INSTINCT (UK) is a sub-label of Constant Sound, a house and techno imprint founded by James ‘Burnski’ Burnham in 2017. INSTINCT focuses on a more UK-based sound, drawing influences from garage, bassline, breaks and jungle. The label has featured artists such as Holloway, Main Phase, Soul Mass Transit System and Pinder. INSTINCT releases digital and vinyl records and aims to showcase the diversity and innovation of the UK underground scene.
Review: If you're reading this then you will know that Instinct is one of the UK's powerhouse garage labels. Run by Burnski aka James Burnham it deals in serious tackle for rude boys and nasty girls. The drums hit hard, the reversed bassline burn goose old school cool and there gun finger salutes come thick and fast throughout this EP from Mance. 'Checkpoint' opens with the dusty drum shuffles and bulbous bass, then 'The Going Is Rough' is a little more soulful and sweet with its rolling basslines and silky pads. 'Beat 93' closes down with a seriously OG garage sound that takes you back to the mid-90s.
Review: James 'Bursnki' Burnham aka Constant Sound label boss and garage head Instinct is showing no signs of running out of ideas despite having put out such a high amount of high-class club weaponry in the last few years. He goes big once more with this latest EP which subtly features the iconic vocal cries from Moby's 'Go' but repackaged in a shuffling and banging garage groove with dark synths and wonky bass. Up second is a pure grade bassline track, 'Bassline Track.' It'll take you back to the days when this northern take on garage was all the rage, and why not?
Review: DJ Crisps is starting to make some handy garage moves after a couple of various artists' appearances and a fine EP on Time Is Now Germany in July. Now they link up with Oldboy who appeared on Burnski's other label Vivid back in 2022. As you should expect these are four hardcore and rudely garage cuts with plenty of swagger, naughty samples and bass-face potential. 'On My Way' is the standout with its shuffling one-two drum punch, distant police sirens and warped basslines underneath a timeless and irresistible female vocal full of soul. A summer scorcher for sure alongside three more very useful weapons.
Review: Get your best-worst bass face ready and cock those gun fingers cause Instinct is back with more rude as you like garage. Prozak takes care of this one with the old school vibes of 'Styla' first up. It's got ragga vocals, bleeps and blistering bass set to a prickly garage beat that cannot fail to make a mark. The Main Phase remix is a more traditional garage sound with crisp hits and great swing. 'Ruff Dub' ups the ante and gets even more nawty and nasty while 'Gravedigger' brings a dark sense of swing to shut down another fine EP.
Review: Main Phase has once again delivered a top notch delivery with this new four track collection alongside the awesome team at Instinct. First up, the singalong designs of 'Vibes', an instant classic alongside the awesome patois vocal work of Troublesome, delivering one of the late-coming sounds of the summer across some tidy UKG switchups. From here, more pumping sub thumps and skippy drums on 'This That', followed by the chiming melodic pops of 'Pain' to follow. We then close with another catchy, sub-driven roller in 'Burnout' as Essares provides some additional touches.
Review: Oi oi, Instinct is back with more gun finger touting, bass-face pulling garage goodness. This one from Soul Mass Transit System click off with a dark groove and shuffling drums run through with plenty of old school signifiers. 'Poison Dart' is another one with marvelous scratchy drums and snares powering it feared as withering sonics, rude boy bass and hints of female vocal all get you marching along. 'Bad' closes out with wobbly bass and crisp hits. It's a more swinging groove with extra room for the sounds to hit that bit harder. Killer tackle.
Review: After a string of impressive releases for the likes of Time Is Now, Hardline Sounds and Earful of Wax, Holloway puts in a shift for Instinct. This ep contains four tracks, with the ruthless UKG rampage of 'Overtone' a sure fire floorfiller, and the more delicate, flighty two step of 'The Sound' offering a different angle on this well worn sound. Those in search of something distinctly different and innovate may be find themselves heading in the direction of the bouncy bass pressure and bleepy special FX of 'Viper Funk'. 'In 2 The Jungle' rounds it all off with more low end sub air moving, and a seamless genre fusion of breaks, two step and UKG flavours.
Review: More absolutely stonking UK garage vibes from the ever prolific, ever adventurous Instinct label. Three big, high stepping monsters are the inevitable result as Main Phase makes a welcome return to the label, bringing his distinctive take on the UKG sound. 'Shell' is a slinky groove which benefits from snippets of an MC in full flow dropped here and there, 'Shining' continues the theme with another vocal contribution, this time more sung than spat. '2 Tall' completes the package with the most traditionally garage framework, a sturdy four-to-the-floor beat weighing in and getting involved early on.
Review: Instinct remains at the forefront of the UK garage scene thanks to more heat like this from Main Phase. He follows up standout tunes on the likes of Time Is Now, Dansu Discs and Lost City Archives with his most complete statement yet. Opener 'Treat Me Right' is a lively stepper with lush hits and a wobbling bottom end. 'Whale Dub' gets darker and more stripped back but swings just as infectiously, then 'Nuff' layers up brain-melting bass with rude vocals and 'OG' ups the energy with a pumping old school sound and plenty of characterful details. There is more retro garage gold on closer 'Body' to make this a hugely useful EP.
Review: Burnski's Instinct label serves up some fresh platters from a new name, Papa Nugs. These are of course naughty as you like garage tinged late night gems for cosy dance floors. Opener 'Gemini' is a high speed affair with exotic strings and neck-snapping hits. 'Kilo of Filo' is a super heavy wobbler with a fat as fuck bottom end oscillation. 'De Nata' closes out on more super crisp breakbeats that recall the genres hey day when artists like Ali B were knocking out killer mixes for Fabric. All killer no filler, as ever with this label.
Review: Leeds twosome Soul Mass Transit System have been one of the success stories of the last 18 months, with their bass-heavy blends of UK dance music styles old and new gracing such labels as Timeisnow, Warehouse Rave and Dr Banana. Their latest EP, the pair's second outing on Instinct, is another strong offering. They begin with the seductive, sub-powered two-step revivalism of '1 Of A Kind', before reaching for darker sonic textures, serious wobble bass and echoing ragga snippets on 'Extremely Dangerous'. 'Never Turn My Back' is a pleasingly bouncy chunk of bassline-influenced two-step heat, while 'Turn The Lights Down' ratchets up the low-end pressure while showcasing chiming melodies and ultra-dreamy pads. High-grade garage business that should be an essential for anyone who loves two-step.
Review: The 18th offering from Instinct features four different acts, each with their own take on moving the dancefloor. Pinder P has a funky house/UK garage flavour to it but laced with wonderfully deep bass heavy and shaky enough to dislodge fillings. Papa Nugs' 'Super Beagle' delves even further into the raw aesthetics of early hardcore and especially the reggae-tinted futurism of Shut Up & Dance, Ragga Twins and Hype. DJ Crisps has arguably the least retro sound, relying on very steady and sturdy, more US garage-slanted beat foundations, before the EP is rounded off with the bubbling, skippy 'Only You' from Yosh, re-connected with a subtle reggae flavour to its UKG swagger.
Review: Instinct has been one of the key protagonists in garage's ongoing renaissance. Not only have his tunes given a fresh take on the much loved old sound, but there have been plenty of them, too. Now he's back with yet another full length, and once again it's packed with heat. There are deep shufflers that nod to the original US garage sound, as well as darker, 2-step tinged get downs. More so than before, there seem to be plenty of reversed bass stabs and MC vocals, old school signifiers and jungle breaks that pay homage to the roots of the sound while never simply copying it. The heart aching vocal of 'Don't Know' is our fave and a likely candidate for one of this summer's standout tunes.
Review: As is often the way, this new one on Instinct is as rude as flicking the bird in a pair of Nike TNs and a full tech fleece. It comes from Soul Mass Transit System, a Leeds based duo made up of D. Jason and Baby J known for their retro tinged garage bangers. 'Wine' is all naughty bass, slamming drums and jungle samples, while 'Babeh' gets more down and dirty on tightly programmed kicks, dark bass and echoing vocals that are all made for the peak time. Last of all, 'I Know' is a cluster of percussive hits and reversed effects, warped bass and twisted rhythms that make for perfect body music.
Review: Interplanetary Criminal is one of the most in form artists of the moment. He is right at the sharp end of the garage revival and brings plenty of darkened jungle and breakbeat influences to his music once more here as he returns to Burnski's Instinct label. 'Dangerous' is a late night jam with aching vocals over warm, menacing bass and crisp drum work. 'Razor' is an old school two step throwback lit up by sci-fi effects and more pin point accurate drum programming and 'Gyaldem Dub' brings some MC rudeness, face melting bass and irresistible heaviness. 'Murder Sound' is another heavily London influenced ting to close out in style.
Review: Pinder has been spotted making sterling moves around the UK garage resurgence alongside Peaky Beats, but now he's going it alone on the seemingly unstoppable Instinct. It's great to hear this promising producer in full flight, dropping the kind of high-definition, willfully crafty 2-step that by rights should have dancefloors popping off. With enough smarts to satisfy the headphone shufflers too, these tracks play with classic UKG tropes in artful ways, displaying a razor sharp instinct for how to maximize impact with the right hook at the right time.
Review: Burnski's Instinct label is back and coming correct for the new year with another salvo of bassweight rudeness for the UKG revivalists. This Various Artists EP welcomes Holloway back to the label with the technical, nuanced flair of 'Acme' and Ease Up George's eerie, nerve-jangling 2-stepper 'Wicked'. Daniele Temperilli brings an edgy, looped up energy to his wayward stepper 'Smog', while Raynor smooths things out with the refined, heads-down roller and dub techno-speckled 'Round Off'. Demonstrating the exciting new pathways the current wave of garage is opening up, this latest Instinct EP is a must.
Review: Burnski's 2-step shenanigans continue apace with this sizzling drop on his Instinct label. The tech house titan's inspired take on UKG hits on all the right touchstones, especially on the fired up 'Don't Know'. From the gnarly low end growls to the tightly-wound RnB vocal lick, this is as sweet n' sour as you could wish for in the grand tradition of sub-testing shufflers. 'Creeps' is no slouch either, keeping the beats tight and dexterous, and finding space for some sweet synth rushes to sneak in between the rubbery b-lines and twitchy drums.
Review: Burnski has been as relentless as he has faultless in his work as Instinct. This second album in as many years is another on-point garage offering that fuses just the right amount of UKG tradition with forward thinking invention. From sweet-as-chocolate vocal anthems like opener "Show Me" to more dark and twisted late night jams "Select", these are killer cuts with kinetic kicks that cannot fail to get you on your toes. Further highlights come in the form of hyper-speed jam "Twister" with reversed stabs that will melt your face, and the deep bass drills of "Hologram". Point Of View is some seriously heavy weaponry, then.
Review: It's time to get down with the sound of the original underground next as Instinct lands a fabulous selection of official remixes for 'Can't Run Away From Yourself'' and 'Badman'. We begin firstly by taking in Holloway's full remix, which sees the original vocal spread out over an expansive soundscape of eerie pads and choppy drum arrangements, alongside the more spaced out designs of his dub version. From here, 0113 gives 'Badman' a bit of a UKG shakeup, again giving us a spooky feel through the use of unusual synthesizer atmospherics throughout, before Desert Sound Colony round off the EP with their gnarly recreation of 'Can't Run Away From Yourself', adding the final dash of seasoning on this wicked remix showcase.
Review: Burnski's Instinct outlet continues to bring some serious firepower to the resurgent UK garage scene, and this time he's facing off with 0113 (otherwise known as Kepler) for two rabble-rousing heaters packed with inventive twists on the 2-step formula. "Apache" is an intensely detailed roller that pivots around a killer vocal take, and uses all kinds of synth flourishes to create a wholly futuristic atmosphere - the garage of the future, but certainly not future garage. "Ignite" has a slightly more old-skool flavour that nods to past masters like Smith & Mighty as well as the pioneering work of El B et al. Classy stuff on both tracks of this cool and deadly EP.
Review: The campaign for real, modern UKG continues unabated over at Instinct, as another crew of like-minded bassbin botherers step up with their own fresh takes on the 2-step sound. Pinder is super speedy and tight as you like with "Forever", while Instinct regular 0113 gets freaky with the subtly tripped out "Hard Lines". Zac Stanton is perhaps the stand out turn on this EP with the absolutely surefooted and sharply soulful "Stop Tellin Me". Holloway comes in strong too though, channeling that impeccable Ghost sound for the stripped and spooky "Places To Be". Classy club gear throughout.
Review: The Instinct label continues to champion contemporary garage, this time welcoming Holloway to drop four sure shots guaranteed to go down a storm whether you're at a minimal night or a main stage festival rave up. Logan is spitting deft bars over "Turn Up", a crisp and cool stepper laced with smooth chords. "Evanition" juggles different energies from the mellow to the nasty with a classy touch, while "Echo Tone" gets a little more melodic flex into the mix. "Out Of Town Foes" maintains the soulful mood, while keeping the synth lines snappy and slick for those who prefer a little quirkiness in their club tunage.
Review: Matthew Farrow takes a break from his Kepler alias to deliver this sure shot of garage rudeness to Burnski's Instinct label, and he's sounding absolutely on point. "Inside" has plenty of MC flava sprinkled over it, not to mention all the 4x4 rudeness you could wish for from the bassline upwards. "Steppa" is a more soulful cut with a crafty breakstep twist to it, while "Rouge Fader" brings it back to that naughty middle ground between uptempo house and proper swinging garage, DX7 organ and all. "Break" gets tricky with the drum licks again, completing a set of good time rabble rousing business.
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