The Groove Thief

DJ Enso may be famed for running the revered club XXX and for throwing down banging late-night bass-music sets, but he can also assemble one mean mixtape as he proves with Future Dancehall フューチャーダンスホール Vol. 1. Drifting between jungle, hip-hop, and dancehall, the success of the ongoing “Future Dancehall” nights is elevated to a higher level through studio production and the inclusion of some of Hong Kong’s choicest MCs. XXX-regular Rahyym joins Ngabo on Major Popular’s “The Ruler,” 10z and Kafe Hu appear on a Dub Phizix & Skeptical track, while local Cantonese legend Masta Mic, EKORB, as well as my regular partner in crime MC Loki Dolo combine forces on an exclusive Enso refix of DJ Zinc x Dope Skillz. Big tracks from Rebel MC, Million Stylez, Collie Buddz (DJ Yoda remix) and The Bug keep the beats heavy while the styles switch. Hopefully this will become an ongoing series since Hong Kong is certainly in need of more mixtapes and proper releases…

The mix is available on Soundcloud, or you can DIRECT DOWNLOAD and get the jungle-thug (?) artwork as well. Enso recently appeared at the Clockenflap music festival, so check out his bass-fueled live mix as well:

DubRaJah brings some real heady dub vibes on Terai, letting the full force of the subcontinental jungle take control. “Mentawi Dub” is a massive track, pulsating steppas beneath a smooth melodica; “Papua Dub” goes deep while the summoning call of “Sumatra Dub” pairs well with the twangy percussion; “Tharu Dub” is as serene as Nepal’s Bardia National Park, “Newars Dub” combines tribal drums and digital rhythms, and closer “Nepal” is a sparse, churning epic. This is clearly musical anthropology gone dub, or is that dub gone anthropological?

Canada’s Dubmatix makes classic dub sound fresh.  His latest release, “Renegade Rocker Dub,” has a catchy main rhythm that alternates with spacier drum sections, making the horns a delight each time they return.  With almost 100 tracks on Soundcloud, there’s lots of buried dub treasure here, like “Deep Dark Dub” and the surprisingly funky “Pirate Dub.”  Reggae and jungle tracks abound as well, but it’s the hazy head-nodding tracks that are the most impressive:

Krak In Dub’s latest track is less bass-heavy rub-a-dub and more conscious drum ‘n bass.  “Gov Headz” features a choice vocal sample, a solid ragga-jungle vibe, and will benefit from a volume increase:

GOV HEADZ by KRAK IN DUB

Delacroix Records throws down some proper old-school jungle on “Mash Up Lucifa”: big beats, repetitively looped vocals, and enough synths to break a keyboard.  Add in a really entertaining glitchy video, and it’s genuinely upsetting that this was released in November 2009.  As an added bonus, check out the slightly less amazing but more recent “The Devil.”