Review: Undeniably, there are tonnes upon tonnes of worthy labels experimenting with breakbeat sounds, out there in the digital game. However, only a handful are truly positioned to break barriers and bend trends, such as the unstoppable Rocstar label! For their first EP of 2018, the productive imprint has called upon Jimi Needles and Chaz Thorogood to cause some havoc on our charts. One on drums and the other on vocals and synth work, their only use of breakbeat is to create movement for the angelic, cinematic sounds that engulf each and every track on here. Even "Back Home", which is similar to High Contrast or Alix Perez's strain of d&b, contains something non-dance to its genetic makeup, making up a magnificent collection of tunes for both breaks and non-breaks aficionados. Good music for the good souls out there!
Review: After a magnificently timed stint on Bongo Tronic, an appearance which saw Sir-Vere release his first album to date, the producer returns to the Rocstar imprint with a load of breakbeat bruisers that will no doubt appeal across the entire underground spectrum. "Rebirth" is the tune in question, and it sounds to us like a magnificent return to an early 2000's 'big beat' kind of vibe, twisted blended up with a punkiness not too dissimilar from The Fall. The remix comes from Stevie Vega, who delivers a more straight-laced tech-house version with plenty of progressive flex, and is followed by an essential instrumental cut of the original. Recommended!
Review: If ever there were a Great British Bass Off, master baker Cakeboy would win hands down. Here he presents two new layers of musical sponge, gelled together with some top musical cream and jam. "Weapons" mixes old skool synths with manic ADHD breaks and build-ups. "Rockin'" lays the subby icing on good and thick over scattershot breakbeats, cowbells and frenzied crunchy funk. The timer's rung, the cake's cooled down, time to get stuck in.
Review: Cut La Roc's Rocstar label is showing no signs of mellowing with age, and the blistering "This Is Heaven", a new collaboration with Sir-Vere proves this. With a flaming skull on the cover and furious beats contained within, this seven-minute sizzler marries punky mayhem with a subtle melodic undertone (is that a snippet of Autobahn tucked away in there somewhere?). On the digital flipside "Lips" is less raucous, instead revolving around a squelchy electronic bassline for some Apollo 440 style action.
Review: Every bass fan's favourite gateau blaster returns with four firing slices of fondant funk and fury; Both "On" and "Jib Jab" take us right back to the turn of the century big beat/breakbeat conversation, the former with bone-snapping acid stomps, the latter with stuttering funk a la JDS. "Walking In The Rain" brings us back to the future by way of sleazy mid-tempo glitch funkery and a sexy vocal from Scarlett Quinn. Finally "Supercell" takes us deep into the heart of 2007 when Plump DJs and Ils were ruling; rolling, suitably twisted and fuelled with detailed FX and samples. Hotter than a spiced cherry sponge baked by Mary Berry herself.
Review: Regularly found mesmerising festival audiences from here to Timbuktu, Drum Machine are bandleader Aid Todd's 30-strong rhythm collective. This is their first release in a while and they (thankfully) haven't mellowed - "Charlie Watt?" putting the eponymous Rolling Stone to shame with nearly five minutes of percussive bombast. Red Lawrie looks to the theme from '90s TV show, The Word, for remix inspiration and Cut La Roc gets dirty with heavy bass and jungle rhythms. Wakeem Coderro's jackin' and spacey "Back In The Day" house mix is the best track here.
Review: Mr No Hands releases are about as frequent as solar eclipses, but when they do occur, they're always special. Sharp beats, samples so deeply dug he's got grazed knuckles and an overall sense of stately funk; each cut is a stone cold party popper. From the slo-mo bass scuffs and general sense of doom on "Prison Breaks" to the trippy harmonics, off-beat oddities and awesome Latin sample sizzles of "Top Trumps", MNH remains in a league of his own. It's just a shame that league only plays games once every 18 or so months. Play on repeat.
Review: Captain Flatcap : excellent name, excellent style. "Bonklet" featuring Dutty Moonshine unveils some truly inspired and eccentric beats to get those booties shaking first up. There's a definite feel of festivals about the entire release and the dizzying combination of breakbeat, retro video game soundtracks and ludicrous synth-brass wouldn't seem out of place in theme tune of an after school program from 1996, and it's one hell of a ride. Combine that with a can of your favourite juice and somebody to dance with and you've got yourself a party.
Review: Beat veteran Cut La Roc takes us deep into the bleeps. Driven by an arresting hook and a swinging tribal house rhythm, it's Cutty at his most commanding. Remix-wise GALACTUS gets old school with massive hooky detuned synths and a party vibe that's so out of control the police will arrive any minute, while Cakeboy invites a distorted gritty saw-like bassline to the shindig. Drop this and balls will spin in every direction.
Review: A 30-strong rhythm commission headed up by one Aid Todd, Drum Machine are a tub-thumping collective that are often spotted frothing up festival frenzies across the UK. Here we find Rocstar capturing them at their most DJ friendly with a creative tool that will drive any crowd wild. Those looking for a little more than raw drum power will enjoy the star-gazing, almost prog-like remix from Aid himself. Or indeed the chop-slapping house twist from Sonny Wharton and Mango Trasher. Looking for something a lot more pumping and trance-tinged? Head for Syrum's remix and you'll be more than satisfied. Like the majority of Rocstar releases, this is genuinely unique.
Review: Rocstar bossman Cut La Roc doesn't release new music half as much as he should, but when he does, attention needs to be paid. "Let's Spend The Night Together" is a steamy, sexy jam that's as dirty as it is suggestive. Sally Bloomer's sultry tones work perfectly over the jacking, mangled horn bass and juicy subs. Also included is a stripped back instrumental dub version named "Bugle". Naked and raw, it carries the same naughty nocturnal message as the original with vocal-free prowess. Solid.
Review: Swing and soul ambassadors Captain Flatcap can be found in live three-piece form and solo DJ form. Right here they're clearly operating as a tight unit as an array of organic instruments fly at us from every angle, weaving and bobbing amid treacle-thick cheeky bass. "Bonklet" is a madcap jam with fellow swing sizzlers Dutty Moonshine, all leads and counter leads overlapping with mischief. "Enhancement", meanwhile, plays the soothing counter as we're soothed by flutes and massaged by harpsichord melodies. Deeper into the EP we're chop-slapped by raw swing skanks and savage bass licks on "Blaze Up" and shin-kicked by the gypsy insanity of the accordion-charged "On Your Bike". Tasty.
Review: Party-upstarts Dutty Moonshine push the 'next level' button with their debut album Rum Runners. If you've seen them annihilate a club or festival in the past you'll already know what to expect... Full-frontal, full-flavoured audio carnage. Fusing aspects of swing over a walloping electro 4/4, it's an unrelenting brew that's ultimately unique. Highlights include the spatters of jazz piano and arresting vocals on "Bang Bang Boom", the molten rave motifs of the slamming breakbeat jam "Steazy Hangover" and the mischievous bump n' shuffle of "Showbiz". Genuinely one-of-a-kind, Dutty Moonshine are rapidly establishing themselves as an unstoppable force in dance music right now. Go on...Pull a moony today!
Review: Vibes don't get much funkier or floor-focused than those currently being conjured by Oxford duo Dutty Moonshine. Returning to the "Rauchestra" title they launched with in 2012, this EP sees them expanding and developing their sound with next-level confidence. "No Doubt" is a bumping, grinding low-down funk bubbler peppered with well-known samples and hype-inspiring vocals, "Real Thing" wriggles and giggles with unique flute and flamenco fusion while the Cut La Roc collabo "Keep The Crowd" hype whips up the tempo and whisks us back to the heady days of big beat with elephantine party glee. Elsewhere we're treated to two remixes of "Get Busy": Ettore Baiunco provides a stomping 4/4 version with a well-chiselled spiky hook and Diabeateaze cook up a fantastic two-step twist that's sprung with tight horn stabs and jazzy keys. Like we said; vibes don't get much funkier.
Memories Inside My Head (feat Dee Goldhawk) - (6:12) 128 BPM
On The Wire - (8:30) 133 BPM
The Highs & Lows - (5:17) 132 BPM
Feels All Good - (7:21) 127 BPM
Flim Flam - (11:08) 132 BPM
Review: His third album in as many decades, Unique 3's influence and clout in electronic music is still wholly relevant, forward-thinking and commendably genre-smashing as it was when he unleashed "The Theme" in 1990. 17 tracks wide, the whole album weighs in at almost two hours with each track tickling a different corner of dance music's underbelly. From the stunning Orbtialesque opener "Broke My Dream" to the slippery subby D&B skips of "Daddy Ain't Around" via the lush acid house bubbles and rushy synth washes of "SIP 9", we're switched and flipped from style to style with due consistency and clarity. Other highlights include the dreamy breakbeat wobbles and ripples of "Alteratio", the chop-slapping big room house of "Memories Inside My Head" and the epic mesmerisation of the 11 minute finale "Flam Flam". Picture perfect.
Review: A fondant funkster. A Battenberg badboy. A cupcake crusader - whatever you want to call him, Cakeboy is one of the sweetest things to happen in the breaks world for a long, long time. Baked with precision, his debut album is tasty to the very last crumb. Ranging from the gritty rolls and old school stabs of "Come & Get It" to the mechanical tripletty skankage of "Glam Sandwich" via the mind-bending bass warps and acid mentalism of "Gettin' Carried Away", each cut on this impressive album is cooked with dedicated dancefloor dynamism. Tuck in today.
Review: Burlesque bass anyone? Sound Assembly deliver a sound that instantly conjures up sensations of festival frenzies and late night naughtiness. With a spiralling bassline that winds further and further up, there's a sense of mischief across both the vocal version and the dub. Elsewhere we find "Freak Me", a swing-swizzled slab of speed garage, all trumpet toots and big warble bass. Quintessential Rocstar; you can't fail to cause commotions with these.
Review: Also available as a stomping electro original, here we find Rocstar's head honcho Cut La Roc adding an elephantine riddim switch for added party pressure. Maintaining the tight balance of gritty hookage and dreamy melody, La Roc's beat dynamics give the track a robust, roof-raising appeal. Like all the best remixes, this complements the original while taking it to a whole new dimension. Keep on giving? Keep on dancing more like...
Keep On Giving (Cut La Roc breaks re-rub) - (4:36) 130 BPM
Review: Treading a fine line between floaty, huggy musicality and a beefy, heads-down gritty hook science, "Keep On Giving" celebrates the very best of both electro worlds. But coming from an erstwhile member of the Japanese Popstars, would you expect anything less? This truly is a perfect grand finale or emotional mood changer. Handle with care!
Some Time (Unique 3 remix instrumental) - (8:12) 128 BPM
Review: The Beatmonkeys are largely known for their breakbeat releases but here we find them getting much more dark and carnal. With a voodoo stomp and harrowed vocals from Andy Cargill it's an introspective track that gives more on every listen. Remix-wise TMM take things on a more organic, psychedelic, Trentemoller-style trip, Cakeboy gives it an electro breakbeat shoeing and Unique 3 whisks you back to electro's original icy roots. Do yourself a favour: check "Some Time" out some time...
Review: The new bad boys of swing, Dutty Moonshine return to Rocstar with a slamming slice of retro-future fusion. Swaggering with a heavy rag-time hook and some of the funkiest basslines you'll hear this side of the asylum, it switches from a sludgy glitch to a firing triplet-based D&B shock-out with chaotic results. Beat 3 trips things out heady bass warps and slow, stumbling beats while William Breakspear takes the title literally with a fluid, wet electro body popping workout. Instant festival vibes.
Review: Ably hyped by Kissy Sell Out and various vibe merchants on the BBC, Neoclassical Champion Rockers steps up to Rocstar and gets introduced by the label boss Cut La Roc. Rocking with an off-kilter, spiky electro hook, and all manner of spooky glitches and stabs, we twist and turn from 4/4 to halfstep before breaking into a catchy vocal hook that's not dissimilar to Eddy Temple Morris's Losers material. A great label debut.
Review: As Rocstar head honcho, Cut La Roc has championed the spectrum of breakbeat styles with open-eared enthusiasm and nary a care for fly-by-night trends. Practicing his preach on every release; you never know what you're going to get from old Roccy, but you're guaranteed it's going to rock. "Roll The Dice" is no exception as it tips a nod to Get Physical's early days and classic UK house with stabs that you may well recognise from "Fly Life". Spine-tingler AND party banger, Cutty's nailed it once again.
Review: The sixth letter in the alphabet is F. Which is quite convenient, really; The Sixth Letter are flipping great. Fun, too. Natural and organic but tight as hell, this is raw UK hip-hop delivered with equal measures of fury and funk. "The King" begins with an acoustic guitar groove that grows and develops on such a scale there's a heavier, rockier, more distorted second part. Throw in the instrumentals and some fine remixes from band member Fletch and Hero Number 7 and you've got yourself a fupping amazing EP.
Review: As old Grandpappy Juno tells all the staff on their first day, 'always pack a hardhat'. At first you haven't got the foggiest what he's on about... Then a cut like "Favela" crashes through the speakers, and it hits you like a slo-mo hardcore techno brick. Softened slightly by tingling rave rushes, this is hardhat-level electro at its grittiest. Rough Draft's remix, on the other hand, needs no safety headwear. In fact his funkified dubstep version is so slinky and sprightly you could jump around to this in that cracking birthday suit of yours and fear no real danger whatsoever. Hoi! finishes the set with a remix and while it's back to a hardhat level of electro energy and oomph, you can wear it at a jaunty angle as the basslines are much squidgier.
Review: A very pleasing step away from his usual punchy, bassy breaks sound as Cut La Roc embraces all things deep and house-shaped on the slow-burning "That Man Is Dirty". With an epic rising filter bringing up some hugely funky vocal stabs over a jacking house beat, CLR keeps his hard-hitting sonics in place but wraps them around a much more subtle and tense arrangement - something that's made even more obvious on the accompanying (and very essential) dub included on the single.
Review: The alias of producer Stuart Green, Houseplayaz has steadily built up a following on the house/electro/breaks scene, enjoying big support from Seb Fontaine, Dave Spoon and the Plump DJs to name but a few. Cut La Roc's Rocstar label is the latest to get on board, releasing the summery pop-trance of "Yes Man" which features a hook-laden vocal from Tricky Micky. Look out for the build 'n' drop-filled "extended' version too for a more club-friendly rework.
Review: Firstly, what an album title! Secondly, we're glad to see UK hip-hop, rock and breaks trio The Sixth Letter doing so well - with their debut album out this week on Cut La Roc's Rocstar label. From the Led Zep-recalling opener "Fly Or Die", it's pretty clear the listener is in for a big, brash and dynamic album. The boys don't disappoint - mixing the intense lyrical insights of "Glass" with soulful and sunny choruses ("Over And Out") and hot foot funk ("Gaffer"). A perfect marriage of beats, rhymes and guitars.
Review: An impromptu single from breaks meister CLR, joined by UK rhymer Coppa for the subtle yet very cool "Riot In The Club". You might expect a tune with "Riot" in the title to be a cavalcade of noise, but the duo keep things nicely on the down-low, with rounded, subby basslines and a simple breaks drumset forming the backbone for Coppa to flesh out with his rhymes. And what rhymes they are - if you know of another tune that name checks Elmer Fudd, Dawson's Creek and Nigella Lawson in the same verse, we'd love to hear it!
Review: Recently rinsed to buggery on Radio 1 by Kissy Sell Out, Florida's Farace comes in hard with the itchy, half-step breaks of "Feel That Ammunition". Given a vocal boost from Trevor Rockwell on the mic, it fuses dubstep and breaks perfectly, whilst also sporting one of the meanest, longest and most insane builds you'll hear in a long time. With mixes from Johnny Dangerously and Wavewhore also included, this is one fierce release.
Review: A fun-filled smasher from Liverpool's Beatmonkeys, who chop and sample a version of "The Sheik Of Araby" and layer it among rave pianos, tough breaks and loads of club 'tude on this new belter on the Rocstar label. While the album version is more breakbeat-orientated, their extended mix is a must-have for house fans as they offer a languid piano build set off nicely against some mainroom kicks and white noise flutters. Cheeky and charming stuff.
Review: Two former members of D&B trio Resonant Evil (Renegade Hardware, Moving Shadow) have branched out and found a new breaks-friendly home on Cut La Roc's Rocstar label. And boy have they got material to share: with 31 tracks included plus remixes, they've clearly been busy boys, but thankfully not at the expense of quality. "1,2,3,4" comes charging in with live-sounding drums rattling heavily, while "Wipergroove" and "The Calling" show off their deeply tech side. Unable to leave D&B tempos alone, there's even a few hyped, jump-up tunes in there too, making this an exhilarating roller coaster ride of an album, and an impressive debut to boot.
Review: Veteran Scottish scratch master general Krash Slaughta rocks up with three prime slabs of head nod tackle for the Rocstar imprint. "Spaceship" comes at you with the psychedelic sci fi dancefloor heat, a crackling countdown dropping into an expertly cut up synth freak out over a lolloping break, whilst "Watch The Birdie" is much more of a B Boy scratching showcase, tweaking out vocal and ornithological samples over a uptempo funk breakbeat. The pace is upped yet more for "Bedop" the final track which expertly cuts up an organ heavy funk groove. Sterling work as usual from Krash Slaughta.
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