Review: What a link up we have here as the super creative Amit links up with the incredibly consistent production power of J:Kenzo for two tracks of heavyweight 140BPM fire. We begin with the haunted introduction of 'Acid Trip', which provides us with a spacey, bouncing arrangement, leading us towards a crescendo of jittering moogy bassline energy, topped with progressive drum expansions and a high energy groove throughout. On the flip, 'Righteous' sees the pair link up again with a more half-time feel as the lo-fi yet industrial sound drum designs and let loose amidst a dungeon-like atmosphere to provide some serious variation.
Review: Now this sure is an exciting one, as we see AMIT land on Amar for a tidy new two track project, showcasing his absolutely wizardry within the D&B bracket. The project itself is a great example of AMIT's creativity, as 'Points In Time' kicks us off with some rave-ready, hardcore inspired siren-like lead synthesizers, firing off above a constantly evolving drum arrangement below. On the flipside, we take a more dubwise path as 'Wake Dub' combines reggae dub themes with pulsating bass tones and spacey drumwork to give us another belter. Lovely stuff.
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: There's no one iller than Danny Scrilla... Fresh from his debut album and Sam Binga collab on Cosmic Bridge, the German spell-binder makes his debut on Amit's AMAR with four bendy beat fusions. "All Thumbs" is the sound of melting music boxes flickering and burning in 808 flames, "Maelstrom" takes us much deeper into Danny's tubular bass universe and "Quasar" folds up a piece of jazz into tiny pieces before throwing it up into the air and letting it unfold like some type of dreamy parachute. Finally we climax with the swaggering data-drenched swagger jam "BFG900", a freaky world where Roald Dahl's much loved giant and the Terminator make great bedfellows.
Review: Amar superstar Amit takes us to his leader with two more dynamite bass cuts. "Thakurs Army" marches us into a bleak, unforgiving future with heavily swung kicks, ricochet percussion and bass textures so gnarly you need a shower after playing it. "Taylor Dub" ups the tempo to halftime territory with a dense slo-mo stomp vibe that flickers in ghosts of jungle past in a similar way to his 2015 cut "Operator". Immense.
Review: Von D's been busy lately, and it's not surprising to us given just how effective this man's strain of dubstep is to the ears of any unsuspecting label owner. The producer brings some dread-out lion vibes to the AMAR imprint, starting off with the heartical steps of "Burn Baphomet", a dark, pounding hammer of bass with the occasional Rasta chant. "Les 12 Colonnes" retains all that excellent jah spirit, except here the rhythm is bouncier, more system-friendly, and no doubt played out by the likes of Iration Steppas or Jah Youth when they're in a mood to step!
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: Halftime warrior Amit returns with more skank-packed slo-mo drum & bass. "Spring Cuttah" is Amit at his warmest, sunniest and Tubbiest; weighty plodding kicks and soulful sighing sax, it's a true nodder of a jam. Remix-wise Bristolian headhunter Addison Groove mashes up last year's heavily supported halftime cut "Operator" with even more amen angularities. Incredible scenes.
Review: When it comes to deep dubby halftime, few labels are as reliable, forward-thinking or exciting as Amit's Amar. Here we find the label boss giving Scrilla the keys to last summer's hummer "Fatty Batty". Adding more melodic layers and cool double-ups on the kicks, Danny's turned in the perfect remix that pays respect to the original while taking it further into pastures unknown. Flip for "Lighter", a straight up dubwise joint with a kick so steady, reliable and dependable it could give you a reference for a mortgage. Serious.
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: Finally... Someone's written a track about your mum: "Operator" is a sweet, sassy slice of modern jungle with wounding slo-mo kicks decorated with pretty splashes of amens and trimmed with delicious sub bass. "Fatty Batty" meanwhile, which is definitely not written about your mum, is a ridiculously funky contemporary bass jam with thundering kicks, cheeky horns and a groove so chunky you could feed a family of four for a year... And still have leftovers.
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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