Singles file: New tracks from Diverted, Kultur, Dom Almond, Jurassik and Ben & Lex

Each week, 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: Ben Jurassik, Missmax, Stewart Gudgeon and Phase 2

SINGLE OF THE WEEK

Diverted
Big Baby Fear
Air Recordings

9

• Check out Big Baby Fear on MySpace

Hold tight out there. This is a genuinely spectacular piece of music. St Albans' Diverted have reworked the standout track from their excellent recent self-titled album (go check it, you won't be disappointed), and it's a breaks head's wet dream. In fact, I think I may have soiled my undercarriage. Yikes. Moody, simmering bass and rolling breakbeats combine with tight percussion, old school strings and jazzy keys for a dirty but classy dancefloor treat. On the flip, Londoner Mr No Hands shows why he's about to start hanging out with the big boys as he throws down a bass-heavy, skanktastic reworking that borrows heavily from fidget house, yet pulls off the remarkable feat of being really quite good. (BJ - editor@thisisbreaks.com)


Jurassik
Operator
Sound Of Habib

7

sohr037 - Jurassik "Operator" + remixes by Sound of Habib
Supatronix head honcho Jurassik follows up the success of his last outing on Sound of Habib, We Should Be, with an epic slice of melodic techfunk in the form of Operator. The original blends 80s electro drum patterns with a Daft Punk-esque vocoder vocal and a bass heavy breakbeats to create a track that manages to be deep and funky yet quite euphoric at the same time. Remix duties are handed to up and coming Dallas duo Left/Right who provide a more tearout style offering that keeps the vocal but adds bite with heavy beats that sound almost like they're from a live drum kit, and a deep, menacing bassline. Definitely a peak time stomper. Also getting in on the rerub action is Hungarian eclectic producer 9b0, who provides a distortion-filled floater that would be most suited to a dingy afterparty or sunrise at a festival. Good variation from a release that covers all the bases, with the original standing out. (P2 - djphasetwo@live.co.uk)



Kultur
In My Imagination
Kultura Breakz

• Click here to check out In My Imagination

7

Iberian breakbeat main man Kultur here bring us the debut release on Kultura Breakz out of Malaga, Spain. The original is an understated track with a subtle groove and easy rolling break flooded with acid wobbles and simple synth lines. Take two is a reworking by Kultur with a different spin on the percussion and arrangement, adding tension with syncopated and smooth synth lines. Spanish producer Cuervo is on remix duties, bringing us another version. I find it hard to pick a standout track as the bassline is so hypnotic in all three, with a laid back groove and atmospheric melodies, but the original is probably the most upbeat and it's a darkly chilled breaks track. A sensual first release for Kultura Breakz and I'm looking forward to the followup. (MM - missmax@supatronix.org)


Dom Almond
Pirate Radio/Up or Down
Pure Filth

8

Dom Almond - Up or Down (Pure Filth #13) by 720Bass
The increasingly prolific and talented Dom Almond returns to Hardcore Beats sister label Pure Filth with another cut of gritty, in your face breaks. Pirate Radio consists of the usual simple live-sounding beats with grungy, filtered room shaking bass. Some clever work with stereo effects on the lowe end and huge delays on background effects create a big feel and dark, tense atmosphere. This is one of those tracks that tricks you into thinking it's losing dancefloor appeal every now and then, only to brought back to life by an even more massive exciting drop. On the flip, Up or Down shows a different side to the Northampton producer, with almost house-style delayed background synths and a mellow vibe that sets the scene for old school rave arpeggiated bouncy bass and trance style synth stabs. It's rare that a tune that's not full of bass and noise makes the dancefloor of a breaks club, but this may well do. (SG - Stewart@pogo-djs.co.uk)


Ben & Lex
Rave Hat / Ghost In The Shell Remix
Standard Audio

7

Ben and Lex 'Rave Hat' by Ben and Lex
West Country duo Ben & Lex return this week on Afghan Headspin's label Standard Audio with a double release packed full of electro inspired shenanigans and a whole heap of bass. First up is the imaginatively entitled Rave Hat, which to be quite frank has got the filthiest bassline I've heard in a long while. In fact, I wouldn't advise playing it too loud if you have either a dodgy heart or a bad stomach. Add to this heavy breakbeats, junglistic bass warbles and massive dubstep breakdowns and you've got the recipe for a pretty tasty track. One for the nuskool heads and the rudeboys. Second helpings come in the form of the pair's remix of Recycle's Ghost In the Shell, a bass-driven wonkathon that treads the boards between breaks and 4/4 but has a huge atmospheric break and is definitely worth a look for breaks fans. All in all a solid release. (P2 - djphasetwo@live.co.uk)