Bestsellers This Week

Review: If you judge a producer by their ability to successfully apply a winning formula to a variety of styles, Alix Perez is a master. While drum and bass remains his forte, there's enough on Chroma Chords, his second album, to suggest that he's growing as a producer. This EP discards with the synth-laden head nodders featured on the full album, though the four tracks here do still demonstrate the versatile nature of Chroma Chords. Thus the grimy hip hop of the Metropolis featuring "Blue Print" shares space with the soulful stepping action of "Playing Games" whilst the the excellent vintage Timbaaland does halfstep of "Shadows" (featuring breakout Eglo talent Strange U") joins up with the vicious "Burnout".

Review: With the imminent return of Daft Punk reminding us all of Paris's vibrant electronic music heritage, local label ClekClekBoom pop-up to provide us with a wide-eyed snapshot of the current Parisian underground. There are hints of familiar French staples - the stomping Ed Banger-ish ravery of The Town's "Dice", the classic house flex of Coni's "Missing You Nire" - but for the most part Paris Club Music Volume 1 dances to a different beat. With label regulars French Fries coming to the fore, much of the album is devoted to the sort of hard-to-pigeonhole bass music that takes its influence as much from B-more, R&B and UK garage as filter funk and electro-house.

Review: Entering what seems like a new phase for Pinch's bastion of forward-thinking dubstep, Tectonic Plates reaches its fourth edition and brings in a raft of fresh producers and new angles on just what the genre might mean in these fractured times. Even the classic standard bearers such as Jakes are bringing curious 4/4 momentum in amidst the sparse, dread filled pressure, while Guido pivots off of the plush musicality of his album to create an utterly broken symphony on "State Of Joy". There are a lot of different ideas floating around the whole compilation, and yet everything holds together with the deep-rooted soundsystem mentality that has always defined Tectonic as a shining example of what dubstep has always meant.

Review: The phenomenon that answers to the names 'footwork' or 'juke' has spread far and wide since its origins as a sped up fusion of ghetto, jackin' and hip-beats in Chicago. It's spread so far in fact, that French label, Booty Call, have taken it upon themselves to present this inspired compilation in an attempt to put the genre firmly on the musical map. They've got taste too, and highlights of these 12 prime cuts include: the deep synth fest of 'Access", the porno-hop frenzy of "Sex To Me" and the Kenny G on downers vibe of "My Sorrows".

Review: We don't usually condone lying here at Juno, but when you tell seven of them across a beautiful nine track debut album, it's absolutely acceptable. Applaudable, even. Highlights across this deep, tightly woven bass adventure include the Portishead-style trippy dubtronica of "Comos Los Cerdos", the somnambulant drones and breathy washes of "Lies", the nagging techno loopery of "Dam" and the trembling graveyard soul of "Arcana".

Review: It's a meeting of minds on this long player with rootsy German label Root Down releasing this much-anticipated album from Korean-German 'future dancehall' act Symbiz Sound. There's plenty of tunes, 15 in total here, many of which featuring either the talents of ZHI MC or Feral Is Kinky. Highlights include the sweet sounding lovers rock of opener "Soundboy Dead", the bassy, ghetto-hop of "Ruff Ride", the digital dancehall of "Down Under" and the sheer tribalism of "Bad So".

Review: Russian producer Ishome has been bubbling away for years, checking in on myriad genres from dub to prog to techno. Here we find her in full dub mode, serving up some of her most sensual sonics to date. Flicking with finesse from cut n' paste starlight delight ("Adam") to swampier, more pensive pieces ("Sad Family") via ambient space baroque ("It Exists"), she shows maturity and rich depths throughout the full album. This should appeal to everyone from Trentemoller fans to Kokeshi lovers.

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: Following on from their first instalment, the guys at Parisian soul/funk/jazz label Heavenly Sweetness are back with a follow up. Having spent months scouring the net for the best new sounds, they proudly present the cream of their findings - 15 in total. Highlights include the future bass/jazzy trapisms of "Down Brandy" which takes the eponymous RnB singer and warps her into another dimension, the drunk cat on a keyboard-isms of "Muscles", the cool retro hip-hop of "Boomboxin" and the 80s freestyle pop of "The Followers".

Review: Born into life kicking and screaming back in 2010, London via North Devon label Shifting Peaks has slowly but surely earned a killer rep in the world of bass and underground house. This is their second compilation and boy is it packed full of goodies. Highlights include the melancholic urban-tropical vibes of Mak & Pasteman's "Do The Same", the psychedelic Chicago vibes of Marshall Jefferson & Noose Heads' "Mushrooms", the heartbroken jukeisms of Cut Off! Cut Off!'s "Second To None" and the sublime King Of Arabs' "The Years Without Art".

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: Amid much anticipation, Distal's album crash lands on Tectonic in a myriad of electronic styles all thoroughly typical of the plucky Atlantan. There's raw juke-isms on "Preach On Hustle", where the Chicago style gets slowed down and spread out, while on "Around The Fire" you'll find a swung techno framework full of alluring melodies just under the surface. There's melodica-baiting dubstep on "Rattlesnake", while electro gets pitched down for the peak time banger "House Party Five". Everywhere you turn, Distal's supremely developed production stands out, whatever vibe he's turning his hand to. In the end, that skill becomes the glue that holds this free ranging album together.

Review: Rapidly following up 2011's superb Keysound long-player Routes, production trio LV make a logical move to Hyperdub for Sebenza, an album that features a trio of South African vocal talent, including Okmalumkoolkat from Dirty Paraffin, Spoek Mathambo and MC/producer duo, Ruffest, and production that takes in Kwaito, Soca, kuduro and UK funky to create its own unique sound. Standouts include the dark and urgent title track, the snappy vocal wit of "Animal Prints" and the spiky digital dancehall of "Nothing Like Us". But like Routes, Sebenza is much more than simply a collection of disparate dance tracks, but a rich tapestry of influences that is light years ahead of their nearest competition

Review: With an ever-strong commitment to their very unique brand of modern electronic dance music, the Night Slugs posse are rounded up once again for a stocktake on the follow up to the successful Night Slugs Allstars compilation. It's only with a chance to reflect such as this you can appreciate the range that falls neatly into the Night Slugs remit. At one turn you can be doused in the blinding sunshine of Girl Unit's cheery electro as on "Ensemble (Club Mix)", or at the next be confronted with the staggered stab frenzy of Helix's somewhat ironically named "Drum Track". Try reaching them without being thrown by Bok Bok's 31st century grime madness or Lil Silva's hyper-kinetic throwdown of mechanical psychedelia and you might have a chance of getting a handle on the label as a whole.

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: A contemporary of Dance Mania artists DJ Deeon and DJ Slugo in the 90s, RP Boo is credited as a founding father of the footwork genre; his Ol' Dirty Bastard sampling track from 1997, "Baby Come On", is widely regarded as the track responsible for spawning the genre. Having released footwork albums from Young Smoke and Traxman in recent times, Planet Mu look to this godfather for their latest full length project. Even within the small footwork scene Legacy is a unique album; taking the sample wizardry to far out, often abstracted places, RP Boo nevertheless grounds his experimentalism with easily recognisable samples (Justin Timberlake, Queen), making his productions as raucous as they are idiosyncratic. Essential stuff.

Review: After two very successful instalments of the Electr*c series thus far, Gilles Peterson returns with another chunky selection of artists that fit into the less organic side of his taste-maker tendencies. This time it seems that he has dug especially deep to find some fresh talent, so unfamiliar are the names on the line-up. In terms of style, there's a tendency towards rich melody across the board, from Aftawerks engrossing mellow acid workout to the contemplative juke dazzle of Jaded Laur, but there's also space for some more primal club tracks. Just check the ghetto tech flex of Frank Rodas' "Kick It VIP" for all the proof you need.

Review: To celebrate four years of releases, Hemlock, the label run by Untold and Jack Dunning presents Chapter One, a collection of label highlights and unreleased exclusives. Moving through the glittery funk-leaning post-dubstep of Fantastic Mr Fox, Mount Kimbie and James Blake, through techno contributions from Sei A, Randomer and Guy Andrews, and bass hybrids from Pangaea and Joe, the selections on offer demonstrate why Hemlock has been ahead of the game since its inception. As well as the individual tracks, a continuous mix is also on offer, joining the dots between their diverse releases with style.

Review: With previous releases on the Clone Jack For Daze imprint coming from Dance Mania-inspired Gerd alias Geeeman, Hague-based synth voyager Legowelt and Berlin-based Chi-house acolyte Murphy Jax, Night Slugs co-founder L-Vis 1990 makes for a logical addition. The Circuits EP follows a wave of club focused tracky material from the producer most notably the debut Night Slugs Club Constructions release and bangs hard across four productions. If anything this release demonstrates a more fully developed take on the raw house tracks of Club Constructions, combining the brighter palette of his earlier material with the jacking styles of the new. The title track especially is a raucous combination of bumping 909 rhythms and lysergic strings, while "That Thunder Track" throws a malfunctioning, phased lead with the hollow abrasion of classic grime into the mix.

Review: Founded back in 2007, London imprint 2nd Drop has deftly steered its way through the post dubstep fracture across some twenty releases. Arriving at their fifth & a half anniversary, the label offers up a thrilling snapshot of their enduring diversity on their maiden compilation Future Foundations. Familiar label names like Djrum and South London Ordnance offer their atmospherically swung take on dub techno, while label newcomers like Last Magpie and Alex Coulton provide some bouncy, UKG inspired techno. However, it's the frenetic jungle-inspired take on footwaork from Manni Dee and Deft that offers the biggest surprise in what is an already essential compilation.

Review: Wonderfully titled label Slime was founded in 2010 with the firm intent to 're-capture the wide-eyed thrill of the first age of rave'. Since then they have put out a multitude of forward thinking releases all leading to this, their second label compilation. Literally bulging with underground goodness, the tracklist weighs in at 26 full-length tunes (plus a free one!). Highlights of all this madness include the sparse 2 step of "Jaded" by Akin, the twitching, percussive "Sunwan" by SPD, the dreamy 3am RnB vibes of "Communication" by Totte, the deeply seductive rimshot house of DYP's "Vices" and the ominous rave of "There's No Way" by Frequent Flyers.

Review: The long-awaited solo LP from US-based soulful bass music producer Kastle has been the talk of music blogs around the world for months. Now its finally made it to a full release , there's something of a feeling of satisfaction that can be heard in each track. Whether that's projected by the listener or not might be hard to prove, but there's a definite positive energy that flows through everything Kastle produces. From the garage beats of "Been A While" and "Red Light" to the irresistibly hip house groove of "Insatiable" and trap-hop crush of "Death From Above", it's clear that versatility is what this album is all about. Clean, crisp production matched to soulful, blissed-out dance music that's unashamedly fashionable yet different enough to be taken seriously. An album of 2013 no doubt.

Review: With the energy unleashed by his Pretty Ugly LP still crackling in the atmosphere, DVA drops another EP of technicolour bass mutant business for Hyperdub, delivering seven tracks of mind-bending freshness with a French Fries remix thrown in for good measure. There's some rougher club-ready tackle on offer here such as the abrasive "Do It" with it's hammering drums, but then round the next corner you're plunged into the minimal 4/4 bubble that is "Walk It Out". Really though the lead track "Fly Juice" is the winner with its soulful key licks and hyped up switch for the latter half of the track.

Review: Since their rebirth a few years ago, R&S have been at the forefront of a new wave of exciting dance music, being instrumental in pushing names like James Blake, Blawan and Space Dimension Controller into the collective consciousness. This compilation sees them revive their long running In Order To Dance series, with a monster 22 track compilation; 12 tracks of selected highlights from the last 18 months of R&S releases, with modern classics such as James Blake's "CMYK", Untold's "Stereo Freeze" and Space Dimension Controller's "Transatlantic Landing Bay" all receiving pride of place. But it's the 10 unreleased tracks that will excite most, with contributions from the whole roster. There are numerous highlights; the piano riff of Lone's "Cobra" is as deadly as that on any of his previous productions, The Chain's "Suffer For Your Art" evokes the Detroit masters of the original days of R&S and Pariah's "Left Unsaid" sees the young producer move away from the UK garage inspired Safehouses EP to explore dense, claustrophobic textures. In a word: essential.

Review: Collecting together some of the enormous remixes to have sprung from Tiga and Zombie Nations' ZZT project over the years, this new Turbo collection is simply faultless and a must-have for fans of the most fearless electro-tech of the last five years. From Julio Bashmore's tranquil take on "ZZafrika" to Justice's disco-destroying remake of "Lower State of Consciousness", via contributions from Proxy, Erol Alkan, Gesaffelstein, Duke Dumont and Clouds, this is a simply indispensable revisit through some hands-down classics.