Souped Up is a London-based drum & bass label that drips with some of the fattest rollers and wobblers around. Led by D&B badmen Serum and Benny V, Souped Up have been carving their instantly recognisable bass face sound since it burst onto the scene in 2017. The forward-thinking label has so far churned out tunes from the likes of: Voltage, Bou, Dutta, T>I, Need For Mirrors, Mozey, Current Value, Levela, Ego Trippin and more. Rave favourites include Serum’s ‘Chop House’, Bou’s ‘Veteran (VIP)’ (feat. Trigga) and Bou, Simula and Bassman’s weapon, ‘Heavy & Dark’. Souped Up has a clear, colourful and unpretentious aesthetic and each release cover features a statement cartoon character. Reflecting their good humour, the label is also home to steroided-up soup can cartoon mascot, Vinny.
Review: ACP returns to Souped Up in style, delivering a potent new release that dives deep into the funky and futuristic side of drum & bass. To begin with, we listen to 'Euphoria' , a sumptuous sweeping arrangement that delivers colourful bass designs and futuristic synthetics, followed closely by the constantly shifting bit crushers of 'Bubbles' which ups the extremes to a whole new plateau. Finally, we explore 'Destruction', a more neurotic spectacle focussed around squelching LFO's and moody subs to match, rounding off this really impressive addition to the constantly expanding Souped Up catalogue.
Review: Home is where the Gaff is. Gaff is where the wobs are. Wobs are universal. Basically Serum is the dark fatherly overlord and this is how he smites us.... Obscure references to really old video games over nagging Q&A wallops ('Manic Miner'), utter grot that will stain your clothes and skin for years ('Drops'), sublime sexy time with one of the best MCs in the game and without ('Perfect' / 'Malibu Sunset') and dramatic string-led drama that could be his finest moment to date ('Waltzer') Gaff on your wob then do it all over again!
Review: Welcome to Serum's house. You can call it a mansion, a palace or a stately home but he refers to it humbly as a gaff, and these are the sounds you're likely to hear as you enter it. Big steel drum magic on 'Sabertooth' and soulful introspection on the Redders-fronted 'Get 2 Know'. Move deeper into his boudoir and you'll get skivved by the sharp blasts of 'Stressed Out' before we hit paydirt wobbles on 'Maxwell'. Gaff on the wob, wob on the gaff... This is Serum's time. Make yourself at home.
Review: Pass the pizza ar kid, Marky's heading up north and he's after something spicy! Teaming up with Dutta for the first of a two part release, this is a seriously tasty dream team where both artists characters' can be heard very clearly and vividly in the mix. "Mochi" flips between sandpaper bass licks and soft funk stabs while "Waffles" flips between a grumpy Bristol style bass and perky piano rolls that gradually get creepier and creepier. Feeling peckish? This will feed your family for three weeks and still have plenty left over.
Review: A bunch of furry murderous Russians on Serum's Souped Up... What can possibly go wrong? Total carnage from the off, "Bun Dem" is serious sandpaper funk. Gritty, growling and unrelenting; it's not just rough around the edges, it's rough right down to the core. And it's back up with three more audio nasties... "Excited" is a staccato riff damager that nods to the mid 2000s jump-up where everything was maximal. "Beggar" follows suit but comes with a more sinister edge; like it's asking you for change but is actually ripping off your whole identity. Finally we hit "Knock Knock", a track rife in organic drums and scary bassline textures, it sets everything up for the all important punchline... You have no choice but to deliver.
Review: No one knows what ACP stands for. A Cool Person? A Crap Party? Ah Crazy Patterns? Andy C's Pants? Who knows? But one thing we do know is that his music is seriously bubbling right now and you need to be paying attention to it. Fresh from his release on Serial Killaz comes this awesome Souped Up debut. Angular, scrappy and full of trippy surprises, 'Jumpscare' is an epic peak time slayer that sits somewhere between a young Dutta and the Teddy Killaz. 'Lullaby' is equally disarming, especially with its switch to dreamy instruments on the hook. Finally 'Foghorn' mischievously returns to one of the most divisive sounds in contemporary dnb and flips it into a vicious robotic mess. Another crucial platter.
Review: Everyone's favourite D&B dad Mozey returns to Serum's Souped Up with two more absurd thumpy bumpers. 'Tell Me' plays a mean flip as we go from hands-in-the-air Sub Focus style dancefloor energy to an absolutely grotty jump-up riff at a the flick of Mozey's luxuriant long hair. Looking for even more grot and grit? Then head for 'Volcano'. Rasping in a similar, venomous way as 'Tell Me' but with less playful switches, it's Mozey reminding us he's still a badboy when he wants to be. Cheers pops!
Review: Next up from the ever-ready Souped Up crew, a vibrant two track display that showcases Upgrade as his very best, with both of these spicy originals packing a real dancefloor-ready punch. We begin with the other-worldly sounds of 'The Visitor', a synthesiser-driven stomp through gnarly sub textures, intricate percussive pops and monstrous melody, kicking off the project in style. On the flip to this, a more garage-inspired idea as 'Concrete Jungle' fuses with smooth female vocal chops with squelching bass slides and chord-driven progressions, giving a nicely balanced two-track project.
Review: Original Sin returns to Souped Up once again, this time bringing razor sharp MC Shakes into the mix for a heavyweight link up '100K'. As with all Original Sin cuts since the very beginning, the dynamics are set to max as the urgent bassline pushes and pulls us around each corner of the dancefloor. Complete with Shakes spitting hard with clarity and vibes, you already know how much damage this is going to cause as we move towards the ravey season. 100 thumbs up.
Review: Some dads clean up your mess. Other dads make you mess yourself. Other dads make the mess and expect you to clean it up. We don't even need to tell you what type of fathers Serum and Voltage are, but in case you're unaware of the mischievous influence they have on each other, let's just say they're not changing any nappies tonight. 'Pum Pum Rule' is a splat-and-dash dust-up with some of the funkiest drums the pair have ever programmed while 'Metamorphosis' takes us back to the late 2000s style of tear-up with very messy consequences. Watch out for volume two when they try and tell us about the birds and the bees. Eek.
Review: Manchester's Dom Utley, better known as Dutta to his peers, is up next on Serum's Souped Up with a new bunch of personal dubs that follow up great releases on Faceless Audio, Dubz Audio and Liondub International. Featuring the fierce tech-stepper that is "Dominos", he then goes deeper into the morning hours on the moody "One Round" (feat T>I) reminiscent of classic DJ Krust and "Cookie Monster" - a true roller with relentless junglist style breaks throughout. Follows up some great releases on the label by Bou, Bladerunner and Current Value.
Review: Souped Up come through with that next level sickness once again as Russian giants Teddy Killerz get busy with the formidable arachnid MC, and fellow giant, Spyda on 'Run'. Opening with big reggae skanks, powerful vocals from Spyda and a bassline sharper than a sassy roadman on a bed of nails, it's a big 2024 anthem in waiting. Elsewhere Rouman gets involved on the sexier feels of 'Smoke' while finale 'Gun' shoots first and knocks heads off later with pure greasy intent. Bang bang!
Review: Now here's where taxes finally get interesting... The addition of swords. Taxman shows us how: First you take your blade, then you chop up your returns and self assessment forms to shreds to the epic grind and dark swagger of this latest Souped Up banger. 'Never Give Up' cuts just as a deep but with more of an emotional blast and a sudden hurricane twist on the drop. Stylish.
Review: Northern giant Original Sin kicks the Souped Up doors down and makes himself at home with his pals Eksman and Trigga. Summoning up all the powers of Greyskull, 'Masters Of The Universe' goes all in with a big high freq wobbly bassline while Eksman calls 999 and warns them of a new pandemic on 'Drum N Bass Fever'. Further into this hectic collection we ride to find Trigga doing the damn thing on 'Chronic' before old Sinny closes the EP with the curmudgeonly slap-about 'The Other Side'. We have the power.
Review: Few rising artists have turned as many heads this year as Mozey. And right here he proves the hype with a raucous night out with the Souped Up lads. First come the pre-drinks at his house. Enjoy a nice "Brandy & Coke" while the bassline sounds like a pack of stray dogs trying to eat your shoes. Next we hit the pub where we meet some very "Bad People" and shoo them away with eerie high frequency riffage and groaning bass textures. "The Mask" sees us hitting the club... Literally. The sound of the bass clanging like we're banging the walls because the music is goshdarned good. Finally we hit the sesh where things get twisted to the tune of "Demons Dreaming". You think you know big nights out? You've never raved with Mozey.
Review: Here's something that will make you happy when skies are grey... Serum and old pal Inja link up for some sunny-side fun. 'Jet Ski' revs us up for the opener as Inj matches each one-note hit on a signature Serum bassline. It's backed up by three more sonic stunners: 'Spray Tan' sees Spyda join the blend over some steel drum magic, 'Fantasia' takes us deep into an introspective euphoric daydream while 'Good Morning Sunshine' is the ultimate scene-setter. Wake up and smell the solar rays. Rave safe, rave hard.
Review: Gear them now! D*Minds return to Souped Up with more fruity ruffage. 'Charlie's Sheen' takes the spicy Hollywood actor to gully new levels with a stern Hazard-esque barking bassline and a sense of tension running throughout while 'Riddem' goes full-on barrel business with an expertly rattling snare and ballistic style bass scuds flying all over the place. Classic D*Minds carnage.
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