Juno Recommends Drum & Bass: May 2024

Review: Vibez '93 top up their seemingly ever-flowing V/A series with a fresh one. 'Return Of The Mack' continues their recent spate of hip-hop flips, with Biggie Smalls, Mark Morrison and Sunshine Anderson adorning the various rollages on display here. Given the historical interplay between hip-hop and drum & bass, the fusion is unsurprisingly neat, though '93 lends things an extra energy we're confident few others could summon.

Review: ASC's Reflections is a masterclass in drum & bass and ambient music. The album is awash with deep, melodic soundscapes and old-school 90s beats that will transport you to another world. From the gentle pace of 'Glaciers' to the more upbeat 'Prototype' each track on the album is a sonic journey that will leave you wanting more. ASC's production is impeccable, and his use of samples is nothing short of masterful. The result is an album that is both nostalgic and fresh, with a sound that is uniquely his own. Whether you're a fan of drum & bass, ambient, or simply good music, Reflections is an album that you won't want to miss. In addition to the stunning music, the album's packaging is also top-notch.

Review: Amongst jungle and d&b collectors, the 1990s work of largely unheralded Bristol duo Flynn & Flora (AKA Krust's brother J Thompson and the much-missed Flora Flakkas) has long been in-demand - especially their releases on the Independent Dealers imprint established in 1994. It's this portion of their catalogue that Chris Farrell's City Road Records explores on this must-have EP, which also boasts an excellent contextualising sleeve essay from Bristol-based journalist (and Juno writer) Oli Warwick. The quartet of cuts assembled - jazzy jungle jam 'Flowers', proto-liquid roller 'Dream of You', the subtly soulful 'Free' and Bukem-esque 'Silk Cut' - are not only amongst the most sought-after classics in their catalogue, but also some of their finest productions. As a result, Independent Dealers is a genuinely must-have EP.

Review: The latest full-length LP from Aural Imbalance continues serenely on the heels of an already well-travelled career. Now seeming to avow the often almost eternal sounding nature of breaks and drum & bass, a title like Infinity Spectrum implies that this is a career that could happily go on forever, were we not mere mortals. As ever, the album is interstellar in theme, each track doubling up in function as names that could also easily denote distant star systems or galaxies; 'Aurealis' and 'Alpha' are standout cuts in this regard, pitting rolling pitched 808s, rattling arps, and nebular pads together, behooving the ever-central breakbeat that sets us off on a journey to find some glistening lost alien artifact. Though there is a destination, it really is about the journey; by the time we reach the C-side, 'Slow Motion' ups the sonic sulphur content with a detour through an airier, major-keyed gas-planetary iceworld, while wondrous scoped-out rollage judderer 'Apparation' proves that even space provides its own mirages, its own fata morgana.

Review: Originally released on the cult V4 Visions label in 1991 & 1994, Ashaye's 'Dreaming' and 'What's This World Coming To' epitomised the essence of street soul, a genre blending soul, r&b, and hip-hop that resonated across London's pirate radio stations in the 1990s. With the surge in UK soul's popularity in recent years, DJs and tastemakers have championed these tracks which has in turn elevated their demand and value. 'Dreaming' has become nearly unattainable on the second-hand market, while 'What's This World Coming To' commands prices upwards of L50. Snap up this fully licensed RSD release however and you will have both tracks for an affordable price.

Review: Dom & Roland aka Dom Angas is an esteemed figure in drum & bass, and here unleashes his mastery with two devastating tracks for Samurai Music. Side-1 introduces the title track, 'Climax,' a symphony of heavy drums and crystalline melodies. Its cavernous atmosphere is punctuated by a buzzing bassline that reverberates through the listener's core, creating an immersive sonic experience. On Side-2, 'Rebellion' takes the listener on a journey into the depths of dark and heavy soundscapes. With its ominous atmosphere and strong Amen breaks, this track exudes a sense of impending doom. The growling bassline adds to the intensity, creating a formidable presence on the dancefloor. With Climax's blend of melodic beauty and dark intensity, this release affirms their status as legends in the genre, sure to captivate listeners and shake dancefloors to their core.

Review: The Time Is Now label single-handed ushered in a new era of garage if you ask us. That was a few years ago but the label continues to lead from the fort here with a new EP from Samurai Breaks & Napes who make their label debut in explosive fashion. They are skilled studio talents who are nudging at the boundaries of the current UK bass sound and here they hybridise bassline, jungle and garage. You won't easily be able to fit these into one stylistic box but they will do damage on the floor, from the ghetto restlessness of the opener to the manic melodies of 'Correct Technique' and onto the turbocharged 'FrogMob'. Thrilling stuff.

Review: Submorphics' new imprint Rosebay Music returns with its second release; this time the producer is joined by North Quarter boss and soulful drum & bass aficionado Lenzman. Fusing the former's soulful approach and the latter's high-octane neurofunk, 'Echoes Of November' harks back agog to six months ago, with snappy but swung drum lines providing the base for fast future arpeggiators, wistful soul vox chopups and bubbling synths, which almost recall the same bright guitar. As warmly merigold in tone as the front cover suggests, B-sider 'The Messenger' is just as neo-noir-at-noon, in part thanks to its deeply uplifting vocal line.

Review: Australian cultivator of bass ShockOne unveils his third studio album Organism Algorithm. A defining moment for the longtime producer, this third studio project follows his formidable rise to fame from humble beginnings in his native local Perth scene and hears him again continue to flesh out his signature taste for ethereal vocal numbers and heated, but no less crystalline bangers. From the knife-edge vocals of 'A Dark Machine' featuring Reija Lee, to the oozing stereo growls of 'Til Dawn', this is an album no basshead will want to miss.

Review: Straight off the back off bossman LSB's 'Home' release in March, Alibi joins the Footnotes family with four superlative cuts. Most regularly spotted on V Recordings, the Sao Paulo goes extra deep for the occasion. 'Dismissed' sets the scene with a grumbling undercurrent of techno and acid in the blend. It's instantly countered by the North Quarter-esque reverse pads and gentle keys on 'Black Piano'. Flip for more golden soul 'Invisible' conjures similar feels to that of LSB with its stately but subtle piano while 'Draw' closes on another darker, late night mission. Powerful.

Review: J Majik's full album Full Circle is available as one bumper quadruple vinyl pack but has also been teased apart into bite-sized 12"s. Each one packs a serious punch, such is the drive and energy of the tunes. 'Serenity' is full-throttle drum & bass with blistering low ends and intense drum programming that is softened only slightly by the swirling pads up top. 'Hold You' is a little more paired back - the drums are given more room to do their thing as sustained chords bring a sense of mystery. 'Meridian' closes out with tightly coiled loops that skate across the surface as ambient pads bring a deep space vibe to the trip.

Review: More magic from Majik as he looks back to his evergreen 2019 opus which saw him take things right back to his Reinforced foundations. The title track is an ice cold slab of futurism that essential provides the blueprint for jungle's most dynamic aesthetics. 'Eclipse' meanwhile goes for the heart strings, rips them out and turns them into an orchestral string section as a huge score-level sample is laid gently over surging, urgent break. Abracadabra.

Review: Five years has passed since J Majik made an impressive return with Full Circle, an album that dug right back to his Reinforced/Metalheadz roots with uncompromised futurism. Lo and behold these cuts still smack just as hard now as they did in 2019 (and would have absolutely melted us back in 94) 'The Crow Knows' is total sonic brutalism with it thundering drums and powerful sense of tension. 'Codebreaker' is a much colder slice of the jungle pie. Big elongated pads and a general feeling that aliens are about to land at any minute. Majik doing magic things.

Review: Stone cold pioneer J Majik reissues three stunning cuts from his Full Circle album that landed five years ago. 'Red Moon' takes the lead. Big splashing Amens and shimmering jazzy pads combine for a timeless assault of the senses that washes like tidal waves around you. The Star Wars referencing 'Escape From Lando' brings another foundation name to the fore as DJ Sense joins the fray for some galaxy chasing mischief while finally 'Point Of Return' brings us to an emotional close with its weeping reverse samples, slurring fills and dreamy introspection. Ageless.

Review: Strap in for another blistering ride thanks to the Sonic Force crew who has tapped up Dissect and Abstract Illusion for a series of new tunes and remixes of one another. 'Tengoku' (Dissect's Heaven mix) is first up with some thrilling breaks that float just above the dance floor amidst nice lush pads. Dissect's 'Cosmos' then rides a lurching beat with more raw percussion and Abstract Illusion's 'Tengoku' ups the ante with crashing snares and hi-hats, plenty of turbulent rhythms and planning basslines. Dissect shuts down with 'Black Hole' which is a darker stepper with a menace undercarriage that might make it the best cut of the lot.

Review: Intriguing things are afoot on Tokyo based Asphalt as Pyramid Of Knowledge and Nahash go full Voltron and merge their hardcore vision and skills. The outcome is a bewitching brew that sits somewhere between IDM, jungle and techno. From pole to pole we're taken from hypnotic psy-trance-flavoured jungle ('Dliw') to warped, rolling technoid breakbeat ('RVSHES') Expect many other boundary melting fusions in between.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Strap yourselves in for the return of Missile Vintage with a fifth transmission and this one is a track from the boss himself. Missile Records founder Tim Taylor crafted this banger back in 1992 and released it on the legendary FFRR imprint. It soon made its mark on the rave scene of the time and has remained influential to generations of DJs, dancers and producers ever since. Now it comes back to vinyl in original form, as well as next to a huge Foghorn mix from Micky Finn and a more physical and breaks-lead remix from Blade. A great package that joins the dots between then and now.