Breakbeat Recommendations August 2011

Review: The inimitable funkateers known as Funk Burners return with a second round of self styled Funky Burner party heaters effortlessly proving there ain't no party like a Funk Burners party across the five tracks/tools. Anyone with a base appreciation of samples will recognise much of what makes up the two variants of "Funky Music Party" though it's the devilish potency with which the Burners assemble the bumping rhythms and funked out riffery that impresses on both the beat heavy and scratchadelic versions. An accapella tool is also included for the more imaginative minds out there. On the flip "Party Of The Century" is a pretty self explanatory shameless melding of many a party mentioning track across a neat mid tempo disco rap bump, whilst "Manifest Party" ramps up the speed but retains the hip-hop feel.

Review: Building on a newie by Australian soul/funk band Randa & The Soul Kingdom (ahead of their soon-to-drop What You Need album), nu-funk breaks dons Mooqee and Beatvandals come in heavy with this radical rerub. Stripping the original down to Randa Khamis' soulful acapella, the duo add a good helping of bass and some fatback studio drums to their version, turning it into a deeper floor filler and a perfect DJ weapon for breaks-heads who fly on the funky side.

Review: The third instalment in Fat Hop's series of jukebox 72 singles sees self-confessed 'ageing hipster' Itsu Uno deliver another pair of B-boy friendly breakbeat bombs. In the best traditions of the cut-and-paste record - think Steinski's "Lessons" or "Say Kids What Time It Is" by Coldcut - "Noise Of The B-Boy" whips through a barrage of classic funk breaks at a furious pace, adding all manner of floor-friendly samples and thunderous basslines. It's fast, funky and incessant - funk and breaks dancefloors will love it. Flipside "Murder Scene (Concerto In Bass)" offers a pleasingly heavy hip-hop tempo mash-up of Psycho strings, hip-hop vocal samples and tight scratching.