Gui 🇬🇧 – Shuten-doji EP Ft. Peas
Yamatai Records 🇬🇧 — YAMREC066
Review by Infectious Unease Radio / Subterranean Zone Radio
Voice In The Void — Written by Gordon Lawrence Taylor
There is something very fitting about Yamatai Records naming this release after Shuten-doji, the fearsome demon king of Japanese folklore. The image is violent, mythic, intoxicated, and dangerous — a monstrous force whose severed head still speaks after death. That story gives the EP a powerful symbolic frame before the music even begins: this is not polite drum and bass, and it is not trying to be. It arrives with teeth, pressure, movement, and that raw underground energy Yamatai Records has continued to push through its catalogue.
Gui – Shuten-doji EP Ft. Peas is released through Yamatai Records on 26 June 2026, under catalogue number YAMREC066. The release contains three tracks: “Check It,” “Likkle Something,” and “Super Candy” featuring Peas. The promo describes it as three tracks of relentless, raw, dancefloor energy, with artwork by Gaijin Graphics and mastering by Kalane Mastering.
The artwork immediately strengthens the atmosphere of the release. The image of the oni is not decorative — it feels like a visual warning. The red face, horns, teeth, smoke, and violent mythological energy all mirror the music’s own sense of pressure and controlled aggression. It gives the EP a darker identity before the bass even hits.
Gui comes out of Brighton, a city with its own deep relationship to bass culture, underground club energy, and the more rugged edges of drum and bass. The Yamatai press notes place his sound in the Brighton and Bristek spirit, rooted in high-energy groove, raw production, and a forward-thinking approach. That is a good way to understand this EP: it feels modern, but not over-polished; aggressive, but not empty; dancefloor-facing, but still carrying character and personality.
What stands out across Shuten-doji EP is the sense of confidence. This does not feel like an artist cautiously entering a label’s catalogue. It feels like Gui is stepping directly into the room, turning the system up, and making it clear what kind of energy he brings. Yamatai notes that Gui had already appeared on the label through his collaboration with DKN on “Kaioken,” included on Yamatai’s 2025 Best Of compilation. That earlier appearance now feels like a warning signal. This EP is the full arrival.
Track Review
1. Check It
“Check It” opens the release with a strong sense of control. The track builds from a tense introduction into a heavy, physical drum and bass movement that feels stripped back but not empty. The bass pressure is direct, the rhythm is tight, and the whole track has that warehouse energy where repetition becomes force.
What works beautifully here is the discipline. Gui does not overload the track with unnecessary detail. Instead, he lets the drums, bass movement, and sound design do the damage. There is space in the production, but that space is not soft — it creates tension. Every hit feels placed for function. Every movement feels built for the body.
As the opener, “Check It” sets the tone perfectly. It is raw, minimal, and direct, but it still has enough character to avoid becoming generic. It feels like a proper system track — the kind of cut that would make more sense the louder it gets.
2. Likkle Something
“Likkle Something” brings a different kind of movement. Where “Check It” feels like a controlled strike, “Likkle Something” has more bounce and swing in its body. The title almost undersells the track, because there is nothing small about the energy once it locks into motion.
This one has a sharper rolling feel, with a strong sense of groove sitting underneath the rawness. It feels built for the point in a set where the room is already moving and the selector wants to keep the pressure alive without losing the funk. There is weight here, but also personality. The track does not just hit — it shifts, pushes, and rolls forward.
Gui’s production style comes through strongly on this track. He understands that minimal drum and bass needs movement, not emptiness. The elements are tight and purposeful, but the track still breathes. It has that underground Brighton / Bristek edge — rough enough to feel dangerous, clean enough to work properly on a system.
3. Super Candy — Gui & Peas
The closing track, “Super Candy,” brings Peas into the release and gives the EP its most colourful moment. The title suggests sweetness, but the track does not become soft. Instead, it twists that brighter energy into something wired, bass-heavy, and slightly strange.
This is the longest track on the EP, and it uses that extra space well. It feels more open in structure, with stronger shifts between pressure and release. There is a playful edge to it, but the low-end still carries weight. It almost feels like the EP’s demon face grinning back at you — bright on the surface, but still dangerous underneath.
The collaboration with Peas helps the track stand apart from the first two cuts. It gives the EP a wider final shape and prevents the release from sitting in one mood for too long. “Super Candy” still belongs to the same world as “Check It” and “Likkle Something,” but it adds extra colour, movement, and character before the EP closes.
Overall
Shuten-doji EP is a strong Yamatai debut from Gui. It is built for dark rooms, late-night pressure, underground systems, and selectors who want drum and bass that still feels physical. Across the three tracks, Gui shows a clear understanding of space, groove, weight, and tension.
The EP does not try to be everything at once. That is part of its strength. It stays focused. It knows its world: raw, minimal, energetic drum and bass with enough personality to stand apart from generic dancefloor material. The Shuten-doji mythology gives the release a darker symbolic edge, but the music itself carries the real force. This is not just a title placed on top of the tracks — the EP genuinely has that sense of something dangerous, animated, and hard to kill.
For Yamatai Records, this feels like another confident step in building a catalogue connected to the heavier and more underground side of drum and bass. For Gui, it feels like a proper statement of arrival.
Gui has not simply joined Yamatai Records here — he has entered like a demon through the system, speaking in bass pressure, rhythm, and raw dancefloor intent.
Release Details
Artist: Gui 🇬🇧
Featuring: Peas
Release: Shuten-doji EP Ft. Peas
Label: Yamatai Records 🇬🇧
Catalog Number: YAMREC066
Release Date: 26 June 2026
Genre / Style: Drum and Bass / Minimal D&B / Underground D&B
Tracklist:
-
Check It — Gui — 3:31
-
Likkle Something — Gui — 3:21
-
Super Candy — Gui & Peas — 4:05