Juno Recommends Drum & Bass: Best of 2022

Review: Drum and bass pioneer Andy C can do no wrong, frankly. But we didn't see this one coming - a remix of one of the most iconic dance tunes of the last 25 years. The Ram Recordings boss does it justice though by bringing his own flavour to it thereby marking the 25th anniversary celebration of the release of the original album - The Fat Of The Land - it was on by XL Recordings. The executioner says, "this track means so much to me and has been a big part of my sets. Hope you enjoy the vibes." We sure do.

Review: As one of the instigators of the UK 2-Step sound that paved the way for the seminal movements in Dubstep and Grime, Zed Bias, aka Maddslinky, is a true pioneer and stands as one the Godfathers of the UK Bass scene. With a prolific career spanning more than two decades, we're honoured to welcome him into the Unchained family with his debut release on the label.

His powerful 4-track EP echoes both cutting edge modern electronic as well as the nostalgia of UK dance history. All tracks wander into upper BPM territory and sonically span very wide ground; whether this be "Beijing", a track sure to carve itself a place in classic anthem history; or "DoenCa Tropical", a tune which draws new broken-beat boundaries around the 160bpm ethos.

Two tracks feature collaborations with Strategy and Bugz In the Attic's G Force - both music defining legends in their own right.

Spanning both the Drum'N'Bass universe and thought-provoking left-field bass, we hope this fresh release has you covered from club to couch.

Review: It's the anthem that just won't quit. Having celebrated a decade of Gold Dust with a whole stack of remixes earlier this year - even though the tune is actually closer to 12 or 13 years old - the Bad Company founder-turned-popstar DJ Fresh now serves up this special gold vinyl edition for Record Store Day. Complete with the VIP and instrumental (which are still arguably the best versions out there) it's yet another way you can get blasted with one of the most iconic and euphoric hooks in modern drum & bass. You can't get enough of this style.

Review: Now well into its eight year and still on a mission to bridge the gap between drum and bass and classic dub and reggae, the Rasta Vibez label now has a firm place in our affections. This one from the in house crew kick off with a tune packed with wellborn samples over a variety of beats from high speed drum & bass to digital dub and back again. 'Warning' then builds the tension with a blistering, speaker busting drum & bass on slaughter speckled with lasers, ragga tones and and samples.

Review: Only a week or two after dropping the second of two ambient albums in 2022, masterful sound sculptor ASC is back with another release. This one finds him embracing drum & bass on limited coloured vinyl for Past Inside The Present. The majestic Eye Of The Storm is a suspensory trip through the heavens with delicate drum & bass rhythms and lush swathes of synths. 'Reflection' is just as awash with smeared synth beauty over the floating drum breaks, then 'Low Tide' is a lo-fi workout from the depths, a vibe that continues on the more busy and dark 'Life Cycle.' Another exceptional bit of work form the one and only ASC.

Review: Back once again with the Ill Behaviour! This seventh dose of naughtiness comes from the in-house and self-titled production team and again fuses iconic r&b samples with great beat work. On 'Track 1,' the drums are woody, minimal, barely there but bring a lurching rhythm that sucks you in, until eventually the drums and perc exploded properly for an all-out jump-up release. 'Track 2' has soulful vocals deployed expertly over a rhythm that builds and falls away making for plenty of fun moments on the dance floor. Two well-crafted and playful cuts for sure.

Review: As the celebrations of Metalheadz continue apace 25 years into their tenure at the top of the D&B food chain, attentions turn to the mighty Total Science who are looking back on the same length of time since they first committed their tunes to wax. On the A side of this 12", they're rolling low and nasty with the hardcore stylings of 'Universe 92'. It's a new production, but it sports the gnarly stylings of a vintage track in every possible way. Meanwhile they turn to a classic on the flip, offering up a remastered version of early 00s roller 'Jungle Jungle' which is in fact more of a sharp-shooting D&B masterclass that's been out of print for far too long.

Review: Welsh jungle legend Aphrodite had a momentary sideline working with QED on the Aladdin project, and it yielded some truly legendary material. Now he's gathered some of the best joints together on this 12", buffed up with a fresh pressing which sounds positively compared to an OG copy getting on for 30 years old. First up you get the iconic 'Mash Up You Know' with its classic double bass drop, and then we slam straight into moody roller 'So Good'. 'We Enter (Heavenly Remix)' is another stone cold classic full of deft break edits, and then 'Geni (Lost In Zanzibar)' edges towards a techier sound which hints at the direction Aphrodite would head in as the 90s wore on. This is quite simply high grade stuff that's been out of print for too long.

Review: DJ Fresh is a legend at this point. Whenever he drops new heat it is worth tuning in, especially when it's a 12" picture disc like this from Breakbeat Koas. The A-side is a collab with Buunshin. 'Dancing In the Dark' is a hardcore gem with pitched-up vocals and monstrous breaks over spin backs, raw bass and thrilling synth lacerations. Then comes an AMC Remix of DJ Fresh's 'Heavyweight' that is just that. It rides on silky breakbeats with a rising sense of tension that keeps you locked until the explosive bass and jump-up drum head to the level.

Review: Rolling since the mid 90s and showing no signs of slowing, Swedish D&B maestro Seba bounces straight from his Ingaro LP on Secret Operations to deliver this retrospective of highly sought after classics on Fokuz. Seba originally released 'Dangerous Days' in 2009 backed by his remix of Polar's 'Hi Voltage', and both cuts of dreamy drum funk make a welcome return here, with the title track in particular being an immersive slice of ambient D&B to write home about. 'Metropolaris' and 'A Wonderful World' both came out a little further back in 2003, but they equally complement the other tracks with their soft-shaped synth tones and crisp, intricate beats.

Review: Swedish D&B maestro Seba has been at this now since the 90s, but his quality levels never dip. In fact, he has been a man on a very busy mission of late, dropping plenty of new/old heat in 2022. One of his regular home label Fokuz Recordings outta Holland has got some more goodness here with silky vocal roller 'Shades Of Me & You' open up on a vibe. 'Never Let You Go' (Blu Mar Ten remix) is another deep one with lovely melancholic chords and that leaves 'Nicholo' to lift the spirits with more crashing drums and perc, and then super sweet and soft focus closer 'Sienna' to soothe the soul once more.

Review: Few labels are turning out so much high quality drum & bass as Holland's Vibez '93 right now. Most often it is the eponymous in-house production outfit who take care of the beats but here Tommy The Cat steps up after making plenty of big moves on his own Cat I The Bag label since 2019. 'Space Muffin'' is a blissed out post-club comedown with introspective chords, while 'This Sound' is just as deep - a clatter of gentle broken beats and woozy deep space chords. 'Space Agent' then keeps up the insular feels with seductive but sombre chords and spaced out beats and 'Whispers' rigs things to a close on some dusty jungle breaks.

Review: The now legendary electronic music duo Chase & Status dropped their debut album More Than A Lot back in October 2008. It was a big success from the off and ended up hitting number 49 on the UK Albums Chart. It was re-issued again two years later with a bonus track and now it gets pressed up on pink marble wax. It is a great reminder of where this now stadium-filling live act has come from with standouts such as the collaboration with rapper Kano on 'Against All Odds' and single 'Pieces' featuring vocals from rapper Plan B.

Review: Chase & Status ride a new wave with their sixth album, honouring their long-held time in the limelight as two of the UK's most powerful bangercrafting hitmakers. While still managing to nod to times past, this limited new LP also works in brand new UK sounds - drill MCs Unknown T and Backroad Gee, for example, make standout appearance on the tracks 'Run Up' and 'When It Rains', while still retaining elements of creativity that are endemic to Chase & Status only. Meanwhile, UK dancehall maintains its strong standing, with Popcaan and IRAH featuring regularly throughout.

Review: There is no more iconic figure in the world of drum & bass than Goldie. In fact, he has pretty much transitioned to natural treasure in the years since he operated at the genre's bleeding edge as a DJ, label boss of Metalheadz and producer. His Timeless album, now a hard to believe quarter of a century old, was his big breakthrough and took d&b into new realms. The epic title track will always be the benchmark by which all others are judged by the whole flow the record, precision beat work and lush synth sounds have rarely been bettered.

Review: Suburban Base continue their dig through the work of Marvellous Cain with this exhaustive four-LP drop. Cain is an icon of the early jungle scene, with a rough and ragged, ragga-licked approach which remains untouchable even all these years later. Across 16 tracks we get a stern reminder of that fact, with sheller after sheller from 'Hitman' to Bizzy B collaboration 'Everyday Junglist'. Some of these tunes have been out of reach for a long time - just check the '95 dubplate version of The Runninz Kru's 'Hi Chaperal', link ups with Libra and so much more besides. This is the real deal, and a fitting document of one of the true pioneers of amen-mashing junglist extravagance.

Review: Sub Focus is a giant of the drum & bass and wider bass scene. He plays at all the leading clubs and festivals around the world and tears the roof off each time. As a producer, he is no less on point and his debut album proves it. For the first time, it now gets pressed up across three slabs of coloured vinyl. It is part of the 30th-anniversary celebrations of RAM Records and was the record that really put Subby on the map. It mixes up underground jams like 'Deep Space' with his big classic cuts 'Rock It,' 'Timewarp,' 'Could This Be Real.' This limited pressing is a must-have for fans old and new.

Review: Wardown, the emotive and experimental project from Technimatic's Pete Rogers, releases its second LP on Blu Mar Ten Music. Where the debut Wardown album was a diary of smeared memory, musically recounting the author's childhood home and his subsequent feelings of dislocation from it, Wardown II expands on the themes of nostalgia and focuses on our collective reactions to a promised future that remains undelivered. Using aural scraps from that most optimistically futurist period, the 1950s & 1960s, Wardown weaves them into an uneasily dreamy, bittersweet commentary on postmodern nostalgia.

Review: Seminal collection! Undercover Agent AKA Splash AKA Darren Ellis goes under the Suburban Base spotlight as the foundation label curate the best, most influential and most sought-after dispatches on sister labels Splash and Juice Records. With the gamechanging, forever-reloadable 'Babylon' from Splash (original AND the crucial Trace remix) taking the lead and setting the scene, we're then treated to a whole range of blueprint jungle schematics under various aliases and guises of Ellis including his MTS partnership with Darren Hickey and rare material with The Kriminal. Highlights across this extensive remastered sets include the rowdy Bristol-esque pummelling of 'Rebels' and the absolutely slamming remix of 'Hard Disk' by a very young DJ Zinc. Splashback!