Juno Recommends Drum & Bass June 2021

Review: Fokuz return with another blink-and-miss limited white label. Fully anonymous, due to the nature of the sample, here we're taken right back to a thrilling time in pop as the swooning chords, twinkling synths and famous falsetto of 'Human Nature' are given the d&b treatment. Faithful to the original but given a turbo-charged twist (and a VIP rub), it's one of those end of night hug-it-out jams you've been yearning to play all lockdown. Grab this quicker than you can say Shamone.

Review: Cementing his reputation within the scene with fine releases on Livity Sound, Echocord and Delsin, Joe Baker - better known as Forest Drive West - ventures further down the left hand path of drum and bass to discover new forms within the genre for his R&S debut - the Terminus EP. On opening cut 'Impulse' classic techno jungle and techno motifs such as the Reese and the mentasm roar away in overbearing fashion, underpinned by fierce jackhammer polyrhythms. Over on the flip, the knackered half-time stepper 'Void Control' explores the genre's shadowy grey area in stylistic fashion, while 'Curved Path' explores the same haunting and cinematic atmospheres that legends like Matrix and Optical engineered back in the day - tip!

Review: Voraciously prolific, forever far-out, Montreal artist CFCF looks back to look forward on his eighth studio album Memoryland. An album that takes all his influences from early jungle and hardcore to shoegaze indie, chews them up and spits them back with wry, cynical 2020s energy, the album is a mystery tour around CFCF's tastes and inspirations from dreamy sing-along pop punk ('Punksong') to warm and grainy filtered disco house ('Self Service 1999') to bubbly trance-tinged house music ('Slippery Plastic Euphoric') and sugar-sweet two-step ('After The After') Nostalgic but also provocative and very forward-looking, this is arguably CFCF's most comprehensive and ambitious album to date. Thanks for the memories.

Review: Another week, another red hot slice of funky disco action from the good people at Gamm. Japanese re-editer Dai San is the man behind this second offering of cuts and his credentials as a former b-boy really shine through. First out of the blocks is the chunky funk and twanging bass riffs of Roy Ayres 'Still Good,' which will have you in knots on the floor, then 'Body Moves' is a clatter of Latin percussion, bird calls and samba rhythms that brims with vitality. 'People To People' closes down on a more smooth and lush vibe with big trumpets bring joy to the slick rhythm section and natty jazz keys.

Review: Last spotted learning to fly, Hugh Hardie touches down once again with more new material: 'Dream In Green', another four track delight on Hospital. 'No Compromise' takes the lead and hits with a vibe that's reminiscent of early Nu:Tone. It's in good company as three more double-H nuggets bounce our way... 'Dream In Green' is stunning sunset soul with filters and strings in all the right places, 'Overture' brings a little jazz into the mix while d.e.o.n lays down introspective lyrical gold while 'Repeater' closes the show on steppy, switchy juke vibe that's not dissimilar to Sinistarr or Thys. Dream big.

Review: Charlotte Haining is a stunning vocalist and songwriter with a degree in music and here her amazing album with BCee, Live As We Know It, gets world class remix treatment for some of the best names in D&B. As well as those remixes, there is also a brand new and exclusive tune from BCee & Charlotte, 'Walking On Water'. It's a perfect marriage of soulful, rolling beats, fluttering synths and Charlotte's voice, which carries real heart break. Elsewhere the likes of SPY, LSB and Emba do it all from dark and dirty to bright and airy.

Review: Finally, The North Quarter upgrade Echo Brown's sublime debut EP for the label to wax status. Featuring four of the original five tracks, here we find the rising US artist linking up with Manchester's KinKai for the woozy opener 'Affirmations' before heading into a dream-like state as 'So Good' rolls with hazy neo-soul, 'Love Won't Do' takes us deep down SpectraSoul flavoured rabbit holes and 'Phenomena' brings us to a gully halt with its UK style shuffly drums and gritty, rasping bassline. There's no struggles to hear what's good here.

Review: CIA joint label owner Q Project is back on his own label after a long time away. He's a real legend of the game and here he appears with a young gun and promising talent in the form of Myth. They serve up 'Demonz' which is a mad deadly tune with powerful, high speed drum breaks underpinned by a bassline that dives ever deeper Some sleek minimal percussion oils the groove and ensures this one will hit hard. For the reverse, Myth steps up to remix Q Project's 'Trouble.' He does so with real intent, latin down terminator drums and coarse stabs, some echoing vocals and a hell of a bassline.

Review: UK label Repertoire tap up Pugilist and Tamen for a four track collaborative EP that packs a real punch. The tunes are all expertly designed with deep, intricate drum programming and plenty of darken heavy bass that operates in a murky underworld. 'Samadhi' opens with a haunting, moody vibe that keeps you looking over your shoulder and that feeling doesn't let up on the paranoid minimalism of 'Time Becomes A Loop.' 'Casca' is a more intense flurry of flailing drums and sweeping synths that bring some melodic edge, and 'Finis' traps you in a world of echo, busted loops and suspense.

Review: The third and final part of Data 3's album series has landed! Four more futuristic fusions from the Flexout trio, 'Atomic' sets the scene with its rampant synth bass oozing in and out of the beats. It's back by three more space aged weapons: 'Fission' is all about the drama with its detuned stabs and DSCi4 style storytelling, 'Matter' looks more towards the Metalheadz sound for inspiration while 'Saturn Ditch' closes on a deep and dreamy one. Watch out for the other two parts, also on coloured vinyl: 'Cellular' and 'Molecular'.

Review: Originally released back in 1994 on NuWave Recordings, Volume One by Sam Gordon aka Missing receives a much deserved reissue on Bournemouth's Vinyl Fanatiks. On the A side, have the post hardcore/intelligent jungle epic 'A Stitch In Time' which is the perfect zeitgiest of the early '90s UK undergound, sounding similar to the output of Metalheadz at the time. Over on the flip, he dives deeper into the aether on the psychedelic stepper 'Distant Echoes' featuring intoxicating and trancey 303 acid underpinned by some immaculate breakneck riddims. Gordon's affiliations and production credits also count the likes of Kemet Crew, Shogun Assassins and Demografiks (with Marlon Hart).

Review: 7th Storey alumni Fushara lands on Silent Force for the first time with four startlingly cosmic early jungle flavoured jams. 'Warped Reality' sets the tone with its lavish intro before body-slamming us into a full Amen assault. Similarly stark Goodlooking-esque fusions follow; 'Illusion' hits with an eastern twinge, 'Abstract Tribalism' weaves and bobs with a super spacey Justice style airiness while 'Twilight Zone' gives us the big star-gazing finale we all deserve right now. Fushara? For sure yeah.

Review: While Copenhagen's RDG is best known for trips and excursions around the 130-140 field, here we find him jumping on Homemade Weapons' Weaponry imprint with four slabs of steaming 170 drumfunk. Rhythmic ridiculousness from the off, the switches and rifle-like snares on the title track 'Maneuver' tell you all you need to know. Elsewhere 'Tesem' runs us through the Arctic Circle with its icy pads and pick-axe staccato breaks, 'The Search' flips us into a percussive tribal experience while the finale track (a collab with Homemade Weapons) goes all-out techno. Fast lane business. f

Review: Demegy & LUI 's Raumwerk EP is the tenth Alpha Cutauri record with the catalogue number ACA X. The Swiss producers serve up an impressive EP full of half time drum 'n' bass experiments that lurk in the genre's grey area. From the dark urban soundscape of 'Klaustrophon' which is perfect for that stoned journey home aboard the night bus,to the introspective 170 BPM tempo of 'Flaechenromantik' on the flip (which calls to mind the work of Instra:mental) and ending with the haunting dark ambient of 'Synthoskop' - a seething subterranean epic where you can envisage something evil lurking in the sewers. Tip!

Review: Brighton imprint Furthur Electronix continues full steam ahead with its prolific output this year, and it's a big week for them. Alongside a great EP by Aussie Lou Karsh, we have this new one by Greek producer George Kontogiannidis aka Pera Sta Ori, who has racked up some impressive releases thus far on Musar, Brokntoys and Yellow Machines. As on previous works, the Sick Apian EP further explores Kontogiannidis' love of classic UK rave sounds. For instance A side cut 'Antio Zoi (TGRCCC)' utilises pitch shifted hardcore breaks underpinned by a dystopian electro atmosphere. Over on the flip, its '95 all over again on the breakneck junglist stepper 'Xypna' followed by the complex and hypnotic riddims of 'KodS0520 Fyllorroo'.