Launched by Tom Lea in 2010, Local Action is a London-based independent label that specialises in high-energy, high-emotion electronic music - but with a scope that goes way beyond that, having some of its greatest successes with leftfield international artists like Dawn Richard and Lena Raine.
A decade into operation, it's built an enviable catalogue of classic records, from T. Williams' 'Heartbeat' and DJ Q's 'Brandy & Coke' to recent hits like Finn's 'Sometimes The Going Gets a Little Tough' and India Jordan's 'For You' - and also launched its club-focused sister label 2 B REAL, operated out of Manchester by Finn.
Review: This time around from the ever ready Local Action crew, they welcome back a legendary figure of UK dance music, as the one and only Julio Bashmore returns in sparkling form, unveiling a truly abstract new creation by the name 'Bubblin'. We are greeted by squelching synthesiser melodies and choppy vocal overlays, all glued together groove-inspiring drum switch ups and high intensity sub-lines below. Bashmore has always had an ear for the unique, with this new single and attached edit giving us yet another slice of originality, a theme that runs strongly throughout the heart of the Local Action catalogue.
Review: It's always good to see the DJQ train continuing to run, being one of the true pioneers of bass music in this country. He has once again landed on Local Action for a vibrant collection, this time seeing the past become remade with 'Est. 2003 Remixed'. We are greeted by a host of wonderful garage names, from Todd Edwards & Flava D to Al Wooton & Baltra, giving us a full spectrum of new school garage ideas with a tasty dash of old school to match. The project is an undeniable success in celebrating the endless career of DJQ, with our out and out highlights including the awesome Soul Mass Transit System rework of 'I Couldn't See', originally from DJQ & Wolfie, alongside Jeremy Sylvester's tidy relick of Speedy G's, originally featuring Finn. Awesome work!
Review: It's been a hot minute since we last saw a full length DJ Q project, who returns in style here for this vibrant new 11 track collection entitled 'Est. 2003'. Featuring a host of fabulous guests including Hans Glader, Todd Edwards, Finn, Shola Ama, Sharda, Lily Mckenzie & Star.One, this project is a fantastic showcasing of UKG in 2022, combining the sounds of the old and new into a fabulous collection. Despite the majesty of the collaborations involved, DJ Q impresses even more so on his solo additions, with the quirky vocal twitches of 'It's You' giving us a unique flavour, next to the super emotional harmonies of 'Close Your Eyes', the nostalgia-inducing drum bounces of 'I Couldn't See' and the unforgettable vocal overlays of 'All That I Could'. It's a pretty monumental collection, that even with it being a garage project, we would recommend taking it in via long play format!
Review: Next up, we have a seriously cool collection of treats as the legendary Local Action pull together some of their biggest creations over the last decade to celebrate '10 Years Of Local Action'. Right from the jump, this is a collection littered with top quality artists, including the likes of Finn, Mosca, Terri Walker, T.Williams, DJQ, Slack & many many more. Actually having the opportunity to dive into the Local Action catalogue with all of its many years condensed into one release really does highlight just how creative they have been able to be over the years. We would definitely recommend checking out I. JORDAN 's 'For You' as part of your own personal dive, alongside the gorgeous summer pulses of LOFT's 'Wish It Would Rain' and the outstanding soundscaping work of E.M.M.A's 'Into Indigo' whilst you're at it!
Review: The Local Action crew have a fantastic knack for combining the niche with the accessible, a theme very much explored across this fantastic four tracker from Sharda, making his return to the Bristolian giants. We begin with the booming 4x4 rolling drums and icy melodic drives of 'South', giving us a tidy UKG-influenced intro, before Y U QT arrives to add some additional spice to 'What I Feel', another garage-centric design, this time focussing on more stripped back rhythms and well processed vocal slices throughout. From here, big basslines arrive with vengeance on 'Got to Live', giving us a serious system roller, topped with glittering chord progressions and more tidy vocal work, before the jungle-inspired rhythmic switch ups and unpredictable processing of 'No Fear' rounds us off with a slap. Awesome stuff as per from both Sharda & the Local Action team.
Review: Jersey Club and mainstream trance hit the front once again with UNIIQU3's Heartbeats on Local Action! Dipping and diving through an autotune of wild, deconstructive and uber contemporary genres, all matter of UK and US styles collide here with the standout hit being "Microdosing" - a club-pop crossover. iIth the rest of the EP reminiscent of a new school Uffie sound only up to date with US and UK garage influences, this EP explores themes pioneered by future music representatives like Hyperdub, Sophie and Planet Mu. Super fresh Baltimore club.
Review: Local Action regular Finn frequently delivers inspired EPs that sit somewhere between dancefloor melancholia and rush-inducing euphoria. This trademark blend of bittersweet bliss once again comes to the fore on his latest release. For proof, check 'A Good Place', where a yearning female vocal sample is contrasted by New Jersey garage organs, sparkling piano riffs and a sparse but impactful house beat. He's at his melancholic, floor-friendly best on 'Getting Off (It's So Good)', where emotive chords and lo-fi lead lines tussle for attention with deep sub-bass and skittish drum machine beats, while 'R U Still Well' is an organ-sporting deep house number that sounds like it needs a hug. To round things off, he ups the tempo on 'We Better Make a Move', which boasts some heady, minor-key chords.
Review: The thing we love about the Local Action imprint is that they genuinely keep us guessing every single time with where their next release is going to take us. This time around, they pull together a monumental collaboration as the ages of UKG collide in style. DJ Q & Hans Glader, two of the most talked about names across different eras of garage music, are joined by the unmistakable vocal marvels of Shola Ama for this wavy singalong entitled 'I Can't Stay'. There is something so appealing about this one's combination of organic sounding percussion and ethereal pad textures, in between which Shola's magnificent vocal sits perfectly. It's a summer singalong for sure!
Review: Earning a reputation through the singles and EPs he's released with Of Paradise White Label and Lost Palms, through to the albums he's put out on 96 And Forever Records, Baltra has arrived at large on Local Action with a mini-album if you take into account its two extended bonus tracks". With Baltra's vocals cast upfront in his trademark style, reverberated or vocoded, Balktra moves from the murky pop opener "Make It B.I.G", to the spoken words of "Will You Be?" and the blissfully distorted bassline trip, "Like A Butterfly". Converging on all manner of future music styles that trip across ambient house and R&B - "Work (It) Out" presents its most dancefloor orientated number - good enough for a Dubsided release back in the day - to the neo-future pop of "Baby". Baltra's got Ambition.
Review: The Local Action crew are back at it again, revisiting one of their most popular original releases in recent times as DJQ & Hans Glader join forces once again, this time to celebrate their 'Thief In The Night' original with two scorching remixes. First up, Salute arrives with a blissful recreation, unleashing his super-uplifting style of dance music production with a tasty rework indeed. The second remix comes to us from the ever-dependable Al Wootton, who mellows the whole vibe of the tune out with a down-tempo, chord-laiden rethink, taking it to a different dimension entirely. Awesome work!
Review: There is always something weird and wonderful to look forward to when the Local Action team is in town. This latest drop from Baltra continues that experimental energy as we are gifted two very original creations. We begin with the super-colourful percussive arrangements and constantly expanding rhythmic designs of the title track 'Baltra', which deploys some serious carnival energy with it's incredibly well stacked up drum sections. This is a showstopper to say the least, which always happens to complete with a fabulous extended mix, once again showing just how valuable the Local Action imprint is to the world of underground dance music.
Review: Evan Majunder-Swift's rise as 96 Back shows no signs of stopping. Having recently collaborated with Paul Woolford AKA Special Request, he has now signed to Local Action and will deliver a trio of releases over the course of 2021. The first of those, 9696 Dream, is predictably impressive, with the Sheffield-born artist delivering a non-stop, mixed mini-album rich in atmospheric analogue sounds, spacey electronics, intergalactic ambient soundscapes and grooves that variously doff a cap to classic IDM, late '80s Larry Heard style deep house, skittish electro and the more saucer-eyed end of ambient techno. It's a hugely attractive and enjoyable set all told, with exceptional sound thanks to a bang-up mastering job from Bleep techno pioneer (and Warp Records co-founder) Rob Gordon. In a word: essential.
Review: Now this is a link up that we hadn't imagined, but now we see it, boy does it make sense. The team over at Local Action are known for being some of the most creative when it comes to building releases, so to see them link together DJQ and Hans Glader for a super tidy new single makes perfect sense. The track itself takes the title 'Thief In The Night' and is a certified belter, focussing on some genius vocal sampling and placement alongside a smooth, well rounded combination of soothing chord and lively drums to give us a tasty dish indeed. It's an international collaboration that once again shows just how popular garage music has become around the world in 2021!
Review: Following on from the super well received release of 'All That I Could', Local Action are bringing back the DJQ flavour to unleash two extremely enjoyable remixes, kicking off with Octo Octo giving a wonderful relick to 'It's You'. This is exactly what we wanted to hear when remixing this type of tune, altering the rhythms and instrumentation slightly but never moving too far away from those super catchy vocal lines. On the flip, Lavonz arrives on the scene with a mind to get choppy as the title track of 'All That I Could' is given a complete overhaul, stipping the track back into a spacey dancefloor killer!
Review: The thing we have come to absolutely love about the Local Action movement is the fact they are never scared to enter in the unknown and explore the more experimental side of dance music. This latest drop is a perfect example of that as the wonderful Shanique Marie links up with the ever-ready Finn for two party starting originals, with the breaks-infused drumlines and shimmering electronic melodies of 'Lifey' catching our ears immediately with its unique makeup! On the flipside we are given 'Movers', another catchy yet extremely original sounding creation in 'Movers', with Finn's shuffling drum work and fluttering pad textures allowing Shanique's vocal to dance above, jumping between patois flows and singalong vocals with relative ease! A truly enjoyable two tracker!
Review: As always when we see a new DJ Q drop land into the store, we are filled with excitement, with this latest release back a fantastic nod to his garage roots across two summer-fueled firebombs. We kick off with 'All That I Could', a glistening singalong, perfect for warm evenings and a bubbling party atmosphere, assisted by some extremely well crafted vocal sampling and floating atmospheric textures throughout. On the flip, the party intensifies somewhat as 'It's You' deploys a combination of moogy bass textures with vibrant 4x4 rhythms to get the dance jumping. It's a fabulous look into the direction DJ Q is taking, and we simply can't get enough!
Review: Over the years, the Local Action team have gained quite the reputation for delivering unorthodox yet incredibly popular releases, which is why we were so keen to dive into this bubbling four tracker from 96 Back. We begin with 'Half A Reach', a glitchy expanse of colourful keyboard riffs and crunchy drum licks, all swimming beneath a computerized soundscape. Next, we go down an even more unusual road as the slow drum march of 'Waif' gives birth to a chorus of glitchy melodic hops, before 'Hot Tip' goes retro on us with a choppy rhythmic switch up. Finally, the blissful synth sweeps and charming melodic influxes of 'Inclination Fresh' gives this one a delicate final touch.
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