Review: Hyperdrive's label debut was a biggie that brought together old and new-school techno on one fizzing EP. The follow-up comes soon after and this time makes no bones about being a Rave Revival. Anthrophia's 'The Voice' kicks off with what is a hefty breakbeat cut with edgy rave stabs and slamming bass. Dimension 23 - 'Fascination' (Seb G mix) then takes a more stripped-back approach with turbocharged synths layered up over silky drums. Centuras brings plenty of bright, euphoric prog energy to the urgent drum funk of 'Jizz' and last of all Dimension 23's 'The Eagle' then kicks out more dusty old-school breaks with machine gun synth fire. A potent EP, make no mistake.
Sleepwalker - "Age Of Aquarius (No Surrender, No Retreat)" (LD remix) (6:00)
Hedgehog Affair - "Parameters" (5:43)
DJ Mayhem - "Inesse" (7:52)
Luxury - "Twirl" (4:12)
The Invisible Man - "The Flute Tune" (7:52)
Escape - "Escape" (The Optical mix) (4:45)
Skanna - "This Way" (6:04)
XRAY Xperiments - "Techcore" (4:00)
Review: We're not sure where the phrase "blissed out" but whatever its origins, London's Blank Mind Recordings have caught on to its signification of a certain kind of jungle and breakbeat hardcore, prevalent in and around the given timeframe, 1991-1994. This new compilation charts just eight tracks of miasmic atmospheric breaks pressure-releases from the likes of DJ Mayhem, Luxury and Skanna from the time, with the star track in point being Mayhem's 'Inesse', around which the rest of the compilation was put together. Linking the record to a turbulent political climate, with 1994 being the year in which the harsh anti-rave Criminal Justice Act was passed, the record and the juddering pieces making it up are reframed in a resistant, socially just light.
Review: Origin Unknown's The Touch was one of the biggest jungle and hardcore rave tunes of the early 90s. A track synonymous with the UK rave scene since the day it was first played back in 1993, with Origin Unknown made up of Andy C and Ant Miles. Liftin Spirits relaunched in 2019 to press up unreleased and classic material from the Ram vaults, with both 'The Touch' and 'Valley Of The Shadows'. The A-side starts things with the killer Ant Miles jungle remix while the Ruff & Ruffer remix is a great alternative version, while on the second side the New Decade remix of Valley Of The Shadows blends amen breaks along with some spacey elements. Finally, the vAwake 96' remix hones in more on the break creating a more stripped-down option. Liftin Spirits deserves major props for making RAM's catalogue more available for everyone.
Review: Former Prodigy man Leeroy Thornhill delves into the contrasting energies of the dancefloor, crafting a four-track journey through hypnotic rhythms and pulsating grooves. 'Low 1' and 'Low 2' explore the deeper, more hypnotic side of techno, with their rolling basslines and atmospheric textures creating a captivating sonic experience. On the flipside, 'High 1' and 'High 2' inject a surge of energy, their driving rhythms and infectious melodies taking the listener on a euphoric ride. These tracks are a testament to Thornhill's ability to craft high-energy dancefloor anthems that are guaranteed to ignite any club. With its diverse range of sounds and moods, this EP showcases Thornhill's versatility as a producer and his deep understanding of the electronic music landscape.
Noise Factory - "Can You Feel The Rush" (The Power mix) (4:54)
TDK - "Baby Plane" (5:05)
TDK - "Illusion Of Balance" (4:54)
TDK - "Bonus Beat" (5:06)
Review: Throwback proto-jungle glitz from Noise Factory reissued by Kemet Music, the revolving-door ragga jungle collective mainly owned and operated by label owner Mark X. Just as it was with its original release on the label in 1993, we hear Noise Factory's original 'Can You Feel The Rush' - first surfacing on Ibiza Records that same year - followed by three stonkers from DJ, producer and emcee TDK. This is an EP that overflows with legitness, its liquid tsunamic runovers of energetic vibe pouring forth from NF's 'Power Mix' as well as the subsequent key-mapped demon choir hellscape, 'Baby Plane'. All tunes here bear that raw, much coveted yet never quite totally replicable rasp sound, endemic to the early-to-mid 90s. Feathers don't get ruffled as much as they do get ruffed, on the closers 'Illusion Of Balance' and 'Bonus Beat'.
Pianos Raining Down (with McDonald & Jannetta - 165 To 134 BPM mix)
Ooh Boy
Sound System Love
Review: Real jungle and jungle techno rufige in full gatefold LP form from 4am Kru. Incognito Rhythm is an ironic name, since the titular track fronting this giant of a record sounds anything but incognito; judging by the full guns-blazing force of its shelling drums and sprayed quad-basses, it might as well have blown its cover, sounding as ballistic as a rubber bullet in a chamber full of springs. After the jungle techno exposition we move forthrightly into classic b-people jungle, with sizzling orchestral rompler workings wedged in with short-form breaks loops to exhilarating effect. The centrifugal mood is broken on 'Deepest Darkest Jungle', on which a much more tenebrous tone is achieved, giving off whiffs of a zoophonic jungle jamboree, the mise-en-scene for a fluting epiphany. The sounds of churlish cheek return from 'High Time' and thereon, after which r&b and ragga voxes predominate and determine the moods of the tracks in question. 'Wutt' is by far the maddest one, refusing at every turn the temptation to settle.
Review: We're always glad to hear from the wonderful Sneaker Social Club label. It's devotion to exploring and updating the UK continuum deserves plenty of credit and so does this latest missive from Hoovering Blur. It's a raw breakbeat workout with smart filter use and plugging basslines to keep things moving. 'Wacky Robot' is another blend of amens, trippy tones and lithe rhythms and 'Project One' has shuffling breaks that land with a bounce. 'Double Depths' is a fourth and final melange of breakbeat madness and old-school bleep madness. Brilliant.
Andy M & Dream Frequency - "I Want Your Love" (6:07)
A Plus - "Just High" (re-edit) (4:52)
Review: Back in 2020, Mike Stewart decided to reactivate his B.I.T Productions label - an imprint that originally delivered a string of forthright house and trance EPs in the late 1990s. This multi-artist four-tracker is decidedly retro-futurist in tone, mixing sounds reminiscent of the label's late 90s output with nostalgic nods towards earlier rave sounds. Stewart kicks things off by re-editing and extending Awesome3 & Ondamike's 2021 breaks/electro/rave mash-up 'Ready For This', before "dirty bass" loving rave revivalist Retropolis peppers a sweat-soaked breakbeat with massive piano stabs on '5AM'. Andy M joins forces with original Mancunian rave crew Dream Frequency on the 1992 breakbeat hardcore style rush of 'I Want Your Love', while Stewart picks up his scalpel for a second time to rework the full-throttle rave madness of 'Just High' by A.Plus.
Review: Reload! Ruff & Tuff re-up their 001 by popular demand. Courtesy of the label bosses Stekker and Sofa, the vibes are as authentic as you'd expect them to be. Slightly hazy, off-grid and woozy, 'We Must Proceed' is all about the choppy fills, wonky pianos and zippy, stretchy hardcore elements while 'On One' is a bit of more subversive as a cool counting sample wraps tightly around the chops beneath a dense sea of FX and samples. Solid jungle business!
Review: It was way back in 1992 that militant free party mavericks Spiral Tribe finally made it into the studio for the first time. The result was the Forward The Revolution EP, which has finally been given a reissue in honour of its 30th birthday, with all sales royalties going to organisations offering free legal support for free party soundsystem operators in Europe. The four-tracker remains a perfect distillation of the crew's no-holds-barred approach to techno, with highlights including the acid-fired, breakbeat-driven, didgeridoo-sporting title track, with its Woodrow Wyatt speech samples and ragga vocals; the ragga-rave weightiness of 'Ragga Boom', and the breathless, sub-heavy techno psychedelia of 'Track 13 (Criminal Drug)'.
Review: Oi oi, gun fingers and glow sticks at the ready for this one, which is a jungle, d&b and hardcore fusion that throws it back to the good old days. 'Feel The Magic' has it all and then some with blistering amen breaks and killer vocal stabs, 'Wheel Up' keeps on the pressure with more irresistibly funky breaks, spin backs and prying synth tone and 'Come Inside' hypnotises with a mystic flute lead before the devastating drums drop once more. 'Breakage #6' shuts down with another lively rhythm that will turn any 'floor into a rave den.
Review: Certain names in dance music do well to predict the future - and Digital Pressure is one such name. Originally released on A Guy Called Gerald's label Juice Box in 1993, this phonkout beast of an EP came via the joint efforts of producers SDR and Subsonic aka Adrian Lloyd and Kelly Bowers. The twizzling melody and tunefully sawing breaks delays that kick this one off reflect the "digital pressures" of today perhaps more so than it did back then; 'Watch Dis Space' and 'Strictly Drug Related' make unique use (for jungle) of glitching phone chip stinger sounds, reminiscent of the twinkly "coin get" sound effects one might hear on carting about an old Watara games unit. If only handheld games consoles and uncommonly sighted mobile phones were the extent of our digital woes; now we've a heck of a lot more to worry about, and doesn't the further ironically named 'Back 2 Da Future' know it with its Twilight Zone topline and clunky robo-vox! Limited run of 350.
Review: Those interested in the roots of UK bass music have been well-served of late, with a number of books and compilations focusing on the first wave of British dance music in the late 80s and early 90s. Soul Jazz's latest compilation is a superb addition to this growing list. It showcases music made in the post-bleep and early breakbeat hardcore period, where basslines got bigger, drum breaks faster, and ragga influences started to come to the fore. The selections are on-point throughout from the dub-wise rave rush of Babylon Timewarp's "Durban Poison" and the bleep-and-breaks-meets-proto-jungle shuffle of DJ Dubplate's "Tings A Go On", to the rave-rap goodness of The Freaky's "Time & Age" and the heavily edited darkcore/early jungle insanity that is Krome & Time's terrific "Ganja Man". In a word: essential.
Review: The whole history of UK music is contained within these potent two tunes, from early rave to jungle, gabba to breakbeat, dub to techno and even indie house. It is a hugely sought after tune from Baraka that comes hot on the heels of his 'Nutty Bass/I'll Be There' release. 'A Million & One' (feat Cinderella has crashing breaks, Happy Mondays samples, euphoric chords, ragga vocals and techno drums as its flips through moods, grooves, styles and tempos with ease. On the flip is a slightly more heady version with heavy studio effects as well as the bruising beats.
Review: UK Hardcore will never die, especially with labels like Remix continually kicking out the jams. Their latest high grade weaponry comes from Kingside who does indeed super-size the beats here. 'The Right Time' is pure piano-laced euphoria with big breakbeats and a heart-tugging vocal. 'Coming On Strong' then gets more physical as it ups the speed of the drums, works in yelping vocal snatches, kills things dead with filters and generally causes utter carnage. 'Happy Hardcore Track' is an archetypal version of just that. Pure vibes that cannot fail to explode any party with big smiles and hands-in-the-air energy.
Review: UK hardcore masters Kniteforce keep the rave alive with another excellent throwback EP, this time from Nookie. It has all the authentic hallmarks of a proper old school offering but with great modern production. 'Give A Little Love' is a pain banger with bristling breakbeats and no shortage of energy, then 'Love Is The Message' douses you in fizzy chords and dusty drum breaks that dart up and down and are run through with yelping vocal stabs. 'Pedro Visits Romford' shuts down with bright chords refracting about the mix next to more chopped-up vocals.
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