Review: Time to pay homage to some of the greatest junglists in the biz for a lovely little detour into each of their mindsets. "Fall In Love" itself is a beauty of a track - with Eva Lazarus referencing Althia and Donna and the horns blowing pure heat there's a true dancehall vibe sizzling. First up to give it the remix treatment are Dope Ammo and Marvellous Cain who add their fun and fire twist with a hard edged drop switched into that winding bassline to send crowds wild. Mr Benn picks up the tune for its final remix and adds his own reggae vibes, swapping those dark dancefloor sounds for sunshine and tropical funky bass. Versatility and vibes - what more do you want?
Review: Some big, big jungle sounds in this one. Starting off with the sweet sounds of "Show Me", this release offers a little bit of sizzle for an otherwise frostbitten season. Following with the smoothly-does-it Motown-esque funk of "When I'm With You" and Aries & Papa G's techy rework of "Why", the EP closes on a high with No Face's liquid mix of "When I'm With You". Whether you're in the mood to roll out or get some amens stepping up on the floor, this release is for every jungle-loving bass fan out there. Get it!
Review: Jay Cunning's Sub Slayers fire up all systems with this muscular four pack of concentrated breakbeat bizzle from Birmingham beatsmith Gold. "The Rhythm" leads, and with it comes a classic vocal snippet that will leave your dancefloor scratching their heads waiting for the rest (like all the best understated sample teases, it never comes). Further on we find a superb rub of Aries' dubwise "Herbsmoke", hard nosed booty breaks ("Knowledge Is Power") and a skanking grand finale in form of "My Selector", a future jungle style!
Review: Absolute remix fire from Brizzle's Run Tingz Cru as a select bounty of the label's vaults gets the treatment from a rollcall of new-gen roustabouts. DJ Hybrid takes the lead as he supercharges the already stinking KO shot from Serial Killaz, bringing a whole new energy to Blackout JA's throaty vocals. Other highlights include the immense drum work of Aries on J-Man's "Roadblock", the unapologetic roughness and energy of Isaac Maya's take on Dossa's "Rock A Dub" and P-Tay's superb scatty switches and glitches on "Crossroads". Immense.
Review: Jungle Cakes always tend to put out music that rests on the foundations of UK underground, the cross-over influences of soul, reggae, jungle and D&B. it's always a fresh sound and it always brings up connotations of Boomtown, free parties and sunny afternoons. This is a monster album curated by Aries and Kelvin 373, who have taken tracks both old and new to form a banging compilation. Bou nails it on 'Music Takes Me Higher', a rustic revisit to classic jungle sounds; Aries and Nicky Blackmarket roll things out in a tight way on 'Champion'; and Chimpo slams the brakes on 'DidDieDoThat'. We don't know the answer to that, but we do know this is fat. Big ups.
Review: Aries 2018-released debut album Jungle Style just keeps on giving with another badass bounty of versions. Featuring a whole range of skilled breakbeat craftsmen from hyped newcomers and hidden talents to some of the best in the game, highlights hit from all corners including Saxxon's jazz-tinged tear-up on "Sundays", Kreed's dancehall stepper twist of "I & I" and Benny Page's heavily supported version of "Herbsmoke". High grade business.
Review: Fifty tracks from Ghetto Dub. We'll repeat that; FIFTY tracks right here from the Bristol badassery stable! Fresh from the stashes of SR, Kumarachi, Aries, Vinyl Junkie, Conrad Subs, Octo Pi and many more on-point junglists across the generations, many of these tracks are brand new and all of them are heavier than a night down the Weight Watchers. Highlights include Conrad Sub's skanky groaner "Good As Gold", Jaguar Paw's utter filth session "Southside", Jay Aftermath's gnarly tech/soundsystem hybrid "The Jungle" and the pure rave purrs of Vinyl Junkie & Sanxion's "Outlandish"... But that's not even touching the sides of the fifty track attack. Dig deep and get rolling.
Review: Here comes the remix! As if these Born On Road cuts weren't gully enough as originals, Kelvin, Aries, Gold Dubs and fam have now enlisted a whole slew of versions. It's muderation from the off as Gray destroys Rahmanee's gun-toting western slammer 'Bad Boy Steppa'. A barrage of badness follows: Ben Snow's take on 'Round Here' is pure rifle bassline fire, Disupta flips Stivs & Aries' 'Raver' into an aggy blend of breaks and grunting jump-up bass, Marcus Visionary goes full jungle on 'Coconut Chalwa', the list goes on. Born to bad.
Various Artists - "Sub Slayers: Series 02 - Jungle (Mixed By Gold Dubs)" (Gold Dubs continuous DJ mix) - (49:52) 140 BPM
Review: Breaks veteran Jay Cunning (a former resident at Kiss FM) started Sub Slayers in back in 2009 and ever since he has seen the label's popularity go through the roof. He reckons it's due to the imprint's militant manifesto of 140bpm+ bass and who can argue? Here label regulars Gold Dubs are entrusted to take us through a 50-minute mix of the best jungle orientated releases in the Sub Slayers back catalogue. It's a typically explosive release featuring reggae vibes on "Back 2 Hackney", hyper urgent breaks "Separation" and the laser infused old skool attack of "Unreal".
