PAPA NUGS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Demi Riquisimo's 'A Lifetime On The Hips' sublabel returns to make it a hat-trick of releases for 2023 with the impressive 'Body Move' V/A, featuring eclectic club cuts from Dreamrdreamr, SY, Papa Nugs, Elfenberg, Absolute. & Ysanne. Dreamdreamr's emotive 'Zone 4 Booty Call' kicks off the A-side; it's a track that effortlessly fuses elements of deep house, trance, and r&'b, setting the the tone perfectly for an EP not bound by the borders of any genre. The titular 'Body Move' by SY is up next; a no-nonsense house chugger with flourishes of Italian 90s progressive and acid - a perfect modern interpretation of a foundational strand of club music. The A-side wraps up with one of 2023's most exciting prospects Papa Nugs and the vocoder infused, percussive, twisted jam 'Loosey Goosey'. The flip picks up right where the A-side left off with Elfenberg's 'Solarplexus', a cosmic, evolving and psychedelic interpretation of house. After, UK mainstay Absolute offers a 'Devastating Rhythm', a peak time techno floor filler that sounds like a Frankenstein mix of seminal imprints Dance Mania & D'jax-Up-Beats' output - proper gear. Finally, drawing the curtain on the 'Body Move' V/A is Ysanne's 'Tisno Tango'; a slightly more introspective cut, but with more than enough groove to make you dance, a perfect closer.

Review: For our first release in the sound-clash series, Xander goes head to head with Papa Nugs.

Based out of Brighton, Xander has made a name for himself in the UKG/breaks scene over the last 18 months with his exciting sound design and work for his own label, Over and Out.

The A1, "Dead My Sound", combines moody bass-lines with snappy drums to make a fierce 2-step dance floor killer. The A2, "Watch It", follows up with a menacing Reese bassline.

Papa Nugs is another prominent name in the UKG and breaks scene at the moment, having also had an exceptional 18 months. With releases on labels such as Constant Sound and Ba Dum Tish, we knew he'd be the perfect competitor for Xander

The B1, "Blip", provides skippy garage drums and with warping bass stabs taking inspiration from dubstep sounds. The B2, "Do Something", showcases a completely different side of UK garage, with slamming 4x4 drums and a chugging bassline.

Review: Burnski's Instinct label serves up some fresh platters from a new name, Papa Nugs. These are of course naughty as you like garage tinged late night gems for cosy dance floors. Opener 'Gemini' is a high speed affair with exotic strings and neck-snapping hits. 'Kilo of Filo' is a super heavy wobbler with a fat as fuck bottom end oscillation. 'De Nata' closes out on more super crisp breakbeats that recall the genres hey day when artists like Ali B were knocking out killer mixes for Fabric. All killer no filler, as ever with this label.