UK Garage / 2 Step Recommendations June 2011

Review: The Night Slugs vinyl-only NSWL series continues apace with "Ride It Every Time" from Kingdom, who re-works Girl Unit original "Every Time". Removing the original vocals, Kingdom replaces them with vocals from R&B star Ciara; slung down, diced up and made into his very own style this bootleg has been flying around well connected DJ booths with no relent in recent months. Second up is "Fogs" with a moody attitude and prowling demeanour on its intro which then suddenly rebels into 4x4 bounce and yet again, some crooning R&B vox to add to the groove. Killer!

Review: Lone's Magic Wire imprint - until now a conduit for Matt Cutler's own productions - opens its door to the fledgling talents of Neon Jung. The first two releases on Magic Wire announced Lone's change of musical direction in consummate style last year, initially with the "Pineapple Crush" single and then the excellent Emerald Fantasy Tracks mini album. Neon Jung's release - pressed up on a nice little 10" - certainly adheres to the Magic Wire ethos of drawing on classic influences and dipping them in contemporary sonic aesthetics, with the two tracks dripping with seriously raved-up chords and a vintage electro bump. "Just Can't Leave It Alone" is a killer mutant house jam that bumps and twists in all the right places. The midway breakdown shows just how tough those drums really are! Flip over for "Too Many Facets", which fuses a hyperactive synth melody to a quicker broken beat, very much suiting the rainbow coloured artwork that adorns the vinyl. An excellent little package.

Review: The newest instalment from label Night Slugs is Liberation Front from Egyptrixx, taken from his Bible Eyes LP released earlier this year. Made undoubtedly for monstrous stomping crowds, "Liberation Front" is a large and echoey affair. Mike Q has been called in for remix duty and delivers a stripped down maze of hard kicks, driving percussion and vocal yelps. Night Slugs label boss Bok Bok gets his hands on Mike Q's "Liberation Front" remix and adds an acidic bassline and weighty samples to his interpretation. On the B-Side you'll find a version most certainly the killer for record bags; the original seven minute wonder in all its headstrong yet succulent glory.

Review: Deep Teknologi chief T Williams is back on Local Action after his blinding "Getting Mine" release on Enchufada. This is in fact a revisit of last year's epic "Heartbeat" single, with a new mix from Paul Woolford that absolutely smashes it thanks to a climbing synth bass pattern and some UKF vs 808 drums arranged to perfection. With razor sharp cuts from Terri Walker's vocals dropped in for good measure, this is an essential tune for house and funky fans alike.