No U Turn was a UK jungle/drum ’n’ bass label started by producer Nicholas Sykes (aka Nico) that existed for roughly a decade, releasing brutally aggressive 12" singles by artists like Ed Rush, Fierce, Gunshot, Trace and others. This 1997 compilation, released as a 2CD set (a collection of individual tracks paired with a DJ mix), never lets up. The No U Turn house style featured manic, relentless drum breaks, eerie synths, a few ominous samples deployed very sparingly, and massively distorted bass lines (check “Mothership” for a particularly potent example; it’s like having your head sucked into a jet engine). This is music designed to be heard in a hot, crowded room long after midnight at eyeball-melting volume, and to make you feel like you’ve taken the wrong drugs. In the decades since its release, it’s lost none of its power.

– Phil Freeman