Album of the Week..

Anyone keeping an eye on the career of Speech Debelle will know that she had a surprisingly tough time of it despite winning the Mercury Music Prize in 2009. Yet what 'The Power Of Speech' gives her is exactly that, an album that finds her coming back stronger and more determined than ever, without ever getting close to a sell out. Fighting back through music and words, Speech gives us upfront ('Studio Backpack Rap'), breezy ('I'm With It'), quiet determination ('Blaze Up A Fire', a duet that fu...

For all the talk of street wise violence, imagined or otherwise, Cypress Hill still now how to release the danger more effectively than most. Lifted from their abrasive new album 'Rise Up' this new single defies the line with a party-fuelled gem which invites you to join in. Featuring a sample from Crosby, Stills and Nash classic sixties moment 'Suite Judy Blue Eyes' alongside Marc Antony's powerful vocals and words from Pitbull this packs the full force of a melodic punch. Latin flavoured and i...

For all the talk of street wise violence, imagined or otherwise, Cypress Hill still now how to release the danger more effectively than most. Lifted from their abrasive new album ‘Rise Up’ this new single defies the line with a party-fuelled gem which invites you to join in. Featuring a sample from Crosby, Stills and Nash classic sixties moment ‘Suite Judy Blue Eyes’ alongside Marc Antony’s powerful vocals and words from Pitbull this packs the full force of a melodic punch. Latin flavoured and i...

Formerly the producer for London outfit Dedfires, Aupheus has been going solo for a few years now, laying out an identity as a sculptor of abstracted instrumental hip-hop and darkly hued beats.  This latest EP for 2600 Recordings showcases eight sonic tales of break manipulation shot through with dusted samples and video nasty sensibilities, adding instrumental passages and sampled field recordings.  It's filmic, slo-motion sci-fi, with a more determined electronic vibe that's closer to the like...

Formerly the producer for London outfit Dedfires, Aupheus has been going solo for a few years now, laying out an identity as a sculptor of abstracted instrumental hip-hop and darkly hued beats.  This latest EP for 2600 Recordings showcases eight sonic tales of break manipulation shot through with dusted samples and video nasty sensibilities, adding instrumental passages and sampled field recordings.  It's filmic, slo-motion sci-fi, with a more determined electronic vibe that's closer to the like...

Formerly the producer for London outfit Dedfires, Aupheus has been going solo for a few years now, laying out an identity as a sculptor of abstracted instrumental hip-hop and darkly hued beats.  This latest EP for 2600 Recordings showcases eight sonic tales of break manipulation shot through with dusted samples and video nasty sensibilities, adding instrumental passages and sampled field recordings.  It's filmic, slo-motion sci-fi, with a more determined electronic vibe that's closer to the like...

Formerly the producer for London outfit Dedfires, Aupheus has been going solo for a few years now, laying out an identity as a sculptor of abstracted instrumental hip-hop and darkly hued beats.  This latest EP for 2600 Recordings showcases eight sonic tales of break manipulation shot through with dusted samples and video nasty sensibilities, adding instrumental passages and sampled field recordings.  It's filmic, slo-motion sci-fi, with a more determined electronic vibe that's closer to the like...

RQM's vocals have featured on a host of main players releases  such as Stereotyp, Milanese and he has performed alongside the likes of Missy Elliot, M.I.A., Buraka Som Sistema etc . Finally he has started his own label and the first release sees him set his warm yet twisted vocal stylings along side production from Modeselektor affiliate Siriusmo. The title track is broken beat, down tempo hip hop affair. An infectiously melodic ballad about an intense love affair likened  to a nuclear holocaust...

Regular readers will know what a huge fan I am of Kris Menace and his German recording home - has this man ever released a bad track? I think not, and with the help of Joe And Will Ask? pairing is another no-brainer. (Not quite sure why they have to have a question mark after their name? - he asks inquisitively) JAWA?, best known for their Kitsune single 'Fabric Of Win', offer a new ingredient to KM's usual crystalline electronica productions. Together 'Dewdrops' blends a fortified French-funk f...

Forensic carry their programme forward with this further release of deep and captivating house music. No surprises are in store but as always you are guaranteed something special in terms of quality production and music to capture your imagination with mood and atmosphere. Two tracks here from Monaque with the excellent Clocks setting the pace with its repetitive chords, throbbing bassline and crisp beats all working to maximum effect. Biscuit then offers a slightly more haunting alternative but...

Italy's Michael Balduzzi, aka Phonat, has already blasted a few holes in the collective underwear with outings on the Young Punx' label like 'Gheto Burning' and 'Learn To Recycle' and this lays an attractive path to his upcoming debut album, festooned with uplifto keyboard riffage, dreamy melodies and hairy-chested 80s-style vocal sample. Remixes feature Sweden's Avicii using jet effects and big piano riff, bleepy dubstep from High Rankin and Louis La Roche getting harder and wigged out. Destine...

Veteran Italian DJ-PRODUCER Ivan launched Smoke Joke 18 months ago with his Smoking Area EP and, inspired by a sesh in Berlin, now returns with a  subtly-executed burst of deep and driving sexy house music. Marimba and violin tones plus Italian female further stoke the atmosphere, which is taken deeper and spacier on the Dub. 4 Out Of 5Reviewed By: Kris Needs...

Veteran Italian DJ-PRODUCER Ivan launched Smoke Joke 18 months ago with his Smoking Area EP and, inspired by a sesh in Berlin, now returns with a  subtly-executed burst of deep and driving sexy house music. Marimba and violin tones plus Italian female further stoke the atmosphere, which is taken deeper and spacier on the Dub. 4 Out Of 5Reviewed By: Kris Needs...

Italy's Michael Balduzzi, aka Phonat, has already blasted a few holes in the collective underwear with outings on the Young Punx' label like 'Gheto Burning' and 'Learn To Recycle' and this lays an attractive path to his upcoming debut album, festooned with uplifto keyboard riffage, dreamy melodies and hairy-chested 80s-style vocal sample. Remixes feature Sweden's Avicii using jet effects and big piano riff, bleepy dubstep from High Rankin and Louis La Roche getting harder and wigged out. Destine...

Likely to be released by the time you read this, Speech Debelle's slice of hip-hop melancholia is one of the highlights of the year so far.  Dip-dap drums matched with mellow guitar and strings allow Debelle to get philosophical about life, hopes and ambitions, future, present and past.  Meanwhile, soul vocalist Micachu gives it a chilled to the bone chorus that could melt tarmac.  Strangely, the net result of these contemplative interactions is inspiring, uplifting modern subdued funk.  Heavenl...

As one half of The Knife, Karin Dreijer Andersson has already been used to making distinctive music - and she does so with her solo venture, Fever Ray. Over ice cool electronics her piercing tones are instantly recognisable, but the musical language often veers away from her native Sweden and across towards the far east. This means the album is never less than compelling, and songs like 'When I Grow Up' and 'If I Had A Heart' are striking for their wide open textures and slow, stilted beats. Dre...

After the cerebral trampoline of last year's Radio Scarecrow, The Black Dog humped a punishing gigging schedule which has galvanised them into a more floor-friendly follow-up, but with an underlying message attacking increasingly-Orwellian Government tactics and public complacency at how our lives are monitored and controlled. This punk-style discontent manifests in the pressure cooker grooves underpinning piledriving tech-kneesups like '0093' and 'We Are Haunted', the mix of boiling anger in th...

Damaged Good$ supply the verbiage, Xrabit slices the beats, and that's all there is to it. Yet it's even more ridiculously fresh than "Killin' Em". Understated drum programming (think Schoolly D / early Run DMC) which fits the DMG$ duo's surreal old-school flipping lyrics like a glove, this is bump and grind, no disputing. There's a couple of alternate mixes and a beefier club mix - sans vocals - but really, the only thing everyone wants to know is - when's the album drop?5 Out Of 5Reviewed By: ...

Danube Dance first cut this Peter 'Star 69' Rauhofer production back in 1991. It once again surfaces featuring the feisty vocals of original vocalist Kim Cooper, newly remade by the Aussie hit man behind last year's 'Show Me Love'. Mobin's version sticks close to the tribal-feel of the initial release, allowing the spoken vocals to envelope, while Kam Denny adds an electro twist to his workout that nicely jacks the tempos into peaktime territory.4 Out Of 5Reviewed By: Lewis Dene...