“Some of the synths here are noxious enough to peel paint from the walls, and though the futurist crunk of Girl Unit’s “Wut” is the only song to feature an actual airhorn, airhorns are implied throughout.”

“Night Slugs’ record covers– all designed by co-founder and label contributor Bok Bok– are always combinations of black and one or two other colors, presented in various shades. Usually, the image is geometric and semi-architectural (a suspension bridge and car; glowing pistons spelling out words), but presented against a completely black background in a way that makes them look iconic, like they’re without space or landscape. I mention them because they’re a strong analogue for the label’s musical style: Not only do the bright colors sing in the darkness, but they’re given a proper spectrum. In the same way the tracks remind me that there’s a lot of range to be extracted from the seemingly monotonous blast of a rave synth, the covers remind me that hot pink can get as close to purple as it can to white– range in places you might expect to be limited. Listen to this comp more than a few times and you’ll probably start to hear chasms between stuff like Bok Bok & Cubic Zirconia’s “Reclash (Dub)” and Girl Unit’s ever-luxurious “Wut”. The palettes are similar, but the ends to which they’re used– and the moods they evoke– are different.”

Purchase CD

Purchase MP3s

01.    Mosca – Square One VIP
02.    Lil Silva – Golds 2 Get
03.    Girl Unit – IRL (Bok Bok Remix)
04.    Kingdom – Bust Broke
05.    L-Vis 1990 & T. Williams – Stand Up
06.    Jam City – Arpjam
07.    Lil Silva – Seasons
08.    Egyptrixx – Liberation Front
09.    Bok Bok & Cubic Zirconia – Reclash Dub
10.    Optimum – Broken Embrace
11.    Jacques Greene – (Baby I Don’t Know) What You Want
12.    Velour – Booty Slammer
13.    Girl Unit – Wut

We’ve had a crazy, hectic 2010. It seems apt to round off a year of non-stop releases with a consolidatory look at where we’ve been, and where we’re heading.
Night Slugs Allstars is a series of compilation that will act as a cohesive guide to our sound.

Volume 1 features brand new material alongside some of our biggest tracks of 2010 including:

Lil Silva‘s “Golds 2 Get”, and his enduring “Seasons” (NS004); Kingdom‘s punishingly percussive “Bust Broke” (NS006); Velour‘s porn-groove laden “Booty Slammer” (NS007); Girl Unit‘s reigning anthem “Wut” (NS008) aptly rounds off the album.

It wouldn’t be Night Slugs without the dubplate pressure:

Mosca‘s “Square One VIP” is a new upfront club twist on the label’s first release; L-Vis 1990 collaborates with Deep Teknologi’s T. Williams on their brutalist bassline-driven “Stand Up”; taken from his debut album, Egyptrixx‘s stratospheric “Liberation Front”; Bok Bok twists up Girl Unit’s futuristic club banger “IRL” into an acid grime ode to FWD>> circa ’04; a stripped-back dub of Bok Bok’s vinyl-only “Reclash” with Cubic Zirconia; Jam City‘s heavyweight techno-grime “Arpjam”;

Allstars Volume 1 introduces two new producers: LuckyMe family member Jacques Greene, and Hum & Buzz boss alongside Ikonika, London’s Optimum. Jacques gives us his acid epic “(Baby I Don’t Know) What You Want”, while
Optimum’s “Broken Embrace” is close to the Detroit school of soulful, robotic techno, but pumped full of sub-bass.

A consolidation of our first year as a label as well as a look ahead into 2011.

November 2010

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Among the familiar material is some of our greatest moments of 2010: Lil Silva‘s own vocal hook drives the melodic “Golds 2 Get”, and his ever-potent “Seasons” makes an appearance as well. Kingdom‘s punishingly percussive “Bust Broke” takes militant syncopation to the next level. Velour contribute “Booty Slammer”, the porn-groove laden, synth-soaked stepper from their “The Velvet Collection” EP.  Girl Unit‘s reigning anthem “Wut” rounds off the album with a massive dose of crunk ecstasy.

But it wouldn’t be Night Slugs without the dubplate material and of that there is plenty: Mosca‘s “Square One VIP” is a new twist on the label’s first release, taking the track further in an upfront Club direction. L-Vis 1990 collaborates with Deep Teknologi’s T. Williams on their brutalist bassline-driven “Stand Up”. Egyptrixx gives a glimpse of things to come with the cosmic techno of “Liberation Front”, taken from his debut album. Bok Bok twists up Girl Unit’s futuristic club destroyer “IRL” into an acid grime ode to FWD>> circa ’04. The stripped-back dub of Bok Bok’s vinyl-only “Reclash” collaboration with Cubic Zirconia also has its debut.

Allstars Volume 1 introduces two new producers to the NS fold. The first is Montreal native Jacques Greene, whose debut on our friends the LuckyMe label is currently about to drop. Jacques gives us “(Baby I Don’t Know) What You Want”, a driving contemporary acid house piece, awash with hypercolour synths that place it right at home in the Night Slugs stable.
Second is London’s Optimum, a long-time collaborator of Ikonika, and Hum+Buzz label boss, whose “Broken Embrace” is an overt homage to the Detroit school of soulful, robotic techno, but pumped full of sub-bass.

On the A side is Jacques Greene‘s much-anticipated “(Baby I Don’t Know) What You Want”. The track’s self-referential “so sad, so sad” refrain seems almost to define a genre. Acid-drenched, unapologetically emotional and awash with hypercolour synths that place it right at home in the Night Slugs stable, it’s a euphoric, end-of-set piece.

On the flip Hum + Buzz label boss / long-term Ikonika collaborator Optimum drops his long-overdue Night Slugs debut in the form of “Broken Embrace”. Echoing the Detroit school of soulful, robotic techno, atop the track’s throbbing low-end exists a whole plethora of colourful synthesis – pads, stabs and arps that weave in and out of each other creating a glowing patchwork – propelled along with a notable lack of claps or snares to break up their mesmerising effect.

Two hot hypersoul jams – up-front and direct – that announce the next phase for the Night Slugs label.