By: Sam E. Lawrence

Danny Grooves is quickly becoming a household name among fans of the Thazdope Records family, and with good reason. His latest EP, Juice, Vol.1 is packed with heat and delivers sturdy bass right from the start.

Opening with “Sick M8,” the EP launches the listener into a flurry of samples laid over heavy synths and a boom-bap beat and vocals that are sure to get heads nodding. “Gee Willikers” continues on this bass-forward path, but here the vibe turns from pure hip-hop to a dubby hybrid sound. This track is also more melodic, but doesn’t surrender any of the bass heat that marks so much of Grooves’ work.

“Hot Damner” keeps the energy rolling, and the vocal samples land thick and fast between the beats. The whole EP maintains tempo feel and very nearly maintains exact track length across all four beats, and while it has a consistent sound, it avoids muddling the tracks together. Each one remains unique and uses either a simple melody or vocal samples to stand out from the others. “Wretchsauce” rolls in heavy with loud and low bass synths, but the drums sounds so organic and fresh that it’s hard not to imagine them coming right off a real kit. Every tonal choice made here is carefully blended together, and the final mix feels quite delicate, even as the subs compress the listener’s ear drums flat.

This is a short and quite simple EP, but Dan Winston proves that he’s a real soundsmith in both his arrangement and mixing. Understated and stripped down, this EP still packs a heavy punch, and it’s refreshing to hear something other than dubstep using such rich and textured synths. The boom-bap beat had me moving to the whole collection of tracks, and I was reminded of artists like Parrotice and FRQ NCY when listening to the rich textures of the sounds. Keep an eye on Danny Grooves, as he flexes his talents on this and many more works to come.

Get your tickets now for The Untz Festival, which will feature Danny Grooves alongside plenty of his ThazDope homies, including Peanutbutter Williams, beardthug, EAZYBAKED, Lucy, Salty, Kliine, Jonah Hodges, Cntrlla, Aliens At Work, and too many more to mention. Visit www.theuntzfestival.com.