Review: Zed Bias's superb recent single with Shumba Youth is a modern fusion of dancehall and ragga that is perfect for loud deployment on top sound systems. Here though it comes in four different versions, all of which tap into different aspects of the UK hardcore continuum. The 4x4 Garage mix is just that and perfect for grotty warehouses, the 4x4 VIP Refix has a more prominent baseline feel and the Jeftuz UKG remix is a broken beat killer with wub-wub goodness. Last of all is the restless and kinetic 2-step mix to close out a high grade remix EP.
Review: Zed Bias has been a bass, dub and garage king since forever, but his star shows no signs of diminishing any time soon. For this one he has worked with Shumba Youth on a new single that finds him dipping into a world of dancehall and ragga. 'London Town' is heavy, with real bass weight, churning drums and fizzing digital synths under the superb bars from Shumba who muses on the state of London right now. Next to that are slithering leads and sci-fi pads to make for a fine future vibe. The acappella is served up on the side for DJs who want to play.
Review: Afriquoi is a "live African dance music collective" who fuse "Congolese guitar and Gambian kora virtuosity with UK electronic music sensibilities". Some of the band's UK-based members are massive fans of UK garage legend Zed Bias, and earlier in the year got him to remix one of their cuts. One thing led to another and now we have this: a fresh collaboration between the band and the long-serving producer that fuses their styles to create something genuinely fresh, sun-kissed and life-affirming. Our pick of the pair is the EP-opening original mix, where glistening guitar motifs, layered lead vocals, fizzing synth chords and a funky-as-hell bass guitar part rise above loose-limbed UKG beats. It comes accompanied by a similarly inspired, vocal-free instrumental mix.
Review: Long time underground UK stalwart Zed Bias dropped this - one of his many seminal cuts - back in 1999. Now, the dark garage classic 'Neighbourhood' gets reissued alongside some remixes. In its original form, it has an alluring vocal charm with unsettling chords over a grinding bassline and sharp percussion. The El B remix brings fleshier low ends and more swagger and shuffle while the vocals remain in place to blow up your spot. To close out the EP, Dawn Raid remixes with a high-energy jungle sound full of old-school signifiers. A proper EP for proper dance floors.
Review: The legendary Zed Bias is stepping out with a new label I Feel Good Records and intends for it to spread good vibes only through a diverse roster of talent and sounds that span house, bass and beyond. He has more than a quarter of a century of experience in the game and of eyeing new talents and helping them to shine and has always had a collaborative approach to music that will continue to define this label's MO. Zed is minting the label with a new single alongside award-winning D&B MC Inja. 'You Should Dance' pairs his warming tones with infectious garage drums and smeared, soothing chords that radiant heat. It will, indeed, make you feel good. D&b mainstay Bladerunner serves up a remix that has been doing the rounds for a while now and never fails to make an impact.
Review: Vehicle have been contributing to the contemporary nu-disco scene like few others labels and, to them, nothing is an obstacle, and no genre or style should be excluded. Zed Zeppelin's dub version of "Heartbreaker" is a refreshing disco take on the original, with its riffs still intact and rolling; "Stop Your Pressure" by MJJ takes Michael Jackson to a next level; J Hammond's "Fantasy" is a disco beauty; The Militia's version of "Roxanne" by Police moves those infamous vocals to new and interesting pastures; Timmy Tommy's "Live Together" is an devilish little monster that manages to fuel house with a crazy set of organs.
Review: Fresh from his "Hammerhead" escapades on Aquatic Lab, Dave Jones dons his Zed Bias guise for another slippery bass session. This time he takes the footwork formula and twists it inside out in a way only he knows how: "Driftin" soothes with jazzy chords and velvet vocals from Zoel Violet, "Fever" is all about the dense physical drum arrangements while "Hipbounce" is a sonic sandstorm of soca and occasional UKG bass belches. Unique as always.
Review: For years mankind has been pouring hot sauce on his chips to give them extra welly - now you can pour it on your DJ set-up for added 'oomph' too. Not physically (please DO NOT pour real sauce on your decks!) but metaphorically as Canadian stadium smashers Zeds Dead head up a very spicy EP on Diplo's imprint. "Demons" is a riveting slab of half-step drama complete with horror strings and all the trimmings. "Mr Sub" follows and lives up to its name with some slinky, sexy sub-bass fun. "Playa" is the hype-hungry track of the bunch thanks to a hair-raising high-end bleep riff, "Rave" meanwhile takes the new school breakbeat style and subverts it with contemporary menace, and "Trouble" finishes the set with Hudson-style halfstep psychedelia. Very hot indeed.
Review: An undoubted favourite from Zed Bias' recent "Blasonic Hotsauce" LP, "Night Lovers" features Skream/Magnetic Man vocalist Sam Frank fed through a mighty vocoder over a uncharacteristically slow, syrupy electro-funk beat that brims with post-midnight neon goodness. Greenmoney rework "Night Lovers" into a sped-up tropical banger, complete with lashings of Latin carnival percussion, while Rinse's Scratcha DVA keeps things warm and enormously future-funky thanks to some wavering synths and a deep set of kicks and hats. CRST also does wonders with the single, providing a Blawan-esque mix of percussion and soft synth stabs.
Review: Oh boy... Dave Jones has blessed us with six Zed Bias album (his eighth album in total if you include his Maddslinky LPs, and you really should) and the world immediately feels like a nicer, warmer place. Building on his deep foundations of space-aged soul, roomy drum arrangements and raw emotions, Different Response is riddled with timelessness and atmospheres that resonate with every corner of the dance from soul to jungle to techno; the slight vapour trails of Dego and powerful vocal pull of Eva Lazarus on "Restless", the gully gospel of "Lost Souls" with DRS, the cosmic synths and rattling footwork of "Just Like Ohm" and the badded up turbo bruk of "Jibba Jabba" are just some of the many delicious highlights on offer here. No one does it like Zed.
Give Up The Ghost (Calibre remix - feat Nasrawi) - (6:25) 171 BPM
Pick Up The Pieces (Skeptical remix - feat Boudah) - (5:19) 170 BPM
Review: Following last year's exemplary album from the Manchester-based soul man Zed Bias, Exit unleash the first batch of remixes, and they come from two of the best in the game. Calibre first "Give Up The Ghost" with rolling subtleties and a warm, alluring drive that only he can do. Skeptical takes care of the second remix with a similarly on-point twist on "Pick Up The Pieces" where a menu of alien tones and textures lurk and linger in the cavernous spaces. Both deliver.
Review: Zed Bias on Digital Soundboy: Hook-ups don't carry much more weight than this. "Heavy Water Riddim" is a tight weave of rain stick magic and layers of mesmerising percussion. Loaded with sudden riddim switches, it's both minimal and full bodied and builds to a deadly breakdown by way of ominous synths. "Hurting Me" engages Zed's more soulful mode thanks to its emphatic synths and insistent Kerri Chandler-style hook. Once again representing himself as a true player in all groove fields, Zed Bias has delivered something very special here.
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