Juno Recommends Breakbeat: July 2023

Review: Little is known about Needlework, save for the fact that this new fifth installment to their eponymous breaks series reissues two lesser-known (but no less beloved) breakbeat classics for the present day. DJ Mink's b-boy minimalizer 'Hey Hey Can U Relate' (indeed we can) appears on the A-side in the utmost quality - showing off the precision sharpness of its core break and vocal shouts - while legendary b-boy crew Tuff Crew hear their flauting, noiry instrumental version of their track 'Soul Food' get added to the B.

Review: The Craft Music label is back after a one year break with some fresh new cuts by resident Marco Lazovic. It's an EP inspired by the sound of the English club scene in the nineties and noughties, labels like Good Looking Records and artists such as Mike Millrain. Opener 'Losin Control' sure is a compelling mix of electro and breaks that soars on cosmic lines with euphoric vocals in the distance. 'Come To London' has a distinctly garage feel to it with its crisp broken beats and there is more high energy but melody-rich breakbeat action in 'Dark Gravity' while 'Space Jazzy' is s super sweet and deep jungle cruiser.

Review: The top-notch Studs45 label calls upon Berlin-based Voodoocuts to cook up this steamy pair of party-ready edits. The modern brass master pulls out all his usual tricks as he blends classic soul and boogaloo cuts into tunes ready to blow up your spot. 'Breaking Dog' is first and brings hefty breaks right off the bat along with sing along vocals and busy, tumbling toms. On the flip is a scorching and sun-kissed groove from South America steeped in indigenous percussion and with a Latin shuffle and vocal to really turn up the temp.

Review: Deep, clean and texturally sublime new breakbeat from David, coming to the Manchester-Sheffield label Simpler Times with an EP, 'Moments', that neatly captures the seeming timeless stasis of the moments in life we'd like to cherish forever. Four bits slow-burn in different styles here: the breakbeater 'Everytime' hears a minimal house intermission on 'Full Circle', while more challengingly shuffly breaks-peaks are traversed on the likes of 'What If I Could Fly' and 'Daybreak'.

Review: Electronic legends Meat Beat Manifesto aka Jack Dangers and DHS aka Benjamin Stokes have been making music together for a long old time now so really know how to find a sweet spot between their respective sounds. In this case, they emerge from their lab with four finely tuned dancefloor destroyers that are steeped in a rich history of UK-centric sounds. 'Pandemic' is a wonky acid opener with plenty of warped designs and big breaks, then 'Aggressive Mantis Squad' brings more live drum breaks under crashing percussion and edgy synth terrors. 'Automatic Mouth' is a bass-driven and body-popping rhythm designed to get the floor popping before the all-out breakbeat assault that is 'International Sound System.'

Review: Undercurrent is an artist based in LA and a New Palm resident who shows his studio skills across a trio of new cuts here. 'Beliefs' is a loopy breakbeat roller with jittery rhythms that lock you into their loops and keep you there. 'No Data' is similar but more punchy, with real edge and drive in the breaks while fat bass stabs power things along from below. The same track then gets a remix from Charlie Edward that is more spaced out with searching synths and a more rubbery bassline. Last of all is a floating ambient cut that eventually has a jungle breakbeat rise up through the mix to take you into the next dimension.

Review: San Francisco-based Indian duo Baalti really do bring plenty of freshness to this, their third EP outing. They have said this is their most personal and authentic rase to date and it is about as kinetic and impact as house music gets, all infused with myriad samples from their own heritage. Those nostalgic South Asian flavours derived from classic Indian, Pakistani, and Bangaldeshi sounds are carefully sprinkled into percussive workouts, leftfield dancefloor rhythms and club-ready grooves. A perfect fusion of modern electronic music as traditional Asia sounds.

Review: N4 is back with another blinding EP, this time from Pete Cannon who has already had some of these tunes played by the likes of Bicep. 'In My Soul' is full-throttle drum & bass with raved-up sirens and crashing breaks to get the floor in a spin. The Sumgii 160 remix brings elements of footwork rhythms, loopy and cut-up sequences that explode and implode endlessly. 'Tek Riser' is a bubbling and gurgling world of slamming drums and rubbery bass for big room action and last of all is a Shadowchild remix that brings some light with celestial synths and a more slow and pronounced rhythm.

Review: Glaswegian producer Pigeon Steve, a mysterious producer who claims to be from the future, lays down four fresh originals on his latest EP 'FS 1'. Ostensibly a breakbeat EP, but with a retro edge packed with obscure, probably public-domain vocal samples from film and just-intoned cadences, every influence from medley-style breaks to downtempo psych-acid crops up on this deep rabbit-hole-jumper.

Review: Kreggo's Art-Aud label is a reliably unpredictable bastion of post-modern rave madness which takes a sideways glance at all the genre fluctuations and places fun front and centre alongside experimentation. As a result, this latest instalment of their Secret Rave series comes as a welcome treat - a madcap rip through tempos and styles with upfront energy as a constant. From Slacker's moody, finely tuned breakbeat excursion to J-Zbel's low down, nasty drum funk on to Treega's on-point rave stabs, it's a wild ride, make no mistake. If you take your neo-rave gear seriously, you won't want to sleep on this deadly compilation.

Review: RNBWS is given the honour of serving up the first-ever release on Dead Beat Records here. It is a fine statement of intent built on robust breakbeats ready for club deployment. 'Slow Moving' is not really, instead it's a turbocharged and bass heavy rhythm with menacing vocal snippets. '54321' has booming kicks and old school energy complete with some Beastie style vox. The b-side brings bendy bass to 'Wake Up', all out and raved-up jungle influences to 'Don't Say A Word' and fat drum bumps to bonus cut 'Spinner.'

Review: The second in the BLE-EP series is another nostalgic trip back to the early days of rave. It's jam packed with six of the best breaks, bleeps and bass tunes, prickly analogue drum programming and future leads that immediately place you in a room full of smoke, lasers flashing by and strobes going mental. Bohm's 'Trouble' is a textbook take on this style, while Neil Landstrumm layers up bright melodies and refracts them around a punchy techno framework on 'Body Popper.' Meat Beat Manifesto's 'Destroy Dub' is a wild furry of drums and another gem on an EP full of them.

Review: Leraq has previously dropped a couple of solid digital-only EPs since 2020 but finally marks his debut on wax with this crispy breakbeat excursion. 'Interlinked' is ice-cold and precise rhythmic techno with fluttering snares and shimmering synths adding a little meat to the drum's bones. 'Sonic Ritual' is a more fulsome cut with broken beat loops and warped bass making for a skittish rhythm. 'Binaural Beats' is another one that shapeshifts constantly, as various different leads, basslines and percussive patterns all vie for your attention. 'Collective Memories' shuts down with deep and cavernous introspection. .

Review: Straight off the back of Nicolo's deep, dubby broken beat escapade, Baroque Sunburst strike again with two beguiling breakbeat originals from rising Milan-based Brazilian talent Worli. 'Dynamo' is a purring, rolling tribal breaks piece with strong undertones of techno that you could imagine anyone playing from Villalobos to Meat Katie. 'Breathe - Dance' meanwhile takes a more glacial, up-tempo twist as a foggy, steppy slab of drum & bass that's reminiscent of a Metalheadz B-side or something you'd find on Samurai. Complete with a nutty junglistic remix from Etch and you're packing serious heat. .