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ALL
STAR REVIEWS/ISSUE57
DIESELBOY
DOM - DANCE ALL NIGHT - DUB
Been rolling this one out for a while now. Dom coming
correct with an extremely heavy and raw vibe. Sounds
tight in the mix when the vocal comes snaking in, but
as soon as the subs hit the crowd knows you're playing
for keeps. No retreat, no surrender - one of Dom's best.
JONNY L - AIRWAVES - DUB
The standout tune for me from Jonny's forthcoming LP.
Militant chopped amens, tripped out vocal and trademark
Jonny L bassline. Reminiscent of his 'Viper' collaboration
with Optical from years back. Deep, dark and dirty the
way you love it.
FRESH - FLOODLIGHT - DUB
Yeah, it's the weird intro one with the girl and guy
walking up to the club and the girl asking 'what kind
of music is this?' before the beats hit ya. The style
is pure Fresh with the quick beat edits and interesting
synths. Hard to miss the sneaky nod to 'Vault' in there
as well. Props to Dan for the concept... always nice
when people try different ideas.
FRICTION
FRICTION & NU BALANCE - ROBOCOP
- TRUE PLAYAZ
Something new from myself and Nu Balance (aka Skinny
from The Militia) and probably the most fun I’ve
had making a tune for ages! Introing with the classic
theme music before dropping into the a bass line onslaught
this ones been doing huge damage on the floor. Look
out for it coming soon on the mighty Playaz.
CONCORD DAWN - DON’T TELL
ME - TIMELESS
This track is one of my favourite Concord Dawn tunes
in a while and I love the way it grabs your attention
within the first few bars. It features a vocalist from
New Zealand who’s obviously got some serious anger
issues! The drop is heavy and goes off everytime, definitely
one for the sing a long crew!
SWIFT - ZION - CHARGE
Swift has been extremely busy in the studio as of late
and this track hurt me from the moment he played it
to me. Combining synths and good use of some animatrix
samples the intro builds up into a twisted up bass with
an even nastier answer, switching through out to keep
you interested. Trainspotters watch out for the ‘Hi
Tek remix’ coming soon.
GREG PACKER
LAROQUE - GOLDFINGER - WHITE
Newcomer to the scene Laroque is definitely one to watch,
with a profile building already on Good Looking and
Defunked due in the coming months to name a few, this
is possibly his strongest track to date with a mad epic
intro that leaves you expecting a massive drop and it
certainly delivers with deep subs and skipping breaks,
with guys like Fabio and High Contrast calling him up
for copies you know you've cracked it, this track is
a strong dancefloor number.
R. CLAUDIO & G. PACKER - WONDERFUL
DAY - PHUT BLUEZ
This is my first official track where I didn't sample
any sounds and hooked up with soul singer / keyboard
player Rachel Claudio for a serious slice of soulful
drum & bass. It was the first time I’d recorded
vocals and a first time for her to experience drum n
bass music, an experimental project that worked out
quite well, this has a classic old school soul / house
feel with support from the likes of Flight, Makoto,
Patife etc.
JOHN B - WITHOUT YOU - HOSPITAL
DUB
No stranger to the scene senor Juan B delivers the goods
this time, he sent me this on AIM and said it’s
an 'average' liquid funk number, when I heard it I was
shocked! Amazed even, nice guitar samples and vocal
hooks including his own voice with some good auto tune
effects. My only grumble is that John doesn’t make
enough liquid funk tunes cos when he does he is on fire!
This one’s been snapped up by Hospital which doesn’t
surprise me one bit. Tune !
STORM
CALIBRE - FEELING HAPPY - SIGNATURE
This label has been like a breath of fresh air with
the sounds of Calibre abounding. Signature 1 and 2 were
both wicked, this track is from Signature 4 and is so
now, when I play this it gives me such a good vibe.
Calibre seems to be able to have the perfect blend of
musicality in his tracks without going too far, breaks
are crisp and basslines are deep.This track is particularly
perfect, the vocal pulling the whole track together
it definitely makes you feel happy.
DILLINJA - HANDS IN THE AIR -
VALVE
This track from the forthcoming album The Killa Hertz
has to be my favourite, it's in my head constantly,
to be honest this whole album is running on every level
and it is hard to choose as Dillinja and Lemon D have
pulled out all the stops in every way. This one opens
with a vocal beginning and such an infectious melody,
Dillinja is always able to get your attention right
from the word go and he guides you perfectly up to the
break, at this point I start thinking what's gonna happen
on the other side, anticipation builds then drop...
No dissapointment here Dillinja just rips into your
senses... AWESOME. Don't even hesitate for a nano second
when you see this album on the shelves late September...
Buy, Buy, Buy.
A SIDES FT J EYE - FOLLOW THE
GROOVE - EAST SIDE
This track the title track from the forthcoming album
out in October. This track is so gorgeous, open with
syncopated stabs and breaks this track builds carefully,
then in to the beautiful vocal provided by J-Eye, aka
Justine Curtiss, and your hooked the vocal is so delicately
placed. This track rolls along effortlessly, in come
the strings and bass and is all over it just sweeps
you away. The arrangement of this is so spot on everything
happening at just the right point, it's such a lovely
journey, the rest of the album is top notch.
DJ HYPE
DJ HAZARD - READY 4 THIS - GANJA
This is taken from his forthcoming EP on Ganja Records,
Hazard intro’s on a ragga vibe that rolls at 1/2
speed before launching the party with another dancefloor
monster, I will describe this one as a kind of ‘Way
In My Brain’ vs ‘Ska’. If ya know what
I mean.
DJ FRICTION - ROBOCOP - TRUE PLAYAZ
Friction makes his debut for the Playaz family with
this dark smasher. Robo vocals, reese bass and tearout
amen give this one the energy you need to blast it up
into space.
DILLINJA & LEMON D - KILLA
HERTZ - VALVE
What can I say about this album. Well, if you wanna
see the walls bleed in a club ‘Killa Hertz’
is the way to do it. Every track is a killa. From ‘Good
Girl’ to ‘Crunch’ to ‘Generation
X rmx’ to ‘Hands in the Air’ you just
ain't gonna fail with this one, what else can I say
except go get it quick as you can.
For full All-Star reviews check ATM Issue 57.
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