Psy-Breaks Roundup

Psy-breaks? Nobody’s sure if it’s a genre yet or it’s still an ideal. A notion. Always there are psyheads who say it’s not psy enough, and breaksheads who say it’s not breaks enough. Meh. In the middle there’s some good music being produced, so let’s (yes let’s) start taking a look at it. For which I need your tips and “heads up”s folks – is it good? Point psyreviews in the right direction!!

This week looking at 10 Kilo Records, the London-based label who’ve been doing this breaks stuff for longer than most out there. First up DJ Hal – Sound Muscle. The original mix is decent, hefty electro with splattered rapping over the top and the Dub version keeps the nice electro in pace, with clear production over the top. Also of interest here (although it’s not breaks) is the 130bpm Nuisance, sounding a little like Loopus-inspired funky psychedelic house.

PMT’s Afro Lava Lamp is a great record: the Zulu Dawn Mix is a moochy, 126bpm gem that slinks along like a sleazy robot-pimp, with quite a smattering of psychedlia in there in the looming, menacing washes in the background… perfect for any chillout set, or pitch it up a bit and you’ve got the dancefloor covered. Smithmonger’s Menu Monkey Remix on the other hand is definitely there, sounding like a smoother Eat Static with caustic-friendly beats thrashing down, great effects and stabs, and evem sub-bass licks thrown in for good measure.

PMT’s other release at the moment, Gyromancer Remixes, is a corker. Elite Force turn in a 132bpm slinky breaks delightfest, with definite scifi flavour offset against funky stabs in a shiny, polished soundscape.. and when it picks up its acid for the final run it’s jaw-droppingly good. And then there’s The Stanton Warriors mix (I can’t believe these guys are being mentioned in Psyreviews! Do I lose trance points?) While there’s the odd scratch here and there, this is a very psy-friendly record… Plenty of movement and change, plenty of funked up breaks and… well in short, it’s a fucking great record. Dirk Technic’s mix if also very worthy of note, a 4-4 jumpy-proghouse rework whose echoes of techno and acidhouse do it justice.

Top of the heap this month has to be

is simply one of the best records I’ve heard this year, a furiously confident and inventive tune with solid beats, melodic energy bursting from the seams. Seriously, the amount going on here is just insane… it just speaks the word “overflowing” to you and makes you want to play it louder and louder.

is a busy piece of technoey breakage, with plenty going on in it and a scuffed-up-funk vibe to it. Check some of this out, especially if you’re a bit psy-jaded cough

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New Artist Demo Of The Month

New new new new new new new new NEW!!! etc

To clarify from last mailout... I realised belatedly that "demo" in most countries in the world refers to a DJ's mix CD. In the UK, one of those is called a "mix" and a "demo" refers to material by an artist -- producer, band, MC, etc. This doesn't mean I've got it wrong -- it means the rest of the worldhas got it wrong.

So...

Each month, psyreviews will be selecting a demo from an unsigned or unreleased artist, that shows massive scope and massive promise and maybe even the odd bit of excitement ;)

If your demo is selected, it'll be available for download on psyreviews.com and "reviewed" or pushed to the masses. Labels will also be actively poked in its direction, and all the feedback we get from people who check it out will be collected and collated and made to look reasonably nice in psyreviews' dodgy, space-inefficient HTML.

If you're interested in sending anything over then please email info@psyreviews.com

CURRENTLY... we're going through material already submitted -- some of which is staggering in its punchiness and overlal quality -- for the July Demo Of The Month. Get em coming in, contact info@psyreviews.com and do it todaayayyy!!!