REFRESHERS Vinyl & CDs

Review: Refreshers is a little-known alias of Lukid, an underrated producer who has previously explored murky lo-fi sounds on cult labels like Werk Discs. With this alias, though, he makes drum & bass and jungle, and crafted the original featured here back in 2021 and dropped it into his Dekmantel mix. It was heard by the Future Retro label head who reached out to release it and we're glad he did. It's a hidden treasure that is dark, intricate and perfectly crafted. The surprise release feels like uncovering a secret moment in jungle history and it comes with Phineus II's powerful remix, which adds depth and drum rawness, which makes this a vital pick up.

Review: Lukid's ravey jungle side-alias Refreshers has been going steady for a good deal of time now, and this fresh one 'Bugged' is no exception to his usual rule of tricksy breakwork, exemplifying a mastery of the nuskool-oldskool time dilation heard in much modern jungle. A-siders 'Bugged' and 'High In Me' seem to contain multiple layers of breaks per track and phrase, treating the bedrock of the breakbeat almost like a harmony. Cetacean moods play out on 'High In Me', which continue on 'Make Me Feel So Good', which recall the chirpy chipmunk movements of Doss or Orca in recent years. Closer 'Off My Mind' is much darker, and an eclectic experiment in any case.