Various Artists
Shockout Volume 1
(Tigerbeat6)
Over the course of the past year or so, the Tigerbeat6 label (run by Kid 606) has been putting out a series of 12" records under the name of shockout that have run the range from flopped-out dub to hard ass breakbeat ragga, gabber, and all kinds of things in between. This first compilation under the same name pulls together a bunch of tracks of similar style, mixes them together, and in many cases vocals are added over the top by Wayne Lonesome. The result is one of the most banging mixes I've heard in a long time.
Although the release definitely cracks, Shockout Volume 1 fortunately presents a fairly good variety of tracks and a nice mix instead of simply hammering away for the whole mix. The release actually opens and closes with glitchy dub style tracks from Strategy (who has released a couple albums on his own and dropped Drumsolo's Delight on Kranky last year), and those tracks provide both a slow lead in and a slight instrumental cooling period for the almost hours worth of music in-between.
The Com.A/Wicked Act track "No Heathen" gradually ramps things up with more aggressive vocal stylings while alternating between delayed dub beats and spurts of breakbeats before Team Shadatek and Wayne Lonesome drop the glitchy thump of "Demnuhknowme" and Rootsman and He - Man get seriously ragga with the orchestral stabs and growly vocals of "Killer." It's after that track, though, where the album really starts to let loose as Soundmurderer & SK1 team up with Wayne Lonesome for a track that starts out sounding like fairly standard drum and bass (with vocals from Lonesome) before breaking off into a frantic barrage of ripping beats and growling basslines.
The middle-section of the release keeps a nice mixture of mid-tempo and hyper-fast tracks, as Kid 606 himself and Wayne Lonesome rip out the tabla-breaks of "Buckle Up" while DJ/Rupture and Collage team up for a more minimal track of throbbing bass, bird chirps, and shards of electronics. In some cases, the same track (originally released as two sides of a 12") finds its way into the mix in a couple different incarnations and the differences are usually unique enough to hold up. Techlevel2's take on "Who Wan Seek War" slams even harder than the Soundmurderer & SK1 version while The Bug and Rootsman's take on "Buckle Up" manages to red level the version done by Kid 606. Although there's a fair amount of variety on the release, at fifteen tracks and nearly seventy minutes running time, it's a pretty heavy helping to take in one sitting. If you were a fan of heavier moments of DJ/Rupture's Minesweeper Suite or enjoyed Soundmurderer's Wired For Sound, you'll probably find plenty to love here, otherwise this one is more for the hardcore.
Rating: 7
