Bleep

Barely a year on from the release of Hardcore Traxx, Dance Mania Records have dropped a second pounding label retrospective. Featuring another 15 cuts of grimy, high-octane gutter-house from heavyweight contributors such as DJ Deeon, Jammin’ Gerald and Traxmen, this is a no-holds-barred exploration of a niche scene which bridged hip-hop, house, funk and electro, and which ultimately paved the way for the inimitable footwork sound so prevalent over the last five years. Once again, UK imprint Strut do the digging so we don’t have to, wading knee deep through the sprawl of cuts that underpin this vital movement and unearthing a number of rough diamonds for our listening pleasure. Despite being worth your money for the Deeon bangers alone, prime cuts such as Mathematics legend Steve Poindexture’s ‘Computer Madness’, Parris Mitchell’s Liaisons Dangereuses-sampling classic ‘Ghetto Booty’ and the skipping ghetto grot of ‘Let Me See You Butterfly’ all ensure this compilation will never be far from your bag. From the frenetic bump of opener ‘Pump That Shit’ right through to the rubbery disco-rap of ‘Bitches’, this is a soundtrack that pulls no punches: the grooves are dirty, the vocals are hypnotic and the pace is relentless.