Review: Alert: another Actual Sounds release has arrived! New school nu-skool breaks, if there ever was such a thing! These guys are not messing around and here's why: They start off with a block rockin' remix of "Twist & Shout", "Cypress Pills" is, well... But wait there is more: "2Pac Wine" is a mashup on "Red Red Wine" and a rap by the late great rapper. Elsewhere "Get Your Hold On" mashes up in style again merging Missy Elliot and Kanye, "Love The Police" samples N.W.A. over some fierce Meat Katie style breaks and we'd best not forget "Buttersweet Symphony" which samples 'that' famous track by The Verve over some more fierce breakbeats for U.K. dancefloors. The definitive party starter!
Review: Big booty business: Actual Sounds cherry picks 20 favourites from 2014's audio assault with party-priming results. A great opportunity to fill the gaps in your collection; highlights hang mischievously from every corner like groove Gremlins from Altered Grooves' monster-mashing "Muppet Funk" to Big Bang Breaks hip-hop homage "Regulate The Dogg" to Actual Phantom's essential montage soundtrack "Fly Tiger". From Rocky to straight-up block rocking, this is testament to Actual Sounds' dedication to edit craft.
Review: Four of Actual Sounds' most accomplished bootlegateers unleash their best blends for this exclusive four-tracker. Party insanity is guaranteed from the off: "Ice In Outer Space" fuses The Prodigy with Ice T, "Muppet Funk" takes the Animal's classic solo piece "Mahna Mahna" and charges it with a cool funk break, "The Real Ritz" grabs Eminem and flips him back to 1920s prohibition US while "Regulate The Dogg" closes the show with a very smooth marriage of "Drop It Like It's Hot" and Nate Dogg and Warren G's "Regulate". Seriously fruity funk: Each one is a peach.
Review: Premium booty-busters Actual Sounds unleash their mysterious in-house reversionista for this staggering 35 track compendium. Oozing references that sing back to dance music's most formative funky days, across the collection we're treated to versions of every possible dancefloor fave. From the bass-belching breakbeat take on Goldie's "Inner City Life" to the swinging filtered funk flex of Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" via a roof-demolishing rip off Baby D's "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" Actual Phantom has a repertoire that will make all music lovers smile with both nostalgia and total hedonism. Bootlegs are ten a penny in this game, but few are crafted and packaged with as much care and attention as this.
Review: If you want breakbeat to soundtrack your New Year's Eve celebrations this year than Actual Sounds' 72-track Best Of 2013 compilation is 'the' release. This compilation features heavy inclusions from Spinback Harry, Funk You Very Much, Big Bang Breaks and Actual Phantom, but also a whole host of other names such as Baby Love, Stex, Rory Hoy, DJ Self and countless others. See 2013 out with a breakbeatin' bang.
Review: The Artist Series Volume 1 sees Actual Sounds gather together a bunch of their artists to provide an expansive selection of bootleg breaks, ghetto funk and jungle reworks of tracks from well-known artists, namely Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, The Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill. While there's a certain drunken office Christmas party silliness to the Fab Four reworks, the more hip-hop inclined reworks are much more successful. There are plenty of confirmed party-starters, from the synth-heavy P-funk breaks of Funky Wah Wah's "Beastie Noise (That's Resin Funk)", to Big Bang Breaks' multiple reworks of "Insane In The Brain" (the first of which, a straight-up party hip-hop take, is the bomb).
Review: When it comes to instant party pleasures, Star Wars' "Cantina Theme" will never stop giving. Case in point: this swashbuckling rendition from Ronald Aquinas. Setting the tone for the whole EP, it's an instant slice of hoe-down heaven. Elsewhere Ronald gives One Republic a slinky low-down bass twist on "Too Late" and gives The Box Tops a firing breakbeat sparkle on "Letter". Funk You Very Much, meanwhile, revisits Blur's "Song 2" with gung-ho hedonism, gives James Brown a contemporary sheen on "Turntable Sex" and takes a classic Les Rhythm Digitales joint and brings it kicking into the future. Exemplary booty business.
Review: One of the most successfully prolific bootleg dealers on the nu-funk scene, Actual Sounds celebrate half a decade of dancefloor hell raising with this epic 40-track compendium that showcases their most talented artists and most bolshy of booties. If you've not had the pleasure of making the label's acquaintance yet, now is most certainly the time. From slamming up-tempo rip-ups such as Actual Phantom's insane "Fat Eric" to slinkier, sleazier jams such as Funk In A Can's killer electro blend of Luniz "I Got 5 On It" Actual Sounds understand all members of the dancefloor from moody rudeboy to a laser-loving raver. Booties don't come with much more distinction than this; here's to another five years.
Review: 32 tracks heavy, Actual Sounds have curated the ultimate booty breaks package right here. Each and every rub is a highlight, taking influence and sample inspiration from the '50s onwards. From the Little Richard-sampling "Tooty Frooty" to Big Bang Breaks' super-sexy take on Khia's naughty "My Neck My Back" ("Pussy Popper"), no genre or decade is left un-plundered. Taking things bang up to date, there's even a respectable bootleg of "Get Lucky" courtesy of Actual Phantom. Exclusive to Juno, this truly is an insane party package.
Review: Big-assed bootleg business from the Actual Sounds crew... Big Bang Breaks revisits Public Enemy on "Bring Your Whistle" and Derrick May on "Swings Of Life". Meanwhile Funk You Very Much mixes up Randy Newman with Biggie Smalls on "Leaving Cali", gives The Doors a slap with glove of glitches on "Break The Doors" and gets jiggy on a two-step vibe with "Bop A Lot". Elsewhere we find Funky Wah Wah fusing Too Short's "Blow The Whistle" with a reggae version of Marvin Gaye on "Blow It Shorty". Hit 'em up... Then knock 'em down!
Review: If your record bag/CD wallet/hard drive (delete as appropriate) is flagging under the weight of soul-sapping breakbeat bootlegs and ill-advised ghetto funk remixes, help is at hand. This compilation from Actual Sounds does contain plenty of sneaky bootlegs and ghetto funk style reworks (including one that bites "Sweet Home Alabama"), but they're all of a much higher quality than we've come to expect of late. There are snappy trips into boogie breaks territory (Big Bang Breaks' "French Funk"), wobble-funk (a thunderous version of the Jacksons' "Rockin' Robin") and Madchester revivalism ("Free Soup"), not to mention a string of booty-licious ghetto funk stompers. If this doesn't wake you up, nothing will.
Review: Four volumes in seven months... Actual Sounds are ruthlessly efficient when it comes to showering the scene with fresh booty-shaking bootlegs. And it's business as usual as we're thrown around by the limbs to a 28-track strong selection of wide-eared funk fusions that range from an uptempo breakbeat cut n' shut of Nina Simone ("Ooh Baby") to Brooklyn era block busters ("Down With The King") via classic rave-meets-early house mashery ("A Bigbeat Treat"). A bargain and banging - these booties are keepers.
Review: There's something a little bit silly about this beefy mash-up extravaganza from Actual Sounds. Take lead cut "59th Street Groove", for example. Built around a ribcage-rattling wobble bassline and snappy breakbeats, it twice breaks down to reveal an extended Simon & Garfunkel sample. Really. It does work, mind. Elsewhere, you'll find a crunchy fusion of wobble-heavy hip-hop and funk-rock licks (Big Bang Breaks' "B Boy Flip Trick"), while Mr Mezdup sticks ten tons of TNT up the backside of Yes's party standard "Owner of a Lonely Heart". Wasted On Wax draw proceedings to the close with a heavy breakbeat tweak of Prince's oh-so-Balearic singalong "Raspberry Beret".
Review: Years ago, if someone offered you some street jam you'd have said no; jams made of pavement and general dirt just don't make the cut for an all-star breakfast. Then Actual Sounds comes along and your understanding completely changes. Gone is the gritty, fag butty, exhaust pipey grime and in comes the royal block-rocking fodder from some of Actual Sounds' finest funky upstarts. Comprising sneaky booties and authentic grooves, this 18-strong collection is a one-stop-shop to party town. Highlights include Mr Mezdup's percussion and glitch-heavy rub of The Specials "Ghost Town", Rory Hoy's high voltage acid attack "Hey!" and Freddy Fresh's beautiful seasonal sonic soliloquy "Summer's End".
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