JUBEI Vinilo y CD

Review: Almost three years old and To Have & Have Not continues to spawn fresh creativity. Blocks & Escher fire up the remix engine with a thunderstruck live drum shake-up of Jubei & Goldie's "The Prayer". Skeptical follows with a slightly swung twist to "Incognito" that thrusts Jerome's vocals further under the icy spotlight while Ulterior Motive add a little funk with cymbal splashes and reverbed FX on the synths. Finally Om Unit brings us back to where it all started as the foundation angst of "The Prayer" is simmered down into a cosmic halftime stew with a vibrant amen aftertaste. To not have "To Have & Have Not" would be criminal.

Review: Identified by GQ's Emcee Recordings many years ago, Jubei's been contributing to drum & bass with consistency and icy, industrial strength confidence since 2006. Repping on Metalheadz since 2010, a debut album has been long overdue... Naturally he's not disappointed. Here are selected highlights spread neatly across three 12"s. Ranging from the almost cosmic, far-gazing fusion of the Goldie co-lab "The Prayer" to the minimal dub-tech of "Neon Eyes" via the mournful soulful yearning of "Incognito", each track reps Jubei at his brightest, boldest and baddest. Essential for all D&B heads.

Review: Widely regarded in the D&B scene as the "new Marka", Jubei's next single on Metalheadz certainly is something special. Featuring the lyrical prowess of Flowdan, the track centres around a terrifying, turbo-charged bassline and razor-sharp, snapping breaks with eerie, metallic SFX coming in and out of focus in the distance. The raw, aggressive, streetwise vocal packs a punch and accentuates all the individual elements of the track, calling "heartless / cold blooded / hungry..." The whole track is rife with tension, aggression, menace and emotion. Check the video for a great visual portrayal of the piece.

Review: Metalheadz unleash four powerful and atmospheric D&B steppers courtesy of Jubei and his collaborations with SPY and Dbridge. The "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained EP" is an assault on the sense from the word go.


"Carbon" is a bouncy number that is all about the hardstep snares and heavy swabs of bass. The breakdowns are atmospheric with the synths that hint at its arrival taking over the soundscape for those short moments. "Alignment," the second solo effort from Jubei here, sees old school sounding pads joining cruising, moody bass and contorting breaks. It is an entirely bass heavy track that sounds almost ambient if it wasn’t for those huge breaks. However, there are a wide range of emotions embedded into this track with what is actually a minimal range of sounds. SPY joins Jubei for the rattling, jump up track, "Project 1." Keeping things rather uncomplicated until the breakdown, we come out the other side amid dense sound layers and hectic FX.


Finishing the release, Dbridge is the collaborator on "Patience." Arguably the finest track on here, "Patience" has a haunting atmosphere created by ominous sub bass, spooky synths and agile warehouse syncopations. Sticking to it’s genre’s name, aside from the occasional FX, this tune is simply drums and bass. Nowhere is that more apparent than at the drop following the echoed breakdown in the middle. That sentiment seems to mark the ethos of the whole EP. A return to simple, undiluted drum & bass comes from Jubei in what has been a difficult year for the genre.

Review: Two massive VIPs on one gargantuan 12"... Metalheadz sure know how to spoil us. First up is a stark, gritty twist on Jubei and dBridge's star-grasping "These Things". Boasting a darker underbelly than the original, it's an instant riot-charmer. Meanwhile on the flip AI finally unleash their special version of the Dillinja homage "Dillirious". With more emphasis on the drums and a bassline that's so brittle and disarming it could chill the devil himself, it sums up exactly why VIP culture has remained the gold standard in jungle since day one.