Garage | 2Step | UK Funky | Bassline Vinyl 374 Items

We’d spent our whole life in a dance of fear. And when we examine that, we realise that very often the thing we were frightened of wasn’t nearly as frightening as the fear.

Eira Haul returns to Edition Akasha to launch us into the ether by way of the “Star Vertigo” EP. Moving across a luminous range of otherworldly atmospheres, five tantalising original cuts strike a spellbinding balance between body-shaking euphoria and meditative mind-healing.

On the A-side, the garage shuffle and ultra-deep bass wobbles of “Ceramics” corrode beneath its hypnotic strings, while the fast-paced acid lines of “Anthracite” bubble and squeak over a choir of fallen angles. “Memory Rush” captures a similar tension as the engulfing dub chords at its centre ebb and flow on-top a muscular four-to-the-floor pulse to illuminate the darkest of nights.

The B-side is equally captivating: Like a gravitational collapse, the stellar melodies of “Incense Trip” break down into a void of razor-sharp percussion only to shine again in full effect thereafter. Lastly, Eira Haul sheds the black holes to ascend to catharsis with “Star Vertigo”: “We wanted to try to understand what the fear is [...] and whether that energy is something we can transform – is it our friend, is it our foe?” muses the voice on-top the tender bounce of the title-track’s lush framework, leaving us with a lofty sense of hope transcending this exceptional sophomore EP.

Storming through with the second release on Juicy Gang Records, label founder DJ Mell G invites queer grime artist Karnage Kills to debut his powerful lyrics on the JGR imprint. Packed with silky vocals supplied by the London-based artist and stitched across DJ Mell G's razor-sharp production, the pair have christened the three-track EP 'pu$$y Galore'.

EU

Presented here are unreleased mix’s of Old Garage Classic’s, lifted from Old Dubplates.

‘Omid A Man’ fusing East & West in a Heavy Techno format and ‘Brand New Slam’ Ft UK Apache’s driving vocal being the other.

Finally there’s a UKG version of ‘Morning Sun’ you’ll remember Shanti Celeste using it on her ‘Love International’ Album.

Gritty Sounding E.P. from the Persian with the forth runner being ‘Rockin With The Best’ it has arguably everything identifying it as an Instant Breakbeat Classic!

Top Bits here, one for the keeper’s... Tipp!

A collection of hypnotic sounds to lose yourself in the clouds; the second physical record from Noire State comes from Indent, a four track EP ‘Transitory Memories’, featuring a remix from Bristol based Yushh.

Edition of 100 - printed sleeve, hand-stamped centre labels.

Rising star Kilder releases his 10-track debut EP ‘Don’t Hide’, taking listeners on a whirlwind ride through club music as heard through Kilder’s ears: emotive house, hard-edged bass and divine indie-disco bring the energy, while more cerebral ambient tracks wind things down. Although it’s largely club music, there’s a pop sensibility at play throughout, with punchy song structures and a keen ear for melody that poke at the pop zeitgeist. Guests on the EP range from established names like underground legend Trim and Japanese soulstress Friday Night Plans to art-school-upcomers Jasper Lotti, Lyzza, k_anti and Lyam. As a debut body of work, it’s a product of self-discovery and a bold first statement that speaks of big things to come. Kilder has released half the record as warmup singles, starting with the title track ‘Don’t Hide’ back in July which reverberated in underground circles and saw him featured by Dazed, Dummy, The Line Of Best Fit and The Independent in addition to heavy tastemaker playlist support across all DSPs. Since then, the producer has racked up over 2 million streams, received plaudits from Jack Saunders’ Future Artists show on BBC Radio 1 and was dubbed “one to watch” by Notion magazine. At just 20 years old, the Amsterdam based producer is an essential new addition to your record box and a thrilling new talent for 2021.

TwoStep2 aka DJ Relay and Jo Public have been known for their superlative but distinctly old skool sounds, but lead track on this three cut 12" is rather a subtle departure. The beat is a little more wonderfully wonky than you might expect and the bassline bigger and more adventurous, with pleasingly original results. 'Starlight' plays off its abrasive backspins with fluttering harps that are more Luke Vibert than Sticky or Noodles, true genius, and a bubbling beat to boot. 'Weapon of Choice' plunders ravier elements but again, it's no museum piece with its off kilter piano and slowed down, drowsy atmospherics. If you're looking for memorable tunes that stick out rather than fit in, make this your destination.

Off Beat return with their third release - a mind-bending 3-tracker from label-head Ryvahl. Kicking things off is title track ‘Protopattern' - an off-the-wall sub-bass nose and chest tickler with heavy, scattered drums that are modulated to destruction. 'Send Signal' continues in the same vein with more of the classic sound design of Ryvahl’s previous work. Swift, choppy, UK sounds combine with juke hits, drum machines and dingy reverbs to expand the stereo field into a 4D landscape. Closing out the release is the playful 'Blacklight'. A drum tool that would appeal to fans of Pearson Sound and early Night Slugs records. Big tip!

Mentalist dance music from Tera Octe on PRR! PRR! If you love Ork Musik, Lorenzo Senni and Sophie then you'll love this.

Super deep n’ rolling ambient junglist mutations from hyped cloakroom attendent Florian T M Zeisig and mysterious XPQ? operator Pvas, uniting under the NUG moniker for a highly atmospheric session beamed directly from that short-lived, elusive sweetspot in the mid 90’s when Omni Trio and DJ Crystl collided with Mo Wax’s Some Scientific Abstract Type Shit! and Gescom’s Disengage, all red lights dappling thru a dense fog of smoke.

Rinsed out under the timeless influence of “bong & sterni” - who sound like a legendary Berlin ambient duo, but are just weed and beer - Zeisig and Pvas collide in midair for a stereo-swirled recollection taking us back to 1995 - that Autechre radio show on Kiss FM, peak Mo Wax, Kodwo Eshun’s ‘club trax’ column, just before everything went fully tasteful. Throwing links to more contemporary refractions found on various J. Albert workouts as much as Skee Mask’s most vapourised breaks, the NUG sound keeps toes and heads off the ‘floor with a rugged but lush suite of rave suspension systems making critical use of negative space and recoiling dub dynamics.

One for the early hours of the club, ‘Not Many People Here yet’ gives acres of room to bounce off the walls, while the ruder ‘Filthy Club’ sounds like the backroom heard from ceramic tiled bogs, and you’re already healthily zonked for the zombie float of ‘Is Under The Blanket.’ The radiant pads and swingeing breaks of ‘Morpheus’ dial up Skee Mask’s most pendulous rave visions, and ‘Napping Under God’ rolls out on 9 minutes of webbed breakbeat for the locked-in steppers, with Florian’s ambient texturing fully coming into effect on the blurry-eyed flex of ‘Lite.’

Uncanny just how well this one nails the sound - top marks and full reccomendations for anyone looking for that liminal, junglist special sauce.

New 5 track digital release from Sumgii for Swamp 81 sublabel, 81. Mastered at TenEightSeven

Incienso is hyped to announce the next release of 2022 from one of the UK’s most interesting and distinctive producers, Shiken Hanzo. While known primarily for his hybrid halftime d&b and techno sound, Shiken switches it up with new diversions in tempo and rhythm throughout Eternity of Echoes, all the while maintaining his idiosyncratic blend of dystopian soundscapes, industrial drums, and pulsating, deep basslines.

The next ten-inch cut of the Time Is Now series comes courtesy of Nicky Soft Touch. These four tracks are a taste of things to come, handpicked from an as-yet-unannounced double LP the Bristol native has had in the works since 2019. Nicky Soft Touch's recent outings include two dusty hip-hop dubplates on London's Ghost Notes Worldwide; for Lonely City Sampler he explores a more British sound. Using a tape deck and a pile of old jungle tapes, cut-up snippets were crafted into an audio collage balancing ambience with rave style crescendos. Driving dubwise bass dominates 'Lost In A Sea Of Rolling Eyes' while disrupted breakbeats meet stuttering chords in 'Lonely City Cut 4'. The closing track's garage-inflected UK techno beat is haunted by spaced out diva vocals, a melancholic mover for city nights.

If you thought the Erupt-ion was over and done with, think again. Another earful of heavy breaks and hardcore junglism have risen from the ashes to keep your residential area vibrating. This time, the ballistics are blasted out by the label's head man, Bullet S. Bullet uses his EP to tell a story of growing up around urban decay, and claustrophobic city centres. He translates that angst into three tunes' worth of furious beats and staccato riff overload, with the moody aesthetic to boot. This is the first sign of trouble, you cannot ignore it. Erupt Records was established in 2016 to cover tougher, faster styles of electronic dance music, with a view of openness towards introducing contemporary influences alongside the familiar; Hardcore that reflects today, not yesterday. The objective? Push the boundaries, keep the drums raw, compromise for noone. Grab the vinyl while you can to get yourself an exclusive bonus track which won't be on any digital releases of this EP, "No Loss".

Krikor rolls out a bass flexing mutant dancehall rhythm on the a side with some deep hypnosis synth on the flip. Ltd edition 12". Big Tip!

Yiannis Iliakis is a multi instrumentalist and composer from Athens. He is mainly known as a drummer. As such he is a member of the free jazz band Outward Bound as well as a member of the successful Greek progressive rock band Ciccada. However, that’s only one side of Iliakis’ creative efforts. In April 2021, he released his first full length electronic album entitled Vertical Horizon on the Submersion Records, which mostly is an ambient work. Now, with Mountainmouth he opens another chapter for his musical talents. The EP is one of the most thrilling and adventurous takes on what the IDM term usually would suggest. The key song might be the title track “Mountainmouth” – an extremely energetic composition which won’t leave you unaffected. As per most of Iliakis’ songs it is based on originally recorded drums that were heavily edited. In the next step, these were combined with chords, melodies, bass and harmonies on top. The musical result is simply breathtaking - one might even call this track electronica for prog-rock heads. Surely a perfect opener for the release. The next song is Carbonated Soap on which Iliakis is going straight forward. The catchy melody and a fresh uptempo beat are offering something that could even fit well into a club-friendly DJ set. Next up, comes “Infected Walkman”. According to Iliakis, it was the first one he made for this project when he participated in an art exhibition. This track, as well as the following “Sad Plants”, are both down tempo and chilled, yet keeping an experimental vibe without loosing a soulful and human touch. Coming closer to the end, “Exodus Denied” is a brilliant experimental ambient piece, more similar to the works on the Vertical Horizon LP. Finally, the EP ends with a short edit of “Carbonated Soap” that jumps right to the more energetic parts after the first break. Mountainmouth may not be an easy listen at start – but we are sure the music has the power to be another classic release from our catalogue. The EP will be released in July 2022 on a very limited 12" vinyl as well as digitally. The cover artwork was done by Iliakis himself. We are very excited to present a new artist to you on Equinox with so many different talents.

Serious sound system pressure on this one! Select tracks from Natalie Slade's debut album 'Control' have been completely reimagined and transformed into Jungle, Footwork, Garage, Broken Beat and Hip Hop by some of the most exciting talent around, including Tek-Life affiliate DJ Taye, Azymuth producer Daniel Maunick, Garage young blood Holloway and Chicago's DJ Hank amongst others.

MCC returns with x3 roll cage rattlers from the elusive DJ Skift, rumoured to be operating remotely outta the True North-North East territories. Recommended if ur into anything good.

B.Riddim is Luis Sequeira, a Portuguese living in London. Magic My Ear is his second ep for Third Ear, following the (In) Theory ep in 2012. Formerly a driving force in the influential Portuguese rap group G-Ward under the name Bellatur, Luis followed his love of Jamaican Dub using electronics to arrive at a sound which is identifiable through the sum of its parts but which is quite unique. Music like this might reasonably be expected to come from Bristol, given Bristol's musical history. The 4/4 groove is slightly more emphasized here than the tracks on (in Theory) but it is a subtle pulse most of the time with the bass and drums providing the groove and the rhythms under cascading old-skool rave melodies and arpeggios, with live melodica played by Luis. Dub and psychedelic sensibilities are to the fore on Transformed Love and Magic My Ear, carefully controlled acid-house echoes through the towering bass and whiplash drums of Dropping Your Soul. Twisted electronica floats a nd weaves through the rolling bass of Left Side.