Review: Cor blimey, Ray Keith on 31. This is a release of biblical proportions. Both tapping into the Keith's signature Dread vibe but with all the modern tactics of the day (big drones, trippy basses, ominous clouds of pranged out funk), both cuts are schoolings from a genuine jungle OG. "Jungle Fi Dread" is all about the breaks and sirens, taking you right back to A.W.O.L 1993 while "What Time Dread" raises the pressure with some seriously danked out twists on the vocals and more woozy tones and textures than your local haberdashery. What an immense release.
Review: Krust going back to his epic jams on a label as consistently on point and influential as ThirtyOne? We seriously don't deserve this! Fully immersive, cinematic adventures that don't hurry to fly out with big drop histrionics, these are class-A "Genetic Manipulation" era narratives to truly lose yourself inside. "The Portal" hurls us into deep space with it space with its relentless two-step, warp-speed bass sweeps and subtle developments while "Concealing Treachery" oozes out with an eerie intro, skippy beats and a springy robot funk to the bass. Classic Krust, no one does D&B like this man.
Redeyes And Signs - "Only For A Moment" - (4:25) 170 BPM
Redeyes - "Stand Tall" - (3:47) 170 BPM
Redeyes - "For The Leaves" - (3:46) 172 BPM
Redeyes - "Only You" - (3:51) 170 BPM
Redeyes And Signs - "Only For A Moment" (dub) - (4:39) 170 BPM
Review: Following his crucial North Quarter opus "Blueprints", Toulouse OG Redeyes joins Doc Scott for this beautiful 31 outing. Instant tingles are triggered the second the humanised harmonies on "Only For A Moment" breeze in. A true emotional whirlwind, there's a touch of Intalex's influence coded deep into the spaciousness. Elsewhere "Stand Tall" is another subtle riser with strings that morph so gradually you won't even notice you're playing air violin, "For The Leaves" adds a touch of dusty jazz piano to the finger-clicking party while "Only You" brings us back down from the clouds with a sublime slice of molten soul. Layers.
Review: The dust still settling from his remarkable debut album Des Fleurs earlier this year, Mexican in Paris Joakuim continues his stunning vein of form with a debut on Doc Scott's 31. The titles hide no surprises; "Funk As You" does indeed carry a strong groove, but does so with a much more outer planetary, sci-fi context. Deliciously deep and long, there's a touch of Klute to the spacious introspection here. "Cosmos Dub" flips for a rocksteady halftime vibe. Cased in dubspace and a palpitating heartbeat kick, this is a straight up one-way ticket to Infinity. Bon voyage.
Review: Doc Scott continues to invite new friends to the fold with another surprise appearance from an artist you might not immediately associate with 31. Following the likes of Serum and J:Kenzo comes German production giant/neuro don Current Value with four supreme workouts; "Bigger Picture" opens with big breezes before dropping into an itchy, scratchy sandpaper funk bass riff, "Major Fracture" has a hook so sharp it could rip holes in the time space continuum, "Reconsider" is all about the latent groove in the rattling percussion while the title track arrests all attention with its unabashed ode to sci-fi. Crucial.
Review: What an exciting few years it's been for the Artikal bossman Kenzo. Playfully switching between 140, 160 and 170, dub, jungle and D&B, he's in his element right now and packing some seriously darked out heat. Back on ThirtyOne he's hurling more heaviness our way. "Sykura" is a crisp steppy track not dissimilar to early Subtitles and TeeBee material while "Assemble" kicks with more of a bouncy two-step spring. Think Jonny L and you're on the right track. That's the level we're talking here.
Review: Serum on 31... You already know this will hurt you without even pressing play, don't you? For formality's sake, here's the 411: "Species" is a real deep swing grumbler underpinned with a brilliantly tuned moaning bassline while its VIP provides a more fluctuating take on the bass for more of an aggy twist. "Redeemer" tips a wry nod at "Shadow Boxing" with its endless sheet-like bass panelling everything in its wake and "Blood Red" is gulliness incarnate. Heads business, this.
Review: Previously spotted on labels such as Diffrent and Sweetbox, and championed by the likes of Om Unit, and Dub Phizix, UK dubsmith Crypticz makes his 31 debut with four expertly crafted sub joints that sparkle and rumble with all the right dub elements. "Echo Sound" is all about the big nodding groove and crafty delay wizardry, "MTD" adds more jungle into the mix with a pacier kick dynamic and strange alien effects leading the groove. "20" takes us right down into the slimy-walled dungeon for a slo-mo stomp in the stankiest of sub sludge while "Rhymes" brings us to an almighty show-stopping finale as it ignites with a slow burning kick that builds into a transcendental whoosh of sonics and dynamics. Crypticz is going places, there's no doubt about it.
Review: Could Om Unit's twist on Nasty Habits' 1996 classic "Shadow Boxing" be one the most crucial VIP contemporisations in recent D&B history? Arguably, yes. The rolling drums, the slight melodic twist on the iconic bassline, the sudden moments of space... Whether you know this from back in the day or it's fresh to you, this really is a literally perfect example of how to VIP an influential classic. "Something Ancient" sees Om Unit team up with Thing for a cathedral-level stepper smothered in deep breath pads and mystic textures that sits somewhere between Clarity and Tobin. Immense.
Review: Serum isn't messing around at the moment. Not like he ever messed around before, but it's clear he's upped his game even more this year. Making his debut on Doc Scott's 31, "Species" is a rattling dark stepper with loose, swinging drums and a droning ghostly bass gurgle that groans in and out of the mix with raw paranoia. "Red Blood" continues the dark drone theme with more heads-down messages. Rocking a Jim Morrison-style sample from The Zodiac, there's a nice touch of psychedelia amid the gritty dynamics. Proper.
Review: Now this is how you make your debut in the drum & bass game: "Ratatata" is 100 percent twisted mentalism with furious loopy vocal sample and drums so tonked they could bulldoze an entire street in a morning. Tapping into the early Dom & Roland, Trace or Optical spirit, ThirtyOne have found something really special right here. For the all-important balance factor, "Chasm" is the total contrast. Spacious, slippery and music (thanks to its sporadic flurries of pianos), it shows that this brand new act have the strength to go the whole nine - or indeed ThirtyOne - yards in this game.
Review: Usually found on the 140 side of the spectrum dub demonstrator Kenzo steps over to Doc Scott's ThirtyOne for some serious stripped back jungle business. "Rum Punch" is a straight up roller with a wasps nest bassline and barbed wire two-step. "Airwalk" nods towards the Ruffhouse or Clarity style of minimalism with an almost dancehall dynamic to its sparse drums. Finally "Durge" drops the tempo a tenner for a really wonked-out halftime bass jam that rips into some incredible amen splashes midway. Applying everything you love about his dub science to D&B, Kenzo's just opened up a whole new book... And we can't put it down.
Review: ThirtyOne recruit Bristolian dubsmith Jaydrop for their latest EP, and it's every bit as dark and demonstrative as you'd like it to be. "True Sound" rolls on that measured, slo-mo stomp that Cosmic Bridge and Amit have made their own of late. "Insight" switches back to the sound of classic late 90s darktime rollers while "Shortwave" flicks off the lights for a pitch black steppy slab of minimalism that's similar to Clarity's work in its dynamics and execution. Signing off the EP with the cowbell hammering broken beat tribal dance "The Constant" and another late 90s lean stepper "Underlay", Jaydrop has covered some serious ground on his 31 debut. High recommended.
Review: Haunted minimalism on Doc Scott?s 31 courtesy of Hungarian heavyweight Ghost Warrior. Tapping into the same highly designed spirit as Clarity, ASC or Sam KDC, each cut is tailored specifically for the darkest hours of the night when even the shadows get paranoid. Highlights include the raw rolling tribalism of ?Intruders? and the echo chamber creepiness of ?Videodrome?, the Burialesque two-step clinks and clanks of ?Fracture? and the obscene bass texture of ?The Fall?. Don?t have nightmares.
Review: It's been a while since Bournemouth-based, world-renowned Overlook was spotted on Doc Scott's 31, but he's back... And he's flinging out some seriously refreshing sounds on two very different tips. First up, "Empire"; this one's built around a persistent hand drum element that hammers with a near-mischievous sense of insistency. Dig deeper for "Distant Blue". Reminiscent of the formative Metalheadz foundations, it's driven relentlessly by granite drums and dense layers of pads, atmospheres and spooky overlaid sound designs. Monstrous.
Review: Refreshingly futuristic drum & bass documents right here: Hidden Turn returns to Doc Scott's 31 imprint with four more deliciously deep and unpredictable slabs of jungle danger. "Everything" buries amens under a bed of beehive basses, "Anything" is all about the oceanic space between the drums and the eerie eastern prayer calls, "Nothing" shows Hidden Turn's deeper side with water drop 80s synth sounds and a sub so elastic is could stretch around the globe and still have more to give. Finally we hit "Something", a monstrous halftime finale that's all moody and grimey, it's a fantastic way of wrapping up a genuinely exciting and unique EP.
Review: Sao Paulo's finest export Bungle has a long history of hitting the decks hard and "Alone" is his latest tribute to the old school. Mixing vintage sounds with fresh drums and bass, the title track "Alone" is a perfect set starter to get things moving in the dance. "Looking Back" is the ticket tune if industrial, heavyweight bangers that morph into beautiful, flowing rollers are your bag. "Arcadia" channels old school Dillinja down to the dark slamming bass and percussion that keeps pushing back against swirling synths. Final track "Fast Forward" offers a more minimal sound, stepping up with tribal drums before building into a whirlwind roller, tapping into an addictive old school sound. It's pretty much perfection and you need it.
Review: We've been waiting for this since Doc Scott fired up his old ThirtyOne machine just over a year ago. A 24-track collection of stone cold exclusives, this bucks any expectations of the label and its remit and celebrates the very best creativity in all shades of drum & bass. Littered with the best names in the game (Calibre, Nucleus & Paradox, Bungle, Loxy & Resound, Scar, Marcus Intalex and many many more), each cut pushes the bass and riddim envelope with stark, uncompromised creativity and production muscle. The ultimate document of where the best D&B is at, this is nothing short of essential.
Review: Relative newcomer Vromm emerges from the fuggy bass mists, and does so on the perfect platform; ThirtyOne's remit and motifs fit the London-Italian's stripped-back, techno-influenced dynamics like a well-tailored suit. Each of these four entry cuts smoulder with groove magic and low end majesty; from the obese rolls of "Prototype" to the abyss-level space, carnal drums and dubbed flurries of "El Sol" via the trippier half-step switches of "Fields Of Vengeance", Vromm has created a winning mission statement. Let's hope we receive more on the regular.
Review: Estonian producer and head honcho at DubThing and DepthWise, Thing steps up to Doc Scott's 31 imprint with two slick iced-out gems. "Future Roots" rolls with slippery sonic attitude. All subby and spooky, its dynamics are instantly distinctive and wholly deadly. "Untitled Render" flips with alien funk as ricocheting rhythmic elements pop and spring with tight presence. Two uncompromised slabs of darkness, Thing is writing a whole new chapter right now.
