Back Catalogue

Review: Canadian Egyptrixx drops his debut release on Night Slugs. Treading the line between house, techno, dubstep and experimental, "The Only Way Up" features some seriously twangy keys which are pulled and groped in every direction yet somehow emerge as a beautiful melody. "Everybody Bleeding" meanwhile takes the twang factor to new extremes, building a catchy hook from the key stabs - pure genius. On the flip we are treated to a remix from Hyperdub golden girl Ikonika, who transforms the title track into a melodic afterhours jam exuding sweetness and hope, while Brooklyn DJ Kingdom turns "Everybody Bleeding" into a serious dubstep workout with some serious R&B vibes and sub bass.

Review: With an excellent release on Tusk Wax in his armoury and a notable collaboration with Bicep on their recent Aus EP, Norn Irish lad Ejeca seems primed to follow the trajectory set by the aforementioned burger loving duo. The Horizons EP, his debut for the Needwant imprint sees Ejeca throwing down three tracks that are very much steeped in the same vocal lead New Jersey garage sound that Bicep are currently plundering to great effect, not least on the thickly infectious title track that demonstrates Ejeca's ease for crafting a killer breakdown. "Dazed" eschews the reliance on vocals for some deft chord usage and excellent drum programming, while "See Through You" shimmers with garage indebted warmth.

Review: Perhaps one of the unsung heroes of the Hessle roster, Elgato's "Music (Body Mix)", a 120bpm slice of house-not-house was one of the 118 & Rising comp's highlights, and here he makes his long overdue return - and what a return it is. With a barely audible bass that nevertheless operates at an all enveloping low end frequency, "Zone" is a heady composition operating at the same tempo whose repeating, pitched down vocal snippet and threadbare rhythms recall pitched down footwork heard through a haze of weed smoke. Only marginally faster, "Luv Zombie" manages a similar feat with a similarly sparse set of tools. The increasing scourge of the bass world - the cut up R&B vocal - is here more skilfully used in the first third to coil up tension, with the bass drop coming in not with a crash but floating upwards on a funnel of warm air. Quite simply, there's nobody else doing what Elgato does - essential.

Review: Continuing to bring serious crossover heat to Somethinksounds, Eliphino is pulling no punches on his latest emission for the fledgling label. "Vrybdy" rides on a chunky, swaggering stomp that's just broken enough to move beyond being straight house music, while the samples come looping in with a barrel-load of hip-hop attitude. It's a thoroughly functional belter that will slot ably in between all manner of contemporary electronics. "Don't Make Sense" meanwhile gets all raggamuffin in its disposition, busting out the soca break and some cheeky MC licks for a steaming slice of summertime rowdiness.

Review: Manchester's Mindset raised ears with key debut releases from the likes of XXXY and Indigo, and now hope to do the same with one from their old buddy Elsewhere. It's an immaculately produced release, clearly made by a perfectionist. "Trippin" is sparse, dark and hypnotic, while "Bott Bott", with its tropically tinged beats and duelling, twisted vocal chops, is livelier but no less dark: a big, oppressive end-of-the-world bassline arrives mid-way through the tune. Finally "The Espers" draws the curtains with some seriously doomy half-step garage wrapped in a cloak of serial killer atmospherics.

Review: Another intricate and intense release from Ena here, his third for the 7even label. It's all about mood with Ena and 'Purported" conveys a pretty deep one, with insectoid percussion scuttling over a pulsating heart of bass. "Whereabouts" goes deeper still, with haunting echoes, snippets of found sounds and, at one point, what sounds like a cricket in the background. Hypnotising stuff!

Review: Midlander James Vine, aka Enigma Dubz, deals in tough, straight up, party-rockin' beats. Now he's back following a recent split EP with Sub Antix with his own solo release and it's a banger. "Fresh" features filthy post dubstep chugging bass and a messy 2-step swing. ""What Must I Do" is all heavy wobble craziness and an infectious hands-in-the-air female vocals. Finally things end on a head-nodding, sinister vibe with the menacing electro-dub of "Without You By My Side".

Review: Despite the title, no one was harmed or indeed abducted during the making of this EP. However that's not to say that the music's not sinister - it is - but the devil's always had the best tunes right? Egyptian Avenue's ethos of putting out the most leftfield bass music continues undiluted with these tow slices of slow and low hip-hop influenced numbers. "Bodywash" is a moody head-nodder that totally synths-out half way through. Meanwhile, "Gun Talk" is a slow fusion of wobble, bass and trap.

Review: Picking up props from all and sundry in the beat scene, Eprom makes good on the promise of his many singles and drops a full-length workout for Rwina. There's a manic energy that positively leaps off his tracks, as the hype of juke drum programming meets the flat-footed funk of hip hop, while the rest of the sonic matter comes zapping in from a realm inhabited by dead Game Boys (check "Prototype") and decaying DAWs. The production is realised with devastating clarity, and even when a little space opens up (as on the excellent stalk of "Can Control") Eprom's imagination still fizzes and crackles around these tracks.

Review: Dutch label Rwina drops West Coast bass merchant Eprom's latest killer slice of minimal freakery - the simply stunning "Regis Chillbin". Based around a very lean eat indeed, Eprom fleshes out the tune with some stunning and heady arpeggio stabs, creating a Oizo/Brainfeeder-esque randomscape that's just absorbing as it is gonzoid. The peerless Machinedrum drops yet another essential remix - working respectfully with the original but adding even more samples into a descending pattern of pitch-adjusted wonkery. Quite stunning and very highly recommended.

Review: Bringing forth fresh talent at a dizzying rate, Dusk & Blackdown's imprint steps up with another sterling four-tracker of forward-thinking bass music that keeps the vibe of dubstep alive just as it points to new avenues. Etch is fearsomely limber on "Scattah", wielding rudest jungle tropes on a half-step lurch with a wonderful injection of horror soundtrack tension that brings all the darkside incantations you could hope for. Walton has a touch more pep in his own collage that drops a snappy garage mentality with a breakbeat roll, while the bass rub cries out for a powerful stack of subs to test. Visionist taps into the exotic climes that the LHF collective explored so adeptly, clashing melodies against each other without hesitation, and Fresh Paul takes the creatively maligned purple sound and runs it into a far more inviting cocktail of emotionally ambiguous and devilishly produced fare.

Review: Rising Leicester bass duo Everyman have already received support from the likes of Benga and Skream. This latest EP should raise their profile even higher with it's exceptionally well-produced sheen. Title track "Take The Block" is high-octane bass music pure and simple; "No Doubt" meanwhile is very retro house and certainly riffs off 90s classic "To Be Real" by Ladycop. "Player" recalls vintage R&B, but distorted out of all recognition by helium voices and stop start beats. Finally "Let It Up" is a dubby, percussion-heavy instrumental.

Review: Electro-deviant Jimmy Edgar has linked up once again with his JETS partner Machinedrum to launch the Ultramajic imprint, and he gets first stab at a release with this taut three tracker. "Hot Inside" is as unashamed a peak-time heater as Edgar has ever turned his hand to, sporting a riotous diva vocal hook and crisp house drums, but there's still a strong techno injection in the synth work and shifting phases of the track. "Strike" is a more abrasive affair with its metallic delay vibrations and relentlessly nagging jack, while "Shout" comes on all electro house in its fulsome bassline and shouty vocal snippets.

Review: As one of the hookiest slices of audio sleaze on his recent Magenta LP, Jimmy Edgar's "Sex Drive" gets the remix treatment from a choice pair of producers, getting the slick electro tones rounded into equally hot-blooded forms. Jon Convex is up first, keeping much of the essence of the original but working it into an electro house template and layering in some choice big room dynamics, while his dub mix simply ditches the vocal turns leaving the track in its raw form. John Talabot takes a thoroughly different tact, issuing forth dramatic piano tones and poised drums that turn Edgar's track into an emotionally wrought nine-minute epic.

Review: Having thrown down some bangers for Unknown To The Unknown in the past, Walter Ego comes bruising into Bad Taste with Darkstorm in tow, packing a surefire grime banger featuring the hectic spit of K Dot and Coco that weighs heavy in street level aggression. The riddim comes on full of gruesome bass swells, but it's also offset by technicolour swells of synth and a playful knack for studio acrobatics that keeps the energy relentlessly high throughout the cut. For those less keen on the MC vibes, there's an instrumental in the package that lets the track shine through, but this was always built to have vocals slammed over the top of it.