Pinch – Punisher review

Artist: Pinch
Title: Punisher
Label: Planet Mu
Genre: Dubstep/Grime
Format: Digital
Buy From: Juno Download

Following on from one of dubstep’s hardest hitting releases, Pinch’s seminal “Punisher”, here are two reissued remixes courtesy of Planet Mu. South Londoner Loefah floods the mix with razor-sharp drums and a snare that could shatter windows, keeping the bass low and subby, with vocal samples that bounce around the mix every 16 bars. More sparse and bleak than the original, it’s still a killer cut.

Everyone and their cat knows what Skream’s about by now, and his heavy duty mix of “Punisher” doesn’t dent his rep one bit. Bringing in a bit more funk after building the intro with a classic vocal sample, the percussion sounds similar to a baile funk tune – plenty of hand drums spicing up the half-step. With tons of “wamp-wamp” bass and his trademark lilting keyboard breaks, it complements the original perfectly by giving it a whole new lease of life. These are both 5-star mixes, and easily the building blocks of any great dubstep set.

Review: Oliver Keens