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: 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.
Review: It's not outlandish to suggest that a collaborative display from both Alix Perez and Headland, two of the most innovative in the game, would cause a serious riot. Across eight tracks of genuine sonic wizardry, we explore the deepest and darkest realms of electronic sound design, from the murky synthesiser players of both 'Mirage' Parts 1 & 2, alongside the earth-shattering sub squelches of 'Shuriken' and mind-numbing rhythmic approach of '1024'. It's a truly wondrous collection, pushing the boundaries of sound design to entirely new realms, with our highlights including the uniquely designed flutters of 'Coco', the gut punching subs of 'Elk's Point', the unique rhythmic jolts of 'Hellion' and of course 'The Grove' in all of it's breathy beauty.
Review: As one of Bristol's brightest dubwise sparks, it's always exciting to see Drone return to action, this time around unloading a full length album project, courtesy of the legendary 1985 imprint. In short, it's a masterful display of sonic development, from the slower, more grungy introductory squelches of 'Cyclone' through to the face-melting synth swipes of 'Burnt Lungs' and grime drum-skips of 'The Swamp'. From start to finish, this project showcases Drone's innate ability to to deliver high energy originals, both solo and in collaboration with the likes of Alix Perez, Deft, Snowy, Emz & Nah Eerto. Our highlights have to include the juke-driven carnage of 'Jugtown' alongside Hyroglifics, which packs an energetic slap, next to the euphoric embrace of 'Always' which sees Notion join the party for a lively link up. Overall, pure awesomeness!
Review: It's seemingly an impossibility for the 1985 crew to deliver a lacklustre release, with Submarine giving us an immediate injection of high octane energy on this sizzling display. We open up with the raucous reesey goodness of 'Back Then', a real crunchy combination of tidy percussion and unpredictable bass scrunches. Following this, the high energy levels continue to grow as more of those stunning electronic synth sweeps roll into view on 'Show Me The Way', with 'Physical' then giving us another bite of techy flavour. We then close the project out with a listen to 'Mint Lips', a face wrecker of a riddim, taking unique vocal processing and scattergun synthesiser stabs to bring us a truly mesmerising display of original drum and bass innovation. Awesome work!
Review: It's always an exciting thing to witness a new 1985 bombshell land in the store, with this monstrous four track display from some of the most vibrant names in 140 being no exception to that. First up, the blobby warbles and siren-like synthesiser melodies of Ebb's 'Corrosive Soul' arrive with a major bag of oomph, giving us a swampy swinger to kick off proceedings. Next, label maestro Aliex Perez unleashes a sub-heavy warbler in 'Pulsate', pushing any speakerbox to it's low end limit, before Headland re-ignites the party flavour with the slower paced glitchy gulps of 'Guillotine' for a major sonic switch up. Finally, Samba gets busy with a gnarly piece of gristle as 'Six To Six' lets fly a gnarly combination of synths and drum slaps, rounding off the project with a weighty finish.
Review: At long last, French crew Visages drop their debut album and it's a powerful blend of tempos and styles, weaved together class and murky dark sonic mastery. From the woozy, dubstep swagger of the opener 'MK Ultra' to the stunning harmonics and dreamy soul of the finale 'Gaia' by way of a whole range of emotions in between, this is an exceptional debut album that says so much over so few tracks. High five to Visages and 1985.
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