Hands in the air, early morning happiness with this classic ladies-love-it housey lament to lost love.

The Gallic techno genius announced his return with this techno monster. Beloved of the Brits, Laurent went a bit quiet for a while but returned to his best with this party stormer.

A massive artist, a massive tune, one of the massive early releases on FFRR. Frankie, one of the worlds most successful DJ producers teamed up with the beautiful voice of Robert Owens to cut this club classic

A classic darkcore release from the Ram stable, this tune does what it says on the tin with its dark tunnel bass and haunting samples. “Valley of the Shadows” was the release that put the hard hoover sound of the Ram boys on the map and will still mash the dancefloor.

This tune is one of the early classics, huge in the early 90’s it set the template for house in the early era. Classic breakdowns with a relentless building bassline this tune rocked a thousand raves.

Relatively new label NHS Recordings are building a solid reputation for quality Drum’n’Bass, although in this case it might best be called Jazz’n’Bass. Pull the Plug is a lovely flowing jazzy number underpinned by a phat Double Bass, reminiscent of the sort of tunes you would hear at Fabio’s Swerve. Through this stonky roller a jazzy trumpet revolves while funky guitar licks evoke a much funked up James Bond.

One of the main criticisms of Drum’n’Bass is that it’s impossible to dance to. Now I don’t find it a problem as two step reggae was one of my first loves, but even the most unwilling Jungalist couldn’t help but tap their feet to this one….then they would probably start nodding their heads until, before you even knew it they would be shaking their arse. For everyone who likes to get involved in the music and not sit sidelined, this is a must!

Photek strikes again, and hard. Photek has a reputation based on a sublime studio technique and a dedication to minimalist production. Both these qualities are immediately noticeable on Knitevision, his latest release on Total Science.

This is a blinding tune, fat bass lines, minimal atmospheric rhythmic percussion and rolling drums-music for the millenium in tried and tested Photek style. On it’s own it perhaps lacks a little depth but as part of a mix it is sublime. This “mixability “ of Photek's recordings is one of the great joys of his work. The other is the certain knowledge that every note, every little noise is so carefully crafted and positioned with a master’s eye for detail and position. At this rate I’ll simply put in a subscription for every Photek record that comes out (I wish I had for the now rare Photek 1-6 series)

Shy FX has been kinda quiet of late, but returns with a stormer. A lovely Jungle percussive piece, Bambaata delivers what it promises. Strong on African rhythm, Dillinja's remix is certainly a roller and cleverly peppered with atmospheric animal samples, including of course that mightiest king of the Jungle, the Lion.
This tune has been the bomb in the clubs, partly because it is nicely different from the big sound, high production Tech step stylee that has been so prevalent on the scene recently. An excellent tune well worth a bet and sure to find a place in anyone’s box.

For a relatively young label NHS recordings have been putting out some remarkably mature music. This release, their twelfth, is no exception. Classic Jazz melodies layered with funky double bass, rolling snares and imaginative fills - the London Electricity trademark sound. This time they go a step further by collaborating with Jon Forte (of Fugee’s fame) to bring a soulful Black American flavour to what is a distinctly English sound. The Jon Forte side is more Hip hop than Jungle but the London Electricity side makes this a compelling Jungle record. If there is a criticism then it is that the Electricity trademark sound is becoming a little repetitive. However if you don’t know “ Songs in the key of Knife “ or “ Pull the plug” then go and get this tune.

First release on new label Federation, Here 4 Ever comes at you from two angles. First, on the A side is Angie’s cool airy vocal mix, but don’t let the sexy ethereal vocals fool you, this is a fat tune. The Bass line is thick and full and rolls madly along after the breezy intro accompanied by hard spacey drums
The B side, 4 Ever Again is the dub and is a much harder sounding dark tunnel of tech driven Drum’n’Bass. The tune rolls and breaks and rolls again in a fluid sea of Bass, finally breaking down to the bare dub essentials. The instrumental version is suitable for clubs, but the A side is great for home listening.

Once again, Sicknote, the B-side is a killer cut. With a definite soundtrack flavour, Sicknote opens atmospherically with tons of strings, brass and piano. Ed Rush & Optical then roll out the Adam F style Bassline before layering it all up again with lots of phase. A classic moody dark roller. Watermelon is a good tune, but has more of a Ram sound than a Virus one. Still it has the required Phat Bass and is well produced if a little uninspiring

Kalm is pretty fresh on the scene, but with tunes like these he’s bound to make an impact. Flashlight rolls in Assassin style with a growling Bass that eats you up. This tune is pretty industrial with lots of heavily distorted sounds and a futuristic edge. Close range is more of the same moody, percussive, futuristic B-line business.

Personally I prefer the B-side, Hole Punch, that, like its name implies is Fierce, Fat and Funky. Not only that but it’s moody as well with haunting strings and vocals and a raging Hi hat. Futher atmosphere is added through car screeches and a Techy hard 808 breakdown that rattles the room. A side, Spawn is a futuristic roller with lots of Phase and echo. Somewhat, one would imagine, like standing on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise when a ruck with the Klingons kicks off….

Roni Size and DJ Die return on this collaboration with vocalist Lennie Laws. Breakbeat Era has been causing tidal waves in Clubland with its violent Bass, cascading Drum and inspired vocals. Vocal D&B is often little more than vocal samples stuck on a tune but Size has once again shown his composing skills by making a real song styled to incorporate the vocals as a complete project. The essential rhythms and vocals are accompanied by some wicked Sub Bass and distorted strings. The C side in this double pack features Control freak with a lovely squelchy B line, Chinese gongs and searing strings with Lennie's characteristic vocal echoing over the top. Breakbeat Era have already taken on their show on the road and will be appearing at Glastonbury. Well worth checking out both in person and on vinyl.

Federation are developing a nice little reputation, not a dancefloor stomper rep like Bad Company, but a muso-jazzy roller rep like Hospital, and justifiably so. This, their fifth release is also their finest. A well put together double EP, featuring a Breaks mix from Dan out of Danmass. But the main feature is the Full Cycle rinse given to Radio Ham, by J-Raq straight outta Bristol. It opens with a classic sample and moody strings, giving way to a lovely full jazzy bass line. Flying fish are quite a musical bunch really, as the best parts of this tune are the Piano riff with string refrain and the marvellous Keyboard hook that keeps you,… well,… hooked right until the very end. A lovely little jazzy roller.

OK, fess’ up time. I think test is Dillinja and Lemon D but I’m not sure. However, I will find out in time for the next test review, but for the time being this lovely tune got the best crowd reaction when played out on Saturday night. Its Phat and phunky as only the Dillinja knows how. So Damn Tuff is laden with FX from the tripped out vocal samples to the busy busy busy breaks via innumerable Unidentified Frequency Outbursts (UFO’s) that pepper the tune. Vicious is new D’n’B from the old school. Not a ragga style in sight, but full of Old Skool vocals, fat rolling B-lines, Spinbacks and a thumping hard snare. Nor does Vicious let you off the hook. It perseveres right to the end, driving you further and further into submission.

Question, what do you get when two producers who have paid their dues and worked their way to the top set up an independent label and spend six months in their Soho studio recording their debut Album?

Answer, A classic disc of Deep Dark Minimal Urban Underground Drum and Bass. Thank heaven, Ed Rush & Optical are not bound by label demands - they are free to take their own route. The kickback against Dark Drum and Bass has been fierce; these two have ignored the critics and detractors and produced what they wanted.

Wormhole is a throwback and a step forward at the same time. The Darkside needed to change, and this, as they say, is the Logical Progression. To remove Jungle from its dark urban roots and turn it into a commercial commodity to be lightly sprinkled on adverts for Cars is wrong, but the Darkside was becoming repetitive and sinister. Ed Rush and Optical have risked all on a dangerous path, but the reward is worth it. Wormhole is a dark but not disturbing, a heavy but not over produced debut album that firmly announces the arrival of two underground Dons on the mainstream.

What can you say about V recordings? That they have the best producers, that they are the coolest label around - the Metalheadz of Millennium Drum and Bass. All of the above, and probably a bit more would probably not do justice to them or this eight piece vinyl boxed set. To review everything on it would take longer than I have so I shall just mention the highlights.

First among them must be RAM’s rework of Krust’s classic tune “Warhead” A massive tune in the first place, this remix shows not only why we all loved it in the first place, but also how Drum and Bass has changed since the original was released. The Reprazent crew are here in force, with another tune by Krust, two by Die- including the beautiful lazy groove of “Autumn”, one by Suv and two by the inimitable Roni Size. His new creation “Windrush”, penned in homage to the first Jamaican immigrants, is classic Roni - fat Double Bass, tight Drums and strong melody. Bound to be massive.

Next come two absolute classics, tunes that caned clubland for months. Adam F’s “Brand New Funk”- a chunky rolling atmospheric number crammed full of Adam’s obvious musicality and guaranteed to make any place shake, and “Funktion” by Ed Rush and Optical from their “Wormhole “ album.

Ed Rush and Optical are the Jungle scene’s “producers of the moment”, and have relentlessly been coming up with slices of near sublime minimal darkness. This is in contrast to the main trend that is moving in a louder, clearer more highly produced direction.

Planet V also features tunes by Peshay, Bill Riley, Scorpio, D Product, Ray Keith and newcomers Kamanchi. All in all, V Classics is a load of great tunes for little money. V Recordings have provided a real window on the Drum and Bass scene for the end of the millennium.

London Electricity are on a nice little roll, a small Indy label that knows what it wants and where it’s going. “ Rewind” is harder than their previous releases but maintains the funk. London Electricity have always had respect, now they might get popularity as well. Keep on rolling, a label to look out for.

Bad Company have been smashing it hard this year with their combination of jazzy licks and crashing B-lines. Recent arrivals- their plates have been hot property and their releases have all done well after months of rinsing on the country’s dancefloors. “ The pulse” begins gentle jazz, but the façade soon drops as the lurking bassline bursts through. The “B” side, “ China Cup plays to the current, dark but not scary vibe with haunting strings and of course the trademark fat bass. Bad Company have been prolific this year on a number of labels, miss out at your cost.

“ We like the music” opens beautifully, searing strings haunted by an ethereal vocal. The intro sets a lovely opening to a fat squelchy moving Bass line. “Heatseeker” is more of the same-hoover bass, searing strings and ethereal feel. However, John B may have over extended himself, releasing over 300 minutes of Drum and Bass. Inevitably, with such a prolific output, some of the tunes are below par and some are repetitive. “ We like the music” is the exception, probably the best of John B’s output and well worth having.

Peshay’s had a few problems recently. The material he is releasing now is two years old, as his record label Mo Wax held up release. Disgruntled, Peshay sought to get out, but it took two years and “ Switch” is his first release on new label, Blue, a subdivision of Island. “ Switch” is classic “ Miles from home “ Peshay. Filled with a Jazz flavour, Peshay denies the Miles Davis implication, which is difficult in the face of the trumpet samples that must come from Miles. The similarity ends there though. “Switch” is a very musical tune themed by a fat double bass, Jazzy percussion, chimes and claves and plenty Horn stabs. However, it’s a definite two step and is filled with many modern effects and techniques that have no place in Jazz.

Moving Shadow have managed a successful reinvention here moving their funkier stuff onto offshoot “ Audio Couture”. So far, Audio Couture has been pretty damned good. “ Fellowship “ is no exception, very Jazzy, with Double Bass, trumpet stabs, soaring strings and mellow keyboard grooves. “ Muthafunka” is a deep house sort of a groove with a Drum and Bass riddim, Liquid Funk- Fabio style.

What can you say? A quiet year from Roni –on his own, and then he comes up with a late entry smasher for tune of the year. More stompy than we’ve come to expect from Mr. Size, “Snapshot” is hard, repetitive and relentless, a real dancefloor stormer, it contrasts dramatically with the “ Breakbeat Era “ project that has been Roni’s main business this year. “ Snapshot “ does exactly what it says on the vinyl, it provides a yardstick to measure the years releases.

Another release from Island’s new Drum and Bass imprint, “ Under you sky” is a lovely example of quality vocal Drum and Bass. A tune where the vocals are intentional, not just a filler and where the orchestration is designed to make the vocal work, which of course, it does. The tune does the usual fart bass, breakdowns and spinbacks of D&B but whist still maintaining a melodic and vocal harmony. Lovely.

Anyone for Ol’ Skool? Need it? Get it here with “A sides”. Hard, remorseless, deep and broken up. “ A Sides” I still don’t quite know what to say, except, it’s good.

Well, don’t these boys just keep on coming up with the goods. This 12” could be viewed as a double A, as both tunes are delightfully imbued with the Virus production sound. Gas mask is hard, but crammed with Jazzy Piano, Rolling breaks and a Fat, squelchy bassline- in total, a little like being squeezed through a sub aqua accordion. This feeling is accompanied by a dark and menacing continual drone, occasionally ruptured by strings that stab. Bacteria is a simpler tune, but just as effective. Carefully arranged drums make Bacteria a pleasure to drop, Dub style. Bouncy, booming and beautiful- the Virus drum sound is here to stay.

You can hear Photek’s production coming through clearly on this Digital tune. Seems like an obvious thing to say I know, but Photek’s production sound has been sorely missed during the last few years. The precision, the nothing-more-than-you-need minimalism and the shit-loads-more-than-you-need overpowering Phat bass lines make all of Photek’s work immediately identifiable. And now, Digital and Special forces have arrived, groomed through Photek’s “ Art of Bass”
Lower depths is the Phatter of the two, and nicely moody. Suitable to tear up any dance floor. Sub Zero is more cunning and jam-packed full of production trickery. Not so stompy, but very clever and powerful. Branded by moody organ, Sub Zero is dark for the connoisseur.