Backchat vinyl

**ESSENTIAL HOTLINE REPRESS** Hotline Recordings launch with an incendiary take on grime and dancehall from Bristol duo Kahn and Neek. The new imprint is clearly in thrall to the glory days of rave - until recently the only information about their first release was a breathy voicemail recording accessed by dialling a number on the Hotline website. "Backchat" is pure fire, with smacking drum hits and a "badman" vocal deftly manipulated throughout the track's duration. "Dubchat" on the flip does what all good versions should, stripping down the elements to the bare essentials and dipping them in a vat of reverb. This is Kahn and Neek's third joint release, following the Flow Dan sampling beast "Percy", released on Bandulu Records earlier this year, and dub reggae cut "Find Jah Way", produced under their Gorgon Sound moniker for Peng Sound: we're hoping the pair have plenty more to offer in 2013.