Review: Matt Jam Lamont & Scott Diaz first joined forces more than a decade and a half ago and have been at it ever since, remixing Raze, Craig David, All Saints, Adina Howard, Rosie Gaines and more, as well as making waves with DJ appearances like their iconic B2B Glastonbury appearance. Having formed their Undagrnd Freqz label in 2020, serving up a brace of floor-slaying classics including a collaboration with US garage pioneer Todd Edwards, and 'Haribo' with Smokey 'Bubblin' B, clocking up more than a million streams and 36 million views as part of Fred Again's now legendary Boiler Room session. Their latest, 'The Best of Both Worlds', nods at their skill for fusing the best elements of both house and garage across four tracks of razor-sharp vocal chops, bumpin' beats and classy production flavours. Absolutely essential.
Review: Smart dresser and dedicated beard groomer Manuold - real name Emmanuele Macagnone - has notched up some excellent releases since making his bow in 2017, including admired EPs on House Puff and Madhouse Records. Here he brings his classy brand of deep house to GLBDOM for the first time. With its squelchy synth-bass, loose-limbed garage-house drums, gospel vocal samples and warm pads, opener 'Jersey' sounds like a long-lost Kerri Chandler gem. He continues the retro-futurist theme on the low-slung and jazzy 'Hot & Crunchy', before doffing a cap to deep house/tech-house fusion on the Tenaglia-influenced 'Zanzibar'. Over on the flip, 'Night Long' is a chunky slab of 21st century New Jersey deep house with an Italian twist, while 'In The Clouds' sees him successfully lean into his Italo-house influences while retaining a dreamy and chunky deep house flex.
Review: GLBDOM Classic drops a second vinyl release here in the form of a various artists' selection of vintage house sounds. Manuold's 'Hey Sunshine' gets things underway with some back-to-the-90s kick drums and playful horns with uplifting vocal samples making for a sweet vibe. Evenn's 'Inner Dance' is a nice raw house bumper with vamping chords and some soulful Detroit chords in the background. Scart Lead then keeps things silky with the smooth pads and muted melodies of 'Everglades' and Esspee and Kid Only close out with two more ageless house gems that pair dance for clout with heartfelt soul.
Review: It would be fair to say that Roy Davis Jr and Peven Everett's "Gabriel" (originally written "Gabrielle" on early pressings) has become a timeless dance music classic - a track that both soulful house and UK garage DJs reach for in times of trouble. Should it not be in your collection already (and it should be), Large Music has decided to re-master and re-press the original 1996 12". It does, of course, contain the now ubiquitous "Live Garage" version - the groovy two-step, trumpet-laden mix that became popular with early UK garage DJs - plus a trio of lesser-known remixes. The Tambourine Dub, in particular, is something of a tough, warehouse-friendly deep house treat.
Review: Midnight EP brings another four heavyweight cuts from the London based Club of Jacks production duo showcasing their varied sound. 'Midnight' opens up with deep, haunting chords and a lush reworked vocal laid over a smoky 2 step beat. 'Let It Ride' brings the 4x4 house vibe, mixing infectious synths, catchy lyrics and a rolling bass groove. On the flip, 'Remember This' digs into the garage house sound, infusing jazzy organ chords and solos with skippy drums and tasty vocal chops. To finish off, 'Smokers Dub'' takes us into a darker, speed garage inspired vibe, with weighty bass and dub reggae flavour.
Review: Fred Again's new LP Ten Days is decidedly minimal in both visual and sonic feel, making for a well-put-together exercise in chic dance summeriness, one that manages to feel, paradoxically, nostalgic for the present moment. If the crux of Fred Again's appeal rests our vicarious enjoyment of his evidently voracious enjoyment of life, then this is equally as reflective in the music here, with 'Adore U' skimming through pitch-warped vocals sampled from Obongjayar's live performance dedicated to his sister and mum, as if to immortalise them in a rush of frenetics and lightness of being, and 'Ten' equally playing up the bare skeletals of snap-rims, warbly samples and ever more pitch-effecting, this time on Jozzy's vocals. Less earnest than his outing with Brian Eno, and more dedicable purely to the young adult gaieties of summer, Ten Days marks a little over a weeks' worth of fun, tinged with a tiny hint of melancholy.
Review: Constant Black is one of the numerous labels in UK artist Burnski's orbit. He's been a man on form on all fronts in recent years and here he snaps up Retrospect for a trio of super slick and funky minimal house cuts. 'Ay-up!' is a cheeky opener with subtle northern welcomes hidden in the mix as the lithe bass and 2-step tinged drums do their thang. It's reet good. 'Schneebly' gets more pacey and balmy, with silky and oily bass and kinetic drum work all underpinned by a sick bass tone. Last of all comes '4 U' which has something of an upright garage skip and downright irresistible groove. These are high functioning, charismatic cuts to pump up any floor.
Review: Constant Sound co-owner James 'Burnski' Burnham delivers a stonking pair of garage-flecked house tracks that offer up no nonsense dancefloor attitude in spades. 'Shout' is all about its monster rhythmic framework, with economic splashes of synths on the side simply maintaining the flavour and a properly full on old skool breakdown. Flip track 'Remember' leans a little further towards UK garage with its sugar sweet female vocal snippets, but the central groove hustles and bustles along with maximum weightiness, making it suitable for any number of differing dancefloors.
Review: The Vivid label is yet another one from Burnski who also runs Constant Blanc and Instinct. He is s single handed garage hit making machine and he knows how to tap into the next gen, too. Here he calls upon Peaky Beats for a naughty and nasty three track affair that has retro feels but contemporary style. 'Can't Stop' opens up with a 2-step shuffle and steely hits, then 'Get Ready' gets more free and melodic with some boxing little melodic patterns and oscillating bass. Last of all is the most menacing and dark - 'Wildcat' flips into a dub wise swagger mid-way through that is going to blow up the clubs.
Review: The mysterious but magnificent Phone Traxxx dial in with another killer 12", their sixth so far. 'Slinkzer' is a nice playful house number with some bubbling synth melodies and zippy lines adding energy to the dusty drums. 'Groovement' picks it up with more slamming drums and hard-edged hits as was as chopped-up melodic bursts and sci-fi effects. 'Mentasmluv' is a garage number with a scruffy low end and some fun oinks and boinks and cartoon sound design adding colour. 'Humbucker' is a slinky percussive number that closes out at a lick.
Review: Wrong'uns is a newly established label designed to serve up dirty jams for the dancefloor. For this second outing, they look to a beat-making crew of miscreants in Just Olly, Mehlor, Jake Rollinson and Joejoemojo who all offer up one jam each. Just Olly's 'Tougher' has filthy basslines and lip-curling menace in the stepping drums. Mehlor's low ends are just as warped and the drums and percussion are just as kinetic, then Rollinson's 'Trip The Funk' is a sinner blend of synth modulation sand bleeping dial tones that is full of fun for the club. Last but not least, 'Shake The Funk' is a catchy slammer with big breaks and sirens designed to blow up any sound system.
Review: Melodiesinfonie, Bluestaeb and S. Fidelity join forces to form a powerful trio, unveiling a rich nonnet of tracks destined for the universal chillout space. Taking shape in a picturesque studio in the South of France - and then completed in centres from Zurich to Berlin - the likes of '365 P', 'Summertime In '92' and 'Just Give Me The Aux' carry on the sparse and material-sonic tradition that has in recent decades inflected the neo-soul and jazz-electronica worlds. Every track here sounds to have been made with what sounds to the most apparently humble means available; rimshot clicks, wooden hits, impassioned hums and coos, Rhodes chords here and there. Loyal to one rule and one rule only - "we need to stay in the room together to make this a record that feels exciting to us" - the result is an evenhanded five-track flirtation with soul-bearing passion, toeing the hobline of cool and hot.
Review: Three slices of unashamedly old skool (two) stepping action from the Above Sound label and TwoStep2 aka DJ Relay and Jo Public, that'll transport you back to the Sunday scene and UKG's earliest days. On this EP's lead track 'Give Me Some Of That' the duo perfectly catch that intersection between rave elements - the wispy, eerie synths and pitch shifted vocals - and the sophisticated shuffle of American garage. 'Drop The Bass (2022 Remaster)' leans slightly more towards the hardcore flavour, its choppier beats more evocative of the inspired syncopations of breakstep, while 'What's Gonna Happen' is the trippiest and most optimistic sounding of the three while still packing plenty of rhythmic punch.
Review: Endangered Musique kicks off with a high-quality reissue of an EP that deep house heads will either already know or soon grow to love. It was written by Jose Chinga in 1994 and is an alias of an artist better known as Brothers' Vibe aka Tony Rodriguez. The opening tune 'Love Is What You Need' is also the most well-known - it's US garage with low-slung drums and grainy pad work with a simple but effective vocal. 'I Got You' picks up the pace with shuffling drums and a grinding lead before the warm 90s house sounds come to the fore again on 'Let It Go' and 'Riding On A Cloud'. Lovely stuff.
Review: Scott Diaz taps into some old school garage class with this new EP on Pirate Cutxz, but never is it too slavish to the OG sound. Instead, he brings fresh ideas and modern production skills to four characterful cuts. 'Holdtight' opens in bunch fashion with big drums and busy chords dancing about next to yelps and sustained pads. 'So Hot' is a more subtle 2-stepper with a ducking and diving groove bathed in warm synth work and natty bass notes. 'Ikigai' shuts down with some 90s organ chords and sleazy, shuffling speed-garage style drums and well-deployed vocal samples. Effective stuff.
Review: First released digitally earlier in 2024, Prince Palmer's first outing on Bobby Donny's 'Ace' series heads to vinyl in expanded form. It's the Dutch producer's vinyl debut and a quietly impressive one at that. The headline attraction is 'Serious Play', a rolling, loose-limbed and sub-heavy slab of revivalist garage house/New Jersey deep house fusion that comes accompanied by a chunkier and undeniably trippy, dancefloor dub style 'Vibe Mix' makeover courtesy of Joy Jenkins. There's plenty to set the pulse racing across the rest of the EP though, from the Burrell Brothers-meet-Jovonn flex of 'Get Down' and the jazz-house/garage-house fusion of 'Sleeping City (Wake Up Mix)', to the organ-rich house positivity of 'Polygon Island' and the peak-time-at-Sound Factory NYC flex of Frits Wentink's fine revision of 'Airlift'.
Sammy Virji - "If U Need It" (extended mix) (3:58)
Gorgon City - "Voodoo" (extended mix) (6:11)
Azari & III & Max Dean - "Reckless" (2024 extended mix) (7:49)
Alan Fitzpatrick & Ronnie Spiteri - "On My Mind" (extended mix) (4:39)
Review: Time-honoured, blue-crossed phono-phrenic audio pharmacists Positiva celebrate their 30th anniversary with the launch of a brand new sampler series. Simply titled 'Positiva', the new outing spans every sonic end-logic from slick UK garage to mesmeric trance, the throughline being the modern uplifter sound into which the label has settled; a far cry from their jet-propulsive Ibiza-rave garage house days of yore. Most of the tracks on this first edition of the series are already floating about out there, though they've never been compiled onto a single record before: Sammy Virji and Gorgon City complement each other well on the A-side's 'Voodoo' and 'If You Need It'; then Azari & III, Max Dean, Alan Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Spiteri spin things out ever further, into two warming, well-layered party-pushers driven by ecstatic vocals.
Review: Burnski and Kelper are two of the hottest artists in the game right now - their output is relentless, and their quality is always high. It is now on the former's Constant Sound that they appear with three fresh new collaborative cuts aimed squarely at the floor. 'Follow Me' has nice hooky drum loops and subtle synth stabs under a seductive vocal. It's fun and functional in equal measure and on the flip things get more naughty with hints of a dirty speed garage bassline under 'Frequency'. The vibe flips again on closer 'Frequency' which has disco-tinged loops and more laidback groves that bring a little warmth and sunshine.
Review: Iglooghost's third studio album marks a departure from the intricate world-building of previous works, embracing a sonic maximalism that pulses with chaotic energy. The Irish producer seamlessly blends IDM, techno, deconstructed club and grime, creating a whirlwind of sound that never overwhelms thanks to his meticulous layering and dynamic composition. Tracks like 'Alloy Flea' and 'Pulse Angel' showcase Malliagh's ability to keep the music clear and coherent, even as he adds element after element. His voice, more prominent here than on past projects, takes on new dimensions, from distorted static in 'Coral Mimic' to ethereal contrasts with female vocals on 'flux•Cocoon'. The album's production is dynamic, with a textured, weighty sound that contrasts with the clutter of earlier works. While the relentless intensity of some tracks might seem predictable, Malliagh's ability to craft tangible build and release ensures each moment feels intentional. The result is an intense experience, one that finds Iglooghost maturing as an artist without losing his experimental edge. This album presents a refined sound, rich in texture, rhythm and conceptual depth, solidifying Malliagh as an electronic innovator with endless potential.
Review: Londoner Jeigo has always had a knack for intricate and melancholic production. His emotive sounds span breaks, garage and dub and gave rise to a superb album Cerulean back in 2022. This new outing on Air Miles is another sophisticated one that shows some different sides. 'Fig' is a dusty and lo-fi mix of knocking, woody broken beat patterns and pitched-up vocal snippets that bring a sense of pain. 'Act Like You're Strong' is heads down, lip-curling UKG with shuffling and weighty drums and naughty bass. '3-5 Working Days' is somewhere in between - both club-ready but also with post-Burial vocals that tug at the heartstrings. There is a blissed-out feel to the optimistic melodic bubbles and angelic vocals of 'Found Me' that means the EP closes in lush fashion.
Review: The second instalment of Brownswood Recordings' Remix Editions series features two dancefloor hitters; one from new kids on the block Izco & Reek0 and the other from sub-bass heavyweight Coki. Each producer turning their hands to a remix from a different track from Oreglo's debut EP, 'Not Real People', both efforts turn out to be massive. Izco and Reek0's version of 'Levels' opens the proceedings with a stargazing march, fusing motifs of amapiano, carnival and UK jazz. Coki's flipside is much more dubious, working in a much lower dubstep register, and filtering Oreglo's original 'Opedge' jazz instrumentation into a mnemonic groundwork for a grime-caked heater.
Review: The legendary Zed Bias is stepping out with a new label I Feel Good Records and intends for it to spread good vibes only through a diverse roster of talent and sounds that span house, bass and beyond. He has more than a quarter of a century of experience in the game and of eyeing new talents and helping them to shine and has always had a collaborative approach to music that will continue to define this label's MO. Zed is minting the label with a new single alongside award-winning d&b MC Inja. 'You Should Dance' pairs his warming tones with infectious garage drums and smeared, soothing chords that radiant heat. It will, indeed, make you feel good. D&b mainstay Bladerunner serves up a remix that has been doing the rounds for a while now and never fails to make an impact.
Review: Bang on trend grooves from the Vivid camp, exploring the current fascination for all things that intersect both the garage and breaks genres. Lead track 'Wicked & Wild' is the one that leans furthest into UKG territory, its bumpy bassline and MC-style vocal giving it heaps of energy and attitude. Flip side instrumentals 'Push Past It' and 'Ronin' meanwhile, evoke the early 2000s spirit of breaksteppers such as Horsepower Productions, the latter especially maintaining the bassline pressure and adding it to the more hardcore vibe of rawer, sampled percussion. Maximum respect!
Review: DJ Crisps is starting to make some handy garage moves after a couple of various artists' appearances and a fine EP on Time Is Now Germany in July. Now they link up with Oldboy who appeared on Burnski's other label Vivid back in 2022. As you should expect these are four hardcore and rudely garage cuts with plenty of swagger, naughty samples and bass-face potential. 'On My Way' is the standout with its shuffling one-two drum punch, distant police sirens and warped basslines underneath a timeless and irresistible female vocal full of soul. A summer scorcher for sure alongside three more very useful weapons.
Review: TwoStep2 aka DJ Relay and Jo Public have been known for their superlative but distinctly old skool sounds, but lead track on this three cut 12" is rather a subtle departure. The beat is a little more wonderfully wonky than you might expect and the bassline bigger and more adventurous, with pleasingly original results. 'Starlight' plays off its abrasive backspins with fluttering harps that are more Luke Vibert than Sticky or Noodles, true genius, and a bubbling beat to boot. 'Weapon of Choice' plunders ravier elements but again, it's no museum piece with its off kilter piano and slowed down, drowsy atmospherics. If you're looking for memorable tunes that stick out rather than fit in, make this your destination.
Review: Noah Skelton achieves garage clarity on the 16th volume in the Mindhelmet series. Described as having a "post-boing depth" by the label, shortly adjoined by the demand to "release your release", the EP first comprising 'Used To Say' and 'Smooth Liberation' sounds to have extracted an immortal bio-essence of garage from an otherwise perishable culture. Ultra-clean femme-vox cutups, and crispy but not pained rims and claves, ensure the A-siders strip garage of its oldskool oddities, offering a modern pristine grove of tricky but bassy sanitation. 'Gazer' and 'Nocturne Hedon' continue this by the record's midpoint, adding truncated timbale and 4x4 cosmic relief; then 'Aleph Null' and 'Cold Heat' return to swing, moving fuller, fog-choked future garage, and stoic, lamplit night-bump 2-step, respectively.
Review: Our second sound-clash instalment sees Panix lock heads with DJ Snowy Buffet. Based out of South London, Panix made a name for himself in the dubstep scene, before emerging as one of the most exciting producers of UKG and breaks. The A1, 'Premium Dubz' combines moody bass-lines with ravey stabs to make the ultimate 2-step dance floor killer. The A2, 'Hefty' does exactly what it says on the tin.. Hefty basslines and squeaky clean 4 to the floor drums. DJ Snowy Buffet is another veteran of the dubstep game, producing under the well known WZ. Surfacing as his new alias, the Czechoslovakian producer shows depth to his game with a bouncy UKG sound. The B1, 'Can I Tell' provides skippy garage drums and synths certain to light up any set. The B2, 'Club Life' showcases the darker side of UKG, with warping basslines and amen breaks.
All That Shaking (Marc Cotterell Plastik Factory mix) (6:57)
All That Shaking ('23 Refix) (6:28)
Review: Club Of Jacks digs deep here to serve up some classic tracks from the archive that have not been available on vinyl before. First up is UKG royalty Jeremy Sylvester with a remix of 'Waiting For You' that is pure party. The drums and bass bounce and plunge low with sustained chords and a honeyed vocal getting the vibes going. A deeper, dubbier and more laid back but still emotive 23 Remix follows then Plastik People boss Marc Cotterell serves up a soulful remix of 'All That Shaking' that is full of steamy sax and sunny day goodness. A Club of Jacks 23 Refix brings a deep vibe to close a superb EP.
Closer Than Close (Frankie Classic club mix) (10:20)
Review: Rosie Gaines will also be synonymous with her smash hit single 'Closer Than Close' (also the name of her fifth album) which now gets reissued by the Demon Record Singles Club. Gaines actually started her career back in 1985 when she perfumed and recorded with The Curtis Ohlson Band but it was when she was a member of Prince & The New Power Generation that she really got noticed. Her Closer Than Close album came in 1995 and soon after she was dropped by Motown, but a remix of the title track a year so so later arrived in club land on bootleg and sold over eight million copies around the world.
Review: .Aussie DJ/producer Monika Ross delivers a stellar EP of deep and groovy house music on London-based Discotech, a label dedicated to underground sounds. The 'Space Is The Place' EP features four tracks that showcase her talent for crafting smooth and hypnotic rhythms, warm and soulful chords, and subtle and playful vocals. From the uplifting title track to the funky closer 'The Way', Ross takes you on a journey through the cosmic realms of house music on this limited 12' vinyl.
Home Sweet Home (The Journey) (DJ Spen remix) (7:29)
Home Sweet Home (The Journey) (DJ Spen dub) (6:23)
Home Sweet Home (The Journey) (DJ Spen Hump mix) (5:53)
Review: Demuir's Visions album gets its first series of remixes here as standout cut 'Home Sweet Home (The Journey)' gets reworked by Baltimore's finest dance music ambassador and bona fide legend DJ Spen. First up he brings some shuffling and deep soul to the groove with an irresistible skip to the drums and a lush vocal. The dub pairs things back a little further with more splash in the percussion and last of all comes the Hump mix. This one has noodling keys working their way up through the mix to bring real enlightenment.
Review: Time Is Now is one of the current garage generations best outlets and is now well over 50 EPs deep. The latest drop comes from ODF who kicks off with 'Need 2 Know' which is full of wispy melodies and old school bassline bounce. It's feel good and full of neon colour. 'Make Sum Noise' is indebted to speed bassline with its fast paced shuffle and naughty throwback bass. 'Rock With Me' brings another great mix of unrelenting low ends, retro cool and new school produciton techniques. On the flip, 'Phoneline' keeps it deep while 'Strictly OG Rocking' takes off on whirring jungle breakbeats.
Review: Deeper States Volume 2 is another installment of fresh sounds from producers who have come through a competition that set them to making proper deep hose with a specified sample library. Across four sides of wax, there are some mighty fine cuts here such as the deep garage inflections of Enrico Dragoni, some Motor City vibes from Scott Andrews, the deepest of dub techno workouts from Montreal courtesy of Dealin', soul-drenched late-night cruisers from Khalid Ali on 'Elevate' and some nice bubbly vocal vibes from Dublin don Oscide with his 'Free Your Mind.' This is another hugely effective and stylish EP from the Interweaved community.
Review: The Fabric Originals label continues to establish itself as a place that is just as reliable for fresh sounds as the club it is named after. This latest outing is a 21st such EP and comes from the one and only garage great that is MJ Cole paired with new school innovator K Lone. They make a perfect partnership, in truth, with opener 'Stand Up' pairing balmy pads and rich bass sounds with a hooky little vocal. It's brilliantly sensuous with tender keys finishing it in style. Cole then goes it alone on 'Lay It All On The Line' which has a more broken post-dubstep style beat and K-Lone's 'Bonez' is delightfully airy, cavernous bass brilliance.
Review: NC4K's second hand-stamped 12" is more irresistible garage business from Stones Taro. 'Anywhere' (dub) has lovely warm woodblock hits and oscillating low ends with minimal drums and an aching r&b sample that brings the soul and draws you into the skeletal rhythm. Flip it over and you get something more fleshy and fulsome with 'Finally' (dub). Here the drums have more snap and are more prominent with a corrugated bassline down low and a heavily treated classic vocal sample the hook up top. Two killers that mix the old school and the new school in style.
Review: Back in 2022, James Burnham aka Burnski started a White sub-series of his much-hyped Instinct label and the first one sold out as quick as a flash. Now he is finally back with a follow-up that will likely do the same. This limited one-sided 12" slab of sonic filth features just one tune, but what a tune it is. '02' is a house cut with elements of garage percussion, old-school dirty bass, and even some trance-infused chords that chime with what's going on in the dance world right now. Some return horns at the breakdown really send it into overdrive and it's not hard seeing this one blow the roof off many a club this summer.
Review: PIV label head DJ Prunk identified Ruze as rising stars in 2023. Since then, they've soared with Beatport chart-toppers like Hardwire and Chapters EPs and their latest offering showcases their signature sound on a fine debut album. The title track introduces smooth house beats, deep yet dynamic. 'Trip' layers precise drums with soulful spoken words over vivid pads. 'Keep It Comin'' amps up the tempo with funky house vibes, while 'Mister DJ' delivers seductive late-night allure. 'Come Together' packs punchy beats and lively sax and 'Repetition,' 'FUTUR,' and 'In The Power' maintain irresistible house grooves, while 'Everybody' ends with a laid-back lounge vibe.
Review: Jackpot Recordings is a fresh sub-label brought to you by London-based production duo Club of Jacks. Their debut release showcases solo sessions from one half of the COJ crew, Max One aka MX1, and stays true to their signature UK garage-influenced house sound. The EP commences with 'Down Like That,' which has lively beats, resonant analogue sub-bass, and velvety chords with classic r&b samples while 'Waiting On' has swung beats and chord stabs with more captivating vocals. Don't Give Up' then brings a little sun to the grooves with funky undertones and 'Work Me' closes the EP with a more moody late-night vibe.
Review: For his latest release, Tommy Musto delves into his venerated DAT vaults to unearth a treasure trove of mid-'90s NYC gems that are sure to excite house heads. These four tracks capture the essence of the legendary likes of Red Zone, Club Zanzibar, Twilo, and Sound Factory scenes and do a fine job of evoking the vibes that legends like Frankie Knuckles, Tony Humphries, Roger Sanchez, Tommy Simonelli, Masters at Work, and David Morales were all spinning back in the halcyon days of house. Now, you can own a piece of that iconic era with these deep cuts sure to bring back that classic house sound in some style.
Review: Tuff Trax and Jay Ward are two of the most potent producers in the UKG scene right now and they both appear together in collaborative mode on this new EP for Rhythm N Vibe, which also happens to be their tenth outing. It's pure filth from the off with 'Higher' sure to get the gun fingers out and the fists pumping. 'Something Like This' is a more raw and percussive garage bumper with sleazy low ends and naughty bass, then 'Crazy' gets funky with some nice retro r&b vocal samples and warm chords surging through the mix. 'Give Me Love' shuts down in soulful fashion with great colour bursting out of the beats.
Review: London's 1-800 Girls brings cleanly garage and bright breaks to his All My Thoughts label, riffing on the combo of infectious aural hooks and brutalist sonics fashionable among the present chart doyens of UK dance music and techno. 'How I Feel' sounds like an innocent admission of affection in techno-garage form, pairing the flunky inter-jabs of 2-step garage with the cute-aggressive seethes of a repetitious sampled vox; the track centres on a nostalgic, airtight sequence of parapractic phonemes, onto which the listener may project their longings and amours. 'Signal' embraces both big beats and biomech squeaks verging on sports-whistles, while 'Like You Do' returns for a comparatively brooding burbler. Finally, 'Guy's Salmon' rounds things off on a dense sequence of yeahs and ohs, as ever building up a slow-burn of cool wonderment and openness.
Review: Zed Bias's superb recent single with Shumba Youth is a modern fusion of dancehall and ragga that is perfect for loud deployment on top sound systems. Here though it comes in four different versions, all of which tap into different aspects of the UK hardcore continuum. The 4x4 Garage mix is just that and perfect for grotty warehouses, the 4x4 VIP Refix has a more prominent baseline feel and the Jeftuz UKG remix is a broken beat killer with wub-wub goodness. Last of all is the restless and kinetic 2-step mix to close out a high grade 12".
Review: Groove Chronicles are as legendary as it comes when you're talking about garage acts. They have such a rich legacy and it dates as far back as 1997. The dup known as Noodles & Dubchild are now back with another 12" that is going to fly off the shelves and offer up their much sought-after Brokenstep edits. These have been getting big time plays from influencers like Gilles Peterson and Bradley Zero and take in sax-led good time grooves, bustling broken beats and blissed-out instrumentals.
Review: Next up on the To The Rock label are four firing remixes of the Danny J Lewis tune 'Best Friends'. The original is a real UKG classic but any measure and one of the tunes of the year back when it first landed back in 1999. It's got plenty of London swagger endnote of that is lost in any of these reworks. Chicago's Garett David opens up with some dancing chords and tight, shuffling drums, newcomer Late Nite City then slips things back and goes a little deeper with his more seductive take and and multi-instrumentalist Mom Tudie layers in the soul with his more heartfelt version and funky guitar twangs. The Dominic Spreadlove remix might be the best of the lot with a nice pitched up vocal hook and dry as you like drums.
Review: Fad-free French house label Skylax has always done its own thing, and always to a great reception amongst serious heads. This new one from Quasar is an impossibly perfect mix of physical drums and heart-aching vocal hooks. The pitched up female vocal conveys such bittersweet pain it doesn't matter the words she sings as you're immediately drawn in for the ride. 'For Your Love' is another hugely emotional cut with floating breakbeats and nagging vocals that really get you where it hurts. 'Morning Bells' is a deep house cut with a spritely groove and blissed out vocal, and 'Inside My Love' closes with more heavy analogue drums but no less of a heartfelt sound thanks to the melancholic pads.
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