Back catalogue: Drum And Bass/Jungle

Review: The legendary Fokuz label outta the Netherlands hits a 110th release and opts for a selection of remixes from various artists. AirK & Cephei open up with 'Desire,' a slick roller with booming bass and epic synths. Break then comes through with tight remix of A2 Soligen & Type 2 's 'Can't Go' complete with expertly design hits. Break then goes it alone on the original 'Coming 4U' with its low end oscillations and closes out the EP back in remix mode. His take on 'What Are You' is a roaming, textural affair with twisted leads and flurries of toms.

Review: Alphonse pens a love letter to jungle on this new EP for Klasse Wrecks. It's a flurry of drum breaks and powerful rhythms all served up through a classical lens with hefty bass underpinning each tune. This is a real journey into jungle with epic 12-minute plus opener 'Android Mash' twisting and turning through a flurry of tumbling snares, police sirens and yearning vocals. 'The Eagle' is a more soulful sound but still dense in its arrangement and tense in its rhythms. 'Elevation' closes down with plunging basslines and dark soul atmospheres.

Review: Last spotted raising hell and taking names with Jon 1st on Defrostatica, Arcane (who is also known as one half of the more mainstream-sounding d&b act Kleu) goes full nelson on the breaks with these two choppy choppy bangers on Foxy Jangle. Both cuts focussing on the drums, subs, samples and FX, these are fully timeless trips and sculpted strictly for the heads. Great for losing yourself inside at 3am and even better to mix. Just like concrete.

Review: Originally released on the cult V4 Visions label in 1991 & 1994, Ashaye's 'Dreaming' and 'What's This World Coming To' epitomised the essence of street soul, a genre blending soul, r&b, and hip-hop that resonated across London's pirate radio stations in the 1990s. With the surge in UK soul's popularity in recent years, DJs and tastemakers have championed these tracks which has in turn elevated their demand and value. 'Dreaming' has become nearly unattainable on the second-hand market, while 'What's This World Coming To' commands prices upwards of L50. Snap up this fully licensed RSD release however and you will have both tracks for an affordable price.

Review: Simon Huxtable's Aural Imbalance is one of drum & bass's most cultured projects. It's a pretty prolific one too, with great new music coming on a steady basis on labels like his own Spatial and Okrbon. It is the former he returns to now with a lush translucent blue vinyl 12", Retrospective Feelings. 'Blue Sky' is a deft mix of ambient cosmic synth work and meticulous drum patterns that suspends you in mid-air. 'Starburst' douses you in dazzling light and 'Frozen Tears' is deeper, tighter, more melancholic. 'Moonlit Clouds' is the classy closer which again pairs a lightness of rhythm and melody into something heavenly.

Review: Aural Imbalance is in a super productive and super good run of form that has seen him serve up a wealth of great EPs over the last year. Now he is back on his own Spatial platform. This latest one comes on translucent grey smokey and green splattered vinyl, starting with the busy and unrelenting amen breaks workout of 'Spacewaves' then pulling back into more suspensory and delicate synth realms on 'Tranquil Sea'. On the flip, the crisp snares and underlapping drum loops of 'Concordia' have you in a state of meditation and then last of all is another sublime bit of ambient laced and dreamy jungle in 'Fading Fields'.

Review: No matter your particular preference in the deep house world, this various artists' outing from Q1E2 Recordings is sure to have something for you. Mike Riveria & Marco Ohboy, for example, tap into an early sound on 'Euphoria' with its big, brash piano stabs and whistles, while A Soft Mist Production keeps it all cuddly and deep with languid chords draped over gentle drums on 'Upside Down Rainbows.' DatSIM brings in some space-tech vibes for a deft rhythm and neon infused sound on 'Influx' and The Rabbit Hole's 'Tail Groove' has a mad double bass sound jumping about beneath frantic jungle breaks.

Review: On a mission to "make d&b great again", Finland's Straight Up Breakbeat pass through once more with the second of three EPs formed to showcase modern junglism. Kicking off, 'Mystery Machines' sees Glastonbury's Dead Mans Chest slam down some deadly amen choppage reinforced by haunting vocal FX and paranoid drones. Aeon Four & FFF's 'Look Inside' is a jungle-tekno roller, served with chunky hardcore style amens and a side of warm old-skool pads. Keeping the mid-90s vibe alive, the tripped out 'Green Fields Forever ' from Fanu - which drops hot on the heels of his greatly received remaster of Source Direct's 'Stars' - delivers airtight amen trickery, weaving synth washes and blissful dubby basslines. Esc & Mineral round things off with 'Photosynthesis', a pensive stepper highlighting cut-up breaks waltzing with cheeky synth nudges and a wide, rugged bassline. If the pioneers had buried some beefed-up tracks in a time-capsule to inspire future generations, they would probably sound a lot like 'States of Art II'.

Review: Strap in for another blistering ride thanks to the Sonic Force crew who has tapped up Dissect and Abstract Illusion for a series of new tunes and remixes of one another. 'Tengoku' (Dissect's Heaven mix) is first up with some thrilling breaks that float just above the dance floor amidst nice lush pads. Dissect's 'Cosmos' then rides a lurching beat with more raw percussion and Abstract Illusion's 'Tengoku' ups the ante with crashing snares and hi-hats, plenty of turbulent rhythms and planning basslines. Dissect shuts down with 'Black Hole' which is a darker stepper with a menace undercarriage that might make it the best cut of the lot.