Review: Next up from Strictly House And Garage, the crew continue their hot streak of top quality UKG drops, this time welcoming founder Skillz back into the mix, alongside the ever-ready powerhouse skills of Joedan, for a fiery two track display. First up, a funky-influenced bop by the name of 'Love Dub', a truly smokey display of quirky percussive grooves and tightly woven drum sounds, giving us a good vibe from the jump. Next to this, 'Roll To The Dance' puts a strong focus on warbling sub lines and clunky percussion for a more old school feeling, giving us a nicely balanced A/B selection to play with.
Review: Whenever the Strictly House And Garage crew come to town, we know it's time to put on the dancing shoes, with this latest collection exploring six, spicy 4x4 rollers. We open up with the bubbling bass bounces of Dubzta's 'Things We Do For Love', taking a classic vocal sample and working it into a catchy riff, before the nostalgia inducing basslines of Liam B Line's 'Joop And Gel' and the smooth vocal displays of 'Do It Rite' from Littlefoot give us a taste of something a little different. We then proceed into Relik, a seriously weighty piece of weaponry, focussing on LFO grooves and distant vocal chops, before Ross Boss ups the groove with the vibrant sampling of 'Ironside'. We then close off with two final feasts, firstly with Skillz delivering a moogy masterclass in 'Gold Diggers' and Spa Street Sound giving us a final punch of subby satisfaction on 'Closer Than Close'. Lovely work!
Review: It's always great to see the Strictly House And Garage crew get back to business, with this latest offering of futuristic garage flavour seeing them unleash 7 speed garage originals. We open up with label-founder and long standing Sheffield veteran Skillz letting loose on the bubbly pulses of 'Dibble Dab', followed by Liam B Line's masterful rework of The Streets in 'Pirate Lockdown' and the explosive rethink of Rip Groover from Local Dubz, giving us a classic a powerful rethink. Next, J69 strips the sound back to its niche-driven roots as '97' gives us a shuffling bassy showcase, next to Spa Street Sound's warbling speaker wrecker in 'All Cru'. Finally, the party feeling is stripped back to the minimum as the glitchy chord progressions and vibrant drum skips of 'Gonzales' from Mattik sees the project close out in style. Excellent work!
Review: It's always fun to see a label owner landing on their own imprint with a full length release, which is exactly what see here as long-term Sheffield heavyweight Skillz touches down on Strictly House And Garage. We open up this four track bonanza with 'Noisy Crew' a vibrant bubbler, focussing on percussive melody and tidy vocal overlays for some old school raver business, with a bassline to match. We also get a taste of the V.I.P edit which focuses much more on vocal manipulation and harder hitting drum expressions, before 'Max Power' strips the mix back for another chord-like melody that will send everyone to the dancefloor. Finally, Joedan gives 'Max Power' a 'Bump' remix edition which pulls it apart to its tech-influenced skeleton. Lovely stuff!
Review: Following on from a very well received debut on Southpoint, Jackum is back at it again, this time joining forces with the leviathan sounds of Sheffield's own Strictly House And Garage imprint. This seems like a match made in heaven as we open up with the nostalgia-inducing melodies and colourful arrangements of 'All Night Long', kicking the EP off with a wicked energetic intro. Next, 'Big' takes it old school with some choppy, UKG-inspired drum beats and futuristic chord structures, followed by the powerful 4x4 feels of 'Just The Way', destined to inject a serious dosage of energy into the first dance it lands in. Finally, some future-disco flavours are brought to the forefront with 'Thank You For The Music', a clever piece of well-sampled 4x4 magic.
Review: There really does seem to be no way of stopping the Strictly House & Garage team, who once again deliver a priceless display of modern UKG flavour, welcoming Daze Prism inside for a tidy new creation alongside a box of spicy remix additions. The title track 'Fantasy' is everything we could ask for in a modern garage roller, alternating between groovy chord progressions, subtle guitar plucks and catchy vocal slices with real finesse. On remix duty, Joedan steps up firstly with a minimal, techy overhaul, followed by Skillz delivering a pulsating 4x4 rethink. Next, Dubzta lets loose with a groovy chord-driven rework, before the reese-laden remix of SubAtmoic gives us one final piece of ammunition for the dancefloor. Wicked work!
Review: Sheffield's Strictly House & Garage crew have not only been putting on an incredible collection of live events, but also supplying the scene with some of its freshest UKG material, as we can see here on this first edition of their new 'Slammers' compilation series. First up, label owner Skillz delivers a groovy 4x4 stonker, manipulating vocals all over the place, before J.S.D. gives the famous 'Heads High' vocal a tidy garage rethink. The sounds of Jay Ward then move into play as 'What Can I Say' gives us a much more stripped back garage original, focussing on pleasing chord progressions and more top quality vocal sampling, before Joedan arrives with the lo-fi drum licks and super bouncy rhythms of 'Rough Affair'. He sticks around for the next track as well as S3 Dubs gives 'Sunny Vibes' a typically vibrant re-design, focussing in on moody bass tones and vocal dub delays, before we finish our journey on 'Forever V.I.P', which sees Local Dubz deliver our personal highlight from this stacked selection.
Review: The Strictly House & Garage movement has been on absolute fire over the past few months, with the quality levels never seeming to dip or waver. This latest selection from SubAtomic is another perfect example of that, kicking off with the groovy drum twists and metallic bass pulses of 'Quantum Force', which packs one hell of a punch. Next, the more grimey rhythmic skips and retro synths of 'Kelvin' give us a much more old school feel, followed by 'Microbes', a quirky fusion of pitched vocal lines and sliced up drum designs. Finally, we finish up with the rampant 4x4 mix of 'Quantum Force', putting the finishing touches on yet another top quality addition to the ever expanding Strictly House & Garage catalogue.
Review: When a sound or style has been around for over two decades, there are two things a young producer can do with it: they can add their own twist, taking the sound in new directions, or they can stick faithfully to the original blueprint, proving they have the chops to compete with their first-generation forebears. This collection from Strictly House And Garage features 13 brand new speed garage and two-step cuts from as many artists, pretty much all of whom have chosen the latter route - it's been 20 years since this writer held down a UK garage residency, but when I heard this album it felt like five minutes ago! Excellent work all round.
Review: Now, for most, the name Dubzta will be heavily associated with the sounds of 140 music, be that grime or dubstep. However, here, he joins forces with the magnificent Strictly House & Garage team for a flavoursome EP, showcasing the much more UKG inspired side of his production. We kick off with the sweeping violin lines and catchy piano riffs of the title track 'Overdue', which leads perfectly into 'Out Of Here', a synthy beast, jam-packed with explosive rhythm. From here, 'All Day All Night' combines synthy keys with pitched vocal slices and a sharper 4x4 feel to give us a bit of a moody vibe, with the sweeping 2-step patterns and booming basslines of 'Clarky' putting the final touches on a spectacular selection. Hail up Dubzta!
Review: There are a few certainties in life, with a recent addition being that Strictly House And Garage will always find a way to keep their UKG pumping as Jay Ward lands for a top notch four track display. We begin with the throwback vocal sampling and groovy chord plucks of 'Won't Give You Up', which sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the EP, followed by the lofi drum processing and sweeping organ textures of 'It Would Be'. From here, the intensity of the groove is raised as 'Music Is Moving' unleashes some heavily syncopated drum expressions, alongside more nostalgic vocal slicing, before the more intricate percussive expressions of 'Need You So' signs us out with a bang. Exceptional work as per!
Review: The team over at Strictly House & Garage have been keeping our stomachs lined with incredible new UKG since their label inception last year, with this latest drop from the legendary Moony being another tasty snack for us to feast upon. Kicking off the four track listing we have 'Ice Cream', a techy combination of metallic synthesizer plucks and stripped back drum slaps, followed by the big room 4x4 designs of 'Obsession', which packs one hell of a punch. From here we glide into the catchy vocal manipulations of the title track 'Burning Fire', which in typical Moony fashion combines niche and notalgia in ultimate majesty. Finally, the pace increases dramatically in 'It Is', speedy sizzler, providing us with the perfect round off.
Review: Within the release reviews we often discuss consistency and if there was ever a label that it applied to the most it is Strictly House And Garage. Since their inception as an imprint last year, they have barely put a foot wrong, with this latest six tracker from the ever-ready Daze Prism being a perfect example of that. We begin our journey into this one with a look at the smooth, warming chords within 'Burning' atop a colourful array of drums, before sliding into the futuristic percussive reverbs and winding sub structures of 'Header'. Next up we take in 'Just Get You' which combines nostalgic string notation with moderinzed crispy drum exploits, before 'Lazer' arrives with more catchy vocal chops to match. From here, 'Selekta' arrives with a lively set of drum moves and a catchy reese tone before we take in 'Shady', a slower groove that works perfectly to
round off the project with a bang.
Review: After bursting onto the UKG scene in 2019 with a serious bang, we have been looking forward to seeing what else Gru Var has to offer. This new release on the newly formed Strictly House & Garage imprint is a perfect showcase of their unique take on bass and garage, kicking off with the incredibly high energy arrangements of 'Beat Down', pulsing with moogy energy. Next up, we dive into the floaty woodwind textures of 'Home With Me', and shuffling bass grinds of 'Algor Riddim', before finishing up the EP with a look at 'A Mechanical Man', a stunning broken-beat UKG adventure through original dubstep themes and colourful drum designs. Awesome stuff!
Review: Following on from an extremely solid run of releases as the head of Project Allout, Skillzy unleashes a fantastic new selection under his new imprint 'Strictly House and Garage'. The line up is star-studded to say the least, welcoming UKG veterans such as Moony and Joedan leading the way, alongside heavyweight newcomers such as the extremely vibrant sounds of Weagle. There are a couple of serious stand outs on this one, with 'Don't Let Me Down' from Daze Prism providing a smooth 2-steppy box of delights, alongside YesEd's super high energy 'Steppin'. Lovely stuff
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