Sibling radio hosts, producers, and DJs Adam and Joe started their Star.One project back in 2011, being hailed as ‘one of the most exciting producers’ by the Red Bull Music Academy. Since then they have gone on to perform at various festivals across the country, including a storming performance at this year’s Reading & Leeds Festival and now, several singles and remixes later, the brothers have finally released their highly anticipated mixtape Elements.
Not favouring one particular genre, Elements is an assortment of top class tracks from a diverse mix of urban scenes including drum ‘n’ bass, garage, grime and house. With a host of features from many top artists in the UK urban scene, the mixtape is a showcase of the talent that is out there in the UK right now whilst also acting as the perfect full length introduction to these talented producers.
Once the monologue intro subsides, the body of Elements springs into life with the powerful and anthemic ‘No Way’ featuring Thabo and grime legend Trim. The pulsating grimey beat is full of drum trills, deep bass and a repetitive electro-brass rhythm that eventually morphs from a grime beat into a drum n bass track durng the final third, immediately showing Star.One’s cross genre potential. Lyrically, Trim has been one of the most highly acclaimed MCs in the grime scene for a decade and it is easy to see why as his clever metaphors and deep bassy tones combine perfectly with Thabo’s hooks to start this mixtape off with a bang.
‘King’, which features Doctor on the hook and current grime favourite P Money spitting the verses over a slower paced grime-hop beat full of layered electro synths and deep sub-bass follows before ‘Mystify’, which again features Thabo on the hook and also Disturbing London’s G Frsh, takes the mixtape into another direction. The pulsating bass and melodic keys accompanied by a distant saxophone provide numerous levels to a track that moves the musical journey that the mixtape takes us on into a far more chilled zone than the previous tracks.
The calmer sound to the mixtape doesn’t last long however, as the following bass-heavy, ‘No Where’ which sees Prowla take over the vocal duties, brings the pace back up slightly to a more familiar grimey tempo. Even though he is one of the lesser known artists to feature on Elements, Prowla takes his chance in the spotlight superbly as he spits with a fierce pace and passion that certainly highlights him as an MC to watch out for in the future.
Moving into the drum ‘n’ bass segment of Elements, ‘Never Give Up’ sees the go-to drum ‘n’ bass vocalist of the moment, Doctor, return to the mic and combine his vocals with one of the standout tracks of the mixtape. If there was any doubt as to whether Star.One would be able to ensure they created quality tracks and also diversify their sound on Elements, ‘Never Give Up’ is the track that goes to prove that they have the ability and talent to conquer any genre they chose. The track builds from its instrumental opening into a full flowing drum ‘n’ bass behemoth and ensures that the mixtape maintains it’s high quality into the second half.
Bass-heavy drum ‘n’ grime track ‘See Four’, which ironically features Birmingham MC C4, follows and adds another layer to the genre hopping mixtape before we get our first taste of Star.One’s housey/garage vibe with the Mica Paris and MC Creed featuring ‘So Sweet’. The track samples Skepta’s 2007 track ‘Duppy (Doin It Again)’ with the iconic “we d d d d doin it again” repeating throughout as the tuneful key-led melodies play out over the skippy drum beat.
Newham Generals’ D Double E makes an appearance on ‘Birthday’ which returns the Elements to its grimey beginnings with hints of drum ‘n’ bass filtering through at numerous points and eventually taking over at the climax of the track. Whilst incorporating a pounding bass with various electronic brass instrumentation, ‘Birthday’ sees D Double describing his antics on his big day with lyrics such as “I’m sipping on the henny, sipping on the remy / I’m smoking on the cheese, smoking on the lemmy / I’m in the strip club spending plenty / how many shots have I taken, too many many”, whilst also infusing his usual brand of humour into the track.
Penultimate track ‘Pull It Back’, which features vocals from the lively pairing of Redz and Ping Pong continues Elements continually underlying grime theme whilst also merging several aspects of dubstep into a high octane offering before Aynzli Jones brings the mixtape to a close with his yardie tones gracing the ruthless final track titled ‘War’.
Considering that the majority of artists within the music industry find their comfort zone and stay in it, it is a fairly bold move for Star.One to attempt to become masters of many genres, but with Elements they are well on their way to achieving ‘master’ status across each genre they delve into. Whilst there are highlights to the mixtape, with ‘Never Give Up’ being the main one, all in all, Elements is a very slick and polished body of work and combines detailed, accomplished beats with features from some of the UK’s most talented vocalists and wordsmiths. Star.One are sure to go from strength to strength following this release and are rightly being touted as “one’s to watch” for the future, so watch this space!
You can check out Elements in its entirety below and also download your free copy here. Also, make sure you follow @StarOneUK to keep up with all the latest news and releases from these talented guys and let us know your thoughts on this release @Gigslutz_.
Matt Tarr
@MattTarrJourno
Matt Tarr
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