Review:
Easily one of dubstep's most exciting success stories in 2013, Brown & Gammon continue to infuse the genre with the funkiest possible ingredients. As the name suggests, "West Coast" is all about the swooning, funky synth lines. One part French filters, three parts Compton, and coated with a lush vocal from Sierra Kay, it's a stunning jam that will sing way beyond conventional dubstep dancefloors. With a tasty instrumental thrown in for good measure, this covers some serious ground. Go coastal today.
Review:
Braintree based solo artist Brown & Gammon lays claim to the Essex dubstep crown with this latest brace of bangers for the Circus label. Following on from last year's massive "Painkillers" which caused considerable damage, "Blow My Mind" continues the theme with stomping drums, squiggly synth hooks and a bouncy, house influenced mid-section setting this one apart from the pack. "Riddle Me This" mashes up anthemic pads with Prodigy style cut up vocal snippets over skippy beats with a reggae sensibility. One to watch.
Review:
While certain high street shops are trying to cool it up with t-shirts that declare the demise of dubstep, acts like Brown & Gammon are pushing the scene in some of the most exciting directions it has experienced for a long time. Leaning back on a soft synth skank "The Force" is irrefutably funky, boasting sick shades of glitch and house amidst the mild rowdiness of the bassline. Melodic, authentic to dubstep's roots and truly unique, one blast of this will have those fakers binning their t-shirts within seconds.
Review:
The power of the Circus imprint is as apparent as ever with this one as they unveil Conrank and Drezza for a stunning dubstep outing on their new collaboratory single 'Decapitale'. The Circus influence is clear from the off as shimmering lead bass synths grind away come the breakdown, packed with colour and energy across smooth melodies and pounding drum work. Excellent work and we look forward to seeing what the future holds for the duo!
Review:
Earlier this year Cookie Monsta had a pop at our mums. Now he's having a go at the dog. Is anyone safe when Nottingham's naughtiest is at the controls? That's a rhetorical question; with his level of cage-rattling basslines and tongue-in-cheek sample abuse, no one is safe. "Blame It On The Dog" is a classic half-step swagger-jam with cool reverse techniques on the bass melody while "Big Booty Bass" is armed with a more fractious low-end and some really interesting textures created with the vocal samples. Both absolutely kill it.
Review:
The Circus performer and compadre of Flux Pavilion and Doctor P steps up with an ear-crushing, stomach-flipping four track EP of epic proportions. Expect smashing mid-range mayhem, with screeching synths and wobbly basslines in abundance. The title track has a cartoon-like feel, with the growling vocal screaming "me want cookie" over vertiginous bass wobbles. "Frontline" juxtaposes "Sweetshop" style screams over throbbing, taught synths reminiscent of Noisia's "Stigma" before "You Can Do It" takes over, with its aggressive punch and kick tactics. Final track "R0807 D06" draws it all together with a series of robotic shudders, percussive hisses and ear-splitting rumbles.
Review:
Fresh, upbeat wobble concoctions from the one like Cookie Monsta. Just a quick warning before you indulge: this is heavy material and will likely appeal to fans of the more aggressive dubstep sub-category. "Eliminate Target" is a gunshot to the head; a raucous piece of beat thrashing guided by a pulverising bass bullet that screeches and coils with every new bar. "Beast Mode" isn't exactly any less boisterous, and its crunchy scream of a bassline goes into machine-gun mode pretty damn quick. A pair of bruisers, so go easy
Review:
Nottingham's Cookie Monsta isn't exactly partial to a bit of good, old-fashioned wobbling', and this latest four-tracker sees the artist doing what he likes best, and thereby not worrying too much about what is the newest and trendiest form of dubstep. From "Ruff" to Soundboy, these four cold-blooded bass stabbers are made for you to nod aggressively to, and if there was still such as thing as FWD @ Plastic People, you know Coki would be dropping exactly this sort of material. True-school dubstep bruisers.
Review:
Classic Cookie Monsta silliness; he knows how to truly nurture a hype hook. And on this occasion he's done it with a LOL-worthy jab at our mothers. With the tongue-in-cheek remark about our mums delivered, the high-end bass mischief that follows is one of his most hectic and fun-fuelled hooks to date. Proving he's not a one trick pony, "Cave Of Filth" goes on a deep dungeon flex with heaps of texture and well-reigned drama. Epic stuff.
Review:
More proper UK bass from Shoreditch's Circus Records. Cookie Monsta from Nottingham delivers some peak time dubstep on "Dem GirlZz" that would make even Skrillex stand up and notice. He might be from the Midlands but this is some proper U.S. style bass insanity that the EDM crowd will be absolutely mental for. The bassline on this one is epic, and speaks profanity at you while awash in trippy sci-fi sound design. "Darkside 666" however is more on the drum and bass tip and reminiscent of old DJ Zinc vibes with its grinding sub bass and tech-step rhythm.
Review:
It's party time, Cookie Monsta's holding court and he's packing more than just a few tasty nibbles. Slamming and jamming on a wonked-out triplet riddim, there's a raw sense of mischief that reminds us of the fun and no-frills sense of rebellion Circus was originally founded on. Big grins abound as the middy bass chops and slaps with seasick frequency flickers and party-chant samples lace the fills with silliness. A genuinely fun record, Cookie Monsta's smashed it. Party on dudes!
Review:
Doctor P and Flux Pavilion hand over the selection duties to familiar label faces Funtcase and Cookie Monsta for the second Circus set. A 25-strong banger compendium balanced between classics and exclusives, it oozes the perfect blend of bare-faced bass attitude and tongue-in-cheek humour. From Roksonix string-soaked jig jamboree "Music In Me" to Brown & Gammon's emotional audio rainbow "Dark Matter", the Circus sound is represented at its boldest, most characterful and, above all, fun. Not a dull moment in sight - check this and remember why we all got into dubstep in the first place.
Review:
Brand new to Circus, LA fusionist Cyran gets busy with his biggest release to date. A proper melting pot of ideas, genres and sounds, if you can find a stone that's not been unturned you're a more scrupulous listener than us.... From the Indian trap bangs of "Vibin'" to the cosmic chuggy slaps of "Work", there's a fresh exciting sound to Cyran that nods respectfully at Circus's roots while taking the increasingly open-armed label into the future.
Review:
Swedish duo Daleri rose to fame two years ago with their "Epic Mashleg" that aped EDM's foibles with timely tongue-in-cheek charm... But it's their original material that's kept them on our radar. Here they make an appearance on Flux and Doctor P's Circus with an obese glitch riddim that's riddled with chops and wriggles with a serious hop. With shades of tightly plucked guitar and talkbox melting vox, Daleria are swaggering hard right now.
Review:
One of dubstep's hottest labels, known as a launching ground for new talent such as Doctor P and Flux Pavillion, Circus unleash a new collection of beats and producers on this latest EP. Already with a huge following, Datsik teams up with Downlink on the shuffled electroid fire of "Sting", while Boy Kid Cloud goes off the scale with the mental leads of "How It Looks". Brown & Gammon fuse reggae soul with their extremely quirky "Be There", and rounding off the release, upcoming Russian producer Exponaut goes for sheep devastation with the impressively gonzoid "E621".
Review:
Swedish shadowman Deficio levels up with his Circus debut. Two of his biggest tracks to date, both look east for inspiration: "Elephants" ignites with a beautifully restrained and sludgy build before dropping into a trunk-snapping Arabic horn riff while "Egyptica" slows us right down to 100BPM for a properly unique glitch-moombah fusion that's so slinky and mystical it could make your mum belly dance. It's not hard to see why Skrillex has supported his tracks for a while now. Massive.
Review:
Bristol bass duo Diskord have picked up serious heat since first entering the fray a year ago. And it's really not hard to understand why; their fusion of trap, dubstep and future bass bubbles with creativity, attention to detail and, most importantly, serious drama - just the vocal sample on this alone is a fine example of their deft derring-do. Dynamically arranged to insight hype on every twist and turn, this 150BPM jam will resonate with DJs from all corners of the ever-evolving bass universe.
