New releases last four weeks: Drum & Bass / Jungle

Review: Heads will know 'As We Enter' as the name of the Breakage tune that set the stage for many more things halftime to come - not to mention a Damian Marley & Nas song released around the same time - so we're more than pleased to learn that one next-gen producer has taken on the name as an alias. However, something in the aura of this release tells us this artist is no debutante; 'Lover To Lover' brings wubbing Reesebound rollage and summery fluting funk together in quick step, with complementary numbers 'So Gone', 'Come Again' and 'Shifting Gears' flaunting a respect for the many different facets of drum & bass, from techstep to early jump-up. This one gets more and more sinister as it progresses; despite the cover, whatever's entered the room feels more elephant than pigeon.

Review: Just as they were likely originally intended, two of Calibre's said-to-be most coveted productions come remastered fresh from the vaults, and reissued on black vinyl via the sonic conservationists over at Signature. First comes the 2001 remix of Badmarsh & Shri's 'Signs', to which Calibre lends an extra rolling signification, its no-nonsense industrial break and tensing, two-note pads doing most of the legwork here. Then there's the original 'Soul 80', a unique fusion of dub-delayed chipmunky vox splices, modular synth piques, and a massive, untechy breakbeat.

Review: Four tracks of typically heavy-browed breakbeat pessimism from the dark lord Cristoph De Babalon, alternating between pummelling, shellshocked beatdowns and more expansive, misty-eyed catharsis, like a hellish train ride in and out of worming tunnel networks. 'Backward Gallop' is a particularly juicy cut, with surgically spliced breakbeat shrapnel superimposed on washy, pensive pads and snarling FM subs. Track three, 'Die Taufe Der Zombies' - that's the christening of zombies to you and I - is a similarly loose and compelling affair, with churchy murmurings and droopy sub hits coming like a far mardier, more twisted version of T Power's 'Indigo'. Fuego.

Review: Rarely do garage and jungle ever hear any kind of fusion, but more than several perfect examples can be heard on this latest collab EP between Amy Dabbs and Coco Bryce. The second in their collaborative 'Slightly Involved' series, in which they set out to interpret each other's tracks and production techniques, the likes of 'Decipher' and 'Lust Issues' immediately pique the ears as sweet, engaging fidgeters, not backing down from the emotive swing endemic to the former genre while also playing up the pace of the latter. The A-side's listless synthetic pangs are matched in vibe by the B's comparatively by-the-book, dreamatic dolphinny junglisms, with 'Banshee' going ham on the slice-ups and 'Still You See' oscillating between string-laden suspense and light, downtown sunday-midafternoon breaks.

Review: Contemporary jungle Renaissance crew Omni Music continue to look back over their vaults for more vinyl reissue gold. This time, two tracks from Pariah's 2017 'Selected Works' series. Two very different approaches to the jungle style; 'Meltdown' is a big dreamer of a track with its lush pads and subtle sense of drive and momentum while 'Metal Hero' is a much more punishing affair with uncompromising breaks and an aggy energy that will cut into any mix creatively. Both absolutely slap.

Review: Myor Massiv dial up two of the heaviest operators in contemporary jungle for a sure shot split 12" which will charge up the dance whichever side the needle drops on. 'Lucky Go Happy' is a chirpy workout from Reaper, getting lyrical with the snare rushes, pinging some sprightly chords around the mix and juggling some diva vocal licks without losing that sharp edge that always marks out his tunes. Coco Bryce brings a more widescreen, techno-styled palette to 'Down The Way' on the flip, but there's still plenty of space for swerves into giddy old-skool sampling deployed with the flair which has made him one of the brightest talents in the field. Jungle by numbers this ain't.

Review: Contemporary drum & bass bringers Response & Pliskin take a break from their pressurised plus-170 numbers for a dreamy foray into atmospheric breaks and liquid jungle. 'Live Ur Life' is a varied EP, beginning with the opening new age breaks of the title track, upon which we're geysered on high over humid rainforests of sound, while an ascendant vocalist - capable of wingless flight and incorporeality at will - accompanies us on our aloe vera-doused journey. Once we approach our quest's mythical, live-giving source, we're met with 'Virtuous' and 'Over The Hill', two raw yet revelatory Pandora's boxes uncovered somewhere deep in the heart of said jungle, and which both channel a dialectically calming yet ominous sound. Closer 'Hate Is Reality' refuses to deny hate as a fundamental composite of our lives, healthily channelling this extreme affect into a measured but heavy amen riffer.

Review: Polish party vibes courtesy of Riffz. 'Twilight Rhythm' brings the ephemeral rave feels with its big airy pads and big sweeping jazzy breaks. It's in good company; 'Why' asks all the hard questions over some tightly rolled drums and dank, slimy aesthetics, 'Second Thoughts' switches up the drums into a much fresher, cosmic brew while 'Game Over' (with Subreachers) closes on a poignant, thoughtful note. Deep jungle perfection.

Review: UKJ keeps the flame of old-school breaks and jungle afire with its latest four-track V/A 12", with contributions from label co-boss Junglord, Supa Ape, Sully, OmniRhythm and Simply Dread all in tow for the inflammatory sacrifice. Unlike your usual jungle, these four cuts verge on the insane, thanks to this label's commemorative grounding in the earliest days of jungle in its hardcore breaks and graff-adjacent days. We wager that back then, there was more room for experimentation before the "sound" got standardised and fetishised. Here's a cogent recollection of that time - a time of vocal one-shots, dramatic classical music samples and rave stabs, sure - but above all, just a generally wilder and more rapacious indulging of the promise of what was once called breakscience; Junglord's 'Ready For Retaliation' and Dread's 'Hard To Tell' tend towards UK hardcore on this front, ultrafast breaks-drilling and buzzsawing away, with glee.

Review: The cheeky junglist mash-ups continue unabated on Vibez 93 as the Dutch label very clearly spells out its plans on the r&b vs d&b 12". On the A-side we're treated to some crisp and direct flips of Blu Cantrell's 'Breathe' and TLC's 'No Scrubs', and the original songwriting content of the all-time classics is kept well and truly intact. All you need is a snappy, rolling beat dropped into the blend, and crowd-pleasing dancefloor magic is right there in the palm of your hands. On the flip Mary J Blige and Queen Latifah get the treatment too, giving you lot of bang for your buck on this big bad and bold record.

Review: Wots My Code has been back on our shelves recently with some of his most seminal EPs getting reissued. His self-titled effort from 1992 came back in October, as did his All Seasons EP also on Kiteforce, both of which sounded as good as they did back when first crafted. Now his The New Dubplates EP drops on Just Another Label with 'Dubplate' kicking off as a remix by Bay B Kane that takes no prisoners. A Sikka remix then tweaks the energy level and on the flip is 'Pass Me A Dubplate (92-3)' a short but sweet closer.