Review: Having twisted our melons and squeezed our souls last month with the first volume, man like Flaco returns to Influence to finish what he started with the second part of this "4 To The Floor" concept. "Neon City" sets the levels super high with a solemn and soulful jazzy vibe before "Odyssey" looks up to the stars and sends us spacebound. Elsewhere "Phantasm" whips up a seductive yet dark rolling edge before "Say Goodbye" brings the EP to a close. A collab with fellow US stalwart Jamal, it's a percussive rattler that bites and barks with fierce energy. Four thumbs up.
Review: Following his stunning album After Dark, Easy cuts through the noise once again with another purring slab of glistening, gossamer smooth soulful and deep drum & bass. Timeless to the core, from the moment 'Get Down' oozes out of your speakers you know you're in business. 'Here We Stand' takes things on more of a cosmic flex while 'Holloway Road' pays homage to London's heart and soul with dubby horns and a side order of wallop before 'Never Stop' ends with a subtle but empowering touch. Beautiful.
Review: Influence regular and all-round US D&B don Flaco returns with a stunning voyage into the most futurist of pastures. Each cut hitting with that vast, spatial sci-fi sheen that Influence have made their signature, 'Crystals' sets the tone and pace with an ice cold trip into giant craggy landscape of planet stepper. Elsewhere 'Ganymede' nods at the sounds and style of J Majik or Mark System with its crisp emotional clarity, 'Passenger' takes us deeper into the night with a much darker and tense AI-style flex while 'Your Gift' closes on a more contemplative, introspective vibe. Stunning from edge to edge and not a 4x4 beat in sight!
Review: Sterling purveyors of classy deep D&B, Influence invite Insideman to the fray... And the results are every bit as beguiling and immersive as you'd hope. 'White Flag' hits with a mournful vibe thanks to a sweeping spiral of reverse tones and a subtle touch of eastern mysticism while 'Credence' carries more of a surging, hopeful soul vibe thanks to the precision placed vocal shots. Stunning.
Review: US drum & bass has never been in such a healthy of vibrant state as it is right now in 2023, but it's always been there and it's always been characterised and driven by longstanding soldiers like Jaybee. A man who's been on this for years and previous flexed on labels like V, Good Looking, Innerground and Mac II, here he is on Influence with two more exceptional weapons. 'Mudhole' is the heads-down groover of the two; all sludgey and deep with a vibe that's just round the corner from DLR. 'Bad Guy' takes us to much grittier territories. All spikey and savage, think Trex but Jaybee's own sense of trippy funk. Killer sounds from Influence each and every.
Review: Hot on the heels of Bungle's exceptional EP, the mighty Motiv now makes his debut on long-standing vibe platform Influence. And with it he brings a little nod towards a very picturesque woodland area in Stockport called Etherow. We're a download store, not a UK tourism site so we'll spare you the finer points on Motiv's inspiration but we can tell you this is another exceptional soulful escapade from the label. Gradually building in weight and depth over the entire EP, we kick off with dreamy vocal cuts featuring Luke Truth before getting darker and more cosmic. Highlights include the springy house-like shimmers of 'Light Years' and the Detroitian dynamic of 'Touch & Feel'.
Review: Following the first part in March, Bungle returns to Influence with another beautiful collection of originals. As always with the enigmatic Brazilian, it's a wholesome and vibe-high range of flavours across the release. The piano-laced introspection on 'Crowded', the Detroitian influence on 'Ascension', the springy techno funk 'Target Unknown' and the deep, hypnotic and emotional finale 'Under Influence'. What a release. Bungle can do no wrong.
Review: Hey there multi-genre DJ. So you like to mix up the tempos in your sets do you? I bet you think it makes you look really cool? Well it does. Especially when you're playing around with transition tunes like 'House Tune' by the unstoppable Conrad Subs; a purring slab of bass weight drama that suddenly drops into the sweetest slo-mo house groove one could ever ask for. Long enough to loop out and go off-piste, short enough to keep the vibes alive and the die-hard D&B heads from moaning (too much) it's the Subby one doing what he does best. Need something a little deeper and floatier? Look no further than 'Night Talk'. What a release!
Review: Fire in the hole! Actually, with Commix, Bungle, Zero T, Sevin, L-Side, Lynx, HLZ and Paul T & Edward Oberon all remixing, we should probably make that EPIC INFERNO in the hole. As you'd expect from such a top shelf rollcall, the vibes are premium across this multi-EP release. Highlights include the wry, trippy funk of Sevin's remix, the horn-heaving glory of Lynx's sci-fi skank-up and of course the most firesome finale possible - Paul T & Edward Oberon ripping Conrad Subs to pieces on 'Fury'. Someone call the fire brigade!
Review: Legendary Brazilian groove maestro Bungle returns to Influence again for the start of a series of crucial releases on Aaron Jay's label. Flexing a forever versatile, soulful but gritty sound, across 'Under Influence' we're treated to his range from the cosmic, surging vibes of 'Low Flying' to the big filtered disco reflections of 'Daylight'. Funk, groove and warmth all the way, we can't wait to hear more from this Under Influence series. Bungle hits us every time!
Review: Following last year's crucial 31 Records release LJHigh makes his debut on Influence with four state of the art growlers and prowlers. 'Fallen Angels' is one of those low slung sweeper tracks where the bassline purrs like a radar, bringing everything back to earth. It's backed by more stylised thumpers. 'Phantasia' brings a little space aged creepiness, 'The Beginning' comes with big soulful and jazzy splashes while 'Oscar' is all about that moody sub-line and those steppy drums. Angelically good.
Review: Joining dots between two sounds that came from the same mindset and very similar streets and cultural context, Influence Records have curated something incredibly special here with 'Diaries From Detroit'; a VA collection boasting some of the most talented names across the D&B generations from Seba to Conrad Subs. All exploring those cold futuristic aesthetics that both jungle and Detroit techno share, highlights can be found at every twist and turn but you'd be crazy not to check the likes of subtleties and immense subs of A Audio's 'Mercury', the ice cold grumbles of Lynx's 'De-Tro' and the shimmering dub techno influences on L-Side's powerful 'Point Of View'. What a collection.
Review: Italian stallion HLZ gets busy on Influence with two absolute stunners for the sunnier months. 'Dusk Till Dawn' sees him linking up with one of the most decorated MCs in the movement Professor Cleveland Watkiss who guides us from sunset to sun-up with his otherworldly harmonies. 'Sakura' meanwhile blooms into life with shimmering chords and a deep housey / jazzy feel. Understated and so dreamy you might have to pinch yourself. Heavily Influential sounds.
Review: Flaco steps up to Influence with two deliciously soulful cuts right here. 'Reveal' takes the lead with a strong Marcus / Soulr flavour. Swinging, soft focus, filtered. You could imagine this going down in Movement at Bar Rumba or Swerve at The End 20 years ago - understated and so cool. 'Never Understand' has more of an Exit or mid 2000s Commix flavour to its vibe. Cosmic star-gazing material with precision breaks and so much space Bezos could park 100 phallic rockets in there. Ready for take-off?
Review: Fresh from smashing through to the third place play-offs in Rebel Music's awesome Dub Wars tournament, rising duo A-Audio continue to flex into 2022 with this delicious and wide-ranging four-tracker. 'Lost' is all about the soulful, introspective vibes before we gradually get deeper and darker throughout the EP. 'Looking For You' has a mid 2000s Hospital vibe with a glistening finish and darker, growling touches on the low-end, 'How Many Times' is heads-down jazzy hypnosis which could easily be compared to the likes of Phil Tangent or Artificial Intelligence while 'Trust' closes the EP on a dream, far-away tip. A++, top of the class.
Review: The unstoppable, ever-flexible, super-dependable Conrad Subs barges his way onto Influence with two of his more leftfield work-outs just in time for a new lockdown. '2am Breakbeats' lives up to its name as our focus is fixed on the fractured drums and the ever changing switches. 'Timelines' meanwhile is all about the spacey cosmic themes, loose roomy breaks and gentle jazzy undertones. Influential.
Review: New talent Advisory steps up to the evergreen futurism platform Influence with two deep and spacy numbers right here. 'Brickwall' is as bouncy as you'd like and laced with space and funk around each cosmic texture and sudden breakbeat flurry. 'Heart Of Thorns' takes more of a soulful twist with dreamy chords wrapped around another space-bound groove. Deep but still dangerous; Advisory fits the Influence signature perfectly. Looking forward to hearing more from him in the future.
Review: For an artist named Undefined, this young UK talent definitely has a very defined and heavyweight sound. Already a popular artist in Fabio's stacks, and armed with a strong Perezian sense of dark and light, each of these cuts treads a fine line between the shades and shadows of soulful and stern. 'Oracle' ploughs with a heaving bassline beneath silky beats and pads, 'All I Ask' is a dreamy arpeggio-led workout while 'Gaps' brings swathes of sweeping emotion into the mix. Finally 'Time Will Tell' brings the EP to a close with a barbed sense of euphoria and a lingering feeling we'll be hearing from Undefined again very very soon.
Review: Last spotted on the likes of CNVX and None60, Wagz returns to Influence with two powerful late night soul-arresters. 'Rotations' hits like Seba in a stern mood or Klute in a reasonable mood. Big in the space-age / cosmic textures and extra large helpings in the weight department, there's more than a touch of the Soul:r about this one. 'Velvet' maintains the quality with more star-gazing elements, a big purring sub and a gentle progression that will elevate your crowd without them even realising. Stunning.
Review: Easy shows us the way to San Jose with these two teasers from his forthcoming album After Dark. First up comes the title track, a moody slab of deep D&B laced with the perfect balance of drifting, dreamy emotions and a heavy, focused groove. It's backed by an equally sprightly piece of soulful D&B with 'Burt Bacharach'. A celebration of one of the world's most influential songwriters, this will keep the raindrops from falling your head for a long long time to come. Bring on the album!
Review: Feel the burn! One of the most consistent and forward-thinking Brazilian dnb artists returns with a full-strength four-pack on Influence Records. Deep dark and dangerous all the way through, 'Black Mirror' steps through a deep swampy weave of bass and cosmic weaves in a late 90s Blue Note type of way, 'Burning' switches up to deep mode with a little skank rhythm and gentle piano licks while 'Circles' maintains the dubby vibe but in much more of a dub techno way. Finally we're thrust headfirst into the future with the angular swivels and robotic twists of 'Converged' where major flavours of Detroit can be felt in every layer. Bungle you badman.
Review: Lynx is the definition of experienced, both as a solo producer and as an artist & label founder on his own Detail Recordings. Those talents shine through on this single on Aaron Jay's Influence label, and this single shows the two sides to his personality; the A-side, 'Phukalupe' featuring Danger D & Spikey T, hits hard but in a subtle manner, as a huge groaning bassline plods along with a combination of weight and nonchalance. The flip, 'Under The Stars' featuring Jakobi & Kagey is old-school liquid vibes and it reminds us a tad of DJ Marky, especially as the earlier funk stabs give way to bouncing basslines that are tailor made for the club - proper tune this.
Review: Aaron Jay's Influence label is back with more contemplative, sophisticated dance music, sonics that make you want to dance but that also bring an air of production finesse. Hobzee and Zyon Base are responsible, and the pair have crafted a single packed to the rafters with sheer quality. 'Human Response' is lucid and bouncy, a two-step exercise in synthetic funk that has a superb hook and an even better bassline. 'A Little While' is pure lounging liquid, with a piano riff that slowly arises from the mist and gently shimmers into its accompanying wave of lusciously deep low frequencies. Oh yes.
Review: Wagz is an artist with majorly diverse talents, so it's not especially surprising that at least this EP is straight up incredible, and the blend of his respective light-dark specialities makes itself constantly apparent. This is his first full EP on Influence, an imprint perfectly suited to what they've come out with here: five cuts of wispy, intelligent and emotive drum & bass that's dripping with maturity in its melodic construction. 'Dark Star' sticks out, with a growling bass that slowly creeps in just builds and builds, with devil in the detail and an unflappable tendency to keep things stripped back and simple, just the way they're supposed to be. Lovely stuff.
Review: Conrad Subs has merged as a true player within jungle corners, his talent for purveying high quality breakbeats encompassed within this EP on. He doesn't mess around on this and if you like your music packed with breaks and basses, this one is for you. 'Fury' epitomises his approach, with a huge groaning bass stab and luscious reece bass providing the backdrop to what is an absolutely banging jungle cut. 'Run it Pon Dem' is just as good, with oodles of space to play in and a delicate yet heavyweight sub. Conrad is back.
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