Eight Weeks

Review: When 123MRK's Noname EP dropped in 2011 creating waves all around the dubstep and bass music scene. Moulding the sound of his generation into a style all his own, the Frenchman suddenly found himself held aloft as an innovator as well as simply a producer of sounds. This remixed release of his seminal EP was a lofty undertaking and the finished item features remixes from some of the future dubstep scene's brightest young stars alongside long-time innovators. From Liar's metalic, lo-fi flavours to Troy Gunner's understated clicks and swirls; ViLLAGE's heart-pounding house remodelling to Heblank's old-school twist, even the likes of Pixelord and ReSketch play their garage-influenced hands to create an all-new modern-day canvas of what exactly bass music is right at this moment. It can never be truly defined, but this is a pretty good encyclopedia.

Review: Prague's Meanbucket have snapped up some raw new talent in the shape of Dutch producer 618. This here is his debut release and with one listen it makes it clear why he's created a buzz for himself. "What You Do" is a brutal booty bass assault with serious juke overtones, while "Amsterdammed" applies heavy bass to the kind of techno heard in Berlin in the good old days. Remix wise, the title track become minimal hip-house by Boeboe, thumping house by Embryo Planet, freq bending electro by Seymour Bits and incredible dark electro-house by Veit B.

Review: Four To The Floor have been blazing a trail of future-garage destruction over the last few years, building up a solid regular roster in the process. Here's a killer round up of what their acts are currently up to. In the case of 8th-Ski, quite a bit: 60s kitsch lounge finely cut with some feisty breaks on "Jazzy Style", melancholic UKF on "Makes Me Wonder" and euphoric retro house on "On Me". Solution is currently all about slammin' speed garage, while Aleks Zen ends things with the celebratory sax-house vibes of "Let You Know".

Review: Bristol's DJ Die has gone one better than signing Addison Groove to his Gutterfunk imprint, he's only gone and collaborated with him on both tracks here as well! The footwork-influenced side project of Headhunter, Addison Groove assumes charge of "Keyhole" - a stripped back excursion into sultry voodoo beats. Meanwhile on "Hydropump", DJ Die takes the lead steering this ship into breaky hip-house waters in the process.

Review: For his latest signing, Gilles Peterson looks closer to home - Brighton to be precise - where he found the Anushka duo of Max Wheeler & Victoria Port. Not particularly exotic, but the music, which they describe as 'bass music from the future', covers that requirement. Theirs is a blend of deep bass, glistening synths and breaky urban beats flavoured with digital riddims ("Wired"), deep tropical ("Yes Guess") and soulful house ("I Have Love 4 You"). Definitely going places.

Review: Boy Kid Cloud is a young British vocalist on a mission to fuse club sounds with chart success, and this new double A-side is certainly a big stepping stone towards this goal. "6am" is big and anthemic, with lighter in the air melodies sung over a light piano-house backdrop. "I Need Love" is the opposite; all slow-mo aquatic RnB beats and breathy exaltations. Charts beware!

Review: Here we have a split single featuring artists on the Loose Squares roster getting remixed to within an inch of their lives. First up is Ghettotech don Calculon, whose recent collaboration with Austin Speed, "Back The Fuck Up", is turned into a killer slow juke meets jungle synth-fest by the producers themselves. Sinistarr's "Ross" however, is outsourced: and placed in the hands of LA's Drip (aka Atlantic Connection) where it becomes a phenomenal deep bass-meets trap joint.