Back catalogue: UK Garage

Review: Hands up all of those who expected UK garage legend MJ Cole's first album in 17 years to be an ambient set with neo-classical intentions. While on the surface it may seem like an odd move, he says that it has been "gestating" his "whole life", though in the end he apparently recorded it fairly quickly. Musically, it's well worth a listen, with Cole cannily combining sweeping strings, jazz style double bass, fluid piano solos, opaque ambient chords and very occasional rhythms to create compositions closer in tone to film soundtracks and conceptual neo-classical pieces than the sweaty, soul-fired club bangers he's long been renowned for. Judged purely on musical terms rather than his previous career, it's a hugely impressive achievement and well worth a listen.

Review: UK legend MJ Cole is best known for his vital contribution to drum & bass and then garage over the years, but on his first new album for 17 summers he takes a different turn. Here he dare on the classical music on which he was brought up, and shows off the vast array of studio skills he has picked up over the years, all in order to lay down some evocative early hours ambiance, classical compositions and sunrise sounds on his studio's piano. It's a serene listen, a grown up sound that provides you with plenty of moments of contemplation and is finished with some lush strings for a truly luxuriant sound.

Review: Low-cal melodic pop d&b done from a new-gen perspective: Piri & Tommy's take on drum & bass has been a runaway success in the last two years as the couple bring their own unique song writing signature to the genre. Now to mark this year's RSD, their debut album Froge.mp3 enjoys a limited vinyl outing and it sounds amazing for it. Cuts like the sing-along 'On & On' and the lofi dreaminess 'Slowly But Surely' and the sun-kissed summer joint 'Beachin' all still sparkling as bright as they did when they first dropped last year, this is a significant moment for Piri & Tommy. Happy Record Store Day!

Review: ***B-STOCK: Torn sleeve, product unopened & in excellent condition***


Mike Skinner is surely deserving of National Treasure status by now, is he not? From mischievous young MC upstart to garage innovator and now the voice of the nation, his journey has been remarkable and as this album shows it isn't done yet. He said in the built-up to it that for the first time in his career, he has allowed himself to be more loose with his lyrics, to say enigmatic things, make odd references and use stranger metaphors that might not always make perfect sense but that feel right in the moment. That makes it a great listen, as well as all the usual catchy hooks and compelling beats.

Review: Mike Skinner's evolution alongside his band The Streets has been a fine one that has very much told the tale of youth culture from his early party days to more emotionally aware works and on to this new album The Darker The Shadow The Brighter The Light. It features Skinner being less slavish to tight and coherent rhymes that make immediate sense and instead cutting loose, allowing his language and references to be more free and abstract. Guests include the likes of Jimmothy Lacoste and many other fine young talents. More than 20 years after his debut, Skinner is as sharp as ever here.

Review: Mike Skinner is surely deserving of National Treasure status by now, is he not? From mischievous young MC upstart to garage innovator and now the voice of the nation, his journey has been remarkable and as this album shows it isn't done yet. He said in the built-up to it that for the first time in his career, he has allowed himself to be more loose with his lyrics, to say enigmatic things, make odd references and use stranger metaphors that might not always make perfect sense but that feel right in the moment. That makes it a great listen, as well as all the usual catchy hooks and compelling beats.

Review: When you look back at the first PlayStation several landmark releases spring to mind - Resident Evil, Tekken 2, Crash Bandicoot - the list could go on much longer and should definitely include Wipeout and Wipeout 2097. Both were renowned for combining high pace, futuristic visuals with contemporary electronic club music from some of the biggest producers and acts at the time. Less remembered, in Europe at least, is the Ape Escape series, an intense party-platform title which arguably has the greatest dance music game score of all time. Comprising six tracks from that saga, this compilation of Soichi Terada's soundtracks emphasises that bold point. Opening on the crisp, punchy techno drive of 'Specters Factory', we find ourselves in suitably spooky jungle ('Haunted House'), rumbling dnb ('Spectors Castle') and roughneck hardcore bass ('Coasters'), among other made up genres. A collection which resembles Terada's amazing 1996 album, Sumo Jungle and makes a case for the Japanese enigma as one of dance music's most underrated geniuses.

Review: UK garage will never die and will always get any dancefloor pumping. It is just one of those genres that is so sweet and utterly and irresistible to all, which is no doubt why there are so many collections of the classics. Demon Records has assembled this collection featuring 24 cuts all bought together on four sides of vinyl for the very first time. It's fair to say these are massive, well-known tunes but they all still make a mark from artists including Shanks & Bigfoot, The Streets, Craig David, MJ Cole, Artful Dodger and Sunship.

Review: Pure Garage was always one of the cornerstones of the early UKG scene. It's good to know they are still going strong, and so is garage - particularly so right now. This is probably why the label had deiced to strike while the iron is hot and drop this second volume of collectible cuts from across the years. Mainstays like Zed Bias feature with his mix of sweet vocals and sleazy basslines, 2step is represented with the choppy cuts and pitched-up vox of Strickly Dubz's 'Realise' and pure floor-filling heat comes in the form of DJ Double G 's 'Special Request' amongst more.

Review: Over the last seven years, Shall Not Fade has become one of Britain's most consistent outlets for quality club music, with a vast roster of artists, a string of offshoot imprints, and a release schedule that refuses to settle on one specific sub-genre or sound. It's fitting, then, that the label's seventh-birthday celebration - a wonderfully produced triple-vinyl compilation of previously unheard cuts - does a fine job in summarising this eclectic, all-action approach. Amongst the 18 top-notch tracks you'll find warped UK techno (Alan Fitzpatrick and Reset Robot's 'Alpha'), wayward dancefloor psychedelia (Red Axes), jazzy and drowsy vocal deep house (Laurence Guy and Miller Blue), organ-fired 90s garage revivalism (Main Phase), sub-heavy breakbeat house hedonism (Borai) and even a dash of two-step UKG/grime fusion (Killjoy and Kwam).

Review: French label Happiness Therapy celebrates five years in the game with a new various artists collection that very much shows what it is all about. All deep house varieties are explored here with Moglis 'Stay That Way' kicking off with some stylish house depths before the tried and tested house rawness of DJ Steaw does his usual hard edge but compelling thing and artists like Baka G & Denyl Brook, Crowd Control & Strandtuch and Groove Boys Project, Fasme & Dusty Fingers all continue to explore the dynamic and driving world of deep house with plenty of forward thinking designs.