Having been first founded back in October 2016, the 1Forty imprint has quickly pushed and risen to the upper echelon of bass, garage and grime labels currently operating in the UK scene. The founder and head honcho of 1Forty: Lockt, is known for his innovative collaborative approach to the label’s discography, always finding unique and creative link ups that the scene has been yet to see. The roster features a range of artists across grime and garage, including the likes of Zed Bias, Trigga, Chimpo, Prizma, Fish & Sherry S, Hamdi, Logan and more, with the output always improving. In 2021, MPH & Coco’s collaboration ‘Levelz 2 Dis’ became the label’s most successful project to date, featuring on numerous television platforms and gaining international acclaim. As far as labels go, there aren’t many that have roots planted in so many different areas of underground dance music, with the future of 1Forty looking better each and every day.
Review: When 1Forty decide to put together a bass EP, they do it in style, with this 9th edition of their bass compilation series unveiling four old school warblers. We open up with the explosive combinations of Avaword & TRC, who deliver a niche-inspired throwback, lashed together with high energy LFO sweeps and aggressive vocal displays, followed by the dancefloor rumbling rolls of 'Don't Run', seeing Killjoy & Manny Mashup join forces in style. Next, more old school flavour as 'Warpin' Hell' sees J69 strip the sound back to its roots, followed by a more futuristic look at 4x4 from IndiAlman & Arth.exe entitled 'Tooled Up', closing off this project with a dash of new energy.
Review: It's been a short while since we last heard 1Forty on a grime tip, with this latest four track offering seeing them return to their 140-inspired roots with a collection of serious rave rollers. First up, Avaword & Frost deliver an eskimo-inspired instrumental in '7AM' with a blistering display of intense lyricism. Raybee and Rakjay then switching the vibe to a much more sublow bubbler in 'Where The Bar Is' next. We then jump into 'B.D.B', a serious system rattler provided by Buckley, jam-packed with sizzling subby energy, with Untrodden Grove's 'Abbies Nightmare' original then giving us an overpowering bass bullet to close.
Review: To add to their incredibly versatile catalogue, the 1Forty crew are back in business, entering 2023 with a vibrant exploration into bassline's current motives, unleashing four original skankers on their 8th 'Bass' compilation. First up, The Illustration joins forces with Breeza for a rave-ready singalong, linking otherworldly synth lines with catchy vocal toasting, before the ever-ready J69 let's fly a serious warbler in 'Letter To 09', paying homage to the niche-inspired sounds that came before. From here, Dark Moon arrives with a slightly slower slap in 'Transmit', a grizzly metallic crunch, fusing gnarly bass squelches with low pitched vocal overlays, before Matt Brockman gives us a killer closer in 'Luv U Like', focussing on eerie vocal chops and steadily rising bass manoeuvres. Lovely stuff!
Review: One thing we absolutely love about the 1Forty crew is the fact that they will constantly alternate their genre approach, working between bass, garage, grime and dubstep and always pulling incredible collaborations out the bag. We open up with the gnarly synthetic twists and hard hitting vocal arrangements of 'Informa', which sees the enigmatic combinations of Hayz & Josef team up with the legendary Killa P with hard hitting results. Next, Murder He Wrote & Logan team up to forge together a rave-ready weapon, stopped in old school toybox style synths and shuffling drum patterns, before Warwick sends us back into a wave of nostalgia with bubbling melodics toots and grimey bass expressions of 'Redux'. Finally, Fork And Knife makes his return to the label with a spicy box of fun in 'Dune', linking harsh horn stabs with vibrant percussive bites for a wavy closer!
Review: It's that time of the year again as 1Forty roam back into the realms of Funky & UKG with four summer-ready rumblers, jam-packed with bubbling flavour from start to finish. We open up with a starboy combination as Gemi provides the backdrop for Snowy's high energy vocal displays on 'Answer', a party-starting creation, perfect for festival season with some serious sing-along vibes, all wrapped in Gemi's scorching UKG arrangement below. From here, we dive into the depths of bassy abandon as 'Sequencing' sees Arma unleashing a pulsating display of snare-driven rhythm and gnarly sub pulses, before the constantly shifting reese-lines of Edward White's 'London City' are let loose to cause chaos in the dance. Finally, Richard Wright arrives for an old school induction on 'Trust Meh', a bulbous fusion of tight drum processing, rave-lifted vocal samples and dizzying subs below, all working together for a fabulous finale. Lovely stuff!
Review: It's been a hot minute since we last saw the super consistent 1Forty crew make a foray into the realms of bass music, with this most recent V/A being another solid example of just how well they understand the sound. We begin with a potent link up as Forca joins the sounds of the legendary DJ Pantha on 'Reload', giving us a serious dosage of original niche 4x4 energy, doused in nostalgia and high energy vocal runs, before the jittering chords and sweeping LFO pulses of The Phat Controlla's 'You're Mine'. The energy levels only increase as we then move forward, with J69 providing some dancefloor heat with the bubbling melodies of 'Take It Back', followed by a wizzy outro track from Lil Milly & Manny Mashup, letting loose a barrage of lethal synthesizer pulses on 'The Steppa'.
Review: Across their now extensive catalogue of genre-based releases, we always get the most excited for the grime drops as label owner Lockt gets busy putting together some fiery collaborations. First up, 1Forty regular Hayz arrives with a nostalgic grimey roller, topped by the legendary Roachee and super hard hitting Armour, who arrive with a ballistic vocal performance for 'Link With Dem'. This intro sets the levels high, but is still matched by Fork & Knife, who is joined by Jon E Clayface for a secondary showcase of grizzly grime energy on 'Come Correct'. Both of the vocals are lethal, but that's not all that's in the bag as Hayz then returns with the eastern inspired melodic twists and rave-ready synth work of 'Kyoto'. Finally, Josef supplies with uniquely produced sizzler in 'Shining', rounding off another very impressive body of work from the 1Forty crew!
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