Review: We are always excited to hear from the Four40 imprint as they continuously push creative new avenues of bass music. For this one they team up with Nu Era for a dark and dangerous expedition into dancehall alongside RTKAL. To start, Nu Era supplies the perfect backing, complete with dark, growling bass sounds, triplet drum patterns and rolling subs. From here RTKAL lays down some serious vocal heat, with his deep vocal presence piercing through the mix in the all the right places.
Review: Four40 welcome a genuine legend: Kid D. A man with grime roots running deep for well over a decade with a whole run of productions for the likes of Wiley, Skepta, Ghetts and Devlin to name but a few. Here he adds to Four40's palette with his rich emotional colours, joining the dots between the other bass genres the label excel in; "No Limits" is a surging synth blast of stops/starts and tripped out glitches, "Gliding" nods at the new wave movement for some introspective bliss, "Revolution" warps and wonders with some deliriously melted horns and R&B snippets while "Silver Rain" brings us back home on a bed of flutes and harmonic vocal edits. One of a kind, every single one of us wants the D right here.
Who You Talking To (feat Snowy - clean) - (4:34) 140 BPM
Who You Talking To (feat Snowy - dirty) - (4:34) 140 BPM
Starscream - (4:34) 140 BPM
Review: Serious banger operations with Cable and Snowy right here. "Who You Talking To" bumps with KO licks from both parties: Cable's riddim is electrified and hell-raising while Snowy reminds us of his boss levels with a venomous nonstop tongue. Added proof of how hard this hits is found on "Starscream", the full instrumental... See if you can find an MC who can themselves around it as efficiently as venomously as Snowy (spoiler: you won't be able to)
Review: There's no stopping Midlands bass duo Hybrid Theory right now, what with their Four40 label putting out its first artist compilation and yet another big club anthem in the shape of "That's What It Is". What it is, is a scalpel-sharp trap-hop jam with heavy bass and undertones of grime courtesy of some spitfire MCing by Trilla. There's also some different edits and an instrumental included, with the "Heavy Radio Edit" which is anxiously sparse and riddled with the shrill delivery of Lady Leshurr.
Review: With Slick Don riding roughshod, this is an unashamed party joint jacked with all the London swagger you could possibly ask for. Slick comes across like Newham Generals on just a weeny dose of helium. Spitting with a smidgeon of sing, IKK's 4/4 garage riff is the perfect bed for Don's bravado (so perfect it comes with an instrumental). Elsewhere we find tech-minded tropical ("Crossover") and stripped back bleep bashment ("HS1").
Review: Grimey vibes abound on Four40 as Enigma, Screama and Trilla rep the 0121 emotions. Enigma's beats are the perfect balance of heavy presence and eerie melody while allowing enough space for Screama and Trilla to trade melodic bars with each other. The remix-list is mind bogglingly good with all flavours catered. From slinky, well-polished two-step (El-B) to haunted house trap (DJ Cable) via savage breakbeat garage (Filthy Vicars), Four40 have curated a very generous package that will suit every shade of bass addict.
Review: Despite sharing its name with a Christian record label in the States, Birmingham's Four40 only really pray in one church, one with a soundsystem that boasts bone-rattling subs. Their latest signing, the mysterious Cloaka, is certainly all about the bass: this EP features bass so brutal and low it's positively subterranean. "Don't I Know You" features a low rolling bassline and eerie chants, "Booty Chatter" boasts harsh, stamping riddims and extra wobble on top, "Konkle" again centres around a hard, stamping kick but is more sparse and finally "Wuxi Riddim" is all about the voodoo beats.
Review: Four40 return to highlight the considerable talents of Seraph, a producer with a keen ear for raucous yet moody steppers. "Freezing" goes in hard with its cavernous bassline and built-in spinbacks, while "Indigenous" takes things in a darker, more tribal direction with its rapid percussion and robotic synth textures. It's "Take It Back" however that's the real killer; sounding like it could be a lost track from The Prodigy circa "Experience" with the contemporary melodic sensibility of Lone or Machinedrum.
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