Review: Blazin' by name, blazing by nature: the unstoppable US junglist Dave Owen makes his debut on Soul Deep with a superlative four-tracker that triumphs in showcasing both his on-point range and Soul Deep's ever-reliable status as premier LA groove dealer. "Blazin' Arrows" is all about the rolling breaks, pure Randall material. "Makin' Plans" fuses up slick emotional rap with jazzy muted horns and another set of precision rolling drums while "Soul Purpose" instantly flares up with a jaunty ragtime jazz piano riff. Finally "Slave 2 The Game" is a trip back to 96 on the Good Looking express. Slave to authenticity, more like. Vibes.
Review: Taking his time, London-based Catalyst is as unhurried as his spell-binding soulful beats. Sample-licked, soothing and, at places, deliciously somnambulant, each of these four cuts spins with a restrained sense of ease and allure. The evocative vocal breaths of on "Night Songs", the loose-string bass runs on "Spin Axis", the deeper Bungle-style star-gazing sub hummer "Red Giant" and the sci-fi drama and roominess of "Human Universal" all combine to create a true trove of deep rolling delights. Fans of LSB, Furney or Pennygiles should be all over this.
Review: Holy moly! Riko Dan takes us deep down into the trenches with this militant version excursion on Liondub International. All flavours, all fire: Original Sin blasts off with a mid 2000s tasting tear-up, Vital Techniques brings the bumping bassline 4x4 action while P Skinna streamlines the vibe with the purring drill take. Last but not least we hear 'War Ting' in all its gritty original glory. Four takes, four stories - show us your war face!
Review: Classic heritage label Rubiks enjoys a timely rewind from Fokuz as some of its many starlit soul shakers get dusted off to remind us how timeless and classy so much of the label's output was. Instantly charming from the moment Lenzman's remix of Calculon & Dave Owen's "Ben Carlos" shimmies its way into the mix. Other highlights include the timeless space funk and gully bounce of Random Movement's "Your Dancing Feat", the woozy spellbinding jazz of Mutt & Calculon's "Easy On The Motion" and Phil Tangent's evocative space age soul joint "Giving Up The Ghost". Bring on the second volume...
Escape To London (instrumental mix) - (6:08) 172 BPM
Review: Stepping away from breaking brand new artists, Soul Deep reconnect with Greek veteran MSDOS for three tender rollers and he's brought US singer/songwriter along for the ride. NY-based Shichman (who's also part of Blockwork) lays down his unique croons that shine in a way like no other D&B vocal with their classic indie-borderline-AOR style yearns making each of these cuts genuinely stand out. "Escape To London" thumps with some fantastic drum work and big washy strings while "Away" is a little more subdued and introspective, fitting David's vocal style intimately. Emotional.
Review: Super consistent US representor Owen flies free with his second substantial EP of the month: "A Love So True" on Soul Deep. As you'd expect from the title "A Love So True" is a total dreamboat. Floating, harmonic wooziness at its very best. Deeper into the EP we hit subtle grit on "Easy Does It", we dust off the jazz hands for the summer-swinging soul slider "The Get Down" and totally zone out on the delicious breakdown of "Do What It Do". Understated soul at its shiniest, Dave Owen is making all the right sounds.
Review: Emerging London junglist Dave Catalyst makes his Soul Deep debut with four slinky, spacious, double bass slapping rollers. "Summer Haze" has such a low swung, dusty, sun-baked feel there's almost a western quality to it while "Rhode Island" maintains the fretless bass signature but with added soulful chords and rushy, piano-primed atmospheres. "Sanctuary" dips deeper into liquid territory, switching the double bass for bulbous subs and big breeze pads a la Goodlooking circa 20 years ago while "Every Little Thing" closes the show with filtered waves of honeyed jazz samples and rich warm feels similar to those of early Jazzsticks or Innamind releases. Hazy.
Review: With previous collaborations punching massive holes through the walls at the HQ of Bryan Gee's Chronic and Liquid V, US D&B soldiers Dave Owen and Jaybee now set their sights on Bristol: home of junglist daddy Randall. Long time supporter of US D&B talent, Randall's roped the two in for a heavyweight collection: "Blow" is an all-out gully roller that seems tailor made for Mac II, "Streets Is Dirty" is all about the rattling snare and Krust-style twostep while "You Want None" is a straight-up grade-A 3am dark-out that shudders and shakes with the same grunting restraint as Jaybee's solo groaner "Who Want Some". It's a rhetorical question - we all want some.
Review: Randall knows what time it is. Not just in the UK but stateside too as he continues to rep and support some of the US's most authentic and clued-up junglists Jaybee and Dave Owen. Here they hit hard with some of their gulliest flavours to date: "Grimey Shit" nods at the KOTR/Benny L style of foghorn bass, "Sacrifice" gets even more twisted with a cyclical bass drone and some impeccable amen work while the rather sweary cockney free-for-all "F**k Off" mops up the mess with a heads-down techy edge. Perfectly on-point.
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