing the business once again! As if an album from the bossman Alix wasn't quite enough heavy hittage for the season, along comes a brand new VA series 'Fragment'. Like previous collection concepts 'Atlas' and 'Codex', the 'Fragment' runs the full genre gamut to take in all tempos and bass variations. The result is an amazing collection that ranges from wonderful barbed soul like Alix's 'Bloomsbury' to Quartz's pure evil Headz-flavoured slammer 'Show Me Something'. On a deeper / slower tip Ebb & Headland's high voltage grizzler 'Less Talky' and Drone's 'Fiendish' are aggy as heck. Don't sleep on this, 'Fragment' will make you whole again.
Review: Alix Perez reappraising, reconstructing and revitalizing the soulful and deep dnb corners of his palette for a whole album? Now we're being spoilt! This man has had such a big influence on the new cats coming through and here he reminds us how it's done. Each cut is a timeless stroll perambulating around Vibe Island with heavier spots flaring up every now and then in the form of the growing 'R2R' and the pensive 'Dark Pulse'. Meanwhile on the prettier, more musical side of his sound, cuts like 'In Your Eyes' and 'Kauri' are destined to live on USBs for years. Maybe even eons. Get entangled in this one.
Review: It's clear that there is something in the water over at 1985 HQ, with this sumptuous selection from Onhell leaving sonic destruction in its wake as it pummels forward. First up, 'Black Candle', a system busting sweep through gnarly reese synths, before Chunky arrives for a well devised vocal performance on 'More Money, More Time'. Another collaboration pops up next as Visages arrives for some killer combination work on 'Lotadao', a face-melting chop through crunchy synth scrunches, before the slower paced drum pops and pulsating subs of 'Sandia' see us to the closing point. Top work across the board!
Review: It was only a matter of time... Paige Julia has been laying down the law in NZ with her subversive take on dnb, 160 and all things breakbeat for some time now. When Perez moved his equally provocative, boundary-burning imprint over there from UK a few years back, this was always going to happen and it was always going to bang. Ranging from the stealthy creeper opener 'Anathema' to the jazzier, free-spirited drumfunk closer 'Touarangi', Paiges goes in with a vibe that totally complements 1985 while sounding wholly her own. Scorchio.
Review: Whenever we see the 1985 Music banner sailing into port, we know we are in for a good time, especially when it carries goods of the level of these from VIsages, who continues to impress with another killer 4 track drop. We open up with the title track 'Dol Guldur', a gnarly fusion of metallic bass tones, neurotic drums and spiced up vocals, followed by Snowy's high energy vocal performance on 'Evidently', a serious grimey throwback. Next, the more ethereal vocal slides and mind-melting synth pads of 'Panacea' flip the themes of the EP right on their head, with a killer vocal appearance from Killa P on 'The Most' giving us the final dash of juice to round this EP off in serious style.
Review: Once again, the legendary skill sets of Alix Perez are on show for all to see, with this sizzling new collection of 140 rollers looking like another monumental collection from 1985 Music. First up, Psychosis gives us a swampy stomp through gnarly bass drones and bone-chilling atmospheric excitations, followed by Flowdan's killer appearance on 'Militia', a more abstract tweak fest across metallic reverberations and hard hitting, poetic lyricism. Next, glittering synth work gives us more rumbling goodness on 'Circadian', which sees Visages join the party, before Ebb lands of 'Hazchem' for one final smokey spike of original stepper flavour. Top stuff all around
Review: As ever, the fire of the 1985 banner continues to blaze strong, this time welcoming the explosive sounds of HIJINX inside, delivering a scintillating four track sizzler, dripping in original electronic flavour. We open up with the slower-paced, moody sub slides of 'Danger', a gnarly initiation into HIJINX's unique take on the dubstep spectrum, followed by the earth shattering twists of 'Swarm', a serious, synth-driven slam. Next, Cesco joins the party for the slightly swampier bass notation of 'Attention', before the title track 'Macabre', gives us a moody slink through more eerie backdrops and pulsing synth stabs, closing off this masterclass in real style.
Review: The 1985 team have consistently delivered a top notch array of both neurotic D&B flavours and lethal dubstep collections, with this latest offering from Cesco being another great addition to their 140 arm. First up, 'GITP', is an anthemic opener, taking a super catchy vocal line and layering it with silky synthetic magic, before Bidl joins the party on 'Overdue', a behemoth-like bounce through gnarly reeses and fragrant low ends. Next, a more juke-inspired switch up as 'Up The Place' unloads high energy drum rolls and more vocal slices, before Hamdi touches down for a ferocious collaboration in 'Swing King', a final bulbous barge to close things off in style.
Review: Around the world in 12 wubs; Alix Perez's superlative 1985 continues to dig deeper and deeper into our psyche with the third volume of their faultless Atlas VA series. As always, the tempos are set to flexible as we slide and glide between the style and speeds courtesy of some incredible names... Cesco brings some proper dark UKG on 'Superstealth', Sir Hiss gets angular with the electroid funk of 'Shower Man Time', Visages go all slinky and futurist on 'Margit' while the bossman Perez and GLXY link up for something truly sexy and soulful with 'Green Lane'. All this and so much more, from Rockwell & Scepticz to Settle Down to Eprom, this is yet another exceptional adventure from the 1985 crew.
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