This Week

Review: Given Unknown To The Unknown's wide ranging remit, including bassline garage, Detroit electro and Chicago house, it was perhaps inevitable that a genuine 90s house record would find its way onto the label at some point. Originally released in 1992, OHM's "Tribal Tone" was supposedly the first tune to use the Korg M1 sound that was later immortalised by Robin S' "Show Me Love", and had considerable impact at the time, being championed The Shamen frontman Mr C, being licensed to R&S sub-label Global Cuts and US label Vibe, and finding itself remixed by the Sabres of Paradise trio. Here it finds itself with three similarly great remixes, a stripped-back, raw groover from Marquis Hawkes, a horn-heavy piece of 90s action from Capracara and a thundering mid-tempo effort from Northern Souls. Essential!

Review: It's not every day we come across underground bass artists named after an actress in a 1980s soap, Dynasty, but it takes all sorts as they say. Musically this is seriously next level stuff: "I Can't Hide" is twisted and contorted tribal house with half time breaks and a killer cowbell. "No Way Back" is similarly bonkers but drowns everything is neon synths. Remixers include The Druid Cloak (sounds like a Brazilian carnival stumbling into a rave), Kresy (slow, emotional house) and Rohan (even deeper still; adding melancholic keyboards and cut up vocals for what's possibly the stand-out track).

Review: UK producer Latcha tells it like it is: he simply produces 'anything club music based: house, tech, garage, bass ...plus anything in between'. We couldn't have put it better ourselves, and this EP, his first for Slime, contains a smidgeon of all these flavours. "Viable" is a remarkable voodoo percussion odyssey complimented by what sounds like reversed panpipes. "Call It That" on the other hand, is deep house with a garage drum kit and Orbital-style echoey synth pad melodies. Inventive stuff!

Review: We Are Nuts aren't exactly known for their deep, contemplative musings, but who needs that on a dancefloor at 3am anyway? "Bombaclat" is a blazin' 4x4 wobbly bass banger, and "Daily Dose" is like a housier UKF take on an already pretty eccentric baile funk stomper. Finally DJ Q steps in bringing a whole tonne of flabby wobble to add to the ravey keys. Messy, very messy.

Review: It's great to see classic UKG label Ice Cream Records back in action of late. Here they've resurrected mid 90s garage pioneers RiP Productions, who even back then were way ahead of the curve in terms of futuristic takes on the formula. This re-issue of "Rush Me" sees the 1998 '10 Below mix' (another alias of RiP) lead the package, with a thumping, bass-heavy new vocal mix being the flake in this particularly tasty 99 cone.

Review: The unprecedented rush that's met each upcoming funky-house-garage-bassline producer in recent months has plastered the pillars of the bass music spectrum with the tags and new sounds of a scene that's forging itself before our very eyes. Debian Blak has already caught the attention of BBC Radio 6 and has created a stir with previous remixes and bootlegs. This, his first ever full length release, chronicles his musical journeys on his very rapid ascent to bass music stardom. From the lush soundscapes and retro bleeps of "Dive" to the deep, contemplative tones of "Where You", Blak is a man intent on building his own structure on the never-ending tower that is modern bass music. God speed, Debian.