Review: After a run of really well received original releases, J Shadow returns again with another highly experimental journey into future tech on this explosive two track selection courtesy of Car Crash Set. We begin by taking a look at the robotic expanses of the highly intuitive 'Hypnagogia', which weaves electronic creations together with stuttered industrial drum styles and unpredictable percussive stutters. On the flip side we are gifted 'IOK-1', a more breaksy driven composition, bringing some additional flavour, combining bleeps and blips with grinding moogy sub work in a really expansive composition.
Review: Car Crash Set welcome Cos BV back to their catalogue this week, although the producer is only back on executive terms, while the spotlight is taken by an interesting set of remixers. His "Knife" tune is remixed and rewired by all sorts of capable bass junkies, including his and 214's excellent dub version, a bundle of bass and irate vibrations, Ezekiel's killer broken beat cut, and the warm house waves provided by the Love Bites reinterpretation. Not one to miss from both label and artist!
Review: Car Crash Set is up with some crazy new sounds by their new badboy, Secundus. The young producer has done nothing but impress since he's landed on the imprint, instilling his own version of grime and nu-bass with great effect. This six-pack EP is a lesson in bass-making, twisting and winding all sorts of sci-fi sounds with a wide range of beats and breaks. This is a continuation of the UK hardcore continuum, along the lines of the Chicago footwork equation and, yes, the TRAP virus that has afflicted masses of dancers over the last few years. Quality assured.
Review: Nphonix and Car Crash Set go together like beats and bass, a perfect unison that forms a mutual bond with one another. The label has done well to pick him up for this four-tracker because these might just be the artist's best tunes yet, and a real testament to the level of creativity that is still taking place within UK dance music. "Hijack" is neither house nor dubstep, but manages to merge the two into seamless groove, and "Ijustdontunderstand" takes the same equation but adds a little garage sensitivity to into the formula. "IceVII" is a swinging, wall-to-wall house bomb with a heavy UK element at its core, leaving Gillepsy's remix of "Hijack" to offer a more traditional house approach. Mighty fine.
Review: Space trap meets cosmic juke by way of DJ Beeso updates his slim-but-satisfying repertoire with four more out-of-this-world cuts. "Hypnotic" lives up to its name with its woozy sample play and shuffling beats, "Searching" is a fizzy acid juke workout while "In Love2" takes us on a bumpy trip to a new universe with wavy, grainy synths. Finally "Zajj Lid2" brings the EP to a house-tinged close with dreamy vocal textures floppy softly to a hazy 4/4. Trippy yisting!
Review: The sparse and multi-faceted sounds of Computer Graphics return to Car Crash Set after three years away from the label. Best categorised under the wider house umbrella, these two tunes are best described as playful and experimental dance tracks. "Prospekt", is wobbly and off-kilter, but the sounds are fresh and summery enough to be enjoyed by passive listeners other than the house heads. "Experiment" is more of a broken groove, and although there is a 4/4 beat to push the track ahead, the sounds and quirkiness of the percussion render this a delight not just for dancing but also for listening and vibing out. Tip!
Review: GRRL returns to Car Crash Set with an extended EP of multi-faceted bass flavours that we're honestly quite into. The producer wastes no time in introductions or small talk and gets straight to the point with the machinegun percussion track that is "Warmup", followed by the comparatively housier 'Hands", and back then back to the violence again through "Do It". 'Whoa" is the killer in the mix, the tune bound for the rewind, and "Drop Ha" will satisfy fans of DJ Funk and the like. "Workouts itself" is loose but extremely effective at making you dance, and "Cooldown" feels like its natural continuation.
Review: Cos BV's Sunset EP boasts four tracks that seem to be culled from the soundtrack to a long lost 80s movie. Opener "Rock To The Rhythm" is a pumped up sun-kissed synth disco argument between an over distorted kick drum and super cheery keyboard riffs, "Palms Sway In The Evening Breeze" is indeed a breezy mellow jam with shimmering Fender Rhodes ripples, swimming pool synths and atmospherics galore. "Sundown" is an edgier cut full of 808s and an air of mistrust (the drug deal scene basically) and "Speed Dial" is a menagerie of twisted and broken old soul loops. Badass!
Review: Mysterious Japanese newcomer Doppio revs up to pole position with the militant, mechanical mastery of "Crash". All race-car traces, twisted engines and militant kicks, it should come with its own reinforced seatbelts. "Caxis" continues the rifle-like kicks with added industrial strength sheet-metal slaps. Finally "Carnival" takes elements of both (the kicks of "Crash" and metal clangs and bashes of "Caxis") and ties them together with ice-cold 22nd century bridges. Racy.
Review: It's just dawned on us that the Car Crash Set label has racked up a huge amount of releases by now, and they've gone from fledgling bass label, to a respectable powerhouse for new talents coming off the street! This time we have a newcomer, Duolo, who unleashes a three-headed attack on us; the first gun slinger is "White Dingo", a curbside banger made up of a gunshot percussion and raucous sonics, followed swiftly and aggressively by "Zeta Type A" and its jagged chords spewing out of broken beats. On the other hand, "Cryo" puts up a little jungle dance, and its bouncy stop-start riddim is filled with all sorts of breaks; last but not least, Cosby injects even more merciless gunshot trickery into his remix of "White Dingo".
Review: Car Crash Set, a label ever ahead of the curve, present the debut from US production duo Celoso. On the strength of "Already Know", the pair have a bright future ahead of them; combining lithe ghettotech beats, effervescent R&B influenced synth work and a vocal hook that gets right under your skin, it's an example of how to combine several well worn tropes and come up with something fresh. Meanwhile, Tectonic's Distal steps up to provide a typically hard to pin down remix; taking in juke and dubstep, his version of the title track places the chopped up vocal on top of some jackhammer kicks and an almost eastern melody, whose laid back feel is entirely at odds with the frantic rhythmic flow.
Review: Having previously had "The Bells" remixed by Girl Unit among others, Welsh funky merchants CRST return with a lean, stripped down VIP of "The Bells" which absolutely smacks you round the face with raw, focused club energy. With pitch perfect snares and motorik chords they really keep the funk fresh on a tune that clearly going to get a lot of love in the next few months. "Saturday Tingz" is just as vital - sampling some huge female vocals and chopping them over a highly percussive beat which CRST skilfully reduce down to a minimal stomp for breakdowns. Highly recommended!
Review: Don't let the novelty, yet awesome name fool you - Ill Cosby has got some serious tropical skills and flexes them with all his might on the excellent "Lo Oyen". A bubbly, multi-percussion worker which uses some huge claps and polyrhythmic sequencing to craft something that'll prove fiery on any dancefloor. Emvee adds a Latin/Reggaeton feel with some grimey strings, while Palms Out's Dubbel Dutch gets busy on another Ill Cosby tune, "Kalakuta". which features the maddest sax lines since Guido's massive "Sex Sax".
Review: Atlanta's Distal drops a pair of future-bass winners on the Car Crash Set label, with the title tune leaning heavily on the techno side with a signature shifting arpeggio acting as a mainstay while the beats shift between moody half-step and full-on tech-stomp. In a Pearson Sound-style, "We Are VCR" is a chilly 808 'n' claps fest, topped off with some deliriously wonked-out leads twisting away in the background.
Review: A label on a roll following great releases from CRST, 214, Mistamen and Kingthing Car Crash Set continue with these two new tropical heaters from Cardopusher. "Tarradella Nights" keeps things bubbly thanks to some distant and trippy organ sounds as well as a Balearic-meets-bruk out beat that's so good that it's just left to simmer and build rather than be disrupted with gimmicky fills or drops. "All Bellaca Parties" starts with a set of high-pitched 606 drum hits, a la Ramadanman, and quickly winds in some excellent urgent synths - fantastic stuff.
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