Drum & Bass | Jungle 396 Items

Introducing Cutcross, created to champion the melting pot of bass-centric sounds teetering around 140 bpm. Heading up the concept is Sicaria Sound, a DJ duo who since their inception set out to explore and expand on the possibilities of these sounds whilst spotlighting underground artists. Cutcross is therefore their next step in supporting the forward-thinking music that they've drawn for when curating sets.

For Cxt005 we've curated another compilation EP - "With The Sonant" - stitching together a collectively hazy set of tracks yet each with their own vocal deviations. Epoch's long coveted "2-Door Subaru" is the explosive opener, followed by two distinct approaches to trappier terrains via Woven Thorn's "Loveless" and "Try Me" by zns before descending into the dub-diving murky waters of Soukah's "Don't Care".

Prspct Recordings in collaboration with Redrum Recordz present StereoKiller, the latest speaker-shredding EP from Deformer. After 30 years in the game, the masked maverick is still tearing down musical barriers - and here's the proof. StereoKiller is four tracks of depraved and dismembered hardcore jungle drum & bass, for enraged raving only!

The Snake, Ghost, and Demon reconvene for Samurai Hannya II, a supercharged sequel to the 2019 inaugural collection of Samurai Music's current finest outer edge constructions.

Alongside the established Samurai family of producers, Hannya II ushers in some notable names to the Hannya series in Mako, Eusebeia, and introduces some future ascendants - RDG (with Gaze Ill and Ojeblik), Hoji, & Dailiv.

The cryptic Hannya concept is elevated for Vol II with an exclusive luminous illustration by David Paul Seymour (https://www.instagram.com/davidpaulseymour/) as we step further into our exploration with colours.

Samurai Hannya II comes on 3 individual marbled 12"s in Full Artwork Sleeve and Digital.

Stratton returns to Of Paradise for the label’s 20th release. Chalking up a hat-trick of EP’s on the imprint, with the impeccably effective ‘Never Bettered Always Battered’. Arguably his most accomplished and significant release to date, this 4-tracker effortlessly showcases the London-based producers expertly distilled and patented style of evocative and headstrong UK hardcore.

The A-side launches with the anthemic ‘Badboy’, a true floor melter, loaded with tunnelling drums, an electric bassline and a criminally infectious chopped vocal. Following that is ‘Double Happiness (Bludclot Mix)’, a lethal dose of no nonsense proto-rave goods, emanating from the streets of North London. The product of a truly skilled operator who fully understands the inner workings of the kick, hoover and piano.

‘Bless’ kicks off the flip side with effortless momentum. The impetus clearly focused on rupturing bassbins and rewiring brains, with its weapons grade drums, growling bassline, lethal Amen break, euphoric melody and rabid hoover.

Closing out the release is ‘Vapour Trail Hurricane’ another system-rushing slice of hardcore mastery that pulls no punches in its pursuit of dance floor dominance. Fuelled by a hammering kick, sharp sirens and swirling acid lines, these are the final moments before imminent self destruction.

Not very often does a remix equal the original track it follows, but every now and again it happens. The thing is the original was already a monster track but somehow this, the DJ Force & The Evolution Remix of Sweet In Pocket came along and just blew up! For so many people, this is one of the best tracks ever to grace a dance floor and to say that it doesn’t still sound fresh more than 25 years later would be a lie! Then we have the flip side! Austin Reynolds has been one of the best producers, engineers, artists and remixers for over 30 years now and again, this track is over 25 years old, yet Austin makes classics that stand the test of time and this is without a doubt one of those occasions.

Limited Edition Repress - Marbled 12" in Spatial Sleeve

A thundering take on the classic Hot Pants break leads in eerie synth work, developing a powerful haunting atmosphere. An intense driving bassline intertwines with the beats & hats, challenging the balance between the headphones and the dancefloor.

A deceptively simple break expertly programmed with ASC's trademark punch is layered with dreamy 808 bass and long, swirling pads & synths, creating a luscious smooth vibe to the aptly titled Cosmic Energy.

Expertly programmed yet understated breakwork punctuates Stargate with an unforgettable kick-cymbal-kick-cymbal sequence, laden with room-filling sub bass, a collage of effects and "that" whale sample used so effectively it feels fresh again in 2022.

Prophecy effortlessly combines a plethora of samples and effects you'll recognise from classic atmospheric drum & bass spanning the 90's and beyond to create a true "old school brand new" vibe set to a variety pack of jungly breaks and occasional vocal hits, with a lush tonal transition towards the latter stages.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

Ibtihalat is a cyclical and boundless summoning of an otherworldly force in the face of geographic calamities and contingencies. These invocations are inherent to the musical traditions of Gnawa, Amazigh, Rai in North Africa and Sea Music, Laywa and Samiri in the Arabian Peninsula. Ibtihalat is oddly metered, percussively charged with devotional sublimities that are a direct conversation with an overall obscene history of cultural coercion and extractive violence. Whether it is the emigrational history of the female-led performances of Taggagat in Saudi Arabia and the Laywa music of East African roots that was disseminated by gulf seamen, or the Za’ar / Samiri conjurations to communicate with the celestial. The compositions that make up the album introduce processes of musical synthesis and predictive algorithms, initiating rhythmic meters, accents and polyrhythms within beat-based compositions, that are inaccessible through dominant tools in music production. While drawing resonances between these styles and their overlaps with dance music, Ibtihalat contemplates musical futures of these practices within geographies morphed by an unprecedented migration, logistical and extractive accelerations. Mhamad Safa is a musician, architect and researcher, based between London and Beirut. Safa’s work focuses on multi-scalar spatial conditions and their sonic make-ups. He explores their intersections with aural legacies of traditional and subcultural practices as well as environments of conflict and violence. He conveys these auditory inquiries by assembling sound design, micro-sampling, algorithmic sound technology, psychoacoustics, field recordings, and their graphic interpretations. Culminating with heavily percussive and rhythmically odd interventions, these sonic irregularities are often repurposed as speculative experimentations on the futures of dance culture.

**limited Edition Picture Disc / NO Picture Disc Repress** On this limited edition picture disc (no repress!) you will find three new productions by Jason Goodings that live & breath the Hidden Agenda unique trademark sound; Urban Break-Beat, fusing old-skool jazz with always on a mission to seek out obscure samples for inspiration. Jason's unique output; sharp, precise and efficient is still recognizable today as the Hidden Agenda trademark sound. All tracks mastered by Stuart Hawkes, Metropolis, London. This release comes as a limited edition 550 handnumbered picture disc (no picture disc repress)!

Austrian rising star Wingz with smooth and catchy vibes, and a smashing, rhythmic machine-like track by the Belgian Urph. Another excellent release by Trickdisc, a label always tending towards some counterstream in the search of the timeless gold.

The journey continues for Nuage as the Russian beat smith proudly unveils his superb debut EP on the coveted Microfunk Music. A sophisticated bouquet of audible delight from across the electronic spectrum, the "Romantic OD" EP is a 5-piece wonder showcasing Nuage at his very best. Featuring the Microfunk commander-in-chief Bop, expect a world of ambient-jungle crossed with lo-fi electronica with sprinklings of everything in-between.

Germany based MC Fava releases his first solo EP on Beatalistics, the imprint he co-runs with Freiburgs soulful tag team partner Enea. This has been a long time coming and it couldn't be more emotional. The 5 track strong "Destiny EP" reveals more of the hopeless romantic songwriter's soul and once again showcases his immense versatility. Finish Drum 'n Bass legend Muffler adds his inimitable minimal melodic touches to the title track and underlines Fava's personal lyrics with his trancy trademark signature. Shooting Star Mountain from Japan shows his unique talent and musical approach on the 80s Synth-Pop influenced "Midnight", a rock-bass driven song characterized by its harmonised vocals arrangement. Teaming up with British vocalist Becca Jane Grey and Slovakian Smote, "Sarah" is a soul touching piano based liquid roller with a long acoustic drum intro which perfectly leads into the highest emotions. Enea himself takes you into deeper shades of colour with the moody "Green Velvet". Hypnotizing pads complete the warm bassline pattern which wraps the simple but distinctive drums perfectly around Fava's mesmerizing vocals. The Green Man from Cologne, Germany concludes the emotional rollercoaster ride with the Downtempo Chill-Hop "Alone in the Dark". Smooth horns and breathy pads create the perfect atmosphere for the German vocalist who playfully mixes melodic singing hooks with calm spoken words and repetitive chants. Outstanding on all levels!

A return to form for TMSV's 2022 Perfect Records revival.

This EP is Justin Time doing what he does best! Making anthems that are instantly recognisable, uplifting vibes without the cheese. Sweet In Pocket is one of those tracks! No matter were you where in the club or rave, when you heard this coming in, you knew the dance floor was gonna rock. It is a close fought battle between this original and the DJ Force & The Evolution remix as to which is better, and either could win on any given day! Movin’ is another great track from Justin Time and on any other EP it could have been the A side title track but when on the flip to such monster track you are to be overshadowed for sure. Don’t let that distract you from its magnificence!

With such a strong first release to Prime we had to make sure that the second EP could live up to the hype, and boy did it ever, nearly selling out within the first week or sales! Dee Sub is an ex-pat that now resides in New Zealand but has been honing his craft for many years now, and what he has produced here is an excellent and authentic early rave EP. Side A is a piano led breakbeat track with big hoovers and bleeps to back up the sound, and it really makes you feel like you're listening to the music for the first time. Then side B is more Belgium techno in style, taking cues from labels such as R&S and many others. Hoover led with a kick and the bleeps plus the 303 in full effect. This EP really will take you back to when everything was new, shiny and mind-blowing!

Mr Bunter returns once again, but this time on his own, well sort of! Featuring the vocal talents of Gem and engineered by Austin Reynolds, but this is the sound that Billy “Daniel” Bunter built his musical production vibe on. New Sensation is another track that always got people on the dance floor back in the day, driving them mad up and down the country. Then we have the other side of the record. The Way I Feel is just a mammoth track that is instantly recognisable from either the piano or the vocal. Hard hitting breaks back up this soundtrack to the weekend from the mid 90’s and still kicks arse today!

Continuing the remastered, repressed series, we have two amazing remixes from Billy ‘Daniel’ Bunter & J.D.S. First there is Just Another Artist – Rhythm, already an amazing track but under the guidance of Billy Bunter & J.D.S. on remix duties they took this track to the next level! Then they turned their hands to what was already an absolute classic, Sunshine Productions – Take Me To The Top. They took parts of the original track and turned the dial right up to the max, threw them back into the pot and added their own flare and style to produce a remix that tore up raves both back in the day and still today on the old skool circuit.