I love live recordings of DJ mixes on disc. They can sometimes have that extra edge of atmosphere and you can almost visualise the club environment. Rennie Pilgrim’s Beatz and Bobz Volume 7 is right up there with the best, and it certainly does sound like this breaks legend mixed up a storm in the Cavern Club where this was recorded. The track selection is awesome, the tempo powered up, the MC well suited and you can hear the crowd going nuts! From the first track, you are thrown straight into it and there is no relenting until the very end!

Nu Era, one of Rennie’s own, kicks off proceedings and has an electrifying, nail-biting buildup before kicking in to hi-powered energetic breaks. I love the “Are you ready?” sample throughout. Some breaks tracks have a little element of the old school breakbeat house, and this did remind me a little of the days of old. Nu Era is party music in overdrive and with a track like this up first, you know you are going to be up for an aural workout. Five minutes into the set you and you can already hear the crowd screaming.

Gonzo Fuse hits with a little bit more of the experimental, down spiral sounds laced with a little funk. It maintains the energy but is just dropped back one gear. Rennie obviously was not wanting to overload our minds too early! Feel My is your more meatier, simpler yet effective track. The MC uses this one to full effect, free styling nicely along. No sample or lengthy breakdowns – just raw, rhythm and bass.
Edit by TDS has your hard step vibe to it and a little more primitive, nasty and instinctive. Clobber is the best name for the track – another of Rennie’s. Do we get clobbered? Indeed we do. Again, it has that basis feel like Edit but more raw and funky. Shoe Monkey turns up the monkey business a little more with some robotic voice samples and warped tweaks and filters. It is a little more dark and kicks us back to an overdrive gear. Dark breaks are some of the best in my opinion – the break on this is so dark it is nasty and black!

Hood Thang is more ragga beats and keeps the pace, rolling us onwards. Babylon Beats is back to your more hard step breaks with a soothing female vocal, punchy snare beats and some short, ebbing breakdowns. Elevate by Dreadzone starts off on a level playing field but it is one of those tracks that when it starts, you can just feel it will really explode at some point. The first break brings you right to the edge before kicking back in with reggae vocals! Insane!

Rennie is back to his own creations with Eraser. After about a minute of standard beats we hit a breakdown which descends into dead silence before winding up into more twisted, dark sounds. Satisfaction kicks off on the mix with some tribal drums before hitting the after burners on the tempo. This one is a real roof raiser – loud, sharp, crunching sounds with a well structured build up on the break which quite possibly could have sent people into hysteria. Funk Rock is just that – funk breaks at its’ best. We are now at the point of the set where Rennie starts to tighten the screws and lead us further down the energy trail. Another cool sample on this – “Whose got the funk?” – love it!

Hyperspeed takes lyrics from one of The Prodigy’s early tracks and is a nice, grabbing, catchy energetic dance floor filler. It has that high level drive and an awesome, uplifting “hands in the air” break which builds back up into a rolling crescendo. Moving the Hype is one that will really give the crowd a solid work out. Some really squealchy, messed up samples really adds some icing to the break’s cake.

Shredder keeps the feet thumping with some nasty sounds and darkness before adding a guitar sample for something different. Hi-octane levels this one – the strobe and smoke machine would be blasting to this! A breaks classic and one to melt many ear drums. Let’s the Beats Roll is the concluding track, starting with some powerful, straight up bass beats before kicking into more dark depths and hard line break edges. A real impact on the finish – it has another of those wind down then up break downs to raise the crowd that is just wicked!

I’ll be honest and say breaks is not one of the genres I listen to a lot but will safely say this mix is easily one of the best I have heard all year! Flawless mixing and perfect programming, it’s one of those which is a perfect example where the DJ can control the mood of the club! It never drops off sharply or keeps the high tempo going for too long. Rennie works us through perfectly bringing the vibe slightly down at the right times and putting the foot on the pedal again in the perfect spots. My hat is off to the king of breakbeat. Like your breaks? Come get some!