Vlad Sokolov - Sokolov EP Part 1 (SOKOLOV SOUNDS)
Coming on totally unlike his usual self, Vlad sounds like a hillbilly playing a funking porno soundtrack that'll be Chris Carter on the guitar in his dungarees then!) on this bonafide festival opener¹. Driving wah-wah powers this stomping groover to its final breath. Big Monkey' steps in and takes your head down to its correct position for some serious, erm, heads down action! Brooding bass and off-kilter synth twiddlings question your sanity and then jam themselves right up you-know-where, from whence they perform some kind of haunted analogue voodoo and command your legs to pound the ground in a ritualistic ceremony of Eastern European Breakbeat zombie dancing. Like, cool, man. M6/M8 (SOTO)

Vlad & Ardisson – Back To The Boring Droid
Sokolov main stay V & A take on the mighty square up with none other than Nitro and Psure. A proper conflict on international level, and taking no prisoners. Boring Droid is the “lighter and emotional side” of the usually dark buddies - as described by DJ mag.

Nitro – Bells (Psure rmx)
Psure’s delivery on this tune is something that comes when a producer is so into the original, that the remix usually writes itself. Vlad could not leave it alone once he heard it and the rest is history.

NEER DROPPAGE, showcases yet another side of Lee and Steve’s musical skills, and sees them pushing the boundaries of their versatility to the outmost, whilst staying strictly dancefloor. So original and so good and already caned by BLIM , Vlad, Move Ya, JDS and few other chosen ones.

SAUSAGE, on a similar tip still but a bit rougher round the edges. As droppable as a candy flipside trip and just as devastating -watch out

Jimmy Mofo - This release totally rules. Love Neer Droppage. A tech funk masterpiece of pure brilliance! Outstanding tune. Dropping this one at every opportunity. Sausage is dirt-tech-magnificence.

Spanish Breakbeat Top Gun Nitro comes to Sokolov and this is what Justin Rushmore of Soul of Man (Finger Lickin) and Jay Cunning say about it:

I absolutely love Nitro on Sokolov Sounds 'Illusions' - played it every set on tour in Oz to about 25,000 people over 9 dates - wicked tune any more like that

Jay Cunning - 10/10! This is probably the best thing I’ve heard from nitro - real solid groove.

Scorch is even bigger than Worm and Ted…. All the elements are there once again - the heavy bassline, the catchy hook plus also a wee touch of the vocal sampling vibes. Feel the build up of energy and then keep feeling it as it just gets bigger.

Vlad/ Ardisson are perhaps best known for the massive Splitscreen released on LondonBreakz back in 2002. Interestingly the electronica influence that Ardisson introduced to the collaboration has evolved with a Vlad/ Ardisson release on leftfield label Seed Records called Sid Sonar, out in early 2005. This AA side – Vladivarious, offers more massive bassline activity plus forward step funkyness all the way.

The birth of Diverted. Ted became a favourite of Plump DJs, BLIM and Rennie Pilgrem and rocked Fabric.

In September, Diverted’s Worm / Ted got the bless ups from many of the scene’s big bods. Rennie Pilgrem reviewed and rated it high. Soul Of Man was, “feeling the Worm”. Plump DJ’s said simply “B-side is RUFF. In the box!” True to their word, as the Sokolov crew stood on the balcony at Fabric one night, the Plump men dropped Ted mid set and the place rocked. Not bad for a debut release.

'The man behind last year's highly rated 'Splitscreen' returns with a real deep growling number. This has a tech-house influence which in this case works a treat, with chunky drums and a wup-wup bassline that just grooves along. This is in line with a new breed of tunes emerging from the breaks scene that leave the track rollin', so the DJs can work it into the mix for longer. More of a techno thing, nice work.' (MK)