UK Garage label, part of the NUKG 24/7 group.

Downplay showcase

Downplay is a subsidiary imprint of Slime Recordings, one of the longest-running bass music labels in the UK.  Since gaining international acclaim for the Future Sound Of Garage series, Slime has now established Downplay to showcase the next generation of Garage superstars.

Focusing on a modern re-imagining of the classic elements of the UKG sound for new and old fans alike, Downplay provides a platform for the best up and coming talent the scene has to offer.

Downplay Recordings Showcase

Downplay is proud to welcome Melbourne producer BruvBruv to the label with his debut release ‘Club Music’.

‘SSL Channel Drip’ warms you up with atmospheric chords and sprightly percussion before unloading into a heavy breakbeat-focused club track that will test any soundsystem. Scatter-gun samples and oscillating bass remind of the Bingo-era of UK Garage and it’s all the better for it.

‘SM5weight’ takes another route, with sachharine R&B vocals chopped across bubbly bass with a classic 2-step groove driving the track along. Deceptive in it’s simplicity, as the percussion gets busier, so will your feet.

Label-mate Angus Green applies his trademark skill-set to the latter track, transforming it into a 4x4 banger, complete with 90s-era house bass stabs and jazzy chords for another win for one of the hottest names in UK Garage right now.

BruvBruv - SSL Channel Drip (DWN035)

Downplay returns for it’s 50th and final release ‘Future Vintage’. The release celebrates some of the label’s highlights over recent years with a fresh remix of each by key artists from the UK Garage scene.

Phonetix brings a dazzling level of technical expertise to his take on D Selektah ‘Be Good’, offering a blueprint for how to make UK Garage sound simultaneously classic and brand new.

BWK Project flexes his production muscle on Kells ‘A Girl’ with a club-focused bump ‘n’ groove refix that showcases why he’s one of the most in-demand artists working in UK Garage today.

Angus Green flips the original 4x4 action of Eximius ‘So Good’ into a sparkling 2-Step rhythm perfect for laid-back sunday sessions.

Earthnut deliver a sense of playfulness in their mutation of Kazumi Anazai’s deep cut ‘Beehive’, creating a rolling percussive monster in the process.

Kells displays his inimitable style on Royal Flush’s fan favourite ‘Need You’, opting for a stripped-back 4x4 banger that will heat up any dance- floor.

Aaron Danks brilliantly flips Angus Green’s discofied original ‘Got To Leave’ into a speed garage warper that is everything you want from that description, and more.

Fork and Knife adds a dash of grime to his take on label-mate Phonetix ‘Lighting Fires’, pulling out all the stops to deliver a refix that packs a sonic punch.

Witchdoctor works his magic on Limita’s classic joint ‘Static’, contorting it into a deep and deadly journey into breaks.

Finally, the immensely talented MKII heats up the club with his melodic rave-inspired take on Nekst’s collaboration with Orla O’Dwyer ‘Connektions’, delivering a perfect closing track.

Eximius - So Good (Angus Green Remix) (DWN050)

Kells - A Girl (BWK Project Remix) (DWN050)

D Selektah - Be Good (Phonetix Remix) (DWN050)

Turkish Delight

Gunslinger

Royal Flush
'Skin' EP
(DWN001)

Released 26.01.2018

Downplay is proud to present ‘Skin’, the brand new EP from Birmingham production duo Royal Flush.

Kicking off the imprint in style, ‘Skin’ employs a well-loved vocal set to a skittering 2-step groove, chopping bars against subtly melodic keys and intricately deployed percussion, before then letting the rhythm hit you in a 4x4 switch-up on the second drop to really raise the roof.

‘Got My Self Together’ mines similar soulful material, pitching a diva vocal sample alongside soothing chords and glittering FX to mesmerizing effect.

‘Hold Me Down’ alters the template again with a summertime jam complete with sensual vocals, bubbling basslines and a classic UKG beat that brings the whole track together beautifully.

Skin

Royal Flush - Hold Me Down (DWN001)

Royal Flush - Got My Self Together (DWN001)

Royal Flush - Skin (DWN001)

Kazumi Anzai
'Beehive' EP
(DWN002)

Released 23.02.2018

Downplay is proud to present ‘Beehive’, the brand new EP from the mysterious producer Kazumi Anzai.

Opening on soft pads and dreamy diva vocals across a skittering 2-step rhythm, ‘Beehive’ quickly makes good on it’s name by dropping a buzzing bassline that cuts through the core of the track, adding a juicy dollop of funk to proceedings.

‘Cinnamon’ drops deeper for a more subtle and soulful affair, with summery keys sprinkled over a bubbling UKG groove and swirling sub-bass.

For the final track, up and coming London-based producer Context flips the title song into much tougher territory, mutating the bassline and beat into a peak-time darkside roller.

Beehive

Kazumi Anzai - Cinnamon (DWN002)

Kazumi Anzai - Beehive (DWN002)

Slime Recordings Group is the home of Slime Recordings and it's subsidiary labels Downplay, Boss Mode and Shadowhearts.

"One of the most substantive, interesting labels around"
- Beatport

"Slime Recordings are without doubt one of the most forward-thinking labels operating in the garage arena right now"
- iDJ Magazine

"If you're a fan of the deeper end of breaks and garage, you're onto a winner here"
- Mixmag

"Neatly joins the dots between post-dubstep bass music, dark house and garage with a vision that will still sound sharp in years to come"
- Juno

"Britain’s undisputed home of garage music has been going strong for many years now. Slime Recordings nails its particular vibe like few labels do."
- Medium

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Slime Recordings
"Designed to move minds"

From its inception at the start of this decade, Slime has strived to bring you the very best in forward-thinking electronic music, designed as much for your own headspace as it is for the dancefloor.

We've sought to re-capture the wide-eyed thrill of the first age of rave, that era of experimental sounds and styles which changed the way so many of us listen to music forever, and re-interpret it for a new generation.