Baobinga & ID - Big Monster: The Remix EP 1

Overseeing Jump Up Get Hype are grime firebrands Virus Syndicate, continuing with their Manchester rampancy as to render Gella’s remix almost inconsequential. Other than a breakdown chucking umpteen genres into the blender, the drums throw weighty, boxy punches, but don’t appear keen to really spar with the racket the vocalists are stoking up. Perhaps this was intentional, just to play the back and let the boys do the rest, as you can’t say there are many defining touches to either complement or clash with the cocksure Nika D, JDS and Goldfinger. Then again, it’s hardly a minimal piece of fragile ins and outs, as Gella is indisputably bringing the noise. And it doesn’t stop the guests running their mouths in full flight, so it’s actually job done, as a neutered Virus is a wholly senseless concept.
 
Badlands runs with electro-house furnishings, and is more out for self than letting the Virus boys have it all their own way. Taking a carving knife to the vocals for a call-n-response dish, Sinister Recordings’ current commotion knows the best way to a punter’s heart is on the dancefloor, served with a side of synth line whoosh. Perfectly aligned with anything bearing an electro handle these days, it’s a convenient alternative – no pretension, just plenty of fizz for wider scale appeal. If anything, the Virus crew sounds less combustible and more like regular party-starters.
 
HeavyFeet – Mike Burgess and James Medina – show their no slouches on their plates, and it comes as no surprise that Sinden and Herve are among their supporters. Some may look at this as cheeky/ libel homage, others will just think the pair are tapping into what’s hot right now. The vocals are again bugged to fuckery, the beats are skippier than a leading brand of peanut butter - it’s all in those tightly clipped hi-hats shooting from the hip bone - and a bassline synth (perhaps a little more voluminous than those employed by Heavyfeet’s contemporaries) boomerangs and pole-vaults from a pogo stick starting position all over the shop. A surefire, grin-inducing dancefloor hustle.
 
A good trio - one focusing purely on the vocals, the others giving minimal recognition to the original while having obviously done the market research and remixing into mass appeal.