It would come as no surprise that Upgrade probably wrote this whole EP for a drum and bass hack and slash video game, that or he was just really bloody fed up one weekend and took all his anger and rage out on music production. What you have here is 6 horrible little shits, all with enough power and motivation to bring down the biggest of dances.

First up is ‘No Nonsense’, a well used title for a track but in many situations it’s probably not quite lived up to. Have no fear though as this is a bonafide smasher and certainly one for the hard step crew with crunching beats and a bassline you will be humming for days and days.

‘Dread’ combines that classic Serial Killaz flavour with the ongoing theme of horror and utter nastiness. The switch after the intro will certainly take you by surprise and I wouldn’t at all be shocked if Upgrade was sitting on a VIP mix of this tune.

Swing beats aplenty in the form of ‘Simple Simon’ which combines that ultrafunkula beat structure with clever vocals, bouncing bass and a flow structure that any MC would die for. If you don’t catch a vocalist over this tune in the dance soon, you’re missing out!

‘Sqwark’ crashes in with a slight switch of style whilst maintaining that hard jump up element. This one cleverly aims itself at a multitude of ravers with a real head nodding splattered pattern. It’s as if it’s begging to be double dropped into another of the EP's tracks..

‘Ammunition’ features some wicked use of vocal sampling that continue to build and build before the infamous drop that Upgrade is certainly well known for creating. Metallic bass drives this tune far into the depths of terror and the skippy beat structure is that infectious that even a corpse would have trouble lying still!

Upgrade links up with the man of the moment, T>I to end the EP with the quirkily named ‘Blipschord’. This one seems to be a cross between 80’s arcade machines, sci fi technology and a rumbling steamroller of BASS! This one really rolls out and would certainly lend itself well to those who love to switch in and out quicker than Kenny Ken with a bottle of WD40.

Format: WAV Artist: Upgrade Title: No Nonsense EP Catalogue: KILLAZ028DIG Label: Serial Killaz Recordings Release Date: 2nd September 2016 Tracklist: 01. No Nonsense 02. Dread 03. Simple Simon 04. Sqwark 05. Ammunition 06. Blipschord (featuring T>I)

Words: Jamie S23