Review: Man like Kublai returns to Total Science's label with some of his darkest, dankest, dirtiest designs to date. 'Big Talk' takes the lead with a big old b2b2b in the studio as Kubbie, TS and Minor Forms all get mucky in the action. Elsewhere 'The Imposter' goes for a classic wormy bassline tension, 'Trippin' is pure filth laced over scattershot drums (with more filth thrown in for good measure) while 'Sullied' closes the EP on a pranged out drone tone. Exceptional drum & bass craft here.
Review: Slithering around the CIA gaff like he's the captain of the good ship Slytherin, Serpnt sheds some serious skin with his debut EP. Without doubt his biggest release to date, over four tracks he gives us a timeless treatment with curmudgeonly bass and moody, offkey grooves. Highlights include the wonky grit, detuned keys and strange warped basses of 'Rave' (with Infrah) and the spacious siren-winding wriggler 'Different Flex' but the whole EP is something special.
Review: The Integrated Audio crew have touched down with another bag of top tier sweets with this latest offering, welcoming the sounds of Myth inside for a fiery three track display, exploring the most raucous sounds across the D&B spectrum. We open up with 'Womble', an eerie masterclass in soundscaping and sub-sweeping, unloading a bulbous combination of bass and percussive bliss. From here, a super gnarly run down of grizzly reese textures and hard hitting drum punches, upping the ante significantly with Black Barrel providing some additional work, before the more abstract minimal rhythmic combos of 'Bumble Bee' closes the project out in serious style.
Review: Pioneering duo Quiff and Spinback return with yet more reminders that they are one of the most consistent and longest standing duos in D&B. Not a year has gone by since 92 when these chaps haven't released something... And they always, always stay ahead of the curve, too. 'Road Runner' is your classic low-slung bubbler that rattles and bumps with timeless jungle charm. 'Fxk That' brings a little more theatre into the mix thanks to its sustained strings and hyper grizzled bass textures. Both absolutely slay.
Review: Total Science's CIA continue to unleash all kinds of fire this year. Following massive dispatches from the likes of Zoro, Klipee and Myth come two barnstorming tear-ups from long-time friend and affiliate War. Both utterly savage and razor sharp in their intent and energy, 'To Shape The Fire' goes all high voltage with its sizzling, electrified Reese while 'Justice' rattles the bones a little more with its rolling style drum arrangement. Both are right on the edge. Heavyweight tackle!
Review: Introduced to the world on Break's Symmetry imprint, then Spearhead, DSP makes the perfect logical step to Total Science's CIA. One of his biggest EPs in some time, across the four tracks the mysterious artist takes us across his vast and explorative sound. From the more soulful charms of 'True Words' to the cosmic breezes (but stern beats) of 'Sunset'; from the gully gritty groove of 'Funky Feeler' to stunningly sparse and hypnotic break work of 'Trunk Full Of Jungle', DSP has put on a delectable spread right here.
Review: Step back, step forward, step to the left, step to the right, do a little jump and shake your tooshy. Now you are a dancer and you're dancing to the beat of T>I's drums. He'll have you doing the twist to the big splashy cymbals on the title track. With a little help from Madrush he'll have you doing the jitterbug to the toxic bass low-slung grizzles of 'Sketchy'. 'Blue Dot' will have you spinning a Charleston before you even learn the moves while 'Bring It' will have you gliding across the floor like the ballroom belle you've always wanted to be. To repeat: You are a dancer, this is your life now.
Review: Drum & bass VA compilations do not get any bigger than this badboy... Total Science's CIA celebrates a quarter of a century in true style with some of the biggest and most respected talents in the game. Calibre, DLR, Break, Digital, FD, The Sauce and many more all deliver supreme sonics as we slide and glide from groove to groove; Digital plays havoc with our senses with the powerful drum breaks of 'Raggamuffin Bizness', Zero T goes super creepy and tense with the crucial 'Cut Dem' while Total Science show us how it's done with the super breezy and jazzy 'Run It'. These are just some of the many many highlights... 25 years and still fresh. No one does it like Spinback and Quiff.
Review: Man like DLR pops over from the good ship Sofa Sound to his old pals at CIA for some slug-it-out bassline mischief and the results are typically stinky. Keep at arms length as 'Don't Come Close' wafts up the joint with toxic funk, 'Back Track' (with CIA bosses Total Science) gets really smelly with its flatulent bassline and 'Squeeks' squeezes your cheeks with its overall subby sludge. Don't come too close, come even closer... DLR is a roll right now.
Review: Keeping it safe, each and every time; T>I lands on CIA with 'The Locksmith'. Yet another quartet of ridiculous bruisers, the title track has the key to every door in your sensory mansion as the off-grid drums rattle and roll and the bassline slinks away slowly like a boa constrictor with weight issues. Elsewhere 'Valid Statement' goes all bubbly and Zinc-like with its old school rave-like bassline riff, 'Bongolian Belt Roller' takes us even further leftfield with some wonderfully weird switches and strange noises before 'Let It Go' runs riot in a deliciously scatty way. Incredible scenes; no one is doing this style of dnb like T>I.
Review: Bristol by way of Oxford's Computer Integrated Audio return with their latest cache of drum and bass weapons, courtesy of label heads Total Science whose track "Fallen Angel" receives a techy and rolling dose of restrained fury by Leonardo de Jesus Silva aka L-Side. This also happens to be his debut CIA Records release. The next execution comes directly from the Brazilian hot shot himself in the form of the darkly dystopian and atmospheric stepper "Untouchable" which is reminiscent of classic No U Turn or Virus material from back in the day. Serious!
Review: C.I.A are the kings of organic drum & bass that's ingrained into the core heritage of the genre, and this EP from Minor Forms is a perfect example of drum & bass that's simple yet devastating. Wrapped around a potent blend of breaks and rolling percussive lines, Minor Forms strips everything back to the bare essentials, focusing your attention on what really matters. 'The Hunt' is among the toughest on offer, a pacey dancefloor cut with a classic array of bending, twisting low frequency textures that remind us of early 2000s techstep, a golden era for the genre this track encapsulates yet also improves upon. 'Big Style' is in the ilk of new school jungle, a movement C.I.A have been pushing hard with the likes of Myth, and this tune is right up there with the best of them; bone-shattering bass sweeps and precisely engineered, extremely satisfying percussive work. Big.
Review: Zero T is back on CIA, a label he's worked with frequently over the years and an imprint which is well suited to his blend of light and dark sounds. MYWRLD is exactly that, and contained within are pointed breaks, rolling basslines and luscious atmospherics, the full Zero T package that we know and expect. The title tune is a dagger of a jungle cut, with expertly crafted drums which chop and change, flipping the momentum over and over to create a superb percussive basis. 'One More Chance' is more rolling, with an excellent diving bassline that goosebump-raising in its subtle low frequencies, and 'Radical Step' is an inch-perfect stepper with crispness at its core. A wicked three-tracker from the Irish master.
Review: Hot on the heels of his Subtitles debut last month, Ill Truth's Myth gate-crashes the CIA party with four more certy heavers. Proper back-to-the-roots Bristol-flavoured bassline business, each cut smacks with timeless grit and funk. Highlights include the wild fluctuating wobbles on "Pathological" and the big diva vocal snippet and high voltage bass snarls on "No 1 Else" with Madcap. There are no limits to this man's gulliness.
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