Review - NDX Allstars feat. Turbo "What's Going On / Last One (Omega ...

2006. The year of the terrible Football World Cup affaire in Germany. I moved to Finland that year. Took my mid-term exams. And Roar Recordings released a massive 10" with two tunes (with two versions each) produced by NDX All Stars & Nomadix and featuring a vocal contribution by Turbo. Well, to be honest, without asking the Internet God (Google), I cannot really tell you anything about these three names except that I have some other heavy Nomadix productions in my collection from a couple of years back. So since you can ask the Internet God yourself, I focus on the music.

"What's Going On" is a truly heavy stepping riddim, demandingly pushing forward, without mercy, punchy and clear until the last bassdrum hit and with a ponderously growling bassline underneath. On top, Turbo delivers an excellent vocal. I, being overly critical with vocals in general, am fully satisfied. That's proper singing fi sure. The dub version adds a nice brass section to the song, although sounding a bit cheapo. But I like dem cheapo sounds. Perfect soundsystem tune in my opinion.

The "Last One (Omega Dub)" on the B-Side reminds me of the 90s: a fast paced (not fast-paced though) steppers riddim with synthetic sounds all around. The bass might be played live, I could imagine, and the horns are definitely played with a synthesizer. Some sort of bell-ish (aha, today I invent a lot of strange words again) melody guides the song along the way. The bassline is somewhat causing me a very good mood, while it's walking up and down the fretboard. All in all, I think it's a very friendly song, very nice to listen to, refreshing and head-nodding. The dub version accentuates the riddim section with some wild snaredrum action and dirty bass effects.

Conclusion: "What's Going On / Last One (Omega Dub)" is one of my favourite releases during the last years and I can only recommend to get your own copy if you don't have one yet. 5 stars.