Juno Recommends Breakbeat November 2020

Review: The Sneaker Socialists bounce back with another raw-to-the-bone 'SNKRX' collection, this time from Denham Audio. A name now synonymous with high grade broken club music, this comes fresh off the back of their Lobster Theremin EP and it's every bit as bumpy; 'Top Buzz' pays homage to one of rave's original DJ/MC crews with precision health and safety snippets from the one and only MC Mad P. Deeper into the EP we chow down on the purring snares and chubby subs of 'Rubadub' before 'Pocari Sweat' slams down the broadest of breaks and slaps us silly with dubby house synths. Exceptional rave business.

Review: 19 years ago, DJ Technics oversaw the production of Queens of Baltimore Club, a double album of weighty B-More club tracks built around female vocals and vocal samples. Originally copies are now extremely hard to find, so the newly launched Butter Notes label has decided to press up a single slab of wax featuring some of the album's most potent jams. Highlights include the cheeky B-more-does-classic-hip-house hedonism of Kotton the Cutie's 'I Just Wanna', the heat and heavy intensity of Mz Thang's 'Shake Ya Dick', the stab-sporting sweatiness of Ms Mocha's 'Not The Boss' and the heavily-edited, build-heavy hype of Lady Shanuda's 'Stuck', which packs insane levels of excitement into four action-packed minutes.

Review: Obsidian is a French trio working in the shadows between London and Paris. This is their first ever outing on vinyl and they use to show off their well formed sound and it makes for a fantastic first release for the newly formed Parallel Connection label. Sounding with classic yet new at the same time, the EP kicks off with the spaced out cosmic brakes and techno of 'Crossing Over' which is colourful and tripped out. 'War Baby' is just as punchy and forward looking in its sci-fi melodies and slippery bass and 'Dystopia' brings the funk with more astral pads and interplanetary sounds of the highest order. 'Soleil Vert' closes out in tricked out electro fashion and makes this an instant buy.