Breakbeat Recommendations July 2011

Review: Canadian nu funkateer Neighbour returns to regular haunt Homebreakin with perhaps his strongest offering to date in the shape of "Toute Freak". Whilst there are definite strains of nu funk present via the groove and jelly wobbling bass, Neighbour showers proceedings in a glistening electro pop sheen - check the crafty Donna Summer sampling too! In addition to Neighbour's own accomplished more subtle dub take there is some big remix action on the flip. Aussie producer DCUP focuses on the electro house possibilities on a remix that's French in tone and replete with a killer kick drum, whilst Bumper transforms the track into a modern day low slung robo boogie epic!

Review: Breakbeat Paradise comes through with this twelve of expert nu-funk from an international cast of players with France, the UK, Canada and Denmark all repping! It's the Gallic sample fiend Prosper who lays down the gauntlet on "Freak Hop Part One" which slips in a spot of everyone's favourite Hispanic potheads before working in a record 4,726 further samples (we got our intern to count them) before the track finishes in sultry form. Danish don Badboe takes up the reins on the sequel which ups the pressure with some slick B Boy attitude whilst almost matching Prosper in the sample stakes. Not to be outdone, the UK is fully repped by Breakbeat Junkie and DJP who drop some vociferous old school vibes on the third part - just wait for those MOP horns to drop! Finally Canada's Audited Beats goes for the low slung vibe - cramming more bounce into the ounce amidst the usual dizzying array of samples.

Review: Veteran Australian sample plunderer Nick Thayer returns to the always dependable Bomb Strikes imprint with a triplet of speaker worrying bumps that demonstrate the producer has lost none of his bounce. Hogging the A Side, "Do You Want More" cheekily snips off the hook from a UK rock classic and marries it to a heavyweight synth lead that gets full marks from the head nod committee. From such rowdy beginnings Thayer continues in similar fashion on the flip with the AV8 leaning bump of "Rhythm Method" swerving between synth heavy bumps and more sample centric moments, whilst the concept for "Ladies Love Cool Jams" is fully unveiled in the title, focusing on one of rap's greatest.

Review: The Breakbeat Junkie and DJP join forces for the latest drop on the Baffin Island Beat Brigade label - with the results just the sort of incendiary prime time club heater you'd imagine. First up the boys join forces on the mid tempo bump of "Time to Roll" all heavily filtered hunks of funk horn and big slices of synth bass dirt. The always dependable All Good Funk Alliance ramp up the tempo for the accompanying remix - twisting the track into a killer electro funk odyssey replete with jagged laser beam synths and plenty of rhythmic shifts. On the flip it's solo efforts ahoy as The Breakbeat Junkie takes the lead with a homage to DJ Mink via "Flip The Mink" which contains loads of classic breaks whilst DJP ends proceedings with "Controlling The Club" - an exercise in the producer's adeptness at flipping a million well known samples.

Review: Heavy Duty Booty return for a seventh round of funkafied delights with Portuguese tweaker Mr Bird once again at the helm. The A Side contains the Latinised bombastic sounds of "Dr B's $ Bills" which dovetail nicely with the incessant funk riffery of "Funky Honey" with sweet vocal hooks soon joined by a grimy moog lead! On the flip "Super Stitch Up" provides DJs with an alternate take on the oft requested Stevie Wonder classic which bolts on a great big funk break to give the track a nice dirty feel. It's probably the centrepiece of a release that ends on the uptempo jazz funk stomp of "Theo's Theme".

Review: Bristol duo Boca 4 and Parker have already treated fans to this year's Ascending Change EP and now follow it up with their debut album - a beautifully constructed mixture of trip-hop breaks, stirring strings and a lot of soul. "So Long" featuring Sarah Scott on vocals is a beauty, with descending cellos and violins filtered up over the verses, while the pair's pastoral obsessions shine through on "Spring Forward", which approaches dubstep from a very unusual and highly original, string-blessed angle. With veteran UK MC Mystro on the rabble-rousing "Queen Bee", this is an unexpected peach of an album that confounds your expectations every step of the way.