Juno Recommends Drum & Bass September 2018

Review: Brazilian don Patife returns with his new gen wingman Vangeliez. Following last year's "The Vibe Is Comin'" on V's Sun And Bass album, the duo step up with a full quartet of dreamy soul rollers. "Living Together" features MC royalties Fats and Stamina in a harmonic sun-kissed stand off over a light afternoon groove while "On The Floor" takes us much deeper into the night with an LSB-style deep roll. Flip for more MC premiership as DRS unleashes more wisdom on the soft, restrained groove of "Ain't That Bad" before "Unexpected" closes with the darkest treat of the set; a loose drummed shaker that sounds like it landed 15 years ago on Soulr. Accolades don't come any higher.

Review: All bless Synkro and his brand new label Synkro Musik. It rises off into the ether with two more truly startling, stop-what-you-are-doing-and-listen compositions. "Luminous" is a twinkling nod to the autonomic golden age with its layers of textures and rolling sense of momentum and soft urgency. "Weakness" is so much more delicate and emotional. Hazy, mournful and poignant, it's Synkro in stop-what-you-are-doing-and-cry mode. Finally the legend that is Paradox steps up for a beautifully spacious remix that teeters mischievously on his Alaska remit with a touch of Seba to the bounding energy and atmosphere.

Review: Aside from being a killer producer of retro-futurist hardcore and revivalist jungle, Borai also happens to be Bristol's most dapper man (few others can rock a vintage 1980s McLaren formula one leather jacket with the same panache). Here he returns to London label Them with a quartet of suitably heavyweight dancefloor workouts. The producer's love of rave-era tape pack vocal samples resurfaces on the bustling, sub-heavy madness of 14- BPM jungle A-side cuts "Dub Fi Dub" and the fizzing "Teefa". On the flip, the sometime Hotline Recordings artist changes tack, first serving up a throbbing chunk of acid techno insanity before diving headfirst into weighty but party-starting dubstep pastures on killer closer "Ruff".

Review: After a summer of hype and teasing, liquid golden boys Pola & Bryson finally unveil their highly anticipated sophomore set for Shogun and it's every bit as graceful, varied and on point as we'd hoped. Ranging from the tender piano touches and soft but urgent vocal of "24/7" to the starlit rush crusade that is "Stratford Riddim" to the soft focus soul feels of "Alkaline", it's once again another exercise in class, restraint and groove science from the unstoppable duo. An exceptional album.

Review: In case you've not heard, Kings of the Rollers is a new D&B "super-group" featuring the combined talents of scene stalwarts Serum, Voltage and Blade Runner. This is their debut EP and, as you'd expect, it boasts far more hits than misses. As the Rave Alarm title makes clear, much of the material here is far more raw and intoxicating than your average Hospital release. Check, for example, opener "Euphoria", where razor-sharp electronic riffs bounce above fluctuating sub-bass and punchy jungle drums, and the rumbling gut-punch that is synth heavy title track "Rave Alarm". Elsewhere, Get Set Go is a fuzzy, hot-stepping workout, while closer "Running Man" wraps aggressive bass, creepy chords and ghostly flute lines around a retro-futurist riddim.

Review: X marks the spot: Longstanding member of Skitty's Foundation X collective X Nation lets rip with three ragga jungle blasters that hit the spot so hard you'll actually feel like you're back in 93. "Infinite Waters" is a lesson in break sculpture as the drums tells a story of their own long before the warm dub elements ease in. "9 Digit Roots" hits with such on point samplecraft you'll be smitten, then knocked sideways by even more wily drums before "Kiss Me Neck" closes with a little emotional uplift by way of another classic vocal and textured grainy synth vapour trails. Phenomenal.

Review: Newcastle's TJK returns to Italian experimental hub La Beaute Du Negatif with one of his most comprehensive and far-reaching EPs to date. Paying homage, perhaps, to the beauty of the loops that most our favourite records are made from "Start To End" ignites with the smouldering, percussive haze of "Jenesis" before plunging deeper and deeper into the jungle and IDM waters; the emotional heaviness of "Do The Job", the 20/20 vision and razor sharp breaks of "Place", the cosmic poignancy of the finale "YYRYRR" flow like immersive white knuckle trips, layered with textures and twists you'll be hearing for years.

Review: A precision timed reissue; Samurai look back over Tokyo Prose's debut album as we're still revelling in the recent release of his second one. Featuring some of his most career affirming tracks that cemented his respected status in the deep D&B quarters, those strident pianos and oceanic sweeps on "See Through Love", the soulful tones of Fox on "Won't Let Me Go" and the delicate trembles and piano lilts of "Small Gains" will never ever grow old. Grab it if you missed it last time...

Review: Aussie breaksmith oft spotted lurking under the alias Sean Thomas or T McAlister, Cop Envy brings the broken heat to Cry Baby for the label's second release. Two sides, two stories; "Balanced" is a woozy aquatic halftime affair with big blunderbuss drums and rich abyssal textures while "Leisure" brings the tempo down for a groove that digs right into the genus of the hardcore continuum. Rolling, iced but not without its machine funk warmth. Nothing to cry about here at all...

Review: Over a year has passed since he last appeared on SUNANDBASS Records with his "Serious" EP, FD returns to his spiritual stomping ground with three more timeless jams. As always with FD, the record covers the full spectrum; "All Yours" has a silky, soulful, Lenzman feel resonating throughout, "Second Villain" sounds like Randall in a basement at 3am while "Wah Wah Track" is a sunset reloader in waiting. Think Marky, think Patife, think Calibre. You know the drill...

Review: The veil of mystery continues to shroud Tech Itch's Brakken. It will stay that way, too. Brakken is a statement against the ego inflated profile game the scene dangerously flits with and instead gets down to business with raw, unapologetic industrial futurism. Everything down to the drum variation to the textures and iced aesthetic digs deep into the mid 90s foundations with strong shades of Virus, Prototype, Headz and Audio Blueprint in the mix. The thick layers of textures and chords on "Grey Summer", the spine melting pads and brain melting drums of "They Came" and the carnal drumfunk density of "Mind Obsession" are just some of the many bewilderingly highlights on offer. Pure as the driven grit.

Review: May the clan wars recommence. Hojo Clan founder Shiken Hanzo returns with four more ghostly, constructs. "White Gorilla Cult" takes the lead, marching into the dense unknown fog, the defiance and sense of suspense building as the journey progresses. "Strategy Of Two Heavens" continues the drama with more war drum thumps and tense tones. Cinematic and pregnant with tension, full release is granted on the eerie, chilling breaking down. Flip for "Ujimasa" where momentum is ramped and battle is in full throe; relentless tribal beats are peppered with demonic, alien textures and the sense of conflict is palpable. "Shinto Muso Ryu" brings closure. A poignant calm after the storm laced with feint eastern flutes and a synapse snapping riddim. The battle is won but the war continues...

Review: Denting the discogs of Repertoire, Samurai and UVB-76 in the last 18 months, Manchester's rising deepsmith Artilect brings new blueprints once again, this time on Horizons. Four cuts heavy, it's nothing but an all out love letter to the drums as we're ricocheted from break to break; "Black Fire" is a dizzying blur of Q&A edits and pranged out spatial textures, "Hoax" is pure bittersweet jungle rollage (think Skitty or Seba when he's in a particularly dark mood), "Deep Signals" flips with a stripped back stepper riddim allowing the atmospheres to blast in and coat the groove with illustrative ice while "Tryptamin" closes the show on the darkest note as shades of dub are added to the mix. Think 4am locked in with Loxy at Rupture and you're down the right rabbit hole.

Review: Those DATS keep getting unearthed and remastered as Dlux and Persian Prince hit the fifth volume in the series. Once again, it's an open and shut case of music that was decades ahead of its time. Spacey to the point of psychedelic, freeform to the point of jazz; Dlux was a master at those lean unpredictable grooves that have stood the test of time so well. Highlights include the sudden chops into funk breaks on "Drummer's Return" and the frantic gamey 8 bit bubbles of "I Gotcha Part 2". Ageless slammage.