Pure heat coming from Sector 7 Family. Pearly Whites imprint, with four cuts that cross the lines between og grime, R & G, UK Funky and even a tinge of that rap & footwork kinda lean with those hi-hats and 808 snares across big subs like it's nothing.
Finn "Drone" Donohue appears to be a producer on the rise. This may only be his second 12" single (his first slipped out last year), but he's already showing signs of developing a trademark sound all of his own. Both "Sapphire" and "Down This Way" are dark, clandestine and paranoid, with grime style stabs and spacey electronic effects clustering around a bustling, hot-stepping rhythm track that seemingly charges from the speakers towards your sound-space.
Closer "East Coast", which is exclusive to the vinyl edition of this release, is arguably even more raw and aggressive, with colossal sub-bass pulses, creepy melodies and densely layered background textures (think cut-up vocal samples, white noise and unusual field recordings) all catching the ear.
It's time to step into the Bristol shadows with Sector 7 once again as label co-runner Boofy invites Young Echo to the fray for two instrumental grime / dub hybrids. "Roll The Dice" pelvises with its dense subs and shimmering atmospheric textures while shattering trap snare roll and a mystic melody and skippy drum arrangement flicker in and out of the foreground.
"Cane Sword" is a little more on the pure grime tip with some superb drum momentum, breathless atmospheres and cool samples that skid to a halt when you least expect them. Roll again...
Backed up with a Commodo remix, it's Bristol grime hotshot Hi5Ghost's turn to make his mark on the label, following a string of releases on Bandulu, as well as his own Paper Cranes imprint.
'Nook Shot' is heads-down / gunfingers in the air grime at it's most effective, testing the original palette – detuned squarewave Triton Bass and sino-esque chimes - over a guttural bassline along with drum rolls that come like a shotgun to the head... Over the last year or so 'Nook Shot' has been put to the test and passed with ease, with exclusive dubplate deployment from Boofy, Kahn, Neek, Slimzee, Commodo, Spooky, and more at various sessions, putting this one high in the ranks of 'dubplate-anthem' status.
On remix duties, the big, bad Commodo (Hotline / Deep Medi) flips it all on it's head, turning the temparature to below 0C, letting isolated elements of the original work without interruption. The result is a highly-unique cut of the original, ready to twist some minds all whilst serving the purpose of soundsystem obliteration to crushing effect.