Review: Rising up from SGN:LTD, Monrroe makes his debut on Friction's main label Shogun Audio with the bright and breezy soulful roller "You Got Me". Featuring the raw urgent vocals of Hybrid Minds' mate Alexa Harvey, there's a barbed undercurrent and realness throughout , giving the track a powerful emotional uplift as Monrroe's warm beats drive the message home. We hope we'll be hearing more from the Bristol vibesmith on Shogun very soon...
Review: Monrroe is one of a spate of new signings taken up by the Shogun team in their effort to stay one of the most relevant, cutting edge drum & bass labels in the game. Monrroe is the ideal candidate for this task, a producer who blends the soulful with the biting and the flurid with the respectable. Endless Change is his first full release on the label and it's wicked, with a combination of vibes and an endless changing repertoire of sounds. Jinadu features on the gorgeously rolling 'Horizon', whilst things get stupidly deep and dark on 'Your Lives', the highlight of the release. An excellent start to his Shogun career for the young producer.
Review: Monrroe: the extra R stands for Really talented. Really exciting journey so far too... Not even 20 and already scratching grimy notches on the bedposts of Liquicity and Influenza, the west country/Gloucestershire alumni is making all the right moves. "Days Like This" is a cosy pillow of a tune, skipping gently in the shimmering piano moonlight while "Never Too Far" is more of a heads-down harmonic sub roller with a breathing bass that's reminiscent of Bungle. Remix-wise Peer Pressure bossman Facing Jinx switches the gentle skipping to a light jogging and the shimmering piano to a laser-guided synth.
Review: It's been 15 years since Shogun Audio burst into life on the South Coast and under the watchful eye of Ed Keeley AKA Friction, as well as K-Tee, it's grown and grown into one of the best labels in the business, without a doubt. From the classics like Perez's seminal 1984, to more recent, futuristic numbers from the likes of Koherent and Document One, the label is truly diverse and that's represented extremely well in this 15 Years Of compilation. Featuring a litany of acts both old and new, including Technimatic, Pola & Bryson and Friction, this one is for the proper fans. Document One's 'Vibration' is a favourite of ours, with a stupidly cool, distorted bassline that packs a tasty hardware edge, undergirded by a click-and-snap drum line. Pure quality right here.
Review: Following on from last year's incredibly popular instalment, Shogun Audio have brought back Point of Origin for a third time. This series emphasises the rolling, minimal-ish side of the scene from some younger, more hungry producers and boy, is it a good formula. Exemplifying this is Revaux with 'Ibex', probably the nastiest tune on the album and arguably the best, as its crunching bass tabs inject fantastic groove. Rizzle and Malaky add something more sultry with 'Solstice' and 'Requiem', the former focusing on the vocals of Sydney whilst the latter opts for a more instrumental roll-out. Gerra & Stone represent the old guard amongst the newbies, holding up their end with a growling amalgamation of low-frequency force. This is an exquisite album of D&B, with every corner covered and every flavour recognizable - special props going to Shogun for supporting new talent as well.
Review: Shogun have a forthcoming compilation and it's one which shows just how good a year they had, all things notwithstanding. It features music from GLXY, Sustance, Koherent and more, and what's notable is just how many are from producers relatively new to the Shogun camp, evidence that the Brighton team are doing the best they can at nurturing the next generation. GLXY are at the forefront of that generation and they have several tracks featured from their Spring album, Research & Development. 'Conclusions' feat. Steo is one of the best, a feathery light liquid number with a dusting of harp and a dash of vocal magic, a sultry approach mirrored on their critically acclaimed single 'She Sings For Me' feat DRS. Koherent's recent, infectiously funky number 'Bliss' makes an appearance, as does several tunes from Gerra & Stone's rebirth as GEST. Big.
Review: Having just celebrated their 15th year with one of their best ever collections, Friction's Shogun Audio look back over a strong year of sonics. Flexing a stellar rollcall of all the label's talents - Ed:It, GLXY, Technimatic, Pola & Bryson, Monrroe, Document One, Koherent and many more - there's an exciting energy to the label's collective and this collection captures that vibe. Highlights include Ed:It's fast-lane percussive roller "So True", the deep dream manoeuvres of Koherent and Charli Brix's "Voices" and Document One's epic electrified shredder "Holy Moly". These are just three of 20 reminders of why Shogun have had such a great year in 2019.
Review: Friction's mighty Shogun look back over one of their best years to date with this epic album of 2022 highlights. From Pola & Bryson's unavoidable anthem 'Tell You What' to DRS's yearning 'Want You Back', the full range is here in all its glory. Ideal for those who've missed anything, it's a great reminder how broad the Shogun sound can be as we're eased and teased between utter gutter munching paranoia jams like Sustance and Duskee's 'Scum' to sublime soulful cuts like Bcee and Javeon's gilded 'Worship'. Splendid.
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