Juno Recommends Drum & Bass February 2021

Review: Ludvig Cimbrelius has many different aliases to exercise different musical interests, but his work as Illuvia really stands out thanks to its canny blend of jungle and electronica with ambient. Following plentiful digital releases for labels like Hypnus, this marks the first outing on vinyl for Illuvia, finding a natural home on A Strangely Isolated Place. The combination of raging but artfully submerged breakbeats and expansive drone pads is expertly managed here, sounding at once glacial and furiously kinetic. Like the concept of atmospheric jungle taken to the extreme, this is a unique approach to genre fusion that works beautifully.

Review: The North Quarter label serves up nine exclusive tracks on this superb double LP which is the culmination of many years friendship of Lenzman & Dan Stezo. The former lays down the seamless flow while the latter delivers perfectly introspective lyrics in a heart aching falsetto and all the tunes are solely from The Northern Quarter associates. The liquid drum & bass grooves are soulful and soaring, with plaintive pianos draped over the silky sequences. It's a warm and emotive listen for days at home as well as once dance floors open up again. Favourites include Zero T & Unitsouled's frictionless 'Slightest Moment' and FD's deep diving closer 'Top2Bottom VIP.'

Review: Spearhead stride into the year with an honest VA most of us can relate to; Moodswings. Soothing our lows, savouring our highs and ironing out all the locked down creases in between, this collection from Bcee's nearest and dearest flexes the full swing of emotions at play right now. From that determined drive of Phaction's scorching twist of Technimatic 'Mirror Image' or the tension and reflection in Tempza's 'Find Another Way' to the total escapism of Surve's 'Seasons' by way of more sobering, soulful moments like Emba & DRS's 'Move Steady' and Riya's 'Ripples', this scratches many of the itches almost a year of no raving can bring.

Review: Techstep pioneer Trace smashes into 2021 with something the world has waited almost 30 years for... His debut artist album. 10 tracks heavy in its digital form, here we grab six of the best tracks from Retox on clear vinyl and it's safe to say the wait's been worth it. Highlights include the No U-Turn style breaks-meets-Gremlinz-style halftime switches on 'Dark 8', the jazzy drum swing of 'Saboteur' and the grizzly hurricane of a title track which hits all the sweet spots both Virus and his own DSCi4 label hit the best. He's been back for a while but this galvanizes his return and reminds us just how much he helped shape drum & bass.

Review: Shimon Alcoby should need no introduction to drum and bass heads. Having collaborated with legends such as Dilinja, Andy C and Moving Fusion to name but a few, the Audioporn main man is no stranger to Liftin' Spirits either, serving up for them another killer release - his first in two decades. The two tracks on the Flava EP definitely hark back to the '90s, there's some proper rollers on offer here. From the breakneck junglist fury of the title track and its ominous atmosphere throughout, to B side cut 'First Charge' being more reminiscent of his usual work, on this darkly dystopian expression in techstep.

Review: The third instalment of Planet Mu boss Mike Paradianas' Bantha Trax series features eight previously unreleased tracks hailing from the sessions that gave birth to his acclaimed Lunatic Harness album of 1998. Drill and bass was the name the press came up with at the time, describing a marriage of scattergun jungle and drum and bass techniques applied to relatively gnarly, industrial sounds from the outer edges of the rave planet, and it fits the bill here. That said, the album's final two tracks, 'Generate Tusks' and 'Fessio', veer away from the breakneck breakbeat madness into the slightly more electro/techno slanted territory that the first in the series, released on short lived but much loved label Clear, had featured. Still, not for the faint hearted, but fans of Paradinas' uncompromising approach will surely lap up this unexpected portion of seconds.

Review: Hide your crisps mate, Dub Phizix is back on the loose. Kicking off the year in true understated, straight-to-business style, as always with Mr Phizzy, each cut tells its own story and packs its own unique style. 'Game Over' is reminiscent of Die's early work. Jazzy flourishes and drums that skip from here to Clifton. 'Slush Puppeh' is not the sugar-rush you might expect from the title. Proper drum business here, there's a proper tribal edge to this one that nods towards the early Virus sound but much, much more stripped back and more techno-minded. Finally we have 'Bunraku', another bruiser with more warm fuzz around the bottom end than your ma. Game on.

Review: Following up last year's full-length release Always Be, jungle legend James Spratling aka J Majik is back with a new one on his long standing Infrared label. Old school sounds abound on this one, from the fierce roller 'This Sound' going all the way back to the mid-90s, and indeed you would be forgiven for considering this a rework of his 1995 classic 'That Sound'. On the flip, we have some deep and sensual drum & bass mood music in the form of 'The Whistle' which just begs to be mixed in with all your old Photek and Marcus Intalex & ST Files tunes from wayback - tip!

Review: Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated releases of 2020, legendary UK producer DJ Krust makes a comeback with his first release in 14 years, and rather surprisingly on Crosstown Rebels - of all labels. While we all know Damian Lazarus' established imprint is anything but drum and bass, it is well known that he was an early champion of the sound, long before his tenure at City Rockers in the early '00s when he embraced 'electroclash' - but that's another story. It's clear that Krust created some of the most seminal records in the genre throughout the nineties and noughties, and he is back in fine form on The Edge Of Everything, having explored radical new philosophies and creative processes. Minimalist arrangements as heard on tracks like 'Constructive Ambiguity' hark back to his signature sound of the aforementioned period, while he also explores more experimental minded beats as heard on 'Antigravity Love' and proper darkside rolling drama exemplified on 'Deep Fields Of Liars'.

Review: Western Lore is a Bristol based record label run by DJ and visual artist Alex Eveson aka Dead Man's Chest. Their latest comes from local producer Jordan Parsons aka Crypticz, who follows up last year's terrific Patterns EP and again draws from a wide palette of underground UK music: from dub, grime and footwork and (even drum & bass) on Between Dust & Time. After the breathtaking epic that is A side track 'Broadcast Feeling', you'll also experience the meditative world music of 'Ocean Blue' (feat Amy Kisnorbo), the soothing trip-hop vibe of 'Lakutala' (version) and the hypnotic tabla rhythms of 'Nightshifter's Groove'.

Review: Techstep pioneer Trace smashes into 2021 with something the world has waited almost 30 years for... His debut artist album. 10 tracks heavy in its digital form, here we grab six of the best tracks from Retox on clear vinyl and it's safe to say the wait's been worth it. Highlights include the No U-Turn style breaks-meets-Gremlinz-style halftime switches on 'Dark 8', the jazzy drum swing of 'Saboteur' and the grizzly hurricane of a title track which hits all the sweet spots both Virus and his own DSCi4 label hit the best. He's been back for a while but this galvanizes his return and reminds us just how much he helped shape drum & bass.

Review: At long last... Mystic State's charming debut album 'My Own Private Island' enjoys a little black wax justice. Pulling four of many flavours from across the LP, the tracks remind us of the scope and range the Bristol duo have. The dark soul of 'If You Knew', the sinister rolls of 'Dangerous Liaison' (with MC Fokuz), the breakbeat chops and pops of 'Mirrors Edge' and the stunning Autonomic finale - 'Too Late'. A collab with west country kindred spirit Congi, close your eyes and it could be 2009 all over again.

Review: Ugly Duckling mints a new Erupt label with a super bouncy new house and hardcore fusion that will electrify any floor. 'Eediyat Skengduck' races out of the blocks at a hundred miles an hour with crashing break beats and neon synths all run through with manic synths. 'Lock Down' is built on hyperdrive drums that stomp and push their way forward under news snippets featuring talk of food banks and Boris Johnson's lockdown speech. 'Should've Thought About It' is a real headwrecker with dense drums and 'Better Than Your Cult' closes out with another infectious and hard techno groove.