V Recordings Vinyl & CDs

Review: Woi and indeed oi, V return to their vinyl-only Legends series where they dig deep into the vaults and pull out key dubplates that never saw the official release light of day. Key dubplates like these two big Bristol bruisers from DJ Die. Both written in 96, Die's Full Cycle rawness and innate sense of groovemanship is present and correct on both sides - the jazzier, busier work-out 'Capers' and the heavier, stripped-back 'Inside' which you can imagine was made in response to some of the game-changing sounds Krust was making at the time. Legendary business.

Review: V Recordings and Tim Reaper's Future Retro London present 'One Stop Mr Driver', helping further the continued modernisation of 90s jungle. Classic and contemporary collide on this home run, as Krust's original concurs with Tim Reaper's dynamic come dynamiting remix, keeping conscious of both the genre's roots and its contemporary resurgence. Krust, Bristol legend and co-founder of Full Cycle Records, is renowned for underpainting drum & bass as we now know it, drawing on forget-me-nots like 'Warhead' as bases for clout permanence. Tim Reaper, meanwhile, remains pivotal in the jungle revival, and his version here is as chuggingly relentless as a MIDI-operated meat slicer.

Review: Many happy returns to V Recordings, which this year notched up no less than three decades at the forefront of the global jungle and drum & bass scene. Such an occasion warrants a celebratory release, and Gee has provided that via this painstakingly curated collection of new gems, remixed takes on classic cuts, and previously unavailable 'VIP' versions. Naturally, the quality threshold remains high throughout, with our picks of an exceptionally strong bunch including the d&b-acid insanity of Serum's revision of 'Acid Fashion' by Nazca Linez, the elongated wobble bass and punishing beats of Krust's 'Not Necessarily a Man (L-Side VIP)', the bowel-bothering onslaught of Voltage's 'Lion of Judah', the deep, dreamy and punchy 'Majesty' by Alibi, and the bleeping jungle revivalism-goes-jazz funk madness of Chimpo's 'Fever'.