Axxo
Silvah Bullet

5
...according to our Ant on 29 August 2008.

Summertime in England this year is typically rainy. The sun rears it's smiling face only very occasionally. To counteract the dull weather I've been immersing myself in a shitload of sunny Jamaican music from dub through dancehall. Particular highlights have been the ground-breaking dancehall styles from King Jammy's and also King Tubby's Firehouse label. When I'm not shaking my little white welsh behind to these rhythms, I like to get a little dub-wise and rootsy and then slam on some dubstep.

This week I've taken home eleven dubstep 12"s to add to my collection, which is quite remarkable as for a brief period I'd lost a little faith in the genre. Even the big players were knocking out some fairly average material. Within this bunch of plates though lurks something so inspiring that I was completely blown away.

Axxo are two producers that remain anonymous, letting the sound speak for itself. And what an almighty sound they have with their debut 12" on the brand new Killtone label. This heavyweight smasher of a 12" is an absolute joy to behold. Currently spinning on my 1210 whilst I have a can of Red Stripe in my hand (I'm writing from home), this beauty has me moving every part of my body in a hypnotic trance. Every sound except the perfectly tweaked drums has enough delay and reverb on there to properly send you to outer space. No need for weed (but it helps) as these bass-lines and rhythms are so intoxicating they remind me of why I fell in love with the genre in the first place.

A four track EP with ace Killtone house disco-bag sleeve, printed and numbered of 500 inner paper sleeves, it's a gorgeous looking thing but what lies within these grooves is even more pleasing to the senses... A landmark release within dubstep/ digi-dub and sure to become a classic within the genre this manages to sidestep the current trend of more aggressive tempos and techy basslines in favor of a more earthy yet simultaneously digital/ analogue take on bass culture. The shimmering dub chords and vocal (provided by Errol Rollins) on 'Silvah Bullet' sends shivers through my spine while the delay creates an infinite space to become completely lost within.This is really dub music at its finest. All of the elements of each track on here just weld together perfectly. Every cut makes me want to be at a dance at 3:00AM worshiping the bassbins within a cloud of sweet smelling ganja smoke. No such joy at the moment though for your humble two child owning skint writer, and so I'll just close my eyes and fantasize.

This is what I like about this EP... If you're a DJ then it's without doubt a powerful tool but it works equally as well for the home listener. The only thing left to say is that 'Punk 5' has easily made my all time top ten dubstep tunes and had both Brian and I gyrating our hips simultaneously in a way that would have been extremely terrifying for any onlooker. That bassline is a fucking monster and is coming to get you.

Loefah best watch his back and up his game as Axxo are about to tear him a new one. True underground gear that's as deep as it gets... Brilliantly mastered and a top quality cut for maximum bass pressure. Highly recommended.

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What their label says...

aXXo are two producers with a history of soundsystem operation, making what they term "magnetic dub". Taking influence from their work designing and maintaining some of the UK's top earth shattering soundsystems, we at Killtone are proud to have talked them back into the studio to showcase their skills on the label's debut outing.

aXXo are all about the sub bass elements of low end music. The 4 tracks, although varied are bonded by the desire to shake the floor, whether it be at home or when played out at the dance. Add to this their use of vintage echo boxes, home made spring reverbs and vocals by Errol Rollins, you soon realise these boys go a little deeper than your average bedroom producers. To sweeten the deal even more, each copy contains a hand stencilled inner sleeve by up and coming grafitti artist cbloxx. Welcome to the first in a series of heavy twelves.