Review: The 25 year celebration continues to pick up steam on Charge Recordings, as Mampi Swift and the crew pick the best of the bunch from the label's extensive back catalogue. This time around it's a rough and ready single, which is straight from the old school and has all of the rough, analogue sounds to prove it. The heaviness here is special, as the spasmodic drums of 'Long Life' ricochet around a growling bassline that wallows in oodles of spacey, celestial atmospherics. 'Second Strike' is more direct and less fussy, as clattering breaks crash into you and leave you lying on the floor. Big stuff.
Review: Charge Recordings, one of the all-time great labels, are celebrating their 25th anniversary, and in so doing are revisiting some of Mampi Swift's best tracks. The label boss has been responsible for some corkers over the years, and we can imagine that narrowing it down was a tough job to say the least. But, of course, his 2013 remix of 'I Don't Need A Reason' made the cut; who can forget the first time they heard that brass-tinted horn bellow out of Dizzee's Rascal's menacing, iconic vocal lines. The old school vibes continue across the rest of the release, as Charge's specific take on dancefloor skips all the over engineered hype of the present and sticks to the basics that make this genre what it is: rough, vibrant drums and swelling basslines that puff your chest out. 'Twisted' is especially great, with a long introduction that keeps you hanging on every bar, the climax when it comes as satisfying as anything. Unreal.
Review: Mampi Swift's Charge Recordings don't release regularly, but when you have a name that renowned at the helm of things, it's inevitable that the music is going to be fantastic. That's very much the case with this single from Atom UK, who is landing on Charge with a brilliantly diverse two-tracker. The A-side, 'Tearout', does what is says on the tin as a punishingly heavy back-end spins out of control amidst a flurry of breaks and club-friendly low-frequency pressure. 'How We Do It' takes a chill pill in comparison but doesn't slip down that road too far, as a floating vocal sample nonchalantly sits above a belching, stabby bassline. Wicked.
Review: Oh gosh!! Giant-among-men Swift finally drops the biggun we've been waiting YEARS for. And it's clear from the opening filth-flinger "Dogs Of War" (with Gino) that this album is the full-fat uncut high grade LP message we've been longing for. 20 tracks (including remixes of classics by the likes of Serum and A.M.C), this packs more punch than a night out MCing to naff jump-up with Tyson Fury. Seriously, from the militant charge of "Freebass" to the cheeky riff swagger of "Creeper" via the Virus-style techy thunder of "Origin", the savage jungle techno homage "Loftgroove" and the heavy 110 BPM slo-mo rave messiness "The Gully" this leaves no stone unturned whatsoever... And this is only the first part. Wow. Swift ain't messing around here.
Review: STOP: Your quest for "The One" is over. Willing to stand by you through thick, thin, sickness and health, a companion to help you through the hurt of this world, a soulmate who understands your emotions; You were mistaken if you thought your destined companion was a fellow human... It was actually a Mampi Swift classic and an immense, cleverly updated and subverted remix from InsideInfo. Love at first skank.
Review: A giant among badmen: following the onslaught of his epic "Big Tune" EP last autumn, Mampi returns with another fresh exercise. "I Exist" hits with a "Gold Rush"-style hook - all electro-edged and naggier than your other half with a nasty hangover but added weight and classic D&B menace. Meanwhile on the remix Rene LaVice takes the classic "Soldiers" and gives it his own unique twist as the evocative hook that all card carrying junglists will know instantly is switched from battle mode to war mode. Batten down your hatches.
Mampi Swift & DJ Fresh - "Play Me" (Mampi Swift & Blame remix) - (5:15) 175 BPM
Friction - "3rd Planet" - (6:40) 174 BPM
DJ Blame - "Stay Forever" - (5:38) 175 BPM
Review: Few names command respect on a Mampi level. Even when he promises his new album for over two years, he still retains his crown. Listen to tracks like these and it's easy to understand why; "Back To 92" is a pastiche of the best detuned synths and ugliest breaks of the era, all brought together with today's production muscle. "The Spirits", meanwhile, is plain tear-out banshee business (think Ram Trilogy) The rest of the EP sees Swift remastering three Charge classics for the modern day: his Fresh collaboration "Play Me" still ruffles the finest hairs on your spine while the sci-fi tones and twangs of Friction's "3rd Planet" still sound futuristic. Finally we hit Blame's "Stay Forever". A straight-up string-drenched anthem from one of drum & bass's most interesting creative chapters, it still has total relevance to this day.
Review: Big man talk: the legend that is Mampi Swift returns with his heftiest body of work in a long time. "Big Tune" lives up to its name in every way; early Pendulum-style mania with switches galore and Dynamite MC's iconic vocals, it backs up the chats in every way. "Detroit Bass", meanwhile, pays homage to the legacy of Beltram while preaching from the same ghetto-funk parapet as Rockwell. Deeper again Serum and Code fly back to 2000 and revitalise a true Swift classic before Mampi freewheels into the trippiest corners of jump-up with "Ironside". Finally "Sign Of The Times" reminds us how vocal tracks were done before toplines and number one hits were on the hivemind of the jungle community. Fittingly, it's not dissimilar to Fresh & Sigma's "Cylon". Complete with a spattering of instrumentals, could this be the lead to his long awaited third album? We hope so...
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