If Viper Recordings is good at one thing, it’s teasing the hell out of its fans, promoters and constituents when a big release is about to drop. Case in point: their second collaboration with Bassrush, Bassrush 2.0. The drum and bass community on both sides of the pond have been hearing about this massive collab since approximately 1906 (or June), and there’s still another ten days left until the album releases in full. The compilation has a full 36 tracks on it and is a beautiful example of the UK and U.S. drum and bass scenes working together to produce something epic.
The comp includes such heavy hitters as Moby (yes, the Moby), Calyx & Teebee, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Matrix & Futurebound and Cyantific, but also taps the heretofore undiscovered genius of the likes of The Voss, NC-17 and Theatrix. This release also includes two mixes by Consouls & Des McMahon and The Voss & NC-17. 2.0 is all drum and bass this time (with a little halftime), so don’t go looking for dubstep or glitch, but this massive volume in Viper and Bassrush history definitely runs the gamut of styles within drum and bass.
Luckily Viper and Bassrush, masters of tease that they are, have already released a four-track sample pack with some select tracks to whet fans’ appetites even more. Most importantly on this sampler is, of course, “The Atlas” by Consouls and Zeal, one of the members of whom is Your EDM’s very own moonlighting bass music writer. “The Atlas,” per Consouls’s style is melodic from a vocal and synth standpoint, but it has a dark bass undertone, theatrical drums and a swooping synth sample which comes in and emotes even more than the melody Presumably Zeal helped them accomplish this.
Opening the sampler is a megamix by Kallan HK and brand new track by J Majik and Jonay called “Reptile” which has a haunting melodic quality, but with J Majoki’s unmistakable grinding bass and some surprising tech/neuro flashes. It also combines old, smacky jump up beats with current bass roller styles. It’s surprising, hard to track and will make J Majik fans fall in love with him all over again. Next up is another surprise in the form of Blaine Stranger’s halftime roller with an amen break called “Into You,” which is quite glitchy and different for the Aussie’s style, but again it shows the range many of these Viper artists have. The EP closer on this sample pack is a techy dancefloor roller by Aktive and Bad Syntax featuring MC Kryme Fyter which almost channels a bit of darkstep from the late 90s, but in a totally modern way.
For drum and bass fans, September 1 can’t come soon enough, and Bassrush 2.0 will definitely scratch the itch all the teasing helped create. It’s great to see Viper and Bassrush come together once again to inspire artists to do some of their best work, to showcase the talent on both sides of the pond and also to show some of the untapped resources of this still vast and growing genre of bass music.
Bassrush 2.0 (Viper presents) releases on September 1 and is available for pre-order on Beatport.