Review: Germany representing! Mannheim mandem Bassface and Phlex dig deep into the riffiest of roots for this absurdly catchy couplet for Low Down Deep. "Hyperion" swings the axe like Serum in lumberjack mode; heavily, addictively, brazenly. "Dorn" takes us deeper down the bassline rabbit hole with big metallic scrapes and groans while a looser bass rattles in the fills with a 40-a-day rattle to its chest. Absolute stinkage.
Review: In 1990 rave legends Rat Pack sang 'I can feel another rush coming on...' While no one can prove this, we suspect they were singing about this absolute stamp sesh from Belgian bump thumper Basstripper. Laced with a trippy vocal texture, a shimmering synth texture on the breakdown and a sizzling hot coal bassline, it's definitely worth singing (and dancing) about. Rat Pack never sang about extreme weather but don't let that stop you from hammering "Typhoon". Switchy, bouncy and once again coded with some pretty trippy textures, Basstripper nails it once again.
Review: Blackley's back with another life hack... If you're going to bury them with your sounds then be polite and "Build Them A Coffin". Strong enough to keep the worms off your Rolex and lined with cosy cushions, Blackley's quite the carpenter with his use of vibrant samples and gurgling bassline. "Over 18", meanwhile, screams set intro thanks to its soulful vocals and sunny side feels before melting into a grotty pot of weird sounds and alien textures. High grade business.
Review: Logan D's Low Down Deep welcome Complex to the family with these two stinking wallopers. "Tested" takes the lead with its sharp but sweet sense of funk. All one note hits and octave variations, it's a classic alchemy that will drive the dancefloor nuts every time. Meanwhile "Under The Bed" takes things into darker territories with a creepy sample and a wobbled-out bass so strong it could life up your bed while you sleep in it. Don't have nightmares.
Review: Some people are born in a hospital. Other people were born in a birthing pool. Jesus was born in a manger. Complex was "Born In Darkness" and with designs as stinky and rudeboy as these, you can most certainly tell. The title track is a heads-down creeper with some cool harmonics on the bass as it weaves its hunch-back riff between the gravestones. "Brain Freeze" lives up to its name, too. Woozy, strange and disorienting and prone to some cool moments of swing on the fills, Complex has cooked up something unique here. Best served cold.
Review: Low Down Deep's stinking strain series continues with the one and only Pleasure. Now clocking a mean decade on the professional release speedo, here he lays down two more roughhouse riff-heavy jams. With its Q&A bass textures and relentless drive, "So Dirty" is so grimy you'll need a wash straight after dropping it. "Sh1tB@g", meanwhile, is also as foul and aggy as the title suggests - cascading harmonic basses spiral deeper into the prang pastures as your floor gradually loses its sh!t to you once again...
Review: There are certainly expectations when you name a tune "Slut Party"; it's got to be sleazy, dirty, sweaty and shaded with a general sense of wrong or the office of fair trading need to be called in. Clearly DJ Pleasure is up to date on consumer laws as the vibe is so stank you need a shower for a week after hearing it. The rest of the EP is pleasantly grubby too; "D'Stress" gets a screaming VIP while NU Elementz adds a little extra laser mischief to "Espanol". Party on dudes.
Review: Last spotted on Low Down Deep last summer, Higher Stakes Sly returns with four more signature jumpy funk cuts. Teaming up with long-time conspirator Pacso for the first two tunes we're slapped silly by the 70s car chase wah wah guitars of "Honey Monster" and buzzed around a series of dirty warehouse floors on the classic bassline-focused "909". Going solo for the second half of the game, "Pull Up Riddem" is a dancehall stepper that drops into a game-changing reverse bassline while "Playing Games" builds with an almost Orbital-style synthy intro before kicking us in the nether regions with its warm but deadly hook.
Review: All Low Down Deep releases are important but this one is especially significant as Logan D unleashes the first of what is likely to be a mountain of unreleased beats by the sorely missed Dominator who sadly passed away on June 8 this year. Both remixes here have Dom and Logan's stamp slashed throughout; Pleasure's 2014 track from The Firm album sees a ramp up in bite and a much more demonic wolf-like bark while "Flight 33" gets a complete tear-down and rebuild with much more brutal, low-swung bassline. The results speak for themselves. RIP Dom.
Review: Following their euphoric, hands-up anthem "Paint The Sky", scene soldiers Sly & Pacso remind us of their raw skill and underground diversity with this epic six-track journey on Logan D's Low Down Deep. "5 Tones" is rich in concentrated bass energy, "Doom" is all about the jugular-slicing jump-up darkness, "Party Tonight" whisks us back to the heady days of Urban Takeover, "Bombardment" lives up to its name with an array of militant bass textures, "Christmas Boogie" sounds seasonal but its cinematic strings and teeth-bearing bass will kill it at any time of the year. Finally the duo show their soulful side once again with the skippy, carefree jazz-funk of the Alicia King-fronted "Guilty Pleasure". Knowledge? Sly and Pacso have it in spades!
Review: Dominator sadly passed away last year, and to celebrate his legacy Low Down Deep have released a full LP of his music, including collaborations galore. The first tune features Nu Elementz and its satisfyingly solid, with punmching bass stabs and a rock-hard percussive base to go with them. All of the tracks on this release are just big, from the glitched-out width of 'Better Late Than Never' featuring Majistrate, to the subtle yet funk-infused rhythm of 'Atomic Playboy' featuring Ego Tripping. Scene legend Heist makes a couple of appearances on 'Sway' and 'Cowboy' and Sub Zero tears up the place on 'Terror Notts'. This is sick EP that does justice to another D&B figure who was taken too soon. RIP Dominator.
Review: The Teflon Don returns to LDD with four more of his signature seismic bass sessions. "Bomb Squad" sees him colliding with Turno once again for another drama damager where big strings wrap tightly around a serious groaning bass hook while "Think First" whips up a storm with a classical lead that plunges into a crisp and infectious riff. Dig deeper into the collection for a frenzied Q&A-characterised master blaster ("History Making") and a thundering orchestra-charged harmonically-heaved shredder ("Art Form") Serious rawness.
Review: Hurters don't come much more heavy hearted than these. Just over a year before he was tragically taken away from us, Dom's legacy lives on with two important additions to his hugely influential back cat. The long-awaited "History Making" VIP finally enjoys a release complete with its beautifully trippy melted jazz breakdown while A.M.C is given Dom and Turno's classic "Bomb Squad" and gives it an explosive twist of its own. Rest in peace Dom.
Review: Low Down Deep are regular appearances here for two main reasons. Firstly, they release a hell of a lot of music. Secondly, it almost always hits hard and in good order. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at Vital & Mass' collaborative EP Think First/Rolling Stoney/No Gangsta/Deeper. 'Think First' is without a doubt the highlight of the EP, with an infectiously funky arrangement that's grounded in a glitchy sense of progression and movement. It goes hard, but in a way that's not off-putting or over the top, and it's a fitting tribute to an excellent original by the late DJ Dominator That's the general impression of this EP: jump-up with serious finesse and class.
Review: Walking Dead founder Eazy steps up to Low Down Deep with two barnstorming arson anthem. "Can't Lose" is all about the urgency thanks to its rising buzz-like siren tapping dramatically over groaning basses and swaggering breaks while "Left Behind" brings a little human soul to the chaos as a sweet female vocal and steel drums build up to another signature Eazy riot bassline. Killer business.
Review: Purveyors of fine DnB since 1996, this Essex outfit (Ian Wait, Martin Blackman, Matt North) don't mess about. Here we have a new two-track joint (literally if you see the cover) on Low Down Deep Recordings. Short and sweet and to the point, this single is all about fast fun. "Thrill Seekers" is a proper jump up jam, with dancehall bass melodies, scattershot breaks and spacey effects. "Tracker' is a filthier beast altogether, with sub-troubling wobbly bass barks, speedy drums and some effective vocals samples.
Review: At long last... Ego Trippin's highly anticipated album All City is about to open a whole case of gully whoop-ass in our pieholes and here are our starter courses. "Mind Bender" is all about the warped, melted drone bassline that sits somewhere between Serum and Micky Finn with its funky, weirdness and art of surprise. The already massive "Trill Seekers", meanwhile, gets a G'd up VIP with a cool variation on the bass riff and some sleaze funk on the synths via the fills. Trippin on sunshine lads.
Review: Train wrecking, hard bopping, barely breathing riff wizards Ego Trippin continue their rolling onslaught with four more addictive hook-works. "Drum Beatz" rattles and shakes some classic samples in a brand new way, "Lost Your Mind" brings back memories of Bingo circa 2004 while "Change The Beat" is a lolloping weird-out that groans so rudely it could make T>I blush. Fancy a VIP chaser? Take a glug of the subtly refreshed "Tracker". Trippin on sunshine..
Review: Next stop on Low Down Deep's tubular and literally underground series comes a dispatch from do-no-wrong duo Ego Trippin. Kicking off with a cheeky manipulation on last year's album highlight "Mind Bender", it's business from the off... And it's followed by the funk thumping early Clipz style harmonic riff and springy bounce on "Ask Somebody", pure brass drama and richter scale rumbling bass on "Sensor" and the flabbiest wobbles you've ever heard on Low Down Deep in the form of "Lit Up". Tickets please!
Review: We've been waiting for this one for a long time... After almost two decades in the dance, Ego Trippin deliver their highly anticipated debut album and, as the duo's star continues to rise to new heights, it couldn't come at a better time. A powerful 17 track package that stretches their style from slinky worm-like minimal funk ("Mind Bender"), disco darkness ("Bite It") and sweet soul steppery ("Moving On") to frazzled sandpaper funk ("Ghetto Code") and straight up rolling toxic grit, this leave no gully stone unturned and places them right at the top of the Low Down Deep table. Thrilling.
Review: You've got to be tripping us... Ego Trippin have just dropped their third release this month and it's another monster. Following the second part of their "Tales Of The Darkside" series on Hi-Def comes this super-sweet five-tracker on Low Down Deep "Chocolate". Every bit as tasty as the name suggests, highlights include the classic early 2000s style Q&A and running drums of "Desire", the funk-riddled party-slapper "Feeling Good" and the raffish frazzled bass of the title track. Tuck in.
Review: Low Down Deep has become one of the premier destinations for UK jump-up, playing host to every big name in the scene over the years. Now a proper flag-holder for the resurgent jump-up movement, Low Down Deep are back and they're repping Ego Trippin, one of the big boys in the scene right now. He's coming out with two VIPs and track one, featuring the late DJ Dominator, is playful yet devastating, with an upbeat and funky arrangement that lands hard - very hard. 'Spinning Elbow' is less subtle, with gravelly synths that pummel the top end of the range and a snapping drum line that nails the bottom end. Yes guys!
Review: Give it up, give it in, let us begin... Ego Trippin return to Low Down Deep with two massive tracks that have been on dub for them, Logan D and a few other lucky DJs of late. Both laced with classic Ego Trippin' signature hookiness, warm bass and stripped back fun, "Give It Up" is a rattling hip-slinker with classic harmonics and reverse effects on the bass while "To Be With You" pushes the blend in more of a leftfield direction with a full vocal drop on the breakdown that we guarantee will have your dancefloor melting. Serious heaters.
Review: Low Down Deep has become one of the premier destinations for UK jump-up, playing host to every big name in the scene over the years. Now a proper flag-holder for the resurgent jump-up movement, Low Down Deep are back and they're repping Ego Trippin, a duo who have been round the block and then some. They're coming out with their second full-length LP, a rare thing these days, and track one 'Bad Girls' is playful yet devastating, with an upbeat and funky arrangement that lands hard - very hard. 'Baby Blues' is less subtle, with pitched up synths that pummel the top end of the range and a snapping drum line that nails the bottom end. Yes guys!
Review: Filthy Habits has been on a bit of a spree recently, with a slew of releases on labels like G13 and others. This time though he's on arguably the best dedicated jump-up label in the scene - Low Down Deep - and here's here with a wicked slew of pointed, angry tracks. The B-side 'Talk Too Much' is the standout tune, with a ragga jungle introduction that's flipped into a biting, jungle number that grates and grinds in all the right places. Absolutely wicked tune this and it's complimented by an almost equally cool A-side - definitely check this single out.
Review: Filthy Habits? We wouldn't be surprised if Filthy Habits himself had a few of those, not just because it's in his name but because of how downright filthy his tunes are. 'Catastrophe' is a rush of pitched-up deathy synths that rolls out at max speed and with zero sense of giving a fuck about, well, anything really. The flip-side is the highlight, though, as 'Dungeon' hangs in mid-air, it's stabbing oscillations cutting through sound with an eerily potent feeling of satisfaction that we're dying to hear over a sound system. Big.
Review: Filthy Habits and Jeopardize have been collaborating quite a lot this year. Following tag-team tear-ups on G13 and Biological comes this epic four track that runs the freaky gamut and back again. The title track sets the scene with its groaning, rolling bassline grumpiness and a very well known vocal sample. It's backed by plenty more freaky fire as "Strange" gets all pranged out with a chainsaw Halloween style riff, "Gangster" fuses droning bass with dubby washes and trippy elements while "Necklace Of Death" signs out another solid year for Low Down Deep with a hooky harmonic high-toned riff that you'll be humming well into the next decade. Freak out!
Review: What a year it's been for Goldie's partner in crime, Calypso Muzak and Co-Lab label bossman and hugely diverse and open minded producer Heist. Following a whole host of EPs on labels from Headz to Horizons he returns with another blunderbuss collection; "Broken Down" is a spiky bag of angry wasps, "Against The Grain" tips a nod to Clipz circa 2003, "Prosthetic Legs" pays homage to superhumans of the world with the wildest pirate triplet you'll hear this month while "Through The Gate" is all about the sopping wet alien emissions. No one is doing like Heist right now.
Review: Monday, Tuesday "Fappy" days. Wednesday, Thursday "Fappy" days. The weekend comes, our CDJs hum, ready to play this tune. Yeah... That's how good Heist's latest dispatch is for Low Down Deep - we can just murk up Happy Days lyrics. A massive record for Heist and Logan in recent months, you already know how big this is. "No Cure" takes us down dark pastures with more techy textures and just a mild twang of Belgium to the hook and plenty of Heist funk in the weight and swing. These "Fappy" days are yours and mine yo!
Review: One of the most trusted, respected and versatile producers in the game, Heist finally delivers his debut album Iacon. The clue is in the title; the selection represents a range of his many creative transformations as he reminds us how he can melt your face with buzzy jumpy hooks one minute ("Fathomos Gob") and have you doing the Bristol jitterbug the next ("Seal The Deal") In between we're shaking and stirred by the belly belches of "Atlas Womp" and electrocuted by high votage riffage on the wryly titled "Misery Guts". Ain't nobody getting miserable after a heavy sesh with the Heist. Bring on part three.
Review: Heist welcomes us back to sunny Iacon for the third and final instalment of his debut album. A hearty hoorah to the more jumpier side of his broad canvas, the whole album takes a deep dive into drum & bass music's most mischievous subgenre. Writhing in timeless subs just as much as it is spiky menace, this third piece of the puzzle brings the whole collection together neatly. Highlights include the humming subs and subtle rolls of "Limpets" and the high blood pressured laser stabber "Tidal Wave" but the whole EP - just like the previous two parts of the album - deserves applause.
Review: Heist has developed a reputation for tough, urban-edged sonics over many years of cultivation and curation, over a decade of doing his bit for a scene and over a decade of pumping out very, very good music. He's diverse in his capabilities and Iacon Part 1 sees him returning to his jump up-ier side, something we're definitely very keen on, especially when it's on a label like Low Down Deep. This release is wicked and 'Dissect the Past' is a highlight, with a snapping percussive line forming around its inching, creeping basses and eerie background ambience. Top stuff right here.
Review: For all y'all monsters who need triple helpings; Heist's Iacon EP series has transformed into the album sized beast it's always been in its heart. 12 tracks of Heist's heavier, dancefloor sound, pushing and pulling you in all kinds of playful directions; the rubber ball ricochets and weird grunts of "Misery Guts", the spiky, aggressive hornet's nest bass buzzes of "Intruder", the out-and-out low-swung subbed-out gully of "Limpets", the pure grizzle of "Torn Apart"... The list goes on. What's more, there are a few cheeky treats at the end of the some tracks that transform Iacon into an even more remarkable album shaped beast. One of the strongest D&B albums of the year so far.
