Episode XV stretches across R&B slow burns, garage hybrids, 2000s breakbeat relics, and drum & bass pressure, stitched together with long blends, a couple rewinds, and some thematic pivots.
Half-time instrumentals bend into disco, German grime verses warp garage swing, Marvin Gaye collides with 2006 Croydon austerity before disappearing into Ed Rush and Optical’s Wormhole.
The Can You Stand the Rain transition is long, but it and the Kink remix of My Man complement each other better than one would expect via the squelchy 303s and kicks that sit neatly beneath New Edition’s extended instrumental—R&B at 145 slowed to match disco strut. The New Edition arrangement is Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the same Minneapolis duo behind Janet Jackson’s Control and Rhythm Nation 1814. Their fingerprints are all over the string pads and electric pianos that put an interesting emotional shine on the incoming cut.
The tempo then pivots upward into garage. KMK’s kicks enter as a New Edition verse falls away, and Jam & Lewis’s chords hitch a ride, deepening the emotional tone of what is otherwise a buoyant and cheeky UK bassline track.
Linkwork follows, grime and garage welded together. P.tah and Kinetical’s verses are in German; both MCs are Austrian, from Linz and Salzburg. Dark halftime sections alternate with 130 BPM garage beats, a sharp mood swing. The MC’s flow rides the swung hats and snares of the incoming groove precisely, doubling the tempo without crowding the stage.
Superstylin’ appears next, a Groove Armada staple from 2001, as DJIC trades basslines with the Thunderkats’. Superstylin’ is a shape-shifter—chart hit, festival anthem, recent secret weapon.
More early-2000s garage, more on the darker breakbeat tip: Oris Jay, Somore, El-B. These records are rough, made in bedrooms on cracked software and MPCs, but the grooves are durable. Sparse and dry, they demand augmentation—vocals, FX, or heavy mix pressure. Left bare, they can sound empty; here, transitions are tight, and the Rumpus vocal is introduced quickly enough to hold momentum.
Odd Mob’s Left to Right (33 Below remix) follows, a modern cut that fills the spectrum in an electro-adjacent manner. The bassline drop would have pulled a reload in a club set, but here it carries on, filth underneath, Rumpus’s stabs floating above.
At 20:00 Sneaker Pimps’ Spin Spin Sugar emerges. Released in 1996 on Becoming X, it became a UK garage touchstone after Armand Van Helden’s remix. The original bassline is instantly recognizable, and it still works. Kessler takes over, his Foul Play EP representing the new Belfast wave—dark, urban, and hard-edged.
P Money returns with Stay in Your Lane, joined by Taiki Nulight and Jolie P. The cut comes with a rewind and a political edge. The sub runs so hot it distorts our mix—call it distressed?
So Solid Crew step back in with Oh No. Their 2001 They Don’t Know LP effectively mainstreamed grime, but the production sounds thin by today’s standards. Z Virus’s Sasmanouver carries a similar lo-fi imprint. Then Benga’s Skank arrives, chrome-plated and heavy. One of dubstep’s most inventive producers, Benga came out of Croydon in the mid-2000s. He battled personal demons later, but his work remains singular. Skank still cuts cleanly through and the bass feels huge.
So Solid vocals continue over Skank, percussion interlocking neatly. Marvin Gaye then drops in—Got To Give It Up in live acapella form—folded against Benga’s half-step. It takes a bar to align, but once it locks in it sounds dope. The cheerful admonitions to dance cut oddly against Benga’s austerity, but the keys line up and the friction works.
From there Marvin accelerates to 172 to clear the runway for Ed Rush & Optical’s Compound from Wormhole (1998). Frequently cited as the definitive drum & bass album, Wormhole crystallized neurofunk: all sinewy basslines and paranoid futurism.
The rest of the set is pressure and pace—Minor Forms, Zero T, Waeys, Ram Trilogy, Raiser, Particle, Paige Julia—quick cuts, layered basslines, relentless drive. KRS-One closes with Hip Hop vs Rap (“rap is something you do; hip hop is something you live,”) and we cool down with a Souls of Mischief chiller.
Tracklist
Mousse T., Donna Summer, Toby Gad – Run (Disco)Lovebirds – My Man (Kink Remix)New Edition – Can You Stand The Rain (Instrumental Suite)KMK – Run It Up (Original Mix)P Money, P.tah, Kinetical, Pirmin – Linkwork (Pj Bridger Remix)The Thunderkats – Melatron (Original Mix)Groove Armada, Declan Knapp – Superstylin’ (Extended Mix)Somore – I Refuse (What You Want) (Club Mix)Oris Jay – Biggin’ Up The MassiveEl-B – RumpusOdd Mob – Left to Right (33 Below Remix)Sneaker Pimps – Spin Spin SugarKessler – Hood Mentality (Original Mix)P Money, Taiki Nulight, Jolie P – Stay In Your Lane (Extended Mix)So Solid Crew – Oh NoZ Virus – SasmanouverBenga – SkankMarvin Gaye – Got To Give It Up (Acapella)Ed Rush, Optical – Compound (Original Mix)Minor Forms – Drops (Original Mix)SMG – Suku (Original Mix)Zero T, Minor Forms – Crime Thing (Original Mix)SOLAH, Waeys – 10,000 (Original Mix)Rueben, Waeys – Hooh (Original Mix)Ram Trilogy – Mindscan (Ed Rush & Optical Remix)Raiser – The Resistance (Original Mix)Particle – That Hz (Original Mix)Paige Julia – Ease Your Mind (Original Mix)KRS-One – Hip Hop vs Rap (Acapella)Souls Of Mischief – Never No More (Instrumental)
