Review: Over on Bulletproof, things are getting heated as Stillz lands on the label for a rambunctious four-tracker with more attitude than a bull in heat. The title tune takes the cake for us as the standout, with a moody yet simple arrangement carved from an iceberg synth dripping in both tech and jump-up aesthetics. 'Looking for an Idea' takes things down a more foghorn route, with warped out sonics that bend into devastating low frequency oscillations. What an EP.
Review: This release is big. Not in a super fancy or sophisticated way but in the ways that matter, the ways that mean you'll be going hard on a dancefloor at 5am somewhere when one of these tracks comes on. Stillz is responsible and he's over on Latch Recordings Recordings this time around, Tell Me is the name of the release and it's fitting. 'Right Never Wrong' is straight up roller business, with a towering intro that cuts away on the drop, leaving a pure line of energy and rattling percussion in its wake. 'Tell Me', 'Refined' and 'Eastern Flavours' step up the craziness even more and are where this extended EP really gets going. Top work.
Review: Fresh from their massive V/A collection in April, new Norwich-based drum & bass label Virtuous continue to put their solid stamp down on the scene with this fearless four-tracker from young Brighton duo Stillz and Vsylum. Like all good things in life, it kicks off with a VIP of an early free download they gave away. Totally coated in bullet proof rolling armour, "Afraid VIP" sets the tone for the whole EP. Elsewhere Stillz own "Damage" lives up to its name with a swampy bassline and spitfire bars from Canning MC while Vsylum goes solo on the sinewy metallic spacebound croaks on "Overload". Finally the EP packs its trunk with the biggest cut of the bunch: "African Elephant". Heavy, dangerous and prone to flattening anything in its path; Stillz, Vsylum and Virtuous are not messing around here. Be afraid, be very afraid...
Stillz - "Ready To Hang" (Bomber Man remix) - (4:24) 175 BPM
Bomber Man - "Chuck" (Stillz remix) - (3:47) 175 BPM
Review: Brighton badmen from Within The Woods creep out with a straight-up remix swapsie situation as Bomber Man and Stillz go toe-to-toe on their recent wounders. Bomber Man adds a dark squelsh and technoid twist to Stillz' "Ready To Hang" while Stillz deeps-up "Chuck" with a dustier, hazy texture and more of a purr to the bassline. Nice display of remixcraft right here; the originals are paid full respect but just nudged in different directions. Within The Woods have been smashing it lately, don't sleep on them.
