Drum and bass legend made a very festive playlist for us. ::insert sunglasses emoji::
Bristol native Roni Size is an expert when it comes to making the crowd go crazy. He’s been doing it ever since his 1997’s debut record with drum and bass collective Reprazent and later as a solo act. As one of the key figures in jungle, he knows what type of tracks suit summer parties the best. And even though right now he’s busy promoting Past & Present—his collaborative EP with DJ Krust—and getting ready for the UK/European/Canadian/US monster of a tour, he still had time to make a very energetic playlist for us, complete with track commentary. Party on!
Dan Dakota - "Glow"
Sometimes a record comes along that just stands out from the rest. This is a minimal vibe with maximum effect for the listener or in the dance arena. This is in my set and will stay there for a while.
Lynx - "Professor"
This is an old-school style beat, which is reminiscent of the early days of rave. The beats skip along nicely on this one. LYNX is drawing for the vibe that takes you back… way back.
Alibi and Command Strange - "Ahead Of Me"
Drum and bass has its own story to tell and has traveled the world over. In this track's case the destination is Brazil. This cut has one of those baselines that has an immediate impact and just rolls. You gotta love this simply because it's a slab of unforgiving DnB funk.
Roni Size - "Rock the Boat"
The second release from mine and Krust’s reborn label Full Cycle Records. This oozes with that classic Full Cycle sound: the melody is in the bass and the drums just skip along in sync. The big brother of my previous tracks "Swings" and "Roundabouts" from the early Full Cycle gems. Watch this space for more Full Cycle classics and artists to come!
Cyborg - "Repeating History"
As we move into some big dance floor smashers introducing brand new artist forthcoming on Full Cycle Records. This carries on from where we left of in 2008. You can call it jump up but at the end of the day it's just a good piece of drum and bass music to please the dance floor.
Various Artists - 'Philly Blunt'
The world famous label owned by Bryan Gee: this covers the whole spectrum of jungle and some. If it's raga, hip-hop or any influence from the '90s. Philly knows how to make it sound like it belongs in the now. Serum pulls these classics from the nineties and—kaboom—the first album to come out on Philly Blunt is born.
Grafix - "Stay Here"
This is a modern day sound of music that's just simple. The duo from Hospital Records came up with a very unique sound. It's a record with clean vocals that is catchy enough to hum to but wraps itself in bass which kind of gives it a ruff edge feel I’m guessing. But I would say it's one for the ladies.
Paul T and Edward Oberon - "Something Taking Over Me"
As dark as you like. When this drops it's like being at a '90s rave in a car park in Luton. I guess you had to be there... I will always remember what it was about raving and it was the mystery of never knowing what to expect. This record has the same properties and as it builds and builds. You just never know what's coming next... Planet V does it again.
Logistics - "Sentimentality"
Smooth operator... When I dropped this a few weeks a go the front row suddenly starting swinging in unison with beaming faces. If only I was in ibiza this would be a sure floor filler. Logistics sure knows how to make a classic.
Drum Sound & Baseline Smith - "Rise of the Black Panther"
Straight up and down like six o'clock, I love this. It's like a movie: reaching for the double bass and crunchy pianos. I play this as an opener in my set. It's all about setting moods with sounds that capture your imagination. Big intro and a banging first drop—this is an instant classic.