Adam F – Drum and Bass Warfare (The Remixes)

A live mix is common these days with most DnB albums, but its rare to play the mix before the album! Unless it happens to be mixed by DJ Craze that is… Not that Adam F is any slouch mind. The ever-solid producer of DnB anthems ‘Circles’ and ‘Brand New Funk’ and the album “Colours” (to name but a few) has been moving into the hip hop field recently, with some sweet results on the original Kaos album. The real heavy hitters of the DnB scene are let loose on those tunes, with Roni Size, Dillinja, Bad Company, John B, High Contrast and J Majik and more in full effect - which all meant I was eager to hear this album.

After I got my fix of Craze’s decksterity it was time to move onto the remixes proper. One testament to the album is that even though a bunch of the original album tunes appear in more than one remixed form, the album remains fresh. It’s also pretty cool to examine how the different artists remix the same tune, and you get some cool battles. Roni Size and Bad Company both take on the Redman featured ‘Smash Sumthin’, each adding their own flavours and giving a unique spin on the tune. With BC adding their stabbing, rolling dark beats and Roni retaining more of the original rap and layering a brutal pattern alongside. The remixes of the big single ‘Stand Clear’ (feat. MOP) are slammin’, Origin Unknown really adds a rolling jungle kick and then Matrix and Fierce blow the roof off later with their ‘VIP’ mix. The High Contrast version of ‘Karma’ has a more atmospheric sweep, complementing Guru’s flow, but becomes more hard-edged as the tune progresses. John B also rinses this one, going much deeper with a darker vibe that jives with the rap and a sweet little melody nicely. J Majik’s rework of ‘Where’s my…?’ is a stand out track. The pacey rhythm and rich production works with the vocal wickedly, using it to raise the pitch one notch further and really break it down. The remix by Dj Hype also gets an honourable mention, why nothing from Adam F himself?

Adam F is becoming one of Jungle’s ambassadors of late; adapting his production skills to hip hop and film scores of late. Here, he proves he can still work it in all camps. “Drum and Bass Warfare” is a meaty slice of jungle, proving that such collaborations can be fertile ground for musical mayhem. A rich Jungle/hip hop blend.