Back Catalogue

Review: Already a respected figure in the underground of his home turf in Japan, XLII delivers his first extended release outside his country on Civil Music, who can always be counted on to deliver the most unclassifiable bass shapes. Throwing brittle 808 beats into the mix with half-time tempos, off kilter dubstep basslines and tweaked out, scattershot samples, one need look no further than the footwork vibes of "No Cure" and the thudding bass weight of "Rasclap" for proof of the man's talents. Ean's frantic juke reworking and Broken Haze's abrasive take on "Dilated" provide serious thrills, though it's Starkey's tense, sparse reworking of "Thro Yo!" and the crazed, slapbass styles of NcLoving really deliver the goods.

Review: US producer (Spank Rock, Kid Sister etc) XXXChange clearly believes in the old maxim of quality not quantity, as his releases are relatively few and far between. Last heard on his Backbeat single for Kitsune, he's now back at home on T&A with a brand new two-tracker. "PWNY" is a killer fusion of old skool electro and future bass music featuring trancey synths, stop-start rhythms and chants. "Penguin Party" sees him enlist the help of Ghostdad for a rousing, M.I.A-esque peak-time scorcher.

Review: Summer's coming and Manchester producer xxxy has decided to have it. Big time. An excellent and vital producer, who's been impressing hugely over the last year with mixes on Fortified Audio and Ten Thousand Yen, xxxy steps away from his more woozy bass mode on "Everything", which simply leaps out on first listen thanks to a Chicago-esque vocal chopped up anthemically yet tastefully over some hands-in-the-air Juno stabs and jacking drums. Trust us, this is going to be huge. Up next, "I Know This (Can't Be Love) is pretty essential too, thanks to an unlikely mix of acid basslines and pitched-up vocals. Hugely recommended all round.

Review: Taken from XXXY's debut EP of the same name back in February, the title track has had clubs in raptures for months now. Fusing the melodic and highly danceable flavas of UKG while maintaining that deep house drive, it holds together retro synths and big, bouncing bass in a perfect balance. The crisp claps and dancefloor stomp of "Studio 9 (Just Like That)" gets an 808 rhythm to move things along. Add an infectiously simple vocal that progresses into classic deep house territory, is it any wonder XXXY is turning so many heads right now? If you don't already own the EP this is an ideal stepping stone into his world.

Review: XXXY can do no wrong right now. Hot on the heels of his Rinse release comes this wonderfully understate double header that sits comfortably somewhere between 2020 Soundsystem and Damu. "Progression" is tech-laced, steppy and textured with twinkling arpeggios while "Thinking 'Bout" nods more towards a housier soundset while maintaining a lucid, skippy funk the breakbeat rhythm.