Sunday, November 28, 2010

Joy Orbison - BB / Ladywell


a. BB
b. Ladywell


Fresh-as-f**k House music from the prodigious Joy Orbison. On the A-side the instantly arousing 'BB' finds some smooth-yet-dirty hybrid of Detroit and London flavours, where gritty garage drums tuck into sultry rolling house formation and the bassline just can't decide if its a square bass groover or a deeply padded subbass shudder. Either way it's just deadly effective. Flip over and the sparse, streamlined flow of 'Ladywell' comes off like some blend of Cassy and Kyle Hall, marrying streamlined, mesmeric vocal motifs with more rugged claps and masculine kicks. Mastered and cut at D&M, ready and raring for the rave. These will sell out in a flash - you've been warned!...www.boomkat.com

Trolley Snatcha - One Trick Pony EP


01 Pass Me By
02 Always On My Mind
03 Rocco's Revenge
04 We Go Deep


Trolley Snatcha is the latest artist to receive the Dub Police stamp of approval with his diverse four-tracker the "One Trick Pony" EP. Proving that he is anything but, Trolley turns out a selection of tunes that display a mature and open-minded approach to dubstep. From the ear-battering Trolley trademarks that litter "Pass Me By" and "Rocco’s Revenge" to the smoothed out bliss of "Always On My Mind" and the light techno touches of "We Go Deep", this EP will grab the attention of anyone with a keen ear for quality music...www.phonicarecords.com

Night Slugs Allstars Volume 1


01. Mosca – Square One VIP
02. Lil Silva – Golds 2 Get
03. Girl Unit – IRL (Bok Bok Remix)
04. Kingdom – Bust Broke
05. L-Vis 1990 & T. Williams – Stand Up
06. Jam City – Arpjam
07. Lil Silva – Seasons
08. Egyptrixx – Liberation Front
09. Bok Bok & Cubic Zirconia – Reclash Dub
10. Optimum – Broken Embrace
11. Jacques Greene – (Baby I Don’t Know) What You Want
12. Velour – Booty Slammer
13. Girl Unit – Wut


In UK club music 2010 was the year of the Night Slugs. To celebrate this fact, they round up 13 prime cuts for their 1st CD release, including exclusives and VIP versions from their top boys and showcasing the most virile memes of Teched-out Funky, Jacked-up R&B and Electroid Bass music. On an upfront and exclusive tip, there's a ramped-up VIP mix of Mosca's awesome 'Square One', next to Jam City's all-new and stupidly effective 'Arpjam' plus the shocking force of an L-Vis 1990 & T. Williams hookup entitled 'Stand Up', all created especially for this comp. You may also notice a few newish names, introducing the likes of Ikonika's buddy Optimum on the fluttering, tranced-out Funky riffs of 'Broken Embrace' and the lazer-soul House of Montreal's Jacques Greene with '(Baby I Don't Know) What You Want'. Still fresh out the box, Girl Unit's outstanding 'Wut' anthem makes a bold appearance next to Kingdom's athletic Ballroom banger 'Bust Broke' and there's still no f**king with Lil Silva's 'Seasons', possibly the label's canniest A&R move. Factor in Bok Bok's remix of another megatonne bomb 'IRL', the sweetened synth licks of Velour's 'Booty Slammer' (now outed as the work of Hyetal and Julio Bashmore), and the warped electro-heat of Egyptrixx and Cubic Zirconia, and you know what the outcome is... ESSENTIAL...www.boomkat.com

Martyn - Left Hander / Shook Up


1. Left Hander 
2. Shook Up


Man-like-Martijn Deykers slinks into motion with two outright killers on 3024. Remarkably, this is Martyn's first solo 12" of 2010, a year in which he dropped a crucial Fabric mix and expanded his label's horizons to draw blunted and Techno sounds into the fold. With 'Left Hander' he cuts in from a broken house angle, sharing certain rhythmic traits with Altered Natives while firmly retaining his feel for soulful, classically-informed Detroit melody in grand style. On the other side, 'Shook Up' goes one step duttier, dragging the drums down to a gruffly accented swing while sly strings, twinkling keys and fluttering synth motifs imagine some infectious fusion of mad effective South London and Detroit disciplines. Basically, this 12" is lethal and your turntables want it, badly!...www.boomkat.com

Clouds - Spat


01 Spat
02 Era Of Black Holes Part


The already-excellent dubstep duo Clouds have taken their game to the next level with two stunning tracks for their freshly minted Channel Zero imprint. As the logic goes, if you're a producer starting your own label, you'll save your very best tracks for release on said label. Clouds have certainly done that here, keeping the brilliant 'Spat' for the A-side, to deliver a shocking future-stepper coated with the sort of twinkly icy-blue electronics they're known for. On the flip is the real treasure on 'Era Of Black Holes', shirking any dubstep responsibilities to reveal an extra dope instrumental hiphop rhythm, sounding like Flying Lotus jamming with Lukid after a particularly relaxing sauna session. This 12" is already in demand and we expect it to fly out. Big record!...www.boomkat.com

Braiden - The Alps


01. The Alps
02. The Alps (Kassem Mosse Fix)


Rinse FM's master of all things electro, techno and Funky makes his recording debut with 'The Alps', backed up with an immense Kassem Mosse remix. In a way, his original track balances the moody sensuality of Jerome Sydenham with the funky fresh essence of the Night Slugs sound, hitting a confident stride comfortably straddling both sounds in unique style. Flip it and one of the year's heaviest producers, Kassem Mosse of Workshop and FXHE fame, unleashes the haughtiest hi-hats and kinkiest cowbell rhythms to maintain his position firmly at the front of the forward-thinking House movement. Irresistibly direct dancefloor workers...www.boomkat.com

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Piece of Shh... - Diablo Riddim


01 Diablo Riddim (PoS Original)
02 Diablo Riddim (Zomby's Acid)
03 Diablo Riddim (Hektagon's Shuffle)


Very crafty post-dubstep wrigglers from Belgradeyard Soundsystem member, Piece Of Shh... backed with deft remixes from Zomby and Hektagon. He's had a dope release out on Earsugar Beatbox and remixed Sutekh previously, but this is his first proper foray into the dubstep arena. His 'Diablo Riddim' skitters between concrete dubstep rave and squirming techno signatures, before Zomby steps in with a much less frantic and swaggering reduction of rave styles at ruffly 130bpm, and Hektagon runs harder with the febrile funk to give a canny flux of sea-sick dub-tech and raving acid strikes. Tuff & techy business...www.boomkat.com

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Andrea - Retail Juke / Write-Off


A. Retail Juke
B. Write-Off

After a bit of a pause, Andrea returns with an invigorated sense of funk and a bad case of scuffed shelltoes. A generation after Chicago House irreversibly infected the Northern club scene, Andrea soaks up and sweats out the latest footworking Chi-town developments with a distinctive melodic flourish and innate feel for the floor. 'Retail Juke' keenly latches on to that feeling of delirious suspension that marks the best productions from RP Boo, Roc, Nate or any of those agile young cats, matching their flighty rhythm programming toe-for-toe, while tweaking the vibes with a fine-cut pop sensibility. It opens up with an impatient metronome and sparkling Rhodes keys ushering in spasmodic sample edits and unregimented drums, honing that slow-fast thing that's impossible to describe and so bizarrely effective. On the flip, 'Write-Off' sounds like an Ice Cream van taking a wrong turning and ending up wheel-deep in some hyperrealist dayglo forest without SatNav or a working sense of direction to hand. It finds that filigree balance of tension between rapid-fire sample textures, twinkling melodies and dragging bass undulations, keeping an implosive, centripetal sense of funk deep in the pocket and yet still quite melancholy in its own fidgety way. Highly recommended...www.boomkat.com

Pearson Sound - Blanked / Blue Eyes


1. Blanked
2. Blue Eyes

Ramadanman switches to his Pearson Sound alter-ego for two killer Juke-infused roll-outs on Hessle Audio. 'Blanked' is the one you want, mapping percussive patterns somewhere on the cusp-of-'ardcore-and-garage, and Chicago Juke styles with a stunning midway drop sounding like early '90s Autechre pads. 'Blue Eyes' takes the flipside for a straighter revision of the Juke sound with brittle, splintered rhythms and succinct synth drops and that infectious female vocal snippet, but for the most part this is just a perfectly formed naked roller ready for mixing by able DJs. While the distinctions between his two sonic personalities are becoming blurrier, there's a much-reduced aesthetic to these tracks that set them apart from pretty much all his recent material, making this a certified winner. Big twelve!...www.boomkat.com

CRST - Good Love EP


01 Good Love
02 Good Love (Doc Daneeka remix)
03 Ultra64
04 Dance (Mosca remix)
05 Good Love (D Malice remix)
06 Revisit

Heavyweight goodies from No Hats No Hoods with two tracks of limber Garage, backed with a Funky mix from Doc Daneeka and a very spicy Grime refit from Mosca. 'Good Love' is one of those vintage-sounding Future Garage bubblers that just demands to be pulled up and rewound every time, while Doc Daneeka diverts it's charm and energy into a tighter rolling rolling Funky remix. On the flip CRST's 'Ultra64' goes deeper with bouncing dub chords and a tidily clipped 2-step rhythm, but the real winner has to be Mosca's itchin' 'Dance' remix, built rude and rugged like some vintage Dexplicit riddim or sumfink, yeah? Two scorchers, one plate...www.boomkat.com

Toby Tobias - The Try


01 The Try (original - Miss Bee vocals)
02 The Try (The Off Key Hat remix)
03 Highway 24
04 Highway 1

Beautiful elegic mid-tempo boogie tune by Toby Tobias similar in the style to his excellent ''this feeling'' release on Rekids. Comes with a loose funky take from hyped Off Key Hat ( Dissident, Untracked ). flip over for more peak time action: ''highway 25'' is a bubbly, synth heavy modern disco tune while ''highway 1'' takes it in a more oldschool acid-house direction...www.clone.nl

Mates of State - Crushes


1. Laura (Girls)
2. Son et Lumiere (The Mars Volta)
3. Sleep the Clock Around (Belle & Sebastian)
4. Technicolor Girls (Death Cab for Cutie)
5. Long Way Home (Tom Waits)
6. Love Letter (Nick Cave)
7. Second Hand News (Fleetwood Mac)
8. 17 Pink Sugar Elephants (Vashti Bunyan)
9. Roller Coaster Ride (Dear Nora)
10. True Love Will Find You in the End (Daniel Johnston)

Crushes (The Covers Mixtape) is the sixth full-length release by husband/wife duo Mates of State. It was released digitally via iTunes as well as from the band's website on June 15, 2010. As stated in the title, the album is the duo's first mixtape. On the band's website, they explained the reason for the mixtape's creation. "We've been talking about doing a covers record for a long time. We'd hear a great song at 2 AM while driving the straight line from one part of Texas to the next, and all we'd want to do is play that song as if we had written it." The album was recorded and produced by Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, making it their first self-produced record to date. The album was mixed by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Frightened Rabbit, Jónsi), a long time collaborator of the Mates of State...www.wikipedia.org

Monday, November 22, 2010

Jack Dixon - Substitute EP


01. Substitute
02. With You
03. I Let You
04. Stay
05. Be There
06. Needin' U
07. I Let You (The Phantom Remix)
08. I Let You (Damu Reflex)
09. Be There (Cairo Remix)
10. Substitute (Swarms Remix)
11. Stay (Daily Remix)


The Silverback team is proud to present to you London producer Jack Dixon. He takes us on a garage trip of high emotions and melodic syncopations, warm basslines, echoing vocals and chords that definitely sound like chrome! This EP is simply large: 6 originals and 5 remixes. The title track, ‘Substitute’, sounds like what could be the ultimate cross-over between a future garage sound and dubstep rhythms. This one will be haunting dancefloors all over the world. ‘With You’ gives bubbling subs a whole new meaning while ‘I Let You’ and ‘Stay’ show the melodic songwriting skills of Jack Dixon: organs and pads that will go straight to one’s musical heart and head. ‘Be There’ brings out an amazing baltimore rhythm covered with a garage blend. And finally (we told you it was a big one!) ‘Needin’ U’ shows Jack’s UK funky side.
As if this wasn’t enough, let us announce the remixers. We are honoured to have each of them rework one of Jack Dixon’s tracks, giving us their signature sound and amazing levels of production. Polish prodigy, The Phantom, turns ‘I Let You’ in a James Blake-ish grime banger, while future Silverback signee, Damu, brings out his lazered brilliance. Cairo strips ‘Be There’ down to the next levels of UK garage while Swarms takes ‘Substitute’ to a throbbing, down-tempo, violin-infused stepper that just seems to never stop building up. Finally, Belgium’s new hope, Daily, refixes Dixon’s ‘Stay’ into the old school garage sound for those late night sessions!...www.silverbackrecordings.com

Goth-Trad - Two Face



1. Two Face
2. Sunbeam


Something a little different here from Mala's renowned and revered Deep Medi Musik imprint. Goth Trad kicks off "Two Face" with a trembling, eastern trill in the intro, interrupted by smacking drum kicks in a bleak, hollow soundscape. A deep, warping b-line underpins the tune with its computer game bleeps and recurring motifs. Up next, "Sunbeam" offers a more instantly recognisable Deep Medi sound with sweeping atmospherics whistling around a stabbing beat, deadly subs and low end prowess. Pattering bongos creep in around the halfway point definitely one for fans of the Mala, Pinch and Loefah crowd...www.junodownload.com

Untold - Stereo Freeze / Mass Dreams Of The Future


1. Stereo Freeze
2. Mass Dreams Of The Future


Making a power move into the world of House and Techno, Untold drops two sides of Detroit-inflected techno for R&S. While he's clearly flirted with the idea on the Roska collab 'Myth' and the awesome 'Gonna Work Out Fine' EP, this is his most damagingand deadly punt into 4/4, albeit with super heavy subs. 'Stereo Freeze' arranges haughty Chicago snares and optimised acid sequences with the kind of subbass levels that makes you catch your breath, resulting in one of the meanest UK Bass fusions out there. On the flip he makes a nod to label mate Model 500 or UR with chunky square bass and rugged rolling House patterns, also quite compatible with the likes of Slakk's eski-house riddims or the tuffer end of technoid Funky and Dubstep. It's just great to see/hear stuff like this on a platter marked with the raring black stallion! HEAVY...www.boomkat.com

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

R1 Ryders - Full Throttle EP


A1 Hydraulic
A2 Intellitek
B1 Karni4
B2 Karni4 (Refix)


Another one of Fact magazine's producers to watch in 2010 returns with a long awaited follow-up to their much in-demand 'Rubberband' EP, tightening the screws on an infectious and righteously seedy blend of Grime and UKF. "Hydraulic" opens the twelve and will be familiar to many after spending what seems like an eternity on dubplate, working the floor into a rhythmic frenzy not too dissimilar to Lil Silva at his most robust, while "Intellitek" edges into straighter House territory with a nice line in squishy keys and rolling toms. The two versions of "Karni4" on the flip revert to a more sturdy Grime template, with the original delivering a Terror Danjah indebted jam whie the re-fix tempers down for a more bouncy funkified version. Strong twelve...www.boomkat.com