... E-Z NOW ...

So the new E-Z Rollers Album is finally out. After a bit of a delay the 3rd of Feb saw the Rollers highly anticipated third album hit the streets.
'Titles of the Unexpected' (Cat No. ASHADOW30) is packed with anthems such as first single 'Back To Love' as well as 'Music Keeps Me', 'One Crazy Diva', 'Dust' and more, all of which have been cruising the dubplate/test press/promo scene since last year. The album stretches across many musical genres from drum n bass, hip-hop, breaks and dancehall-style flavas. The E-Z's enrolled some exclusive collaborators to help perfect this sonic adventure. Old skool rapper, producer and hip hop beat-box legend Doug E Fresh appears on the unique floor-smashing tracks 'Rhyme And Punishment' and 'You'll Never Know', with the latter also featuring disco and soul diva Sharon Brown. Dub and acoustic reggae artist Mango Seed lends a hand with the dance-hall flava on 'Lady Jam' whilst MC Bas and Rhallia Birch roll out the Hip-Hop vibes on 'Tu-Ruf'.

Technical Itch vs Kemal – The Calling (Shadow 160)

Widely regarded as two of the scene's most talented producers, Technical Itch and Kemal Okan join forces and return to the shadow with this hotly anticipated single. Having recently been licensed by John B for his Mixmag cover-mount late last year (snappily entitled 'Trance and Bass' hmm...), the track everyone's been waiting for is 'The Calling' with it's huge trance like energy and trademark synth chord changes. This tune is not for the cyber kid glow-stick posse down at gatecrasher though. This is an immaculately produced, high octane, bass shaking, tech fuelled DnB workout that has been tearing dance-floors apart nationwide. On the flip are the stuttering breakbeats and mechanical rhythms of 'Signal Trace' that chugs along in an altogether subtler manner than its neighbour, using reece injections, sweeping synths and crunching bass to create a huge soundscape.

Dom & Roland – Dynamo (Shadow 161)

Dynamo is the Dom track everyone's been waiting 2 years for and since it failed to make an appearance on Dom's second album 'Back for the Future' we thought it was about time it came out as a single. The soft whining sirens and clunking rhythms build the intro tension until off beat synthetic drones and sub-aquatic pulses open out into some pure Dom style crunching bass business. 'Dynamo' is pure robotic funk and has to be one of Dom's finest and most diverse dancefloor friendly productions to date. With 'Adrenalin' Dom injects some of that Old Skool dnb flavour to those eerie sonics that Dom's so well known for along with the shuffling percussion and booming bass. Vintage Dom and Roland mayhem with a twist.

Aquasky vs Masterblaster – Shadow Breaks (Shadow Cryptic 002)

The second release from our Shadow Cryptic breaks camp 'Shadow Breaks' has been heralded by the Aquasky crew themselves as the best breaks tune they've done so far and is already a firm favourite with the likes of Tayo, The Freestylers, Jay Cunning and Australian breaks pioneer Kid Kinobe. 'Shadow Breaks' has taken the scene by storm and further added to this talented threesomes burgeoning reputation. Kicking off with pulsing electro bleeps and atmospherics, it builds quickly with layers of breaks giving way to an awesome chainsaw-like bassline. Drop this in any club you like and watch the dancefloor rocking by the time the euphoric breakdown has climbed to its peak and the track has come crashing back in. A surefire breakbeat classic. The flipside 'Planet Earth' is a deeper, slightly more laid back affair, with the emphasis on its slick bass harmonies, hammond trickery and funky percussive breaks. The boys have succeded in creating an old school vibe here that will sound equally at home down at Fabric Live as it will blaring out of the 'trendy bars' around shoreditch.

Hyper-on Experience – The Remixes EP (MSXEP20)

Anyone who was involved in the rave scene back in the early nineties will know Hyper-on Experience's 'Lord Of The Null Lines', by it's instantly recognisable sample which caused it to become better known by the adopted name 'Voodoo Magic'. Ten years later though, Total Science have stepped in and twisted 'Voodoo Magic' into a huge bass workout, keeping the vibe as true to the original as possible whilst adding their own unmistakable trademark sound that has seen this track tearing it up worldwide since Christmas. The release of this EP also lets everyone kow that the wait is finally over for those of you who have been waiting for the highly sought after 'Aquasky vs Masterblaster' remix. Yes it's finally coming out! Previously only available on Freq Nasty's mix CD 'Y4K' this mix needs no introduction with it's HUGE drums / bass / breakdown. It's been rocking most of last year for those who've had it on Dub/TP. Added to this we've enlisted the talents of ultra talented NZ DnB outfit Concord Dawn. These Guys have been having a bit of a renaissance of late, and anyone who's heard recent offerings 'Morning Light' or the sublime 'Take me Away' will understand why. Here they take on H-O.E's '94 underground classic 'Disturbance' to devastating effect. Fans of the Concord sound will certainly not be disappointed as they use those huge, rhythmic adrenalin fuelled melodies along with the ground shuddering bass they're known for to devastating effect. For those who haven't been able to track down an original copy of the first remix outing of a decade ago we've also decided to include the legendary '93 Foul Play remix on this EP as well.


Various Artists – RE:Born in the USA EP (MSXEP21)

Following swiftly on the tails of the thunderous Hyper-On Experience remix EP comes another storming remix double pack, these having been specifically sanctioned for the forthcoming 'project HUMAN' mix CD by premier US DJ Dieselboy (see above). Dieselboy (aka Damien Higgins / WEAPON) is one of the hottest talents in Drum and Bass Stateside and alongside fellow countrymen DJ Hive and E-Sassin has re-worked three slamming Shadow cuts from the last few years. First up though we've licensed in the Weapon vs E-sassin DnB remix of Robbie Rivera's house cut 'Harder & Faster'. One of the highlights of 'Project HUMAN', 'Harder, Faster' will without doubt be smashing dancefloors to bits worldwide over the next few months with it's solid rocking beats and apocolyptic breakdown, complete with almost squarepusher-esque edits. This remix really does have to be heard, to be believed! E-SASSIN tries his hand at Dom & Optical's seminal '97 classic 'Quadrant 6' to superb effect, keeping the famous gliding strings and dense atmospheres of the original and adding some kick ass beats and floor shaking basslines US style. Rob & Goldie's awesome centenary production 'The Shadow' is also taken apart and re-arranged for the project, this time in the form of DJ Hive's VIP mix. This has been highly sought after for a while now, purely because of the insanity it causes when unleashed on the dance floor. THAT intro is still intact with it's vocodered tribute to a certain dnb imprint… but Hive sharpens up the beats and polishes the bassline for today's climate. Finally Dieselboy in his Weapon guise twists Tech Itch's 'Reborn' from his 'Diagnostics' LP (ASHADOW 18) into an epic tranced out journey that is tearing systems apart on test press at the moment. The 303 fuelled acid lines of the original are still there but are contrasted with an epic, crowd pleasing, euphoric breakdown that drifts higher and higher until the crunching drums and infectious rhythms come crashing back in.