Bestsellers All Time

Review: The latest release from the Glaswegian imprint adds a further sheen of excellence in a year where Numbers has really knuckled down and concentrated on a schedule of multi faceted releases. Such has been the demand for Mosca's debut on the Numbers imprint, the London based producer cheekily took to touting advance DJ copies of Do Me Wrong via Facebook. Both tracks here are fully poised for the floor, priming a throwback Bassline / UK G swing dipped in a nowness from Mosca that's been evident on drops for Night Slugs and Fat City. Unusually, it's the B Side that's garnered the most attention, which is odd as "Done Me Wrong" is excellent, reigning in vintage female hollerations over clipping rhythms, swamping basslines and parping synths that pay homage to the classic "RIP Groove". Flipside, the more celebrated "Bax" is a dual assault on your senses, murky sub bass jabbing at your ribs, whilst the sweet cooing vocals whisper sweet nothings in your ears. All this is underpinned by a skipping mid 90s flex heavy on the neon stabs that has warehouse jam written all over it.

Review: Having made his debut on Claude Von Stroke's Dirtybird way back in 2005, multi-talented San Fran electro-bass producer Justin Martin makes his full-length debut with this excellent LP. Luckily for fans of last year's excellent, juke-influenced collaboration with Ardalan, "Lezgo", there's a VIP mix included here that makes for a bigger, more building rerub, while Martin also does a great job covering Goldie's seminal "Kemistry" - adding some real venom and bite in the process. Look out for the deep and twisting "Ruff Stuff" and the syrupy "Night Calling" too.

Review: The ever-reliable Shogun Audio imprint, co-owned by DJ Friction and K-Tee, presents the next release in a slew of quality singles. This time the magic is brought to us by the Spectrasoul boys who team up with talented vocalist Tamara Blessa on the title track "Away With Me"; the result is a soulful slice of sexiness with white noise crackling beats and an enticing vocal driving things along. Calibre provides a lush interpretation with gentle, pattering drums and pulsing bass, underpinned by dreamy instrumentals, while dubstep darling Kito gives it the Rustie treatment with a bleepy kaleidoscope of sounds.

Review: A producer who's been slowly toiling away for a few years now and steadily impressing with every new release or mix, 2011 should hopefully be the year French Fries collects some well-earned props. It all comes together on the excellent Laquisha EP, with the title tune leading from the front with singer/MC Taiwan's auto-tuned vocals nestling among hyped soca beats and a chorus akin to L-Vis 1990's recent "Forever You". However if vocals aren't your thing, Youngunz have thrown in a very useful dub into the release. By contrast, "Charlotte" is a fruity Latin/tropical banger that relies on smart arrangements, tight and addictive piano loops and some hybrid mainroom/funky beats to really make its point, but on a more aggy tip, the pounding bass punch of "Merel" is pure Joy O meets Bok Bok - a dreamy set of pads mixed with a distorted punch and some riotous hats and snares. A perfect choice of remixers underlines the quality of this EP. Buraka Som Sistema's J-Wow makes "Laquisha" his own by adding blurry, tear-stained organs and a crisp carnival beat to the tune, before expertly dropping the tempo down to around 100bpm for a rowdy, head-nodding moment of genius. Just as incredible is man-of-the-moment Canblaster's electrifying version of "Charlotte" - almost a complete overhaul that truly needs to be heard to be believed. Lil Silva is just the right man to tackle the funky beast that is "Merel" and he takes it on with aplomb - adding some freaked-out organ stabs and some liquid distortion to the already chaotic kicks.

Review: Despite only unveiling themselves to the public in 2010, Black Butter Records have already ascended to some impressive heights with a string of hugely popular bass/UKF releases. This first 'proper' label comp features five names from their roster, remixed by many more. It's literally fizzing and popping with retro-futuristic ideas and sounds: from the B-more drum machine orgy of "Be More (3hrs & Woz mix), to Matta's accelerated electro version of Kidnap Kid's classic "Vehl" and Vince Clarke's elasticated tech-house version of "Lazarus Taxon", to the scuzzy, rave-inflected house of Codec's "What You Need", the thoroughly ominous bass tones of "Hackney Heat" by Racknruin via the eccentric end-of the world beats of "Trick Green" by Hostage.

Review: It seems that Julio Bashmore was not a one-off: there must be something in the water down Bristol way and it's resulting in a serious bass epidemic. My Nu Leng are a duo with an amazing futuristic take on house music. "The Grid" is just relentless groove, dark and twitchy with all kinds of sinister effects drifting in and out. "Hips N Thighs" is even more next level, like a weird, twisted booty cut on downers and stranded in a graveyard rave. Under a full moon.

Review: The story behind this release is a smile-inducing one; Parisian producer French Fries rushed the decks during a Claude Von Stroke set in Paris. "They were playing a new sound, some nasty bits sitting somewhere between juke and bass music and I knew we had to get this vibe on Dirtybird no matter what," recalls the American. And here it is, with "Yo Vogue" arriving at a time when interest in the resurgent NY ballroom/voguing scene is at a high. The pitched-down vocal intoning the words "I wanna see you vogue b*tch" is backed by splashing, reverbed hats, frankly mental rave stabs and a killer bass line. CVS turns in his own remix, a heads-down affair the chops the vocal with effortless ease, while the Leroy Peppers version goes deep on the atmospherics and plunges deep into the murkiest depths of sub bass.

Review: Trouble & Bass finally stop teasing the music buying public and unleash Drop the Lime's sax bass anthem "Sex Sax". Anyone who has seen Luca DTL play one of his ubiquitous DJ sets will instantly recognise the sax sample in "Sex Sax" which is wrapped in inimitable heavy bass lines, pounding drums and topped off with cheeky wolf whistles and aya caramba vocal samples. This being Trouble & Bass there are a slew of quality remixes that fit all parameters of house music. Reborn UK garage don MJ Cole drops a typically sub heavy 2 step take which is matched in the speaker worrying stakes by Bart B More's take on the track. Grizzly boss Sinden excels here, being confident enough to cut out the sax altogether and instilling a real tropical flavour thanks to some steel drums and dreamy synth stabs.

Review: San Francisco's Hot n Heavy Recordings mark their third birthday with a new action packed compilation, released on the symbolic date of 12/12/12. Featuring 14 fresh cuts spanning future bass, deep house and leftfield garage. Highlights include the tropical melancholia of Laney's "You Need To", the menacing minimal vibes of "Hairdresser" by Allmostt, the sparse, abstract garage of HxDB's "Spectator" and the slammin' raw, retro house of "Darlin" by D3adl1ne.

Review: Upcoming UK house pairing Mak & Pasteman show a healthy respect for the best of Detroit and London on this new release on Shifting Peaks. The essential title tune "Do The Same" is smothered in strong dreamy pads a la Derrick Carter, but spiced up hugely by an addictive vocal hook that's layered perfectly over blunt kicks and Carl Craig-style arpeggios. "Lost" is a more withdrawn and haunted 2-step winner, while "Mode" takes a familiar Junior Reed refrain but frames it perfectly over some rough snares and tough, grimy bass. An excellent release and definite names to follow during the course of the year.

Review: Audibly on more of a funky tip than his deeper excursion for Local Action late last year, this EP on Enchufada sees T Williams using rawer sounds than some of his more stripped back productions. The title track for example positively fizzles with energy thanks to its sawtooth bass playing off against Terri Walker's sweet vocal hook. "Synthia", meanwhile, is infused with jungle breakbeats and manic stabs. "Malfunction" is driven forward with a wily bassline and UKG synth strings, while "30 Degree" plays with a heavy kwaito vibe. The EP ends on something of a curveball, but "Zoop" still impresses hugely thanks to its dub siren lead.