Drum & Bass Recommendations April 2013

Review: Remix alert! Zero T's been given the keys to Total Science's 2002 stonker "Lightweight" and he's nailed it with distinction... Where once the percussion was the main attraction, Zero's taken the bubbling bassline and made it much juicier and warpish. Adding a whole layer of additional FX and sounds, it's the perfect complement. Meanwhile on the B Mutated Forms add just a teensy bit more welly to their already walloping "Best Served Cold". Heaviness.

Review: West Yorkshire duo La La and The Boo Ya aka Bradford siblings Marf and Eddie come correct with Lioness, a killer transmission for the ever excellent Congo Natty via their recently minted Congo Natty Bass label. In original form "Lioness" has eminent levels of cross-over appeal with the vocals setting the pace as the ripples of jungle gradually seep out. The accompanying Congo Natty Vital Elements mix which features the iconic dancehall queen Lady Chann on vocals is naturally a whole lot brasher and jungle music in it's purest form! Look out for the forthcoming album from the pair!

Review:  New label alert! And what a launch release! Tony Rotton and Congo Natty with production duties from Vital Elements (one half of the Serial Killaz) and Silvastone: THIS is how you make an entrance! Emphatic sing-along vocals, a strident skank and blistering bass-bolstered kicks; this will cripple any festival it graces this summer. Remix-wise Interface takes things to a much darker, uncompromising territory with hardcore attitude and itchy, scratchy amens while Mindstate take things even darker again with pummeling alien bass and a swampy low-swung stomp. What a debut release!

Review: Last year the D&B world went mental for Mind Vortex's "Hotbox". Can they follow such a massive, ubiquitous release? Yes. Yes they can! "Alive" is a synth-struck slab of electro drama with a nagging hook and urging vocals. With a blissed out guitar session on the drop, it'll have your crowd swooning in minutes. "Arc" flips the switch for something much darker. Firing with a series of serious basses it's not dissimilar to Sub Focus its presentation but delivered with Mind Vortex's own trademark sense of cheek-slapping naughtiness. Heavy.

Review: With titles like "Nailbomb" and "Hard Times", you'd expect this release to be a little bloody around the knuckles. But no, in fact they're both stunning deep, complex and rolling. The former swings with simple three-note bassline that cascades up and down the scale while organic sounds ripple into the mix. The latter is deeper again with enveloping synth washes and subtle use of a vocal sample. Two bombs for D&B connoisseurs; Ingredients hit the nail on the head again.

Review: Believe it or not, this is Fred and Grafix's first full EP on Hospital, even though they've been signed to the label for well over a year. Well the wait has been worth it... "Goggles" is 100 per cent proof on the banger stakes. A thundering roller with pummeling beats, droning bass and a pixelated Eastern counter melody, not only is it unique, but arguably the duo's most powerful record yet. "Games People Play" counters the darkness of the A perfectly with lullaby pads, a wistful groove and sexy vocal textures. Ugly. Epic. Essential.

Review: Wow! Just when you thought neuro kings Phace & Misanthrop couldn't get any heavier, here comes "Motor". A grizzly distorted banger, it romps its way up the sonic spectrum, rising and rising like a Dubfire techno joint before dropping into a bareback psychedelic love-in. "Twisted" sees them inviting hot-to-trot Mefjus to the fold for yet another chapter of D&B mentalism. Complete with all manner of cascading, reversed warps and eye-popping stabs, it's Neosignal at its very best. Essential!

Review: It's business as usual at Neosignal HQ as label bosses Phace & Misanthrop lay down an industrial strength roller that comes with more spiky twists and turns than an unkempt hedge maze. As for "MPD", one can only imagine the mindboggling fusion of creative minds when Phace and Misanthrop met up with the mighty Noisia. Less aggressive and gnarly than you might expect, it's actually one of the deepest records either party has ever made. Do not miss this!

Review: "Dolorous" was a considered highlight of The Mesozoic Era, the 2010 LP from Alaska, aka scene veteran Dev Pandya, not least for the plaintive vocal contribution of Robert Manos. Fans will no doubt be delighted that the pair have elected to work together again with this 12" apparently an appetiser for a live show Manos and Pandya are busy readying. "Zeal" is as epic as you'd expect; great swooping orchestral movements complemented by crisp drum breaks and lent a dose of mournfulness by Manos' voice. In addition, this superbly presented 12" also features a reworked version of their former glory which strips down proceedings markedly, allowing the breakbeat centre stage.

Review: Dispatch Recordings continue their fruitful partnership of next level drum and bass business with the Prague based production machine Hybris on this rather rude Graviton double 12" release. As Hybris, the DC born Evan Vischi has capitalised on the promise shown with his previous work as part of the Robot Death Squad with his numerous releases on TC1's Dispatch amongst the Juno review team's favourites. Four tracks deep, Gravitron presents a further refinement of the Hybris sound; the lead track deftly opens up from the crisp rolling drums into gloriously thick sub sweeps that are augmented by subtle little futuristic embellishments. "Understand Now" implements some spectral dredd vibes amidst the satisfying bass heavy beats, whilst "Losing It" seems constantly on the verge of doing just that. "Uproot" proves a fitting finale; a gnarled array of loosened drums combine with a frazzled bass line to beat unsuspecting souls into submission.

Review: Yes sir - Marcus Visionary comes correct with this crucial jungle refix of Killa Mosquito - a very necessary record from Necessary Bass. There's no real higher forces at work here, just a very rude junglist update of "Ganja Man, Ganja Woman" a 2012 Killa Mosquito hit from the affiliated Necessary Mayhem label. The dread vibes of the original dubsteppah anthem remain as do remnants of Mr Williamz vocals, shredded and delayed with supreme confidence by Marcus Visionary with the results as good a contemporary jungle track you are likely to hear. Killer dub refix on the flip too.

Review: Dispatch are on something of a roll right now with our ears still ringing from Survival and Silent Witness's LP In From The Wild; there's no laurel resting however as the label swiftly ushers in a double dose of tech tinged badness from Sabre & Cern. The A Side has the Ivy Lab alumni Sabre collaborating with the hotly tipped Cern on the narsty relentless vibes of "Pinch Me" which is as futuristic a stepper as you can get but truly excels thanks to the faint ghosts of jungle trapped deep in the machine - DJ Friction has been all over this one. Complementing this, Cern is offered the chance to demonstrate why he's so highly thought after with the equally vicious solo cut "Hollow Moon" - just wait for that bassline to come swamping through!

Review: Techno-tailored D&B veteran from Berlin, Felix carved his own minimal sound long before it became such a big influence on the scene. Here we find him flexing his muscles with two contrasting but equally mesmerising visions. "The A" nods at early Moving Shadow joints with steady laps of psychedelic pads washing over stuttering breakbeats while "Forsaken" is a stripped back, steppy monster with a palpitating heartbeat kick drum. Both are as beautiful as they are deep.

Review: Can anyone else think of a Nymfo record that hasn't been superb? We can't... He's nailed it on every single release since his early days on Critical six years ago. Fresh from his release his debut LP Characters last summer, both "Suddenly" and "Air Jacks" are brand new and bang with grace. The former wobbles about on an obese Reece bass with a dusting of harps and a strange, nagging filtered refrain. The latter is a darker workout. Very Origin Unknown in its make-up, this is quintessential classically trained D&B with a warping, hypnotising bass swing and alien rattles on the fills. Immense.