Review: The second in the BLE-EP series is another nostalgic trip back to the early days of rave. It's jam packed with six of the best breaks, bleeps and bass tunes, prickly analogue drum programming and future leads that immediately place you in a room full of smoke, lasers flashing by and strobes going mental. Bohm's 'Trouble' is a textbook take on this style, while Neil Landstrumm layers up bright melodies and refracts them around a punchy techno framework on 'Body Popper.' Meat Beat Manifesto's 'Destroy Dub' is a wild furry of drums and another gem on an EP full of them.
Review: Well Street are back with their second instalment of broken beat techno on this 4-track Various EP. Loop LF returns to the fold after his impressive first release alongside label founders Glas Rm and Speak7, plus an unnamed track by a mystery artist.
Review: "Rends L'argent" ("give the money back") became the Clarion call of anti-corruption protesters during the 2017 French general election campaign. It would be slightly misleading to say that this split 12" from the consistent Brothers From Different Mothers is a politically-charged affair, but there's certainly anger to be detected amongst the four fantastic tracks on show. Check, for example, the long and foreboding build-up, poignant electronics and booming hardcore/jungle revivalism of J-Zbel's opener "Nik Molina" and similarly inclined "Selecta". Or, for that matter, the disenchantment fuelling Low Jack's "Ice Formula Riddim", where melancholic chords wrap around tumbling melody lines and occasional bouts of post-dancehall drums. As for U-202's bleak and distrorted techno closer, "Whistler (Edit X)", it feels like the producer has already lost all hope.
Review: This new one on Aphrodite Recordings offers a rare chance to own some previously unreleased hardcore history. Crafted by Urban Shakedown founders Aphrodite and Kaukuta, these two unreleased Moonwalk tracks date back to 1993. ever since they were made back then at the height of hardcore's popularity, though, they have remained forgotten on a DAT tape. After being recently rediscovered, they have been pressed up to this 12" with 'Meditation' offering a blitz of pulsating drums and funky bass, thrilling breaks and sci-fi melodies that reagin down the face of the track, while 'Outer Space' is more raw and direct with a menacing low end and plenty of kinetic drum programming.
Review: There are no prizes for guessing the sort of music that defines Rave Or Die. Next up with some dynamite club tracks are Stranger and Umwelt, who take one side each of this new marbled 10". Stranger's "Motief" is a techno crescendo that builds on hard hitting techno drums. The urgent synths and increasingly brash hi hats work you into a manic state that is all consuming. Umwelt then gets even more abrasive with caustic synths and retro rave stabs, slapping metallic hits and pounding broken kick drums all forcing you to move on "Shut Up & Dance". This is truly arresting stuff once again from Rave Or Die.
Review: It's now accepted that label anniversary compilations and EPs should be stacked with high-grade cuts, preferably offered up by sizable or notable artists. Even so, there's something extra-special about this first part of Digbeth-based One Records' 10th anniversary EP series. Fittingly, it begins with a fresh cut from label stalwart Subb-an, a suitably heavy chunk of locked-in, early morning techno titled "Sunrise Mood", before continuing via the cut-up breakbeat fills, spacey electronics and warehouse-ready analogue bass of Adam Pits' "Pungent Method". Over on side B, Los Angeles-based Steve Urulu serves up the groovy, percussion-rich deep house/techno fusion of retro-futurist treat "Mollare Qualcuno", while Yamen & Eda drift their way through the deep breakbeat-house shuffle of "Last Dance".
Aman Umber - "All The Things (Tyme's Love Tribute)" (4:16)
Aman Umber - "Meta Rave Society" (4:38)
Aman Umber & Krol - "Rock It Out" (5:05)
Aman Umber & Krol - "Business Generation" (4:46)
Review: Aman Umber and Krol strike out on a singular, little-trodden path with their newest, debut release for Telu. 001 not only inaugurates the label, but establishes the sounds and careers of two sure-to-be popular artists. They preface the release and launch with a verse, telling tall and fantastical tales of the "telluric vein". Telluric means earthly or terrestrial, but the music sounds ironically light-footed and astral, in command of a sprightly jigger's groove, as though we've overcome the "telluric" phase of history rather than stuck with it. 'All The Things' mixes filter-rasped vocal traces of Janet Jackson's 'If' into a telltale funk sharpshoot, while Umber's 'Meta Rave Society' aptly describes the character of today's ravegoer. The Krol collab, 'Rock It Out', moves things onto a wackier, more minimal tack, while the overall sonic mood gone for is decidedly reaffirmed on the radiophonic, sampletronic 'Business Generation' to close.
Review: It has been a while since Umbo released any new music but now he is back on the Austrian label Resense with a superb pair of edits on this essential little 45 rpm. Kicking things off is 'Grits' which is a hard hitting bit of b-boy funk and breaks with old school soul vocals and plenty of horn stabs powering it ever onwards and upwards. '23h' is a little more seductive but no less busy with tightly woven bongos and congas peppering the high speed funk groove. Fantastic stuff that we hope is the start of much more to come from edit king Umbo.
Review: Undercurrent is an artist based in LA and a New Palm resident who shows his studio skills across a trio of new cuts here. 'Beliefs' is a loopy breakbeat roller with jittery rhythms that lock you into their loops and keep you there. 'No Data' is similar but more punchy, with real edge and drive in the breaks while fat bass stabs power things along from below. The same track then gets a remix from Charlie Edward that is more spaced out with searching synths and a more rubbery bassline. Last of all is a floating ambient cut that eventually has a jungle breakbeat rise up through the mix to take you into the next dimension.
Review: 'Footwars' contains raw, rocking Jit tracks with that amazing intense bassline also used in some Direct Beat releases and Electronic Warfare. Great Electro techno! This Underground Resistance release was created for Detroit's renowned Jit Crew 'The X-menn' and is used in the never-ending Jitwars between Detroit & Chicago. UR back in top shape. Limited copies.
Review: Absolutely massive breaks tune from the Streetwise mob!! 'Electrogirl' from Unison and Nectarios gets an electro bassline fuel injection that puts the entire dancefloor on lockdown.
Review: "Burn My Shadow" is a much anticipated new single from the world renowned Unkle. Featuring Ian Astbury (The Cult), this is currently Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World.
Burn My Shadow (Unkle Surrender Sounds Session #5)
Review: "Burn My Shadow" is a much anticipated new single from the world renowned Unkle. Featuring Ian Astbury (The Cult), this is currently Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World.
Review: "Burn My Shadow" is a much anticipated new single from the world renowned Unkle. Featuring Ian Astbury (The Cult), this is currently Zane Lowe's Hottest Record In The World.
Review: Fresh from Spain with no limitations; Tombolo release their first ever VA collection, rallying up troops from all corners of the global dancefloor and breaking boundaries between acid house, techno, breaks and electro. From the opening free party spirit of the brilliantly titled 'Bog Juice' by Canada's Unknown Mobile right through the final glacial tremors of 'Temporary Protection' from Ukrainian artist Poly Chain, the whole EP hits with an open-armed, timeless energy that transcends the usual genre brackets. Only 150 pressed; get to ready to rumble.
Review: We might be old-fashioned (or a sucker for a marketing technique) but for us, you just can't beat a bit of untitled and anonymous techno. And that's what we have here - neither label, tracks or artists have a name but the music bangs. First up is a bouncy, playful rhythm designed to work your body, then comes another bubbly rhythmic workout with spinning hi hats and off grid hits. On the flip is a steely jungle-tinged banger with layers of drums and percussion and last of all is a more stripped-back roller for the dead of night.
Review: Someone cheeky has ripped "Just Be Good To Me" by Beats International. This has been done in a very tongue in cheek upbeat way. Flip for a very handy scratch tool.
Review: Bean grinding business from Sydney newcomer Unpin on brand new label from the Velodrome collective. Six tracks deep, each cut as springy and tightly coiled as the last, the well-oiled funk of "At Traction" kicks us off before the acidic "Bang Tool" takes us into bumping ghetto territory, "Calling You" is the essence of rave over razor-sharp two-step and "Itchy & Scratchy" goes straight for your mind and mushes it up good and proper. Elsewhere "Take 2" is a wonderfully wonky slab of bluesy UKG and "Kalimbo" closes the show on a dreamy jungle tip. What a crucial debut.
Review: Inflight Recordings ever consistent breaks onslaught continues, Koma & Bones tackle the remix of
Uptown Connection's 'System Senegal', showing their skills in full flow. This label never disappoints.
Review: First up is the fresh rerub of the classic Renegades that still maintains that sophisticated smooth vibe of the original but now harbours a mean beat, driving bass and naughty stabs, or flip for the even naughtier Strife which is a deadly stomper that tips a wee nod to techno.
Review: After some intense email pressure, Urban J drops one of his all time classics "Vibronation"! If you never heard this tune before, now is your chance to get it. Probably Urban Js best work to date.
Review: In 2002, New York producer Ursula 1000 released his groundbreaking, genre-busting album Kinda' Kinky, meshing groovy retro sampladelic licks with modern breaks and beats. For its 20th anniversary this year, Ursula revisits the 60's swinging London mod shaking title track with his own 2022 redux. UK breakbeat master A.Skillz remixes the flipside into a relentless, giggling funky disco monster! The cover design is by world renowned space-age bachelor pad artist Shag.
Movin' 2 The Sound (DJ Absolutely Shit remix) (5:40)
Review: From the artwork to the vocal stamps to the beats themselves, this is a brilliantly retro-tactic release that brings plenty of nostalgia to the dance floor. Ursula 100 serves up the goods with 'Movin' 2 The Sound' - a dense and intense cut with vocals musing on drum beats and rocking the house, electro-tinged bass and lashings of acid with plenty of analogue percussive sounds. The Acid Jerks Refix strips away some of the noise to focus on the 303 and loopy vocal fragments and Fort Knox 5 up the acid-electro vibes on their rework. Last of all, the DJ Absolutely Shit remix brings some big jungle breakbeats and lively sax. A fun and destructive EP for sure.
Review: UVX's latest offering is a hypnotic exploration of bass-heavy beats and intricate textures. The first track, 'Elevator (13 Floor Spectrum),' sets a driving pace with its deep, steady rhythm and intricate layers of synths that gradually build in complexity. The dub version on the second side, 'Elevator (Dubfloor Sub Bassment),' strips things down to a more minimal groove, letting the bassline take center stage. 'Elevator (Trancefloor Transporter)' shifts the tone again, injecting a trance-like energy with its sweeping synths and driving rhythm. The release navigates between styles with finesse, making it a standout for fans of both deep and progressive house.
Review: MELMAK's new 12" is entitled All Stars: The Rave Years which gives you an idea of what to expect. These are high-tempo, dense and rave ready sounds from the drum & bass vanguard. There is plenty of space out cosmic energy to the exploratory leads of X Termal's 'Tragnal Kozze' then 'What If' (The Doulo Klan edit) is a tightly coiled stepper. Bugger lays down a hyper speed rhythm with drilling bass and slapping hits on 'No Silence Now' and Umbra's 'The Big Dumb' is a real slow-motion churner with textural synths and alien sound designs. All four are ready to get the party going in different ways.
Review: After releasing a number of singles solo, Ingram worked with Carl Craig, Anthony Shakir and Kenny Dixon, Jr. for Urban Tribe's first full-length album on MoWax. He is best known for one of the all-time great Detroit Techno classics, 'Covert Action', which appeared on the legendary Retroactive imprint in 1990, to be reissued by Planet E in 2002. Prior to that he worked on one of Kirk DeGiorgio's New Electronica albums, all the way back to the beginning with Juan Atkins & 'NASA' in 1987. Most people would recognize him today by his 'Drexciyan DJ Stingray' moniker, as his electric sessions have entertained world wide in recent years.
Review: Urban Tribe hooks up with Veteran producer Sherard Ingram, perhaps best known as the mysterious Drexciyan DJ Stingray. Here they drop an new long player on Rephlex, entitled "Acceptable Side Effects".
Review: Urban Tribe hooks up with Veteran producer Sherard Ingram, perhaps best known as the mysterious Drexciyan DJ Stingray. Here they drop an new long player on Rephlex, entitled "Acceptable Side Effects".
Review: Nice instrumental hip hop album from Vienna based producer team on Hamburg's mighty Hong Kong imprint of Doppelkopf fame! Much slept on loop-fest galore from Vienna! Dope 'Midnight Marauders' style cover. Repressed!
Review: Nice instrumental hip hop album from Vienna based producer team on Hamburg's mighty Hong Kong imprint of Doppelkopf fame! Much slept on loop-fest galore from Vienna! Dope 'Midnight Marauders' style cover. Repressed!
Review: Utopia Cloak's Tears & Heartbreak Beats is the coming together for the first time of two EPs the artist made around the same time. That said both channel very different vibes. The first, Tears, is a moody and introspective with that was penned while the artists was going through some hard times and personal tragedy. Heartbreak Beats has been put put previously as 'Raw breakbeat tracks 2019 -2020') and was catharsis for the artists. They were written quickly and have a focussed energy that really connects.
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