"**Clear Vinyl** Heavyweight remix package from Echospace, pitting the ethereal space-pressure of Steve Hitchell and Rod Modell's CV313 against the claustraphobic dub menace of Kevin Martin's King Midas Sound and the layered ambience of Rafael Anton Irisarri's 'The Sight Below'. Its the King Midas version that pretty much owns this record though, more or less completely re-structuring and re-working the original into a noxious burner complete with the signature deadpan narration of Roger Robinson and the far-flung, almost detached vocal delivery of Hitomi pitted against a compacted tangle of deeply unnerving low-end rumbles and a mesh of effects and midnight drones worthy of Martin's involvement with Experimental Audio Research all those years ago. Remixes are rarely this ambitious - and it's a credit to all parties involved that the end result is a substantial contribution not only to the Echospace discography but to the King Midas Sound canon - small and perfectly formed as it is. The Sight Below, meanwhile, keep much more closely to the original's genetic code, unwinding hazy dub chords around a padded 4/4 with subliminal washes of melody that have become something of an Irisarri signature over the last couple of years. Ending off the twelve, Modell and Htchell reserve the flipside for themselves with an extended live mix that lifts the track into a more defined warehouse environment, with shuffling percussion and fathoms-deep bassline intact. Limited copies - highly recommended." (Boomkat Records)Tracklisting
1. Subtraktive (King Midas Sound Dub)
2. Subtraktive (The Sight Below Mix)
3. Subtraktive (Deepchord presents Echospace Live Mix]
Arp 101 - Dead Leaf / Galactic Warrior 12" (EGLO09)
"All you boogie funkateers, listen up! Eglo drop some of that red top, gangster cruising illness with Arp 101's debut release, a pair of down-slow and effortlessly groovy R'n'B joints featured heavily on Alex Nut's radio show of late. Fresh-sealed drums punctuate each side for a slow drawling effect while 'Dead Leaf' licks up Kraftwerk-on-the-strip synths and 'Warriors Galactic' is all about the oversized bassline spilling gin and juice over your new crepes. Mary Anne Hobbs, Sinden and Falty DL are all signed up to this guy's fanclub, get in quicksharp" (Boomkat Records)Tracklisting
1. Dead Leaf
2. Galactic Warrior
Jam City - Ecstacy (Refix) 12" (NSWL 004)
"The Night Slugs juggernaut continues apace, with another limited white-label pressing and the long-awaited vinyl debut of hugely tipped London producer Jam City. To many he first came into view when Fact magazine hailed him as the most exciting prospect for bass music in years, and after devouring his by now classic mixes for Lower End Spasm and Fact itself we really couldn't possibly argue - despite the fact that he's had no releases of his own to speak of until now. So all of this is just to say that there are people clamouring for this twelve, and a few minutes in the company of the opening track will bend you into submission if you had any resistance left in you, 'Ecstacy Refix' is just one of those anthemic wonders that defies easy categorisation, employing distinctive Grime signatures but with an almost euphoric color palette that takes in rave stabs and distant percussive hits, proper hands-in-the-air styles for peaktime summer jams. Over on the flipside "Let me Bang Refix" does a similar thing with a different trajectory, borrowing bouncy booty bass structures and reducing them to a gooey mess of layered strings and fluoro synths, while Shut The Lights Off (Devil Refix) gives off an Eski vibe but with the urban angst replaced with a late-night-drive scene that's just owning it for us right now. Crazy times - this is just too good". (Boomkat Records)Tracklisting
A. Ecstasy Refix
B1. Let Me Bang Refix
B2. Shut The Lights Off (Devil Mix)
Ramadanman - Fall Short/ Work Them 12" (SWAMP81 06)
"Brand new for you on Loefah’s Swamp 81 label. Ramadanman brings the noise as only he can! You know the deal, funky wonky broken and with extra boom! Work Them is reminiscent of his recent DBridge remix and hits all the right places - early 80's electro, Miami Bass subs and modern cut-up vocals comparative to Addison Groove. A similar concept is applied to Fall Short but this time high-pitched diva vocals echo early garage cuts. Big release for the right floors..." (Phonica Records)Tracklisting
1. Fall Short
2. Work Them
Throwing Snow - Un Vingt / Cronos 12" (HO TEP 001)
"Debut release on Alex Nut's new label: Ho Tep!* Throwing Snow's debut 'Un Vingt' is the 1st drop on Alex Nut's promising new label, Ho Tep. The A-side is a very canny blend of broken dubstep and more psyched-out textures, perhaps best described as the mid-way point between older Martyn releases (before he went house) and Shackleton (er... before he went house too!). However, there is a unquantifiable element to this track that makes it stand out, whether it's the chord progressions or the tucked drums we're not sure, but it's impressive either way. On the flipside, it'd be fair to put 'Cronos' with the wonkier, or more progressive dubstep brigade, along with the likes of Floating Points and Illum Sphere, but again, there's a natural kink and cosmic inclination that puts this fella out on his own limb. Really strong debut, Recommended!" (Boomkat Records)Tracklisting
1. Vingt
2. Cronos
Addison Groove AKA Headhunter - Footcrab / Dumbsh*t 12" (SWAMP81 005)
"Ladies and Rudeboys, this has to be one of the best twelves of 2010. Addison Groove is the Jukin' alter-ego of Headhunter. Over the last 12 months he's become notorious for ripping through fierce sets of Chicago Juke music; the mutant niche offspring of DJ Funk and Slugo's booty house designed to incite mindblowing dance moves from liquid-hipped quicksteppers. If you don't know what we're talking about, get on youtube and peep some DJ Nate or Walacam videos. Anyway, Headhunter has bravely stepped out of the dubstep shackles to craft his own take on the style, resulting in the anthemic 'Footcrab'. He takes the 808-derived percussion of Juke proper and reconstitutes the groove at a 'step compatible 136bpm, contrasting the 808's booming potential with hi-pitched toms and rapid-fire samples intoning the title 'Footcrab/Footcrab/F/F/F/Footcrab' to make the dancefloor go f*cking spare. It's already become ubiquitous in the sets of everyone from Kode 9 to Loefah and now with a full release we expect things to go off. On the flip we get the slightly more laid back 'Dumbsh*t' which still works it hard but just doesn't have the same velocity as it's dancefloor challenging bruv on the flip. We're utterly addicted to this record and have no qualms looking like a total doyle trying to dance to it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!" (Boomkat Records)Tracklisting
1. Footcrab
2. Dumbsh*t
Digital Mystikz - Return II Space (Limited Gatefold 3xLP) (DMZLP 001)
"As half of the Digital Mystikz production unit and label, Mala has practically revolutionized UK dance music. The reverberations of those earliest DMZ platters and their subsequent evolutions have now spread virus-like into new stylistic hosts, with mutant traces assimilated into everything from the new M.I.A album to the Berlin nightscape. With ultra-high production values indebted to the dub and soundsystem culture he grew up alongside, Mala re-encoded the subbass memes of Jungle, Garage and Dancehall into a new form of half-timed pressure, putting emphasis on a slower, dread-infused style of dancefloor tension, now known as Dubstep. For many 'Return II Space' is the most anticipated album of the last half decade, a definitive statement from one of UK Bass music's most venerated practitioners, loaded with exclusive dubs previously only heard in his presence at the weighiest dances. Split over 3 heavy 12"s, each marked with individual DMZ catalogue numbers, the album rolls with it's own sense of space and pace that's incredibly unique to Mala's imagination. The delicate contrast of glassy keys and skull quivering subs in 'Unexpected' starts the dance according to his mantra of "Meditate On Bassweight' before turning to the sci-fi darkside with the extraordinary dreadnaught vibes of 'Pop Pop Epic', a hulking ten tonne stepper staring red-eyed and ready from yer quaking speaker cones. The scrunched synth and visceral pressure of fan's favourite 'Eyez' makes an appearance on the second plate, backed with the creepily affective special 'Mountain Dread March', and a final disc presents the tentatively probing keys of 'Livin Different' replete with Ital subbass harmonics and finally the gargantuan skank of the title track, built fi dem wha' do. Perhaps our only gripe with the album is that he could have flexed out on a wider range of tempos, but that's really only a small concern as the tracks we do have are f**king outstanding. Highly recommended." (Boomkat Records)Tracklisting
1 Unexpected
2 Pop Pop Epic
3 Mountain Dread March
4 Eyez
5 Livin' Different
6 Return II Space
Skream - Outside The Box 4xLP (TEMPALP 016)
"Listenin To The Records On My Wall", is the perfect introduction to why Skream's current level of success is just the beginning. It's a joyful, ragingly energetic celebration of the last quarter decade of British street music, inspired by the hardcore and jungle records used by his older brother Hijak who was part of Grooverider's Internatty Crew. It's also a brilliant pop record that makes perfect sense to everyone who grew up surrounded by the breaks and beats of the 1990s - and to those who didn't.This, however, is not a revival record. A natural born modernist, Skream has selected 14 tracks that cover hip hop ("8-Bit Baby", with LA rapper Murs from Living Legends), bass-wobbling dubstep (the self-explanatory "Wibbler"), dreamy electronica ("Perferated"), a dark and tribal track with La Roux, and a strong dose of euphoric jungle on "The Epic Last Tune"; a track that is inadvisable to listen to whilst driving - unless you want another six points on your licence. "Outside The Box" is the sound of an artist who is ready to take his considerable talents to a wider audience without compromising any of the raw, hedonistic, emotional, lose-yourself madness that has made him literally legendary to the hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. There's the 8-bit computer game inspiration of "CPU"; the Daft Punk styled vocals of "How Real" featuring Freckles; the tuff but soothing heart-beat of "Fields Of Emotion" and the Jocelyn Brown-sampling "I Love The Way", which sees the first lady of disco pitched right down." (Piccadilly Records)
Tracklisting
1. Perferated
2. 8 Bit Baby (feat. Murs)
3. CPU
4. Where You Should Be (feat. Sam Frank)
5. How Real (feat. Freckles)
6. Fields Of Emotion
7. I Love The Way
8. Listenin’ To The Records On My Wall
9. Wibbler
10. Metamorphosis
11. Finally (Feat. La Roux)
12. Reflections
13. A Song For Lenny
14. The Epic Last Song
