Skool Of Thought - Heavyweight Breaks

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  • The latest release from Skool Of Thought and Krafty Kuts' new Supercharged label is a collection of tunes that have defined both Supercharged and the nu-skool breaks sound. Available on CD is a mix done by Skool Of Thought himself, showcasing the releases done by Supercharged, it's sister label Against The Grain and other various nu-skool breaks tracks. For the vinyl junkie, a 2-vinyl EP is available to more than satisfy any cravings. Side A1. Krafty Kuts vs Ed Solo feat. TC Izlam - Bunker Buster Forget everything you have heard about Krafty Kuts and TC Izlam's hip hop and breaks anthem Ill Type Sound, Bunker Buster is nothing like it. Heavy breaks and dark, deep bass with some arpeggio stabs on the top, courtesy of the "vs Ed Solo" - this is the Supercharged sound after all. TC Izlam is a complete surprise on this track, adopting a deep, menacing vocal proclaiming things like "The Bunker has now been busted!". "Ill" must be his favourite word as he still uses it in this track. It's nothing like you've heard from Krafty before, but it is everything you'd expect - quality and more. Side B1. LL Cagoul J - Hardcore B-Boy Shit OK, is this meant to be a piss take? If I was gonna take the piss out of LL Cool J, I'd at least do a nu-skool cover of one of his tracks (Mama Said Knock You Out maybe?), however in this track this is not the case. It's a very simple track using only a few elements - uptempo breakstep beats repeated all the way through, a simple bass line and a vocal sample repeating the words "Hardcore B-Boy Shit" (hmmm, what should I call this track?). Side B2. Skool Of Thought - World Of Music (Ed Solo Mix) More bassy breakstep business with this tune, however this track has a little more melody than the previous two, adding in a synth line on the top and a bit of percussion elements as well. To top it all off, a few vocal samples have been added. If the dancefloor couldn't get their arses shaking with the first 2, then this should do the trick. Side C1. Mach One - Diablo Another new artist to emerge from the Supercharged stables, Mach One pulls out the evil bass and tweaks the f*ck out of it, creating some interesting bass manipulations - in fact (as is the case with this whole compilation), the bass elements are heavy throughout this whole track (as is the case with the Supercharged label). If it wasn't for the breaks and the vocal samples, the only thing that would be left is a bass line and a few ambient stirrings. Devilishly good with no pun intended. Side D1. Skool Of Thought - Music Is Music A whole side of vinyl on 33rpm? that means the tune would be around 8 minutes. Thinking it was a misprint, I was surprised to hear drum'n'bass come out - D'OH! OK, so it is a 33rpm track and it is the biggest surprise on this compilation - glad he saved it for the end of both the vinyl and the CD as well. Crisp breaks to introduce the track and then it's time to bring in the jazzy trumpet solo - WTF? definitely something I haven't really heard in breaks before - and no, it's not a riff (repeated sequence of notes done throughout the song), the trumpet sound involves a lot of variation to it - simply because it was done live by a N. Wilson as credited on the record itself. Accompanied by some string samples and a few vocal samples, this tune is probably the best production on this compilation. Onya Skool Of Thought, bring some live elements into the game and change the breaks sound forever! Maybe this compilation isn't for all discerning ears, especially after hearing the reactions I recieved from fellow breaks heads, but it shows that there are labels out there that are willing to push the boundaries of breaks. Complete with a picture of a grandma (or grandpa - I can't tell) with a lit ciggie and a shirt that matches the colour scheme of the whole compilation, this should be the perfect present to give to any hard breaks fan, if they haven't gotten a copy already.
RA