Oktane Records No.4 Review
Richard Toomz – Sheet Feeder
Richard Toomz should need no introduction. His unique style – hard with a slice of groove always present – has gained him signings to Vicious Circle, FlashPoint, Kaktai and Igloo Wax among others, Engineered by long-time collaborator Dave Owens, it is a perfect example of his work. A superbly groovy off-beat bass-line underpins the whole track, with key changes and double notes in all the right places. Little vocal snippets, samples and synth stabs and a shuffling percussion maintain the feel, until the teaser riff leads into the breakdown. The main riff has an old school uplifting quality to it which goes down treat on the dancefloor, and goes perfectly with the groove factor of the off-beat bass. Top work from Toomz, this a track that will no doubt find itself in many DJ’s sets for some time to come.
Grady G – Rock This
Grady G’s music has earned him the reputation of being the type that bites heads off babies. This is far from the truth but his style of hard NRG isn’t the sort of thing you’d play to your granny! ‘Rock This’ is his best ever production for me, it’s more on the Hard House side of NRG but still retains all of his trademarks. Punchy kick, tight percussion, and a galloping bassline all give the track an edge of pure power, with edits and little samples all over the place to keep people dancing. The main hoover riff (for there are quite a few tasteful hoovers in the intro as well!) is a work of art. The classic riff slots perfectly into place in the break, and positively booms out of club systems. Just as you’re busy appreciating it, the drop slams in with the full power of the main body of the track, and the crowd (real or imaginary) goes wild…
Tom Parr & Matt Pickup – Funky Musik
Tom Parr is one of the stars of the future, racking up releases like there’s no tomorrow and engineering all his own material. Look out for a Tom Parr EP on Oktane soon! Collaborating with Frantic’s Matt Pickup here, the result is an absolute stormer. The huge off beat bassline does have a certain groove to it, but I’m fairly sure it’s the ‘funky music’ vocal that has given the track its name. The choppy riff in the intro build-up is a sign of things to come, but the breakdown holds a couple of surprises which will without doubt smash it on the dancefloor. Firstly there’s the unexpected riff stabs, then the classic hardcore piano riff which works really well here. The riff stabs wind up the breakdown to the drop, where the full power of the monster riff comes in to play complimented by the chopped up vocal. This versatile track has got absolutely bags of energy!
