A monthly list of our favourite releases to help you cut through the noise. No genre or tempo is off limits, nor are our lists meant to be exhaustive, but we hope that these lists will expand your record collections and DJ sets with producers and songs you may have otherwise not have heard before.
queniv – Redesign EP | De Lichting
A rather opaque release from Holland’s De Lichting, queniv’s Redesign EP checks off the right boxes for us; blending dubstep bass weight, dub science, and techno futurism into a package that’s the sum of its parts. A rising talent to watch for!
Aeon Four – Silence EP | Straight Up Breakbeat
A 4 track junglist EP touching all the major strains effortlessly; from the “160 interzone” favoured by Om Unit et al via “Silence” to the ragga bruk-out of “Babylon”, it’s all on display.
Alix Perez – Ravana EP | 1985
Just dumb good. Any and all DJs will draw for this. Already the dubstep release of the year. Everyone can just pack it in and try again next year.
Babe Roots – State of Mind | Newdubhall Japan
Another crucial release from the Babe Roots gang, from Japan’s newdubhall and featuring trumpeter Kazufumi Kodama alongside experimental dub duo Undefined. Extrapolated the DNA of Rhythm and Sound into more ambient territories and jazz textures without falling into mimicry, this is one is an instabag.
Truant – Clifton / Bushkin | Juan Forté
Already sold out, Juan Forté’s second release features Truant for an updated take on the old-skool dubstep sound that’s fresh and vital while not a slave to what has come before.
K-LONE – Cape Cira LP | Wisdom Teeth
K-LONE’s debut EP is a ray of early summer sun. As everyone holds up inside, both physically and spiritually, his debut album is soft, textural and inviting; a psychic balm for the worried mind and soul.
Pugilist – Heavy Lies The Crown EP | TRULE
One of our favourite boys, Pugilist, teams up with one of favourite labels, Trule, for a link-up that spans the creative well Pugilist has. An EP that flits from broken UK garage, jungle, bass music, and breaks while remaining thematic linked. Brilliant stuff for any discerning DJ.
Deleted Scenes – Ltd Edition 10″ Dubplate
A limited amount of these hit Bandcamp and disappeared into the aether. Did you get yours from this wunderkind production duo?
Mønic – Beyond The Bounds | Osiris Music
This under-the-radar gem from Mønic sees Osiris looking back to its DnB origins for two tech-step rollers in the vein of Source Direct (but darker). A killer left turn from a label that’s trafficked in multiple genres over the course of its existence.
Rider Shafique, Ishan Sound & Kahn – When Shall We Rise | ZamZam Sounds
Bristol’s elusive Ishan Sound teams up with partners Kahn and Rider for a powerful UK steppa with Rider’s ever-incisive lyrics taking aim at those in power but at our own internal weakness, fragility, and complacency in allowing injustice to continue. Powerful and spiritual rebel music.
