Beats News

From the ruins of the birthplace of techno ...
Detroit Underground returns with this, their twenty second release, in a catalogue that has come to define the outer limits of experimental electronics while still adhering to dance floor basics.
This edition sees DU label boss Kero return to the spotlight in collaboration with LA based sound designer and interactive director Drasko Vucevic, aka Drasko V of Los Angeles based DRASTIC Music + Technology. Drasko has recently created, among other things, sound design for a promotional featurette for the Academy Award nominated film Gravity.
Given the label's long time fascination with the intersections of music, art and technology the collaboration is as fitting as it is fruitful.


Side A ups the collaborative ante as this 12'' comes blasting out of the gate with two very strong remixes, Exponent is the subject of a relentless 4/4 treatment from LA techno exponents Drumcell while Superheavy gets an acid-style work out from Canadian producer Jesse Somfay's Borealis project.


It is not until the second side that we hear the original versions of Exponent and Superheavy, both of which reveal themselves to be undulating masses of hip hop tinged beats over dark, bass rich undertones, with the latter offering some brighter tones as well - in other words pretty much what you might expect out of a Drasko V and Kero collaboration.


Side B is further rounded out with a couple of remixes from England's Si Begg and Valance Drakes the former coming in with a super compressed, squelched out, electro inspired take on Exponent while Valance Drakes chills us back out with an impossibly mellowed out version of the same

Deeply addicted to Disco, Soul and funky rare gems, Rubents Aka DjFrsh brings his raw groove from Buenos Aires and joins the Ondulé crew with a massive first EP.

2 tracks for the dancefloor and 2 downtempo tracks with all his jazz and soul background.

Just enjoy the trip

Good UK Drum & Bass at a nice price... So what ?

One of the unexpected silver linings of our planet being plunged into the grips of a pandemic has been ASC’s return to Jungle / DnB.

Drawing stunned reviews from all corners of the DnB spectrum, the ‘An Exact Science’ EP on Samurai marked the first of a trio of releases in this style. Initially meant only as a one off EP, the creation of ‘An Exact Science’ turned on a spark in ASC that propelled him into a new phase of inspiration in his heavily equipped studio. Once an LP project was agreed to, the tunes came rapidly to the point of overflow (hence part 3 of the trilogy set for 2021).

Deekline and Ed Solo’s original ragga jungle anthem ‘Bad Boys’ was released way back in 2012 and was well supported by both DJs and ravers alike. If you stepped into a dance in 2019 you will have almost certainly heard the mysterious dub of ‘Bad Boys’ that was doing the rounds which in turn, has now been revealed at the Ben Snow remix.

2018 Has Been A Big Year For Dope Ammo So Far, What With The Smash Refix Of wishin' On AStar', Countless Collaborations With A Whole Host Of Talents Artists And Fitting In A Tour Of
Europe. It Comes As No Surprise That It's Now Time To Unleash A Heavy Hitting Album In TheForm Of influence'.
This Isn't Strictly A Drum And Bass Affair Either And With Styles Perfectly Crossing In And Out OfEach Other, It's A True Representation Of Dope Ammo's Creative Production Flair.
i'm Good' Is A Prime Example Of The Vibes Presented From The Album. The Arrangement Is Super Shiny, Flowing Sunshine From The Speaker And Firing A Sea Of Smiles In All Directions.
Of Course You're Going To Get A Certain Amount Of Dancefloor Madness And With The Likes Of how We Get Down' Featuring Not Only Jasmine Knight On Vocals But The Run Tingz Cru
Thrown In The Mix For Good Measure. This Track Has A Certain Amount Of Commercial Crossover Likeability However, Retains That Original Dope Ammo Punch. old Times' Is Another Fine Example Of Retaining 'scene Credibility' And Smashing Those
Melodic Vibes. If You Didn't Hear This One At A Festival This Year, You Probably Were Hanging Around The Food Trucks Too Much!
Switching Styles Completly, Both risky Business' And take It Back' Combine Early 90's Vibes, Euphoric Uprising Melodies And Good Old Fashioned Hands In The Air Moments That Really Will Bring On Feelings Of Peace And Love! Shout To Mc Fearless.
repent' And saturday' Inject Some Fresh Flavours To Your Ear, Switching The Bpm Whilst Retaining That Feel Good Vibe Which Is Really Represented Across The Whole Of The Album.
12 Tracks, All With Individual Personality And Character It's No Wonder Dope Ammo Really Has Locked Himself (along With 100's Of Guests) In The Studio For Most Of The Year. If You're After A Solid Mixture Of Beats, Some To Chill To, Others To Absolutely Brock Out To - This Album Is Certainly For You.
Guest Appearances (in No Particular Order) From The Likes Of Gigante Mc, Run Tings Cru, Dj Panik, Anomy, Yemi Bolatiwa, Jasmine Knight, Aries, Taiwan Mc, Broomers, Wyld Child,
Frenic, Rio Hellyer, Martin Carr And Kathy Brown. Press Release: Jamie S23

pink marbled vinyl / hand-stamped

Christoph de Babalon has relished the two years since his last full-length outing for A Colourful Storm, crossing paths with a new guard of prodigies while maintaining ties with a legion of disciples. Aphex Twin, his old foe, even played "Realistic Riot Ritual Routine" at the now-infamous Warehouse Project set, smashing it to bits and pieces over "Polynomial-C". Recurring Horrors dives deep into de Babalon's DAT archive, dragging out ghosts while pressing the jaw-dropping, nine-minute breakcore epic, "No Man's Land" to vinyl for the first time. Unmissable smut.

16v hatchback Breakbeat NRG kickin' it out of your Kenwood system.

One of our proudest accomplishments of 2019 was releasing the very first 170bpm tune from Donato Dozzy. Predominantly known as a Techno artist / DJ, Donato’s musical career is increasingly diverse. From his collaborative work with Neel as Voices From The Lake to his experimental ambient solo works, and his recent LP for Raster alongside Eva Geist stretching into synth pop, the maestro effortlessly reshapes any chosen sound with his distinctive touch.

Back from "Playing in the Dark" of deep space with MC Dynamite and eyeing earthlings under the microscope of "Coloured" with Redeyes, Salfords celestial son ; DRS comes in for landing with the second instalment of the Space Cadet series.

clear vinyl / laser etched B-side / single-sided / incl. dl code

Critical Music is proud to announce the release of Sinking VIP.

The VIP version of arguably the biggest track of 2019, this relic has hardly been heard since its creation due to the COVID pandemic.

The track comes cut onto a deluxe laser etched 10" clear vinyl record. A strictly limited edition one off pressing.

Dubplate Murderer’ first started circulating as a dubplate rinser, but was quickly picked up by big names in the scene including Danny Byrd, who made it his Byrd’s Banger of the Month on his BBC Radio 1 Show. This followed with support from big names including Sherelle, Sully, Fracture, Friction, My Nu Leng and Om Unit. On the flip is jungle remix man of the moment Fixate, who’s jungle refix of Double 99 ‘RIP Groove’ famously ripped up Sherelle’s Boiler Room set and was one of the biggest remixes and most watched music videos of 2019. This one has been super exclusive for the last 6 months - with only Sherelle, Om Unit and Fracture being blessed, until now… Released on 10” vinyl.

In the mid 90's, Julee Cruise and Eric Kupper were signed to the same music publisher, Warner Chappell. Patrick Conseil, who signed both, thought it would be a good idea for them to get together and collaborate. He was correct in that assumption, and this has lead to an enduring relationship, both creatively and as friends. These two tracks were originally intended as demos, but somehow got leaked onto YouTube, with positive response. Eric thought it would be a great idea to remaster the demos, keeping the raw edge, and give them a proper release, some 20 plus years later. Julee enthusiastically agreed.

Having been influenced by the likes of Roni Size, 4 Hero, Jacob’s Optical Stairway, LTJ Bukem and DJ Die (the latter of whom Eric did a collaboration with), Kupper was experimenting with drum and bass. He could often be spotted in London clubs 'The End' and 'The Globe' checking out and enjoying the music and the vibes.

'My Blue Yonder' is one of the few tracks Kupper has ever written lyrics to. They were inspired by his then toddler daughter, Zoe. One day, Eric found his 3 year old on the floor, wrapped up in a blue blanket, looking blissful. When he asked her what she was doing, she replied 'I'm in my blue yonder'. She had heard the phrase in a song from a children's video. Eric then sat down and wrote a moody yet childlike song about a utopia, based on his daughter's likes and dislikes, her joys and her fears. A compelling blend of orchestral arrangements, frenetic beats, and Julee's unique vocal approach. Julee has often commented that it is one of her favourite tracks she has ever recorded.

This collaboration also led to 'Satisfied', with lyrics and melody written by Julee. An ethereal somewhat existential track, with jazzy chords and pulsating arpeggios, it still has Eric's vibe, within a different music style. Julee's beautifully phrased vocals and lyrics bring the track to life, giving it a clear vision.

This is the first release on Kupper's new 'Hysteria misc.' label. A label for all kinds of music, electronic to acoustic, rock to experimental, and 'misc.'...

In Julee’s words, 'Thanks Eric, for doing this. I really love what we did'.

One of the unexpected silver linings of our planet being plunged into the grips of a pandemic has been ASC’s return to Jungle / DnB.

Drawing stunned reviews from all corners of the DnB spectrum, the ‘An Exact Science’ EP on Samurai marked the first of a trio of releases in this style. Initially meant only as a one off EP, the creation of ‘An Exact Science’ turned on a spark in ASC that propelled him into a new phase of inspiration in his heavily equipped studio. Once an LP project was agreed to, the tunes came rapidly to the point of overflow (hence part 3 of the trilogy set for 2021).

Content we’d nailed the EP we had a few TPs pressed; sending them out to a handful of influential DJs and promoters from back in the day. I remember being in a club and hearing a track that sounded a lot like ‘Release Yourself’, only at a slower tempo. The thing was, the DJ who’d got hold of the TP (sorry can’t remember who?!) was a house DJ. He was playing it at 33 rather than 45. Still sounded good as a House track though!! ‘Time to get Raw’ was the first track written by the original Persons Unknown collective and Time to get Raw (Part 2) expanded on the original; adding some extra layers, time stretched beats and a new arrangement. Dope Jam became a favourite with many who bought the original EP I think because it still had that Old Skool 92/93 feel, but with some of the filtered beats and techniques that artists were experimenting with at the time. Killa is definitely my favourite track from the second EP, you can hear all the elements from the contributing artists in this track. As with the first EP we decided to keep the true identity of the artists a mystery; continuing with Persons Unknown. The original artists from 93 still remain a mystery. Re-engineered, Cleaned Up and Remastered in 2020; bringing the music back to life...

From the vaults of Persons Unknown, BSBR007 Motion Sickness is material from the 90's Persons Unknown USA tour. Unearthed, cleaned, re-edited and remastered, these tracks capture that 90s drum and bass sound. Fusing the creative ideas, stems and music from the original artists Omni-Trio and Syko under the name 'Persons Unknown'. We have worked meticulously to create these timeless tracks; adding to the Persons Unknown story.

One of our favorite series returns with some breaks and Amen overload. We called on the talents of Law who makes his debut on AKO, Double O a regular in the series, The Last Ronin (Stretch and Enjoy) deliver some hard-hitting beats and Rumbleton revisits Greenleaf – Heartical Rasta from the AKOism series

Medicine used to be, we expected, good for us. Albeit with added sugar. Now medicine is a huge problem in itself, with vast companies caught mis-selling dangerous drugs. It’s one of the biggest scandals ever. How on earth did we get here? Who did this?

The Imbeciles are on the case.

“It’s about the dark side of prescription ‘medicines’. Oxy, Xanax, Ambien, all that. Big pharma is pushing these addictive ‘medicines’ that we don’t actually need, to desensitise / numb / kill. All for profit,” says Butch Dante.

A new classic from The Imbeciles. They know. And they made a video. Watch it here.

Now they’ve been remixed. By these people:

C.A.R.:
Impossible to categorise, and all the better for it - London based, Franco-Canadian, C.A.R., flirts with elements of new wave, cold wave, synth-pop, post punk and off-kilter disco; and without doubt wields some of the most satisfyingly other-worldly melodies and synth lines around.

Ryan James Ford:
One of the most exciting underground techno producers on the block - Ryan doesn’t constrain himself to any one rhythm, aesthetic and motif, but can always be found to be hitting the listener with thick atmosphere, dark melodies and an upfront, experimental attitude.

Legowelt:
A true pioneer of left field house and disco, this Dutch master draws from disco, italo, dub, dancehall, techno and many more sonic pools to create his wonderfully engaging, but always envelope pushing sound.

* Fresh off the back of producing the majority of Riya's Sublimation LP, Villem & McLeod step up for their own debut Spearhead Records EP 'No More Games'.

* Once again they have teamed up with Riya with 'Dance With Me' and 'Get To Know' with flawless results.

* 'Seamless' see the boys team up with Zero T for a full on liquid monster of a track.

* No More Games is a superb demonstration of just how good these two Ipswich based producers are and we can't wait to hear more from them.

* Support from Radio 1, Kiss FM, London Elektricity, LTJ Bukem, Technimatic, Bryan G, Etherwood, BCee, and a whole load more...

**EXTREMELY LIMITED RUN OF 150 - BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED WITH HIGH SPEC SILVER AND BLACK MARBLE VINYL**

Diasiva return to Irish label Acroplane Recordings with another collection of uncompromising, bass-heavy, tales of the world decaying.

Diasiva is a collaboration between Monolog (Ad Noiseam, Murder Channel, Hymen) and Swarm Intelligence (Acroplane, Voitax, 47). As Diasiva they have previous releases on Ohm Resistance, Arboretum, Instruments of Discipline, Subtrakt and Acroplane Recordings.

White Vinyl

This is "Altair", a collection of kaleidoscopic post-breakcore on Love Love Records from veteran french surrealist Ruby My Dear. Presented with artwork by TAPT on white vinyl.

The lights are out and a strange alien force surrounds the periphery of your hearing.. The sound of a haunting music box flickering in the darkness draws you closer but as you begin to approach everything explodes into dank crossbreed DnB rhythms that punch you in the gut and send you flying. As the bombardment of breaks momentarily subside you realise you've been beamed aboard the mothership and are now surrounded by unknown and indescribable visions.

You are given a brief moment to contemplate before your legs are swept from underneath you by a flurry of amens that would fry the minds of the hungriest of junglist's epicures. Journeying deeper into the heart of the beast you become aware of distant and immense rumbles but are stopped in your tracks by grinding brutal machinery rising up on all sides. As quickly as it appeared it starts to collapse and you are plunged into near darkness once again.

Pulses of light slowly begin to stab rhythmically from behind clouds and you feel yourself begin to move faster and faster through a void that is now streaked by a spectrum of colour. Floating debris starts re-arranging around you at light speed and every fiber of your being is simultaneously stimulated with needle-like accuracy. As the last string plucks play out the darkness falls away and the cover artwork comes back into focus. You immediately leave wherever you are and encourage someone else to experience this music.

Bassface Sascha - 4 Always & 4 Ever / Mind Control
Berlin based Revolver Sounds comes out with two massive tunes by German drumandbass veteran Bassface Sascha.
4 Always & 4 Ever
4 Always & 4 Ever takes us back to the old school with its mixture of a catchy piano riff, pitched vocals and some classy breaks and subs. Of course, Bassface added a modern twitch to this hymn-like tune!
Mind Control
Mind Control starts with a dark intro, before turning into a modern midtone roller with broken beats that is meant to turn dance floors upside down.

* Dom & Roland Productions, the label, has gone from strength to strength since its conception in 2006.
It Features Dom's new solo work and his collaborations with other visionary artists such as Noisia, Hive and Amon
Tobin. The label has continued to push sonic boundaries whilst staying true to it's ethos of 'not selling out'.

* BEACH BUM - DOM & ROLAND

There's someone on the beach playing a catchy picked out guitar riff. The waves are lapping. A surfer walks along the beach carrying their surfboard, their hair is blowing in the wind. They are thinking about how powerful and awesome the ocean is in it's contrast to the serene and quiet sunset beach, They like the guitar a lot!

* DRED SOUND - DOM & ROLAND

Big Sound! In a large warehouse in Kingston Jamaica, a kid turns up with his laptop and a keyboard full of playable samples. The kid's twisted some funk era breakbeats into gigantic proportions and is trying out song structure ideas whilst listening back on the the huge sub bass system. There are a lot of people sitting around, everyone stops to listen, they never heard anything like this. It's raw, and powerful, and they like it!

Repress

GLXY’s debut album Research & Development is the culmination of years of sonic enhancement and experimentation.
A fusion of electronic elements and soulful soundscapes, the album marks the next chapter in the GLXY story.
Distant, cascading arpeggios over heart-like pulsations set the tone in ruminating intro ‘Hypothesis’, which seamlessly flows into title track ‘Research & Development’. As elements slowly combine, the track builds into an energetic rolling beat that’s unlike anything previously heard from the duo before. ‘Conclusions’ follows, featuring a soulful piano hook and wistful vocals from Irish talisman Steo. Rasping strings and techy percussion come together in introspective ‘Falling’, the cold, distant voices creating a particularly eerie atmosphere.

A short, modulating arpeggio prelude makes way for lead single ‘She Sings For Me’ featuring Manchester’s DRS. Melancholic chords and a rolling jungle beat merge with his deeply pensive vocals to create a match made in GLXY. Showcasing their moodier liquid sound, ‘Changed Forever’ features a captivating vocal hook and brooding synth stabs. ‘LP Track’ flips the script – a cameo appearance from Friction reminiscent of his past Radio 1 days leads into a boppy garage beat full of funk.

Submotion Orchestra’s frontwoman Ruby Wood is the star of the show in ‘Abstraction’, her sentimental vocals soar over GLXY’s trademark undulating bassline and airy atmospherics. Citing inspiration from garage, electro and breakbeat, ‘Crescent’ is a nod to the duo’s influences - Burial-esque percussion over building pads and warm bass. Canadian Anastasia lends her vocal talents on ‘It’s Not Love’, an analogue bassline interweaving in between a rippling synth motif and her contemplative lyrics. 

The darkest undertaking on the album, ‘Fourth State’ showcases GLXY’s masterful technical ability in the studio. Their hallmark synth pads lead into a bouncing, modulating bassline that’s sure to light up a dancefloor. Playful breakbeat interlude ‘Rapture’ captures a moment from Shogun Audio’s epic 2017 Christmas party at Phonox, with the album concluding on ‘Anatomy’, a 6 minute journey from start to finish… watch out for that 2nd drop!

red marbled vinyl repress
* The first Technimatic release since their breathtaking 'Better Perspective' sophomore album of last year, 'Technimatic Remixed' is a collection of some their greatest work to date brought kicking into 2017 by some of Pete & Andy's favourite producers of now. Break, Alix Perez, Fracture, Was A Be and LSB all feature giving their own personal takes on some already seminal Technimatic moments.

* We have never had a remix project of our work so this is a really fun one for us. You kind of get scared but excited at the same time as you wait for each track to come back! But all the guys on this project are guys we admire and respect greatly so we knew they would deliver the goods. 'Bristol' was just made for Break to do, we'd actually earmarked that one a couple of years ago for him. LSB is just on fire with his work at the moment, Alix we've loved since before we joined Shogun, Fracture was our only choice on 'Trigger Warning' as he's just the don for that sound and we've been really impressed by new Shogun family members Was A Be.

* Also we felt we'd like to contribute something to the project so we picked one of our favourite tunes with Lucy Kitchen and gave it a little sprucing up. The 'Night Vision VIP' has been doing damage in our sets for months now so we felt it rounded the EP off nicely. We hope you guys enjoy it as much as we have been!' Technimatic

Radio
14th Aug - Friction - BBC Radio 1 - World Premiere & Friction Fire: Bristol (Break Remix)
21st Aug - Friction - BBC Radio 1 - World Premiere: Parallel ft. Zara Kershaw (LSB Remix)
28th Aug - Friction - BBC Radio 1 - World Premiere: Hold On A While ft. Jono McCleery (Alix Perez Remix)
*More TBC*

Comprehensive promo campaign to seek specialist radio including but not limited to, Friction, Eddy Temple Morris, Annie Mac, Zane Lowe, Julie Adunega, Phil Taggart, Mistajam, Hospital Records Podcast, D&BA Podcast and many more.

* Print
*More TBC*

* Online
21st Aug - UKF - Online World Premiere: Parallel ft. Zara Kershaw (LSB Remix)
28th Aug - XLR8R - Online World Premiere: Hold On A While ft. Jono McCleery (Alix Perez Remix)
*More TBC*

Full online service to further targets: Mixmag, Liquicity, DJ Mag,Hyponik, Hit The Floor, Inverted, Less Than 3, Beatport, Mixmag Brazil, Magnetic Mag, Ninja Ninja, DnB HQ, D&B Dojo, Broken Culture, BassOrDeath, Phuture Labs, Sky TV (Soccer AM etc), EDM Chicago, House Of Coxhead, In Reach, Your EDM

* Club / DJ Support
10th Aug - VIP mail out
17th Aug - General club mail out
Target to over 400 key DJs and tastemakers on the Shogun Audio mailing list including but not limited to Shy FX, London Electricity, Andy C, Goldie, Calyx & Teebee, Friction, Alix Perez, SpectraSoul, Rockwell, Technimatic, Bailey, Breakage, Danny Byrd, Roni Size, LTJ Bukem, Fabio & Grooverider, High Contrast, Lenzman, Camo & Krooked, Skream, Sub Focus, Zinc plus many others

Memory Disks. Volume Two. Chevron. Jonathan Valentine returns to Shipwrec with a second instalment of his mind and motherboard melting music. This mini album is packed to bursting with ten tracks of acid soaked electronics, chiptune glossed chicanery and retuned rock reworks. Volume two picks up where the first left off as the Blackpool wizard reimagines and reshapes drill and bass, beatless ambient and funfair funk. A catherine wheel is ignited from the needle drop to send a rainbow of sounds and styles spinning and swirling under the shimmering brilliance of Valentine's daring creativity. Stand back and simply enjoy.

Toulouse's master craftsman Redeyes delivers his fourth album “Selfportraits” on Amsterdam imprint The North Quarter. Known for his deeply detailed, emotive take on Drum & Bass, the French pioneer has a career spanning over 15 years. After three previous projects on The North Quarter – including 2018's opus “Broken Soul” - he now returns with the profound “Selfportraits”. Written almost exclusively during the Covid-19 crisis, this album captures a time spent in sheltered reflection. Drawing on both musical influences and personal beliefs this album is both deeply personal and touches on important issues of our times.

In August 2019, we released our second various artists EP, ‘Folio / 2’.

With this new release, we proudly present the third and final chapter of this particular VA EP series entitled ‘Folio / 3’. We have assembled a small group of our favourite artists for this 4 track release including Hyroglifics, Visages, label head Alix Perez, and long standing dnb aficionados Halogenix and Workforce. Available on 6th November 2020 on vinyl and digital.

Coloured Marbled vinyl Repress

Drum & Bass royalty DJ Marky reconnects with rising stars Pola & Bryson to present the ‘Run The Streets EP’. Following their collaboration on the ’15 Years Of Shogun Audio’ various artist compilation at the end of last year, this extended project is a showcase of the artists’ versatility with three original tracks and Ed:it’s a rough-and-ready take on ‘Into The Blue’.

Title track ‘Run The Streets’ opens proceedings. Featuring snapping drum breaks and fizzing 808 bass hits, this one’s not for the light-hearted. ‘Trouble’ soon follows, with a topline vocal from Bristol-based Javeon over a vibey instrumental that won’t be leaving your memory any time soon. ‘Dogfighter’ is proof that the three artists can play naughty and nice, with a seemingly innocent intro led with a voice note from Marky himself leading into an onslaught of gritty bass in between tight drums. Shogun family Ed:it closes out the project, with his darker take on ‘Into The Blue’.

San steps forward with idiosyncratic, textured jungle for the modern era on his debut 12". Anxious and introspective throughout, San's detailed sound design and close control of intricate drum edits clearly mark his pedigree. The jungle alias of a Bristol based techno producer, the San project reflects upon the rave landscape of 2020, and finds it to be a dark place.

Shanghai’s forward-facing Svbkvlt turn out a killer surprise drop from Hyph11e and Kode 9 after their raucous Gooooose & Dj Scotch Egg throw down Last spotted on a body-spinning split session with Slikback for Hakuna Kulala/Svbkvlt in 2019,
Hyph11e’s Tess Sun renders her most polluted atmospheres over panel-beating mutant techno rhythms in ‘Barnacles’; spending the first half fulminating amorphous, cranky sound design before
emerging from the chthonic murk with a foul head of industrial bashment.
As an avowed fan of Svbkvlt’s aesthetic, and a regular visitor to their region, Kode 9 is the ideal candidate to rework ‘Barnacles’, refitting it with signature wavey top line and recalibratiing the rhythm to a hybrid of rolling mid ‘90s hardcore breaks, nippy 2-step, and glyding UK Drill bass graffitti that firmly marks up his first outing since 2019’s ‘Digging In The Cart’ reworks of Japanese computer game soundtracks.

Brianna Price turned plenty of heads when, earlier in 2020, she swapped out her well-worn B.Traits moniker for the new title of Baby T. A change of name also signalled a departure from the booming techno-centred sound Price had been pedalling as B.Traits - she promised, all guns blazing, that Baby T was about 'hardcore junglist shit only'. The project's debut drop, an EP for Samurai Music entitled Portra, put that manifesto into action, running the gauntlet of darkside drum 'n' bass, ardcore soundsystem techno and dark ambient.

From the whip-crack electronic drums which usher in Baby T's second record I Against I it is apparent that we're in for another wild ride. Emerging here via Central Processing Unit, Price meets the CPU sound halfway on I Against I's A-side, delivering two super-snappy broken-beat electro joints which both have a malevolent, dystopian edge to them. The levels are high from the off, with opener 'I Wish' fronting nasty, high-wire machine-funk that draws its strength from the Bunker, Djax-Up-Beats and BPitch Control sounds. 'Acid Science', another helter-skelter melange of needling synths and vocal licks, follows. Though this track's title may promise acid, the snaking bassline refuses to lock fully into the perpetual-motion madness of a TB-303. Instead, Baby T chops the lick up to move in and out of the drums, an effect that has one thinking of Cardopusher.

'Estrogen Attitude', the tune which kicks off I Against I's second-half, is an even headier brew. The intro skulks and broods, a pulsing kick-drum and intermittent 303 whirring in a cavernous atmosphere. You get the sense that something is brewing, especially given that the tempo has increased to junglist speed. However, when the breakbeats do enter Baby T opts to lurk rather than strike, locking into the sort of murky drum 'n' bass roll that wouldn't sound out of place on the UVB-76 imprint. This is jungle to shadowbox to.

The vibe of 'Estrogen Attitude' is inverted on EP closer 'We Could Disappear'. Beginning with a grainy, mournful ambience that recalls Biosphere and Kevin Martin, the track gently unfurls with the introduction of synthetic strings and muted breakbeats. If 'Estrogen Attitude' was indebted to Metalheadz, there is plenty of Goldie's more grandiose soundscaping running through 'We Could Disappear'. At the end of the track, the atmospheres dissolve to leave only the hum of sub - both a reminder of the bassweight principles that drive the Baby T project, and also representative of how I Against I has progressively etherised itself across its four tracks.

Baby T's Central Processing Unit debut I Against I tackles dystopian electro, impressionistic drum 'n' bass and dark ambient, all while adhering to junglist principles. This is a brave new world for both the artist and the label.

RIYL: Metalheadz, Pessimist, Mutant Joe, Cardopusher, dgoHn