Singles file: new releases from Ben & Lex, Keith MacKenzie, VENT, 4Kuba, D*Funk and Stylus Rex

Every Thursday, we pick out all the best new releases so you don't have to, and also warn you which ones to avoid like a breaks bootleg of Britney Spears. Your hosts: Stewart Gudgeon, Missmax, Sometimes Sean, Journeyman and Barrcode

Single of the Week

Ben & Lex
Haterz
Future Perfect

*****

Click here to listen to a sample of Haterz

Ben & Lex are two of the hottest breaks producers and DJs from the UK's south west, with a string of fresh, classic tracks under their belts. They have somehow outdone themselves here with pure unadulterated stripped to the bone breaks and bass number, which takes the duo's trademark extended lead basslines and re-samples them to keep the variation interesting. The rolling vocal hook is reminiscent of past tracks such as Raw to the Floor and syncs well with other leading rap-led dance. The beat has an underlying bashment feel to it, with some classic breakage running over the top. About two minutes in a pure "amen" break drops in to great effect, flexing neatly with the raspy bassline before dropping out into some infectious build up action. Just to get the track pumping a bit more in the midsection, there is a cameo 4/4 and breaks mash-up. This is an outstanding floorfiller. (SS)

VENT
Go Gorilla/Turn the Page (remixes)
Valium

***

Click here to listen to a sample of the MARS remix

VENT is a name that keeps popping up every so often, bringing with it some huge tearout tunes with a techy edge. I first heard of the duo with the release of Gash/Encoded on Hardcore Beats and really enjoyed the plodding, grumbling sound of Deft Ode on the same label. Dan Havers and Sam Ashwell have their own record labels, Colony Productions and DC Breaks, but they also seem to dominate Afghan Headspin's Valium imprint, with a cut on each of the three releases so far. The original version of Go Gorilla sounds like an improved version of Deft Ode, with a similar, almost clownsteppy rhythm and the same simple bassline. On the remix, 4Kuba seem to throw out the original completely and it becomes an entirely new tune, which at first looks like rather a good thing. Unfortunately this rather funky party tune, with cool 80s style riffs and an energetic beat, is ruined when the original bassline suddenly drops in. MARS do a far better job of turning the heavy, rolling psybreaks of Turn The Page into a rumbling, rasping juggernaut, using just enough of the old sound effects to take the edge off. (SG)


4Kuba/GBX & MKM
Burning Cactus EP pt2
iBreaks Bass

Click here to listen to a sample of Breakthrough

***.5

It's an extra special week for 4Kuba as they release their own EP as well as the VENT remix. For the first track Belarussian duo DD and DBColl have teamed up with long time collaborator and vocalist Lonedog, who appeared on the monstrous So Fucked EP. Breakthrough is a rocking track that, although the guitars don't appear to be present in this one, gives us a feel of why these guys are primarily a live act. The track is dense with synths, effects, and a breakbeat punching through it all to for added energy. Lonedog's distorted vocals are used sparingly to good effect, mostly in breakdowns, and the track peaks with a Pendulum-style melody that creates a mid track reprise, rounding the track off before the outro. The flip gives us a 4Kuba remix of I Don't Think So by Brazilian breakers MKM & GBX, first released on iBreaks Bass at the end of last year. Some of the original psy-breaks elements have been retained, but the whole thing has been funked up a smidgen and the rolling vibe has been lost. In my opinion it's not better, it's not worse, it's just, erm, different. (SG)

Keith Mackenzie & DJ Fixx
That’s How We Roll feat. Whiskey Pete
Illeven Eleven

Click here to listen to a sample of That's How We Roll

***

Keith Mackenzie out of Chicago & DJ Fixx out of New York have teamed up to cook up this tidy slice of booty breakbeat. It takes a tight break, adds Whiskey's rhyme, syncopated percussion, a synth line and heavy bass, then mixes it all together to create a smooth groove. It’s such a wicked tune I only wish it lasted longer than a meagre 4 minutes and 40 seconds. The dubstep remix by Brighton duo 2 Bit Thugs showcases the vocal more and really brings maximum gangster out of the original track. (MM)

D*Funk
Suck It Up EP
Westway

Click here to listen to a sample of Suck It Up

**

Breakspoll-nominated D*Funk brings us an energetic if slightly hectic tech funk number that piles in with blips, arpeggios, whomps and saw-wave synths. The Drum Monkeys' remix is my favourite here, as it brings out the melody with an added synth hook that drives the whole tune forward, taking things into upbeat territory. On the flip, D*Funk throws down a bonus track, Bad Acid, on a similar tip to Suck It Up but with a lighter break. It's driven by 303 and industrial sounds, with a frenzy of zippy effects and vocal cuts sitting over the top. The sample: "No one had a bad trip, it was all very good", explains the title. (MM)

Stylus Rex
Spangle Wagon
Wassup Rockers

Click here to listen to a sample of Spangle Wagon

London based Stylus Rex hits us with his seventh release and its an interesting double, Spangle Wagon has fidget type house beats but with an overall breaks feel to the track. A drummer by trade (he's worked with the likes of JDS and Adam F) the beats are tight, slick and kicking. The bassline switches from electrified to squelchy with great effect and a synth line gives the whole track a cool little swagger, a very infectious tune that builds up into a definite floor pleaser. Wassup rockers is a nice little groover with a low bass sound and a bouncing lead line. In ways a good complementary flip for this release, not too brash and perfect as a set builder. (J&B)