Juno Recommends Breakbeat October 2020

Review: Sound the alarm, Borai is back with another essential drop of rough n' tough breakbeat business on his Higher Level label. In the same vein as his celebrated Club Glow work with Denham Audio, these are well-schooled rollers with sonics to make the sternest soundboy shock out. 'Sanctuary' calls to mind the earliest strains of Good Looking Records in its dreamy moments, with ample space afforded for the amens to get gnarly too. 'Carpet Bagger' strikes a deadly blow in the hardcore vein, piling on the darkside synths for a rave-ready showstopper to get synapses tingling and jaws clenching.

Review: We all taking up right about now and Yosh is the one to do it. Four crucial cuts flexing around the UKG/breaks axis, all heavily entrenched in the turn of the century breakbeat, dark garage melting pot. Classic vocal samples galore and really punchy drums, highlights include the classic "What I Need" and the pure kick drum militancy of on the title track "Take Me Up". Serious vibes for all ages and all floors.

Review: Next to come up out of the ever mysterious Wizard's Sleeve is electronaut DOT13. His opener '13' is a kicking and futuristic electro cut with a serenity and soothingness that is beautifully disarming. Things get more rickety on the stuttering drum programming of 'You Do Funk', which is also detailed with some lovely water droplets and groaning bass. There's more than a hint of astral disco to the popping beats and kaleidoscopic colours of 'Nightcrawler' and things end on the cosmic fairground ride that is 'Jukebox.' There is real freshness to be found in this one.

Review: More Toxic Funk flavours from the Breakbeat Paradise crew, who've cannily snapped up a couple of killer collaborations from Prosper and Badboe. The experienced pair predictably goes in hard on A-side 'Beastie Lifestyle', where a classic Beastie Boys acapella is slapped down hard on a brand-new heavy funk-meets-breakbeat backing track that comes laden with mazy electric piano solos and fiery horns courtesy of Le Marabout. They change tack slightly on 'Without Funk', joining the dots between a handful of killer samples on a P-funk flavoured workout that's every bit as addictive and ear-pleasing as the duo's A-side banger.

Review: Record Store Day 2020 keeps on serving up the goods. Next in the spotlight is the iconic 'Sunset (Bird of Prey)' single taken from Fatboy Slim's 2000 album Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. Famously, it samples Jim Morrison's vocal from the Doors song 'Bird of Prey', placing it amongst swirling ambiance and loft synths, while nailing a rugged and broken beat below. On the flip, London's favourite party DJs Horse Meat Disco serve up a Clouds In The Sky remix that has serrated synth lines and jacking drums.