Critical Sound hits Southampton!!!

Tonight is the night Southampton Drum and Bass fans have been waiting for. 


Release is back and better than ever with a Critical line up . Label boss Kasra and producer of the moment S.P.Y are on the bill alongside the up and coming duo Judda and Krakota. The line up also features Southamptons finest Gerra and Stone. On hosting duties are Visionobi MC and R-Dange. Critical music has been growing from strength the strength over the past year and 2011 is set to be even bigger for the label. 


It is hard to describe the "Critical sound" musically, it is a blend of melodic, tekkie and tribal sounds. The variation is what makes it different from any other label out there. Keep your ears peeled and listen out for the future sound of Drum and Bass over the next few months! Better yet, get down to the Soul Cellar and check it out for yourself!

Highlights of 2010...

2010 was for me probably one of the best years of my life... Despite a few mishaps it was the most enjoyable and most random year. I met loads of great people and attended some absolutely AMAZING nights in Southampton and London. The Drum and Bass scene in Southampton exploded with thanks to Wax, Raygun Youth and Release. Also i was lucky enough to be given the chance to interview some of the biggest names in the scene, such as Lomax, dBridge, Instra:mental, Icicle, Break, SP:MC.

Some events that really stuck out for me were all three Hospitality's at Junk, Southampton. It was nice to have a massive club night right on our doorstep and all three nights were brilliant both musically and socially.  Also both Shogun nights at Cable were personal highlights of 2010, Frictions sets will always stand out in my mind as being the best sets not only of the year but of all time.

It wasn't just Friction that wowed me this year. Andy C smashed the decks standardly and my love for jump up was restored by Ram Records duo of the moment Loadstar. I was so pleasantly surprised when they played at Audio back in October, they were so energetic and played tune after tune!

Production wise Shogun Audio's Rockwell and Alix Perez proved themselves to be up there as the best producers of all time. Perez's dark haunting bass lines and Rockwells tekkie blips make my spine shiver every time. Other favourites include Netsky, Loadstar, Camo and Krooked.

This leads on nicely to my top 5's of 2010

Tunes...

1. Break - Slow Down

2. S.P.Y - By your side

3.  Rockwell - Dj Friendly unit shifter

4. Icicle - Minimal Funk

5. Netsky - Mellow

This was unbelievably hard to decide as there were so many good tunes this year

Events...

1. Shogun Audio at Cable - August 2010

2. Hospitality at Junk - May 2010 (Raygun Youth)

3. Ram at Fabric - December 2010

4. Hospitality at Junk - January 2010 (Raygun Youth)

5. Icicle at Soul Cellar - November 2010 (Release)

Albums...

1. Break - Resistance LP

2. Andy C - Nightlife 5

3. MOS - Mixed presents Dj Friction

4. Noisia - Split the atom

5. Netsky - Netsky

DJ's

1. Friction

2. Andy C

3. Loadstar

4. Rockwell

5. Gerra

MC's

1. IC3

2. SP:MC

3. Visionobi MC

4. I.D

5. GQ