Review: The most prolific man in drum & bass, Conrad Subs returns to Ray Keith's Dubplate Dread for the first time since 2020 with a humungous wedge of wallopers. Seven cuts in total, each one of them tailored for those magic 3am moments, big moments range from the gruesome growls and grizzles of 'Octavirus' to the pure raucous shreds and slaps of the title track 'Real Dread', a cut which really does live up to its name. Oh boy, this could well be Conrad Subs' mightiest EP so far, which is really saying something. Real talk.
Review: Oh gosh! Whether you're massively into Deep In The Jungle but you've got a few holes in your collection that need filling, or you've just started getting into this side of the music, this 60+ anthem collection is an amazing resource for all modern day junglists. Curated by bossman DJ Hybrid, this collection takes us back through the label's history and cherry picks an amazing array of peaktime wounders, bruisers and bubblers. To pick one or two highlights from such a generous collection doesn't feel right so let us advise you to take in that tracklist, press play and totally vibe out to some of the best jungle bangers made in the last 11 years. Mad love to the DITJ crew!
Review: Shim Shimah who got the keys to the beemer? Probably Shimah himself judging by the state of these purring futuristic grooves. Taking us right into a new dimension with his debut album, Shimah shows us how far he's come since his early moves on Playaz around 10 years ago. Flexing a vibe that one part sci-fi, two parts heavyweight and fully unique, Shimah's sound hits with that cosmic vibe that could fit between myriad of D&B subgenres with ease and style. Highlights include the album's twinkling title track, the heavy emotion and autonomic style halftime intro on 'Levitation' and rich trance elements of 'Disintegrate'. Stunning.
Review: In an industry where the term 'veteran' is bandied about far too freely, Colin Curtis is the real deal! His DJing career goes all the way back to legendary Northern Soul club The Golden Torch in the late 60s. In the 70s, he was a resident at Blackpool Mecca alongside Ian Levine, where he became one of the first DJs to introduce the more modern sound of jazz-funk to the scene. By the mid-80s he'd become an early UK champion of house, too, but these days it's on the jazz-dance scene that he's most revered - and here he serves up a 26-track connoisseur's collection that shows why. Ranging from straight-up jazz and soul to soulful house and leaning heavily towards the Afro- and Latin-flavoured, some of these cuts are recent offerings, some date back as far as the 70s, but on jazz-dance floors, all will go down a treat.
Review: Blank Mind Recordings, based in London, has tapped into the significance of a particular strand of jungle and breakbeat hardcore music prevalent during the period of 1991-1994. Their latest compilation showcases eight tracks characterized by dense atmospheric breaks, featuring artists such as DJ Mayhem, Luxury, and Skanna from that era. The standout track, 'Inesse' by Mayhem, serves as the focal point around which the compilation is curated. Against the backdrop of a tumultuous political climate, notably marked by the passage of the stringent anti-rave Criminal Justice Act in 1994, this record and its pulsating compositions take on a renewed significance, reframed within a context of resistance and social justice.
Review: SHDW's label marks its twentieth release with this weighty compilation. Drawing on some of the most respected names in techno, volume three is full of peak-time bangers. There's the lean, rolling techno of Chlar's "Inside Us", while Dax J showers the listener with waves of acid tones on the steely, peak-time "Celestial Dub". The Advent's "Randomized" is a bruising and quite brilliant industrial techno workout. While Blawan's hyperactive "Don't You Dare Squawk At Me" hovers just below the 160 bpm mark, not all of the compilation is as intense. Vocals are mixed with chiming chords on Gary Beck's "Fold" and Z.I.P.P.O's "Broken Game" is a deep Detroit techno track.
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