Review: Jamaican toaster Sizzla seems to be getting more positive with age. "Champion Sound", the fourth single to be taken from his wholeheartedly conscious and cheery Born A King LP, sees him adding his distinctive vocals to a deliciously warm and jaunty reggae riddim. A trio of contemporaries - Johnny Clarke, Burro Banton and Lyashanti - also tackle the same riddim. Each adds their own touch to proceedings, with Clarke's soulful interpretation and Banton's throaty, ragga-influenced toasting sounding particularly potent. There's also an astonishingly epic accompanying remix package, with the likes of Dub Phizix and Skeptikal taking it in turns to throwdown versions variously informed by dancehall, ragga, jungle and Skrillex style wobble-step.
Review: Bass music has taken some seriously whimsical departures over the years but few artists capture its trippiest potential than San Fran sleaze-peddler An Ten Nae. Following his infamous "Acid Crunk" series, here we find him getting jiggy on a Sound Of Music / nursery rhyme flex. With a warped - but not too uncomfortable - child's rap melting over the groove, this is one unique jam that will make your dancefloor stop in their tracks. Remix-wise An Ten Nae offers up a tribal reversion while Ooah add more of a trap/R&B twist to the darkness. "Acid Spill" closes the show with a stark, spikey breakbeat workout complete with, you've guessed it... truckloads of acid funkery. Lovely.
Review: A very interesting release from the revered engineer who was previously known as the Phat Conductor... As the title suggests, there's a strong dose of ethereal, almost-heavenly synth action laced across many of the tracks. Don't worry; it's countered perfected by the sub-low grit and pent up aggression that's locked in every groove. Highlights include the flamenco guitar and glitch fusion on "Alleyway", the soft arpeggios and wistful hook on "The Demon Slayer Part One" and the utterly breath-taking riff on "Follow Me". See you on the front pew!
Review: Deep psychedelic sounds from electro/breakbeat artist Mad Zach on this latest five-track release from Muti Music, which sees him experiment with slow, weirded-out crunky hip hop on the excellent "Jazz Arpeggiator", or mixing echoey vocal shots with boogie bass on the equally brilliant "Glitch Villain". Showing a real HudMo-esque flare for combining warped sounds with hyper-modern beats, "Wailering Moonshine" takes dubstep in all the right directions while the LFO-garggle of "Falling Into Teh Mine" is simply jaw-droppingly fresh.
Review: Canadian duo Knight Riderz have been making a big splash in the breaks world, with neon-guided originals as well as hot remixes for the likes of Fresstylers and South Rakkas. This eight track LP really packs a huge amount of bang for your buck, right from the storming half-step breaks of the opening title tune into the spectral crunk of "Reign In The Clouds". Hip-hop acapellas get diced and sprayed all over the excellent "Synthetic Seduction", while "Brain Explosion" sees the vocoders come out to play over a ludicrously intense metal-funk jam - truly one that needs to be heard to be believed. Next-level breakbeat, this comes thoroughly recommended.
Review: Well established US label Muti Music's latest signing, Knight Riderz, mark their debut on the imprint with a nicely varied six track EP. With four stand-out tracks, namely "Mind Riddim", "More Fire", "Six 2 Midnight" and "Mind Riddim Dub", Knight Riderz have certainly delivered on this one. While Juakali's vocal on the atmospheric dancehall influenced "Mind Riddim" jacks up the energy, "Mind Riddim Dub's" tantalizing sparse use of the vocal elevates the track to new heights. With finger clicks and water droplets, "More Fire" is intensely deep and atmospheric, intricately bubbling along and seemingly drawing influences from old 8-bit video games. With more 8-bit bleeps and melodic arpeggios, "Six 2 Midnight" captures a slice of nostalgia for the 80s generation without alienating the kids that will inevitably be shocking out to this one. A great release!
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