Juno Recommends Breakbeat: March 2024

Review: It's testament to the enduring quality and far-sighted nature of Future Sound of London's iconic 1991 single 'Papua New Guinea' that it keeps being 'rediscovered' by new generations of DJs. It has been a while, though, since any new reworks dropped - hence this 'Rebooted' edition. L Major kicks things off with a suitably cosmic, psychedelic and slow-building proto-jungle style offering, before Nishiesque flits between passages of hot-stepping, synth-laden d&b and slo-mo 4/4 chug. House heroes Soul Central reach for vintage hip-house breakbeats, ambient electronics and the original version's most life-affirming elements (the bassline, twinkling synth melodies and heady vocal samples), while Dee Montero re-casts the cut as a proggy, tribal-tinged tech-house roller.

Review: North Phase and ADR share duties on this four track split EP, each dropping two tracks, although all four of them are firm dancefloor-filling candidates. North Face's 'Breaks Away' adds a few retro rave flourishes to a beat that's a distant cousin of Zinc's '138 Trek' and a bouncy, bumping bass holding the whole thing together. 'Sound Connection' has a hypnotic charm that nods to Fluke and early Underworld, although choppier and less linear in rhythmic approach. Aside from being probably the best named track we've come across in 2023 so far, ADR's 'Ned Flanders Hot Chocolate' is skippy enough to be 4x4 garage but with its scratched asides and cheeky, funky b-line has a unique personality, while 'Comet Relief' nods to the progressive house of the early 90s with an unexpected xylophone-like twist. It's all good, as they used to say.

Review: Without a doubt, one of the most anticipated reissue compilations of the year is this collection of Future Sound of London side projects. In 2007 this was a CD-only compilation of early 90s tracks as well as unreleased ones from the same age. As the lore of FSOL continues to grow over the past 30+ years, their side projects have gotten more and more attention from the people who love those early rave sounds. Now for the first time, a vinyl version of it with no less than a 3x12 to harness all this early 90s techno goodness. All the tracks are by Dougans and Cobain and the aliases are the same. This 2007 album however has a wealth of new material from the same time period as Earthbeat. It is amazing that one release like this by two producers can be such a prime example of the UK sound that changed dance music forever. If you want the 90s UK rave reissue of the year, here it is!

Review: At long last, a light has been shone on the career of one of the UK's true underground rave heroes: Bedford producer (and man of umpteen aliases) Tony Bonisegna. Cold Blow and Musique Pour La Danse have done a terrific job on the two-part set, offering up remastered killer cuts from Bonisenga's vast catalogue alongside extensive sleeve notes by Join The Future author Matt Anniss (whose book was the first to tell the producer's remarkable story). There's plenty to set the pulse racing on this first volume, including Bonisegna's earliest explorations of house in the late 80s (both as part of The Rhythm Squad), the clonking and bleeping shuffle of Original Clique's 'F (Whistle Mix)', the Pet Shop Boys-go-to-a-rave shimmer of 'Tonnere' by Pierrepoint, the acid-flecked breaks madness of Big Showdown's 'They're Here' and the sub-heavy early breakbeat hardcore of AEK's 'Lick It'.

Review: Between 1986 and 1994, Tony Boninsegna released an insane amount of music under dozens of different aliases, offering up rave-ready tracks that variously mixed and matched elements of acid house, bleep & bass, hardcore techno and breakbeat. Yet he remains almost unknown. Notes From The Underground, a two-part retrospective of his career, is therefore well overdue. This second part, which boasts extensive sleeve notes from UK dance music historian Matt Anniss, is packed to the rafters with re-mastered treats, with highlights including the electro-tinged bleep business of Lab Technicians' 'We Gave You Life', the weighty acid breaks of Sykosis 451's 'Monsoon', the breakbeat hardcore funkiness of MI7's 'Show I', and the proto-jungle madness of Raggahead's 'Give The People What They Want'.