Review: New members to the Tonga Balloon Gang, Luxe Boyz add to Mike Skinner's ever-chaotic fray with their own take on song-based gulliness. Delivered in a way that's in-keeping with Skinner's fusion, the London vocal provides soul, humanity and narrative while the crunchy 4x4 beats and squelched out classic late 90s UKG bassline add all the noxious dancefloor oomph you could ever wish for. Not a lot is known about Luxe Boyz for now... Let's hope it doesn't stay that way.
Review: Skinner continues his promise of monthly music with this incredible trio of tracks that, once again, extend his reputation as a creative producer. "The Car That Drives Itself" is a left-minded slice of loopy instrumental garage soul that could quite easily have come from the laptop of Jamie xx. "East. Meats Waist" is much more than a daft play with words; with its mangled horn and strutting, chubby bass groove, it's reminiscent of the stranger disco that emerged from Norway about 10 years ago (think really early Terje). Finally we hit "You Better Be", an exercise in modern UKG, glitch and trap fusion, it's an instant feel-good fire-up with lush chord progressions and heaps of detail in every bar.
Review: Bona fide beats from The Streets; Mike Skinner's pledge to put out fresh treats at the start of every month continues with these three floor-aimed garage-minded grooves. "Not Cricket" is a jazzed out jaunt with sharp vocal edits and the headiest snare-rolls we've heard in a long time. "A Flag In The Water" whisks us off on a sub-soaked future garage carpet ride and we climax with "Sierra Sensation". Peppered with detuned synth sounds, treacle-like amen tape-stops on the fills and eastern flurries, if Helter Skelter hosted a rave in Istanbul in 2045, this would be the rewind anthem. Skinner's killing it right now.
Review: A year on from the release of their debut album, Diary, The Music's Rob Harvey and Mike "The Streets" Skinner reunite to launch the latter's new, self-titled label. "People Watching" is a curious but entertaining cut, with Harvey's strained indie style vocals riding a bumpy, piano-heavy, garage-influenced groove and dirty vocal cut-ups. As you might expect, it's an excellent blend of radio-friendly pop and underground production nous. The same could be said about "In The Mirror You Can Only Kiss Your Mouth", which builds from a woozy, melancholic beginning into a bass-heavy, off-kilter torch song blessed with more intricate percussion programming. Finally, Skinner protege Oscar #Worldpeace lends a hand on "Less Than Tomorrow", adding occasional raps to a dubwise, grime-meets-trip-hop rhythm.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.