UK-based Scour Records was set up in 2012 by Spinforth to showcase the funkiest of breakbeat cuts known to ‘squirrels’. The label appeared after Spinforth, accompanied by his Hong Kong Ping Pong collective members, Morphosis and Fat Harry, embarked on their musical ‘scour’ in 2011 for Bristol-based breaks brand Ghetto Funk: a ‘quest...to seek out the choicest cuts from the freshest, often unheard of, producers ploughing their trade on SoundCloud’. Scour Records has so far unearthed ‘the creamiest of the crop’ from artists including: J-Sound, Father Funk, Cockney Nutjob, WBBL, Mr Stabalina, The Fritz, Beat Le Juice and more.
Review: Scouring, as per usual, through the deepest and darkest depths of the underground, the always on-point Scour imprint comes through with the goods in the form of Beat Le Juice, a new boogie sensation to add to our radars. The man's opener "I Promise" takes us back to the early 80s, and to legendary labels lime SAM, with the same going for the more funk-tastic bass of "Funk Magic" - what a nugget! "So Much Style" is the deepest and baddest of the four, in our opinion, leveraging a little dub flex for the heads, while "The Beat Don't Stop" launches an all-out pop attack...backed by a lovely house sensibility.
Review: Looking for some seasonal slammers? Aussie funkster Bondi Stereo has put on a spread of such proportions it will feed you (and your floor) well into the colder months; bulging with obese drum dynamics, rifled with references and drenched in shiny wet funk, each of these tracks show BS at his very best. Highlights include the refreshed and rechunked version of DJ T Rock & Squahy's "Nice Pretty Girl With A Crooked Smile" ("Pretty Girl") and the turbo-charged take on Nice & Smooth's "Hip-Hop Junkies" ("Funky Style"). The expert manipulation of Joe Cocker's "Summer In The City" hasn't gone unnoticed either. Here's hoping for a summer as hot as these tracks!
Review: It was 4 years ago when Scour Records happened upon the phenomenon in waiting three-piece Captain Flatcap, playing to two men and a dog in some best-forgotten dive. Now its 2016 and it's different story indeed, the world is beginning to be seduced by the madcap fusion of styles that Chris, Tom and Matt uniquely provide. Now here is their eponymous album to take things to the next level. There are 10 tracks to enjoy; our favourites include the melodic dubstep-meets-ye-olde-flute music of "Awakening", the pulsating medieval trance of "Sergei's Journey" and the DnB mayhem of closer "Are You Me?".
Review: Beautifully slo-mo and laced with squidgy bass, Breakspoll award winners Scour come correct with this funky little number from Cedar and Imagine. Strutting with swinging beats and a bassline so rude it'll make your father blush, it's the perfect bed for Imagine's slick lyrics. Remix-wise DJP adds some classic horns into the mix, Father Funk gets jazzy on the keys, J-Sound splashes out on some cheeky reverse mid-range bass processes while Howla throws down the gnarliest blend of the set with bolshy bass and bold stabs. One killer original, four creative pristine executed remixes; Scour have nailed this one.
Review: Four reggae-riddled bootlegs from breakbeat's favourite Nutjob. We kick off with a bulbous flip on Desmond Dekker's "Easy" before 'lively mode' is activated with a very well polished take on a classic reggae version of Smokey Robinson's "My Girl". You want to get even livelier? Look no further than "Heads Boppin'", Nutjob's twist on The Selector's "On My Radio". "I'm Skankin' Out" is the cherry on top of this very tasty cake. Adding a Jamaican sparkle to the Diana Ross sampling Biggie classic, Nutjob's successfully fused hip-hop, disco, reggae and breaks all into one track... And he's done so in style.
Review: A self-confessed cockney wannabe (he's originally from Essex), Cockney Nutjob, has built quite a reputation for himself releasing agreeable jams for the likes of Radical Mixtape and BreakBeat Paradise. He's also a pretty formidable DJ too, but here it's about his productions and his come up with four party sizzlers for Spinforth's Scour label. Breaking it all down, the vibe for this EP is a fusion of retro 90s rapping fused with bouncy breaks and summery Ska rhythms and its total house party dynamite!
Review: The breakbeat flavours are well and truly alive here as the Crash Party touches down on the popular Scour imprint for a four track shell out. We begin the journey on the twisted bass synths and uplifting horn scatters of the title track 'Residential Area', before relaxing the high energy tone a tad on the more laid back styles of 'Funk Groove'. To follow, 'Throw Your Hands', which is a fidgety scratch party, laced with hardcore vocal samples and bouncy piano leads, before finishing up the selection on the more 4x4 inspired drum work and patois vocal finesse of 'Lock It Off'.
Review: Buckle up! Bristol duo Crash Party barge the shindig once again with this powerful piece of toxic bass dancehall halftime. Heaving with filth and catchier than a sailor's shanty everything about "Nitty Gritty" is designed to super-charge your dance and thrust them to another level. Remix-wise Second Hand Audio flip the euphoria mode with some sizzling rising chords, Dave RMX gets his 110 on with glitched out undertones, Leygo & Toy Beats add a raw dancehall swing while DJ BiNGe throws down an absolutely savage drumstep rendition. Finally the Crashers conclude with a sweet skank via their firing jungle VIP. All killer versions; this gets to the nitty gritty of any situation.
Review: Extra Medium is a producer equally known for his iconic moustache as much as his unique skill in turning 20s and 30s obscurities into bass heavy monsters. Ever one for generous notions of sizing, here he gives us five new sizzlers. From the raw-blues-meets-menacing-electro-thump of "Blues Boogie Bass", to the gentle acoustic breeze of "Lazy Bones" via the buzzsaw-Charleston of "Go Away". 4 times World DMC Champion Mr Switch and horn man Cab Canavaral both appear on the Jazz Age-stepper "Size Up" and the dubsteppy "Swinggae".
Review: Electro-swing. Done to death right? Wrong! Bristol's Extra Medium almost uniquely takes samples of similar 1920s and '30s jazz age ditties that everybody does but fuses them with a very British bass sound. Here we get served five sizzling jams to loose or s**t to. Highlights include the antique Mediterranean grooves of "Beatnik Boogie", brought up to date with some killer UK bass attitude, the thumping staccato wobble of "Stop The Moon" and the accelerated sing-along garagey break-step of "Troublesome".
Review: An EP that really does live up to its name: Everything about Father Funk's first full EP for Scour genuinely is phenomenal. Bursting at the seams with a full flavoured rainbow of grooves, we're spoilt for choice: the Bootsy-level chaos of "Love Shack", the Cuban heel clicking fiesta fire "Gringo Lingo", the surprisingly salubrious disco licks of "Filthy" and, of course, the Van Helden salute that is the title track. "Phenomenal Funk" = phenomenally funky. More please daddio.
Review: When most daddies get home, you know you're in for it over some misdemeanour or other. Not this one, when he gets home it's all about the party. Father Funk wouldn't know deep or dark music if it came up and slapped him in the face Tango-style. Instead he does what he does best, like here where he presents five fruity, happy tunes to make us all forget our woes. Some of our faves include the buzzy-electro-bas-and-go-go-beats of the title track, the frantic funk workout of "Block Party" and the 80s soul-sampling hip-house sing-a-long "Soul City".
Review: A veteran of labels such as Adapted and Breakbeat Paradise, here this Aussie 'cosmic collector of robots and rainbows" has served up a sparkling four track EP for the guys and gals at Scour Records...and it's a winner! "Monkey Bars" trundles along evoking memories of vintage Go-Go, hip-hop and swing, "Back N Forth (feat Imagine This)" shows of his turntablists skills in fine style, "Dustin' Diamond" on the other hand, shows off his disco and funk influences and "Infamous" is a tough party breaks jam that will fill the floor at any self respecting house party.
Review: Next up from Mood Swing & Chevy Bass, we see them joining forces with Cheshire alongside the Scour imprint for a vibrant collection of heaters, exploring the future breakbeat in absolute style. First up, the distant guitar plucks and lethal drum work of 'No One Above' explores unique percussive processing and a subtle sense of euphoria throughout, before WBBL gives the track a fidget-inspired overhaul, diving into quacking synthesiser squelches and more. We then see Swim INC join the party for the constantly alternating synthy crunches of 'Higher', followed by an extended mix of 'No One Above' to close the project down in style. A truly fiery collection, which when you see the names of the tin, makes perfect sense!
Review: Now on their seventh release, Scour are really coming into their own on the glitchfunk / bootleg game. Here we find Brighton-based turntablist Mr Stabalina laying down four furiously funky twists: "Rock The Party" rides one of the fattest organ lines we've heard in this field all year, "Freak The Funk" samples about 50 of your favourite records over a steady midrange Featurecast-flavoured bass lick while "We Can Do It Again" takes us deeper into bluesy territories with a big piano riff and some really nerdy/brilliant cut & paste narration. Finally "Don't Stop" concludes where we started: juicy fruit organs and a latent sense of funk that's so tangible you can taste it. Ridiculous.
Review: As expected, Mr Stabalina returns with his uniquely wonky breakbeat stylings for his brand new EP 'Do You Like It'. We begin with the futuristic grooves and vocal slices of 'Put Your Hands Up' before dropping into the smoothly arranged hip hop designs of the title track. Next up 'The Hump' with its electronic leads and nostalgic sampling taking lead roles before we land on the fidgety inspired stylings of 'Funkyass Bassline'. Finally we round off with the scratch heavy house creation 'Just Drop', complete with funky electro riffs and punchy drum work.
Review: It's all about keeping up the energy levels this year, which is why the Scour imprint has supplied us with a serious system-buster from Mr Stabalina here. As far as originals go, we are in for an absolute treat with this one as 'In The Air' gives us anything we want from a modern-day breakbeat original, linking together crunchy guitar leads with some super punchy drum maneuvers for a recipe that will get the dance absolutely lifted. The vocal remains incredibly catchy as this one is set to become a massive hit with the dances once again reopening for a weekly ruckus.
Review: Although they've been dabbling with releases on the bassier and glitchy side of things of late, for their newest signing Scour are on an electro-swing tip. However, the Groove Gigolos EP doesn't tackle the genre in a straight up manner, opting instead for a wider interpretation of the style. "Reflections" takes a familiar Charleston-style melody and fuses it with chuggy bass and staccato beats. "Can't Hold Back" again takes vintage samples and marries 'em to tough breakbeats sprinkled with some MC vocals. The style hopping continues further with even some dobby reggaeton ("Swing Mi Food") and even D&B soul ("J&B").
Review: It's a very tricky act to truly balance the rough with the smooth. Luckily party-orientated nu-funk producer Sammy Senior is a master at the art. Here he rustles up five new cuts that are refreshingly free of credibility, concentrating on simple good times instead. That said, they don't half pack a punch with highlights including the fizzy bounce of the vintage soul sampling "Mo Love", the tough squelch of "Fish Taco" and the cheery go-go influenced "Just Once" with its sax-heavy boogie.
Review: Funky grooves and swanky drums and heavy bass, what more could you want from a new school breakbeat original eh? That's exactly what you are in store for here as Slynk and Mr Stabalina join forces with powerful aftershocks on their brand new weekend-ready original 'Keep The Party Jumping'. We are greeted with a barrage of bolshy drum punches, kickstarting the vibrant rhythms that lay within, and when layered with ferocious reese bass up-risings and catchy synth melodies, cause quite the ruckus in the dance!
Review: It's time to get into party mode as we see Spin Kringle make a highly anticipated appearance on Scour to showcase some of the smoothest breakbeat originals we have heard in quite some time. The project begins with 'Float', alongside Sam Klassik, an incredibly bouncy piece of turbofunk, filled with twisted melodic expression and grizzly synthesizer movement. The goofy chord structures of the title track 'Parade' follow, before more synth units are set to run wild over hard hitting drum punches in 'Turn Out'. Finally, the groove intensifies as 'Stampede' combines funky horn work with smooth 4x4 rhythms and a constantly evolving lead bassline. Awesome!
Review: Clich?s like 'melting pot' or 'smorgasbord' are chucked around way too freely in music reviews, but it's hard to describe the wide array of influences on display here any other way! 'Baller' is an Afro-jazz workout, albeit more 'Afro' than 'jazz', with something of a makossa-ish vibe about it. 'Schweet' itself, which follows, is a more straight-up homage to 70s funk and soul, but we're back in jazz (or more accurately swing) pastures for 'Les Frites', albeit here served up in Latin rather than Afro flava. The EP's then completed by 'Listen', another electro-swing cut with a ragtime kinda feel.
Review: Breakbeat is again in a fantastic place as we see the genre to grow across the breadth of 2020, with releases such as this from Vancara being one of the reasons why. The title track 'Railroad' kicks us off with an immediate bang, smashing together intense drum punches with warbling synthesizer pulls, before we move into the uber-funky bass grooves and constantly expanding melodies of 'Going East'. Next, we are greeted by the charming piano lines and sweeping basslines of 'City Street Jam' before the super smooth harmonic structures of 'Disco Balls' provide us with the perfect outro.
Review: This label recently launched by DJ Spinforth (and pals) as a next step extension to his biweekly column for the Ghetto Funk blog called 'The Scour', to highlight and showcase the unsigned talent that he encounters while 'scouring' Soundcloud. The next logical step was to actually release this stuff, so here's the impressive debut compilation snappily called Scoured Cream. Originally intended to showcase just five tunes, its now boasts eight including the stop-start blues-hop of "Sun No Shine", the wobble-soul of "Hell Yeah" and some electro-swing courtesy of Hong Kong Ping Pong.
Review: Spinforth's quest for freshness continues as he follows up the debut December Scour dispatch with another generous selection of chunky-jacksy bass joints. With gnarly fingers probing every party pie, across the collection we're treated to dubstep-meets-classic-Brooklyn ("Time To Rock"), 23rd century electro wobbles ("Boss DAT!") and VERY cheeky Cypress Hill booty business ("Insane Brains"... obviously!) And that's only three examples. Get Scouring.
Review: Skimming the purist, fullest fat cream from the nu-funk crop, Scour's behaviour at the forefront of the party-minded movement is nothing short of commendable. Their most extensive compendium to date, vibes range of the Little Walter-sampling "Ain't No Coolin" to the filtered jazz funk chops and slaps of "The Program". Between these two disparate-yet-wholly-consistent flavours you'll find subverted swing (Father Funk & Howla's "Got Swing?"), stark Jackson Five string struts ("Soul Rocka") and classic rap ("Two For The Crates"). Whipped and unashamedly fresh, Scour really are the cream of the crop right now.
Review: Breakbeat specialists Scour turn in the fifth chapter of their Scoured Cream series and as you'd expect, it's all beats and instantly seductive basslines. Sitting somewhere between breaks and electro, these tracks are guaranteed to get any party on its way, especially if it involves university dormitories or student unions! Our tops picks have to be Phibes' "Needles" for thos soulful vocal samples, "Rockin' Cold" by Rollomatik and Cockney Nutjob's "Firepower" for the undeniable comic effect of that sample...you'll know what we mean!
Review: Scour's dedication to the glitch funk movement continues with this full-frontal seminar of juicy low-end party discussions. Highlights include the twisted swing swagger of "Strictly Dynamite", Howla's bass bitten rail-road sing-along "Long Road", WBBL's body-slamming Kasabian booty "Fiyah" and Father Funk's take on Ram Jam's never-tiring "Black Betty". Not a dull moment in sight, this is a must for all breaks, glitch and nu-funk selectors.
Review: From their recent online musings, it seems that the award-winning Scour Records seem to be as equally fond of the other type of swinging as they are the style of music they've done so well at releasing thus far. Thankfully here we're only about the music and what a lot of it there is on Scoured Swing Vol 1. Here label owner DJ Spinforth selects eight of the best new jams around. Highlights include the classy, laid back opener "About Me" by The Fritz, the dubstep-meets-Charleston vibes of "Swingers" by Father Funk and the epic electro-swing monster "Cufflinks & Caviar" by Tuxedo Junction.
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