- It'a official, Aquasky have dropped the vs Masterblaster from their name and have settled into making breakbeat tunes something which Keiron from Aquasky is rumoured to have said "we're still making the same music, just at a different tempo!". Breakbeat Bass is the very first mix CD compilation for Aquasky's Passenger label and features tunes from label signings both on Passenger and sister label 777 such as The Breakfastaz, Backdraft, NZ heavyweights Baitercell & Schumacher, the Ragga Twins and of course Aquasky themselves.
The CD kicks off with a classic Aquasky tune The Krush Groove which first came out in 2003. It features a deep rumbling bass line, female vocal stabs, a hypnotic tech hook in the background and appearing in the middle of the tune, a wicked bongo break. For fans who missed out on the vinyl the first time, the 'sky have just done a "blink and you'll miss it" repress of their back catalogue so you can get your grubby little hands on it.
Boom was the first ever release on the 777 offshoot, dropping a dirty and growling bassline, ragga vocal stabs and, during the breakdown, an uplifting synth hook. The CD's not all about Aquasky though with Transformerman dropping his Murder On The Loveboat into mix giving up an even growlier bassline, hard hitting snares and subtle synth lines in the background. Finland's Infekto follows on with the 2-step meets rave of Black Magic featuring a 2-step style breakbeat with the highly noticable hi-hats and subtle snares, a melodic bassline and a big rave-influenced synth line during the breakdown.
Halfway through the mix brings out the vocal led breaks tunes starting with Aquasky's Addiction, taking things back to the days of warehouse raves with a vocal phrase that goes "I remember when you would say, that you'd love me in every way". Quite cheesy for Aquasky but results have shown that by giving a crowd a memorable and easy vocal phrase they end up singing along on the dancefloor and enjoying themselves more. Aquasky then drop their Top Gun remix of Baitercell & Schumacher's Lock & Load featuring the vocals of Bex who sings on top of big room filling drums and a massive synth hook, which only gets bigger during the breakdown.
Backdraft have seen a number of releases on the Passenger label, and one that really stood out was Labrat and is featured here in the VIP version, which has never been released and was featured in Tayo's Beats & Bobz release. Apart from the massive bass line and sped up hip hop sample which remain the same, the VIP version features a longer drop where the vocal sample and bass line take the reigns. Darqwan is one artist who I would have never expected to release a tune on Passenger simply because he's known for his dark take on 2-step/UK garage, however with Raisin' Kane he does a pretty good with the tear out breaks sound featuring a rolling breakbeat, a very busy bassline (combined with regular bass booms),dark synth lines and a gruff "Raising Kane" vocal sample.
To finish the mix off Baitercell & Schumacher provide an unreleased version of What's Down Low - the tune that put them on the map. The new version features a new take on the bass line, harder drums while keeping Bex's vocals intact.
Breakbeat Bass is a wicked compilation of the releases that have made Passenger one of the breakbeat labels to look out for - about time too as the fans who don't buy vinyl have been offered nothing as far as a CD compilation goes. Even better news is that the CD is being offered at a budget price, you can buy copies for your mates and get them all into the Passenger sound... yeah that sounds like a plan!