Review | Saxxon | Party Bag EP | Natty Dub Recordings

Natty Dub follows up it’s epic compilation album ‘Rise of the Soldiers’ with Saxxon’s debut EP on the label: ‘Party Bag’.

As the title suggests, it’s chocablock full of dance floor-designed treats that, as is so often the case with Saxxon’s releases, would feel at home in any set across the DnB spectrum. Whilst the vibe is predominantly jump up, “Party Bag”’s diversity ensures it resists being pigeonholed. Indeed Saxxon’s myriad influences are all on show, from the Biggie sampled ‘Proceed’, to the 80’s funk-licked intro of ‘Hold Up’. Once they drop though, each of these tunes have Saxxon’s unmistakeable DNA stamped on them.

‘Special Occasion’ starts the party with a bang(er): straight up Jump Up aggression with a growling, yet groovy bassline that keeps you guessing. “Junction”s wobbling bassline rolls and slides over energetic drum patterns, it’s one that catches you off guard and will no doubt be switching up dance floors for a while to come. “Street Fire”’s melodic organ intro is disrupted by hard-hitting snares, blaring bass and kung-fu style samples. The filth-tinged roller ‘Proceed’ brings back memories of earlier releases like ‘Mr Mac’ and ‘Amazon Woman’, while “Hold Up”’s bouncing bassline seems a futuristic homage to his Junglist roots. I wish party bags were this good when I was a kid.

WORDS BY: Charlie Brun

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