Review: Let's just list the amount of stone cold bass OGs on this collection: Krust, dBridge, Om Unit, Danny Scrilla, V.I.V.E.K, Von D, Moresounds, AU, Oris Jay & Chris Innersound and whole load more of soundsystem culture's most innovative craftsman working at the deepest levels of the low end coalface all feature on this immense and forward thinking document. Including the curator Amit himself. Every track is a highlight, each one and abyssal, immersive experience but essential highlights include the toxic bass bounces of Moresounds' "They Can't Handle It", the 23rd century UKG of Oris and Chris's "They Can't Handle It" and Krust's big screen masterpiece "Escape From Finland". Amit deserves a holiday. Or a massive trophy. Or both. Bass compilations don't get much bigger than this.
Review: The one and only Gremlinz returns to Amit's Amar under his AU guise and he's packing three more stark bone-tremblers. "Io" (with Jesta) slams with balls-out drums and an iced vibe so cold you could swear you've been locked in a chiller cabinet for the last five years. "Sunshot" takes us to even moodier pastures as AU and Untouchables swathe through the murky halftime swamp with toxic abandon. Finally "Dalphago" (with fellow Torontarian Champion Handsome) is a spacious alien stepper with a two-step so chiselled you'd swear Photek's been battering you in your sleep. Who knows... Maybe he has?
Review: We're not sure where Amit found Shrlok but thankfully he has, because this really is a remarkable piece of work. Launching with a full album, no serious detective work is needed to understand where he's at musically, what he's capable of and why we should all be paying attention. From the cinematically rich and trippily textured opener Therianthropy to very last delicate wave of the finale "Song With No Name" by way of cosmic synth soul ("Space Walk") or the finger-clicking hymnal funk of "Told You", Shrlok's set up a unique store from the off. Checking this is simply elementary...
Review: Following two killer releases from label boss Amit and Nomine's "Empty Rooms", Amar wraps up its busiest (and best) year to date with two contrasting slices of modern day jungle... And introduces brand new talent in the process: Canadian newcomer AU. "Fear Dem" is a moody halfstep slapper drenched in Collinjah's soundclash-primed dancehall vocal while "Oncle Arm" is a jugular-cutting slab of classic jungle complete with Headz-style textures, growling bass and eerie samples. A very strong debut.
Review: For Andrew Ferguson's first release away from Tempa his Nomine alias surfaces on AMAR, and to add that extra statistic, it's the first release from another artist to appear on AMIT's label. Opening track "Voodoo Native" is all about tribal drums that are made to fit a linear techno mould, while 9er's rhymes in the bass, clap and breakdown heavy "99 Aachen" will appeal to all you Phi-Life Cypher fans out there. Drums are stripped, atmospheres are tense and pianos are blurry in the title-track, while "Closed Door" is UK bass music made for a sewer rave.
Review: Amit's AMAR imprint seems to be operating on a release-per-year tactic right now - all of them landing in the spring coincidentally - but with the quality as high as this, we're not complaining. "The Hunted" is a nasty techno-meets-jungle drone-march. Imagine someone punching you through tar. "Chalvey Town" is a similar slo-mo affair but with less mid-bass and more treacle-like sub and the right amount of dub elements. "Survivor" is an awesome vocal cut that's straight out of the Massive Attack playbook while "Mind Over" shows us how AMIT does tech house; all stampy and paranoid, it's the type of cut you could easily imagine the likes of Steve Bug or Villalobos playing. Four killer stories... It's up to you to find the happy endings.
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