Advantages: A pack with good songs throughout, and at an almost comical price
Disadvantages: Big drum’n’bass packs have a reputation of being big boxes of crud

...Ok, I know there are hoards of these 'outstanding value' drum and bass collections on offer. 2, 4, even 6 cd’s packed full of, erm… the fiercest of cuts that you’ve never actually heard of and probably don’t ever want to hear. They fill the front of the pack with the names of the true legends, Hype, Zinc, SS, Bukem, Peshay, Shy fx, etc.. but you then find that out of the dozens of tracks, only a handful of them are from the people they're using to advertise the collection. To be honest, in my opinion they suck. I have bought a few of them, being a bit of a drum’n’bass fan, and they were offensive to me, some daft corporation thinks they can con true fans into buying their rubbish, or tempting those new to the scene with a huge box of big named players. It gives the genre a bad name, disheartens... Read review

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Advantages: Better sound
Disadvantages: None

...programmed electronic percussion, the keyboards are played by Richard Barbieri which gives the percussion section of the track extra depth and attack, along with Mick Karn’s fretless bass on top which gives the song a more dramatic feel, put together with the guitar of Sylvain make this more of a mantra than a song which opens with the line “Once I was young, Once I was smart, now I’m living on the edge of my nerves” “Hoooo- o the art of parties” “I’m Burin’ buildings I’m building this time”, locking of the high hat from Jensen on the drum kit at the end of every repeat of the line along with the rumble of fretless bass, the whole track is build around this repeating line that the squealing guitar sound of Sylvain punches out the title of the song that now has a tambourine added... Read review

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Advantages: Original, beautiful, creative, imaginative
Disadvantages: Still a little to hard or a little too soft for extremists

...New Forms is one of the only drum’n’bass albums to make it into mainstream acceptance. Roni has managed to make music that appeals to fans of normal types of dance music without alienating true drum’n’bass fans. This feat cannot be overlooked as the two styles of music, although similar to an extent, are very hard to mix. True drum’n’bass as I would call it is some of the most intense music you will ever hear, with ultra-fierce drums and stomach grinding bass. Attempts to bring this music to the masses has always ended up with watered down pap that is too weak and lame for the drum’n’bass massive, and still not dancey enough for the mainstream that it was intended for. (and no, I can’t think of any better descriptions than dancey!) The hybridisation of drum’n’bass and ‘normal’ music resulted in Ambient drum’n’bass, which... Read review

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Advantages: Awesome chillout cd
Disadvantages: Not to everyones taste

...Dis Is Da Drum - Herbie Hancock! Who is Herbie Hancock?? Well, he was born in 1940 and by the tender age of 11 was considered somewhat of a piano virtuoso. In 1963 he received a life changing phone call from Miles Davis asking Herbie to join his band "The Miles Davis Quintet". He then took his solo career to new heights and even after being a professional musician for 5 decades is still at the forefront. He has been and is a huge inspiration in the Jazz and R&B culture we know today. The CD opens on "Call it 95", an über-funky tune in which Herbie lays down some classic, simple lines on his acoustic piano and is accompanied by some funky slide bass, awesome sax licks and as many different drum sounds as you can imagine! On this track alone there are 13 different musicians collaborating. It's the sort of track that perfectly... Read review

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Advantages: Great tracks, creates a perfect uplifting listening experience
Disadvantages: Can feel too frantic, edgy at times - spoils the overall ambient flow

...BACKGROUND: Kruder & Dorfmeister are an Austrian duo - producers, djs, remixers - made up of Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister. They are most famous for their remixes of hip-hop, pop, drum and bass, dance/electronica music. This album, "Conversions", they began mixing in June 1996, finally releasing in 1999 as both a CD and LP. It was their first full-length DJ album - despite being almost ten years old, it is still a very modern offering, and has definately stood the test of time. With music styles evolving so rapidly at the moment, it's nice to see an early K & D compilation still proving a highly enjoyable listening experience. ALBUM'S OVERALL FEEL: At an hour long, "Conversions" is a compilation of tracks by various artists, such as the early '90's "Ballistic Brothers" and fellow Austrian band "Count Basic", including one... Read review

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Advantages: Good drum and bass covering all styes
Disadvantages: So early in the morning

...This is show is one radio one at 2 am on saturday morning. It last for two hours. Normally what happens is Fabio takes it one week and Grooverider the next. It is hte biggest drum and bass radio show in the whole UK. What makes this program so good is that they play many styles on drum and bass/jungle. Most of the show is dark style drum and bass with low basslines (techstep) which is not my favorite kind. However they also play some time the old skool style of jungle. Also they do play the jazzy more intelligant type aswell which is unlike tecnho style drum and bass. Most of the stuff on the show is underground and worth a listen to even if you are not into drum and bass you might find some thing you like. There are many types of drum and bass and they play most types on the show.... Read review

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Advantages: Tailored EQ Curve, Reliable, Sturdy + Good Looks
Disadvantages: Lacking a little in mid for some applications

...The Shure Beta 52 is my preferred dynamic bass drum microphone, for both live and studio use. It provides a focused, punchy sound which is ideal for rock and pop bass drum sounds. It is also effective on sources such as bass guitar amplifiers and other bass instruments. Sound: The sound of this microphone is in no way 'natural', so if you're trying to achieve a perfectly true representation of the sound of a drum kit, this microphone may not be ideal. The frequency response is tailored to have a significant boost below 300Hz (variable in accordance with proximity effect) and also has a peak in the high mids. This gives it an almost 'mid scooped' sound when placed close to source sounds (such as inside a kick drum) but not in a bad way. It creates an immediatly usable sound which is particularly useful in live sound situations... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap and cheerful
Disadvantages: Snare stand a bit flimsy

...I own a Hohner LEX 5-piece drum kit. I bought it a couple of years ago for £300. This included Hi-hats and a crash/ride cymbal. This drum kit is a standard 5 piece kit, consisting of a bass drum, a floor tom, two mid toms and a snare. Included was a snare stand, and a cymbal stand. For the price the kit is surprisingly well made, with the insides of the drums smooth, and the outside finished in a shiny black laquer. There is a label on each of the drums with the make, Hohner, the model, LEX, and saying that it was made in Taiwan. All of the hardware, with the exception of the snare stand is sturdy. The two toms are affixed to the bass drum on two l-shaped brackets. The angle and height of the drums can be altered, and once satisfied, you can lock them in place using the drum key provided. The snare stand is not really very... Read review

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Advantages: Good range of drum and bass tunes. Lots of classics
Disadvantages: Bad if you are after the current style of drum and bass or dirty tunes.

...I bought this cd one day after having a browse through a high street music shop. I came across it and started having a browse of the tunes on the cd. As a listener/dj of drum and bass, i recognised a few of these tunes and thought why not. There are a lot of timeless tunes all mixed by Goldie. Notice i say mixed, so if you are expecting the tunes to be played on their own, unmixed, in their original state then this is not for you. It is recorded as a constant mix. This cd is mainly more down tempo, more mellow drum and bass. So if you are expecting dirty tunes or grime, then again, this is not for you. Although saying this, this cd does feature Krust - Warhead, which as people into drum and bass will know, is a grimey tune. Anyway, I can appreciate this cd, although not mixed as well as a lot of mixes i have heard... Read review

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Advantages: excellent stuff, easy to get into for dance fans
Disadvantages: not hard enough for the purists

...I'd been trying to get hold of this album for months and months and months, after picking up Todd Terry's single Let It Ride a year and a half ago. I loved it. Bouncy, beaty drum 'n' bass that was not so hard that you can't dance to it and it was so easy to listen to at any moment. Little did I know that the album was released about the same time as the single, and my adventure began there. So when I finally tracked it down and made my purchase online, my biggest question was whether or not it would be worth it... in short, YES. The first few plays and I was onto a real winner with this album, it was great. There are a number of stand-out tracks - 'Let It Ride', 'Technic' and 'Merderah' are my favourites, but as I listened more and more, I decided it was good rather than great. It's a little samey, and unfortunately soft, poppy drum... Read review

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