MoS presents Addicted to Bass 2012

Producers Jim Sullivan and Eddie Craig (aka The Wideboys) have been put in charge of the Addicted to Bass compilation album from Ministry of Sound since 2009 and have yet to disappoint.

Bursting with 66 tracks over three CDs, ATB 2012 aims to bring the newest, best – or failing that – most fashionable electronic music of the past year, and maybe a nod on who to look out for in 2012.

My only gripe with these types of albums is that many of the tracks on all discs are halved in length in order to give the feel as though it’s a full length mix. For example, on tracks such as Skream’s remix of Natural Disaster, we start hearing Sierra Leone from Mt Eden 40 seconds before the previous one has even ended. This is particularly annoying when it happens on some of the better tracks on the album.

Disc One begins with showcasing what Dubstep brought to the music charts in the year with contributions from DJ Fresh, Drumsound and Bassline Smith and Skrillex. It’s loud and it’s a perfect opening for that hard step noise. The disc closes with liquid D&B from the Hospitality lads, stand out tracks being Hold Me by Delta Heavy and B.R.I.S.T.O.L from Danny Byrd.

Disc Two reminds us of the title of the album, but also introduces the hottest females around, many of them collaborating on some of the most successful tunes of 2011. Bassline tracks galore as Funk off, Unite Us and Mike Delinquent’s remix of The Wave stand out, as does the wonderful sounds of Gabriel by Joe Goddard, which has been a firm favourite in the clubs and on the radio.

Disc Three goes underground with 22 tracks from artists that many MoS’ fans may not have heard of. Imagine the type of tunes you would hear post 3am in room two of Fabric and you get an idea of what disc three is mostly made of. Catchy riffs from Lazy Jay and Intruder, whose massive track Amame could be, unsurprisingly, the most remixed song on YouTube to date.

All in all, this years ATB is like a sickly rich chocolate cake, stacked with layers of genres that illustrate just how much the scene has progressed over the last year. Of course, The Wideboys made many of the songs put on the album, but it doesn’t reduce the quality of it in any ways. If you’re new to D&B, Dubstep, Electro and House, this is a great album to show you who is on the radar at the present and who to keep an eye on for, in the future.

Verdict: ****

Richard Taverner

ATB is released in the shops and available for download from 6^th February 2012

Price: CD £10.75

MP3 £8.99