In 2015, Josh Gunston and Jay McDougall (also known as KXVU, pronounced ‘kovu’) joined forces to create ‘Southpoint’ – a record label centred around their motivation for promoting local and lesser-known talent and dedication to reviving their hometown of Brighton’s fading dance music scene.
Since the label's formation, it has gone on to become one of the most celebrated platforms across the entirety of underground dance music in the UK & worldwide, becoming one of the pioneering entities behind large segments of both the UK bass and garage movements of the last few years.
With a catalogue spanning the full spectrum of the UK underground and an artist roster spanning as wide as any major label, Southpoint has emerged as a genuine innovator across the endless corridors of underground dance music. The Southpoint imprint has gone to expand it’s operations and now boasts numerous sub-labels, including Chord & Clank, Inertia, Annecy Records & more.
Key Releases:
Bushbaby - Woman’s Touch
Movement & Moony - Late Night
Movement & Rio - Make A Move
Cortese - Intersection
Drax - Frostie
Southpoint Presents Vol. 8
Skelecta - Faith / At Your Table
KXVU - The Cave
Review: In the near 6 years Southpoint has been up and operational, we have seen them constantly supply us with wicked compilation sets, always looking to showcase the next big talent whilst also welcoming back their stacked roster for another outing. The collection they have pulled together for this latest drop is pretty powerful, with label regulars Cortese, Daze Prism, TVU, Drax, Earthnut, Hamdi, Jakebob, Kiddah, EM-Roe & KXVU all making solid contributions. They also welcome the likes of Demure, DV-US & Vital Techniques back inside, following on from some very exciting single drops, whilst also introducing us to one of the stars of the future in Clarcq, a Scottish UKG producer whose infectiously uplifting 'Siren' leads the way here. Excellent work once again.
Review: At long last we can finally say that a Bushbaby album has landed on his home label at Southpoint, something we have been waiting to explore for a hot minute. The project is a fantastic collection of styles from the Brighton-native, who pulls together garage flavours in 'Woman's Touch' & 'L.I.A.B', alongside classic bassline grizzlies in 'Annihilation' and the'All N1te' VIP mix. We also get to see him explore a few different areas across the breadth of this project however, from the 80's inspired arrangements of both 'You Are Sleeping' and 'Shiny Purple', to the more soundscape driven styles of 'I Wonder (For Billy)' and 'Chekhov's Gun', the latter of which sees him explore a much techier approach. This is definitely a project worth exploring in long play as we see Bushbaby deliver a killer conquest of electronic dance music.
Review: Following on from a very well received debut on Southpoint's infamous introducing platform, Skelecta now makes his full debut with the Brighton-based imprint, yielding a pair of system-ready rollers. We kick off with 'Faith', which through a combination of niche-like bass warbles and catchy vocal slices, provides us with a fantastically nostalgic blend of original bassline flavours. On the flip, 'At Your Table' sees Indira May join the party once again, providing a smooth, breathy vocal layer, which elevates the tune from dancefloor dynamite to singalong spectacular, a must have for new school garage and bass fans!
Review: The common theme of Southpoint's super-consistent run of releases over the last five years is that they really aren't afraid to try something different and new, with their roster constantly expanding to welcome some fantastic new faces. After a wicked debut on their Introducing imprint, Weagle makes the jump to the full catalogue with two sizzling garage originals, kicking off with the vibrant vocal slices and colourful melodic arrangement of 'Lucky'. On the flip, the quirky vocal twists and unique-sounding synthesizer action of 'Stormin' takes the EP down a much more experimental sounding avenue to round off a terrific debut!
Review: As the Southpoint team continue to grow and expand their powerful catalogue of original bass music, they welcome the sounds of the much sought after Kiddah, who unveils his quality with a spicy four track masterclass. The title track 'Grip' is exactly what the doctor ordered, fusing together lethal reese action and gnarly drum breaks, kicking us off with a fiery introduction. From here, MRo's sumptuous vocal talents swim into view on 'The Way', another luscious landscape of tasty breaks and vibrant subs. Finally, Kiddah sends the EP down a completely different route as Diligent Fingers arrives for a powerful vocal on the raucous dubstep designs of 'Run Di Place Red'. The combination of these three heaters is something truly special, topped off by the addition of the 'Run Di Place Red' instrumental mix for good measure.
Review: As always with the Southpoint imprint, it looks like they have delivered another treat for us here as homegrown heavyweight and flag flyer: Bushbaby touches down with a pair of spicy singles, with two different versions of his brand new creation entitled 'Addicted'. This release marks a different direction for Bushbaby as he moves towards a much more tech-house influenced sound, with the A-side focussing on powerful, moogy subs below a wash of pounding drum slaps and stripped back percussive designs. On the flip-side, the 'Burner' mix takes an even moodier route, with subtle bassline pressure and distant pad textures supplying the additional juice. It's a fantastic two-tracker, giving us a taste of Bushbaby's future endeavours.
Review: Following on from a very successful relaunch of their Southpoint: Introducing brand, the STPT team are back at it again with yet another fiery single, this time welcoming the sounds of Ryan Gallus into the fold. Debuting therefore for the first time as a solo artist, he delivers a real punch of summer with this brand new single entitled 'Easy To Love'. Through a combination of really well thought out vocal samples, super colourful percussive melodies and an overall sunshine feel, this one is perfect for your forthcoming summer playlist planning and is yet another top quality drop from the Southpoint team!
Review: Over the last five years we have seen Southpoint explore so many different avenues of bass and underground dance music, that we have learned to expect the unexpected. They are back at it again, this time unveiling a brand new duo by the name of Cortese, who stun us with this vibrant four track expanse. We begin with the outstanding melodic structures and breakbeat influences of 'Casualty', giving us some serious euphoric flavour before the title track 'Off-Axis' delivers a super catchy piece of vocal sampling over shaking garage-style drums. From here, 'Sun Comes Up' unleashes yet more exciting breakbeat action with a vibrant sense of rhythm and drive, before 'Neon Streams' provides us with the perfect outro, swimming in beautiful synthy reverbs and a constantly shifting arrangement style. This is a duo to keep an eye on!
