DRS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Calibre aka Dominick Martin pairs up with DRS, each taking one side of this 12" and each more than holding their own. Martin continues his current obsession with the pure sound of the real piano, a powerful antidote to the more synthetic sounds we're more used to hearing in the genre. Add a supreme male vocal in plaintive mood,. declaring "I've been looking for love in all the wrong places" and you've got something that really stand out of the crowd. Living For by DRS is more of straight anthem, with reggae influences and a hip-hop vocal giving it a proper lighters-in-the-air atmosphere, its conscious lyrics very much echoing the mood of Britain in 2020. Two very different tracks, for sure, but this package is strong in its diversity.

Review: Although Rhythm & Sound and Basic Channel man Mark Ernestus has worked with or remixed many different artists over the years, we didn't expect him to join forces with D&B scene stalwarts Calbre and DRS. Yet that's exactly what's on offer here, as the Hardwax founder delivers two typically deep, dubbed-out techno outings crafted from portions of the pair's collaborative cut 'Badman', which is due to feature on Calbre's forthcoming sixteenth studio album, Feeling Normal. Both 'Bad' and 'Badder' are typical of Ernestus' ultra-deep and hypnotic style, with snippets of the duo's original instruments, beats and vocals echoing in and out of a warming, all-encompassing, sub-heavy groove. In a word, it's superb.

Review: Not to be confused with the maverick soul man Delrokski, this DRS stands for Da Real Sound, they operated around the early-to-mid 90s and comprised of Colin TNT Graine and Errol Gordon. And they made badass blueprint jungle records like this Spandangle edition from mid 1993. As the title suggests, this takes a classic vocal sample from Erol Dunkley and each remix does its thing a little way different. The 2 Bad version gives the vocal full space to breathe at a slower 160 tempo while Eternal Bass and Danny Styles lay down two seminal slabs of breakbeat funk that still make perfect sense to this day. Something for everyone.

Review: Hugeness: "The View" was one of the small selection of D&B tunes that really brought all DJs from all subgenres together last year. Now under the crafty scalpel of Calibre, it's been subtly polished for the new year. Flip for a mechanical funk shake up of "Bun Ya" by Enei. Loaded with some of the funniest and sharpest lyrics DRS, Skittles, Chimpo, Rolla and Strategy have ever penned, Enei has paid full respect to the elements while upping the aggy factor by at least 50.