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Critical Music
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CRIT224S 1
19 Apr 24
Drum & Bass / Jungle
19 Apr 24
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Review: Buckle up, because Particle is taking us on one wild ride with his latest album "Pyro" on Critical Music. This 10-track juggernaut is a full-throttle excursion through the gnarliest terrain of jungle and drum & bass. Right from the jump on the opening cut, Particle flexes his funky bassline muscles to get things properly greased up. But don't get too comfortable - by the closing VIP remix he's dropped the hammer and has the whole thing redlining in the most deliriously unhinged way. This is an artist operating at the peak of his powers, seamlessly blending classic jungle/D&B fundamentals with meticulously futuristic production chops. There's something for the old-school heads and fresh recruits alike on this album. Longtime jungalists will get misty-eyed over the cavernous subs and proving garage-bred breaks of tracks like "Fooling." But Particle also caters to the new-age barneys on tunes such as "Assassin" and "Needles" complete with enough manic robotic contortions to have you rapidly evacuating your flesh vessel. Not one to rest on his laurels, Particle keeps things utterly weird too. "REM" is a deliciously unhinged descent into stuttering jungle psychedelia. And his link-up with Inja on "The Message" injects a taut, nerve-shredding atmospherics that'll have you sweating through three layers of merino wool. Don't sleep on this one, ravers.
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CRITLP 019
29 Mar 24
Drum & Bass / Jungle
29 Mar 24
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Played by: Dj Dazee
Review: Kasra, the head honcho of Critical Music, kicks off the label's 2024 releases with "Dream Metal," an 8-track exploration of deep, atmospheric drum & bass. Kasra brings together a diverse cast of vocalists and producers, each adding their unique flavour. From the haunting vocals of Slay on "City Of Rain" to the infectious energy of Killa P on "Running Red," the collaborations keep things fresh and exciting. The album goes from atmospheric opener with its ethereal vocals and pulsating bassline with "Spaceman", a more dancefloor-oriented track, with infectious energy and a killer vocal performance with "Talk Up" to take a turn with "Shatter," a darker and heavier layering intricate sounds and textures. "Dream Metal" lives up to its name, weaving a soundscape that's heavy on atmosphere and introspective vibes. Deep basslines pulsate, intricate drum patterns weave through, and haunting melodies drift in and out.
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CRITMLP 003
01 Mar 24
Drum & Bass / Jungle
01 Mar 24
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Played by: Juno Recommends Drum & Bass
Review: When it comes to significant years, Visla isn't going to forget 2023 in a hurry... He kicked off the year with a release on Critical's Binary collection and he's finishing it off an EP on the main label. How cool is that? The hype is fully deserved, too, as he brings a fresh sense of fire and unruly funk to Critical's mix and adds a whole new characteristic to the label's sound. Highlights include the twisting, rippling tension of 'Rattlesnake', the off-grid ruffness and wild scenes of the EP title track 'RAKKA' and the grizzled Dotdash collaboration 'The Brim'. RAK 'em up lad!
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CRIT 219
08 Dec 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
08 Dec 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Review: Swiss duo QZB finally unveil their long-awaited debut album and it's a sleek, stunning body of work that purrs and pumps with precision and growls and grooves with glowing grace. Featuring link-ups with the likes of Charli Brix, T Man, Mara Sophia, MC XL and Hadley, there's a fluency and fluidity across the collection that takes you on a journey through the most futurist and delicate of drum & bass pastures. From the emotional yearns of 'Dangerously High' to the much darker aggression of 'Combat Drugs', this is QZB at their most honest, heaviest and direct. Onwards!
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CRITLP 018
20 Oct 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
20 Oct 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
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CRITLP018S 2
29 Sep 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
29 Sep 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
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CRIT 213
22 Sep 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
22 Sep 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Review: Waeys returns to Critical with four more steaming rave jams. 'Raw Flavour' says it all; a blistering head-rearranger with a rasping bassline and flips into springy breakbeat it's the perfect combo between the rougher UK style and the more cosmic European licks. Deeper into the EP we're immersed in a sea of powerful Waeys flavoured contrast as SOLAH joins the mix with the lush jazzy title track '10,000', 'B.B' goes full grizzly roller mode and P4VAN joins in on 'Vision' for a heavyweight dubstep finale. 10,000 reasons to be happy.
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CRIT 212
14 Sep 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
14 Sep 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
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CRIT212S
23 Aug 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
23 Aug 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Played by: Juno Recommends Drum & Bass
Review: Man like Chimpo doing the gosh darned thing on Critical: life doesn't get much better than this. Four vibes, four completely different animals, all of them hooting and wailing like our kid Chimpz though... 'Let Me Rise' (with Salo) shows us his most tender and soulful side, 'Treetop Golf' tickles your bongos and gets a hole in one as a result. 'The Crab' scuttles along with hard shelled funk while 'Compass' guides us to all the right corners of the dancefloor with a very subtle nod to Photekian theory. Stunning.
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CRIT 214
11 Aug 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
11 Aug 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
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CRIT 217
21 Jul 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
21 Jul 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
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CRIT214S 1
14 Jul 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
14 Jul 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
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CRIT 209
14 Jul 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
14 Jul 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Review: Two things in life are guaranteed, Critical Music remaining as consistent as ever and Hyroglifics continuing to push the boundaries further than ever though sonically possible. This latest album sees a truly vibrant collection put on display, exploring the farthest stretching reaches of the Hyroglifics sound, from the thumping half-time sweeps of 'Sing To It' alongside Nah Eeto's crispy vocal display, to the sub-smashing LFO crunches of 'Juggin' and more party-driven atmospherics of 'Late Ones'. We see a number of additional vocal appearances across the project, with Yeo Limone, Black Josh, Lyza Jade and Fuex all delivering unique and inspiring performances. With such a wide array of sonic mastery on display, it's difficult to pick favourites, but the sharpened synthesiser twangs of 'Burnt Tongues' and roller-inspired rumbles of 'You Got It' would be two immediate standouts.
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CRITLP 017
30 Jun 23
Deep Dubstep
30 Jun 23
Deep Dubstep
Review: As you can imagine, Hyroglifics landing on Critical Music for a full three track display is always going to cause somewhat of a ruckus. This collection is a perfect example of understanding the room as the chiming vocal repetition and tweaking 140 synthetics of 'Sing To It' open us up with a fiery feeling of originality. From here, Deft arrives for a slightly quicker paced episode as the crunching synthesiser pounds and the bubbling subs of 'Two For Two' give us another gutpunching original. Finally, we skip back into the 170's with 'Albany Road', a synthetic slapper, switching and alternating between gnarly bass textures and well processed drum punches, giving us the perfect closer to this already intense collection.
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CRITLP017S 3
02 Jun 23
Deep Dubstep
02 Jun 23
Deep Dubstep
Review: Bringing serious funk to Kasra's imprint one banger at a time, Particle fires up the groove machine once again with 'Let It Go' and 'Double Stack'. The former takes reference from UKG in both its vocal style and chord progressions while the latter goes on more of a cold and spacious sense of groove magic. Both absolutely shatter up all dancefloors within a 50 mile radius. Is there anyone funkier on Critical Music than Particle right now? We don't think so!
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CRIT 206
12 May 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
12 May 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Review: The Critical Music team have pulled out all the stocks for this latest outing, welcoming both Hyroglifics and Deft to the table for an explosive two-track display, readying the ravers for a raucous affair. Firstly 'Two For Two', combines gnarly reese-bass inspired textures with glittering soundscapes to give us an absolute rollercoaster of sonic mastery. From here, we then jump into a more classic sound Critical display as the pair once again combine, this time for a neurotic excursion, doused in lethal synthetic design and sharpened drum textures, giving us a fiery display. Once again, the Critical team impressed!
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CRITLP017S 2
20 Apr 23
Deep Dubstep
20 Apr 23
Deep Dubstep
Review: Neurofunk was always an enviable art, but for far too long it remained in the strict purview of artists deserting pop drum n' bass - and in turn trying to prove who was the cleverest sound designer on the scene. En Vy's new EP for Critical Music signals we've had an attitude change; this is 'neurofunk' that approaches the sound from a much more measured stance, swapping out all the crazed sound design turns and out-of-place Reese womps for more meditative and critical musicianship. The EP shows off a good ear for subgenre knowhow; 'UFO' has a jump-up feel to it that is nonetheless nicely skippy and pure, while 'Beautiful Dreamer' is by far the standout - with dreamy vocals compelling a tonal lead rhythm to produce an overall sub-heavy dream-vibe.
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CRIT 198
03 Mar 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
03 Mar 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Review: Is it a small album? Is it a big EP? Who cares? It's Waeys doing bits on Critical Music with his most substantial and explorative body of work so far. Already preceded by big soulful singles like 'Set The Vibe' (with the inimitable flowanastasia) and 'Nothing' (with the equally brilliant Patch Edison) now comes the full showdown as the Dutch don delivers some of his best work to date... The jazzy introspection of 'Familiar Face', the dusty hip-hop feels of 'Five After' and the slower tempo of 'Your Eyes' are just some of the highlights here. What an exceptional release. Big love to Waeys.
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CRITMLP 002
10 Feb 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
10 Feb 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
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CRIT198S 1
03 Feb 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
03 Feb 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Review: Binary badness from the Critical camp as they welcome Visla to the fold with this mighty four track collection. Sizzling, rolling, murky manoeuvres all the way; from the airy, skippy drums on 'Vandal' to the hurricane reese brutalism of 'Morpheus' by way of the disco stabs and slinky, slimy funk of 'Flashbang' and the all-weather build and sportsman mood of 'Nike Tech Windbreaker', Visla has set out his stall with Critical precision... We can't wait to hear more!
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BINARY 026
27 Jan 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
27 Jan 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
Various
Review: Reload, reboot, re-up... Critical Music shutdown their 20th anniversary sonic shenanigans with this humungous remix collection that features pretty much every respected and hugely talented artist Kasra's label has ever worked with. 23 cuts fresh for 2023, every single track is guaranteed to slap and tickle and dancefloor right the way through to summer, especially the likes of Foreign Concept's synth-twisting take on 'AYO', Particle's contemporary jungle take on 'Grave', Buunshin's emotional take on 'Sane' and Hyroglifics' deep and smouldering take on 'Wingwalker'. All this and so much more, this is why Critical Music are at the top of the game right now. Exemplary.
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CRITLPXXCC
08 Jan 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
08 Jan 23
Drum & Bass / Jungle
