This Week

Review: Awwww, ain't this sweet! Afro Whitey wants us to come and stay the night. We haven't had a sleepover in years! Let's hope there's going to be a midnight feast. How cool would that be? Oh wait, you mean he's talking about sexy stuff? Awkward! While we're not attracted to Afro in that way, we do love this great hook up with bass barons Deekline & Ed Solo. With a sing-along chorus and hooky synths a-go-go, this is a fine merger between the US diirty south and the UK south coast. There's remix styles for everyone here, too; breaks (courtesy of US breaker Dustin Hulton), house and dubstep. Shucks, this is so catchy there's a radio edit too. Don't sleep(over) on this!

Review: With only a handful of singles and remixes under their belt, Fretless shock the system with an entire album of sizzling party-starting flavours. Recruiting an impressive gang of vocalists - MC Shureshock, Funkin Irie, Q-Dup, Kween G, Jimme A, Haul - there's a strict consistency kept running throughout as we whirl and waltz amidst numerous styles. Impressive moments are plentiful. Fine examples can be found in the township style "Thin Ice" (think Paul Simon's Graceland produced by Diplo), the laid back style backpacker hip-hop of "One Life" and the slamming breakbeat battle dance of "El A Bongardo". You want more? Good, there's nine more tracks on offer here, each one as good as the last. Debut albums don't come much funkier.

Review: Vae Victis follow their smashing debut release from The Analogue Cops and Blawan with apparent newcomer(s) Nightjars taking the reins but still maintaining the philosophy of analogue processes and hybrid styles. The concept is further crystallised here with two distinct sides to the record; starting with the 'raw' side, "Thing Movin On" steps and shudders in a sparse fashion, using very little percussion besides a kick and rimshot playing against a looped synth refrain and a purposefully distorted vocal sample. "Heavy" however fares far better with some nasty processing, as a mean acidic bassline rubs up against razor sharp hats in belting fashion. The more melancholic material in Nightjars' repertoire has been wisely saved for the 'clean' side, starting with the plush finish of "Left People". The drum patterns maintain the stripped back ethos, but in this instance a gently delayed melody rings out in a never-ending loop of repetition that seems to come from the Terry Riley school of composition. After that ambiguous exercise, "Everynight" positively shines for its focus and dynamics. While there's no greater complexity at work in the music, the pace and flow of the track feels far more engaging, not least when the vintage garage-house bassline comes in. Recommended.

Review: Oh boy! Dropping the dubstep for this special release, N-Type's Wheel N Deal head back to 1992 with this killer double header. "Ruffneck" leads from the front with a nagging synth hook and classic breakbeats that come complete with the obligatory 'yeah/wow' vocal snippets on the ones and threes. Meanwhile "Acid Flashback" takes us to a much darker place with a riff made entirely of vicious hoover stabs and a neck-snapping rhythm and energy. Both wouldn't have sounded out of place in a classic Slipmatt or Ellis Dee set back in the day... And they're not likely to sound out of place in your set either. Timelessly massive.

Review: Perfect timing for all summer soirees: London's premier funk dealers Jalapeno fire up yet another spotless collection of party nuggets. Showcasing their extensive repertoire, they've crammed in 14 unmissable, unmixed and unmistakeably swinging tracks by the likes of Featurecast, Beekeepers, Kraak & Smaak, Smoove & Turrell, Max Sedgley, Parker, Moneyshot and more. From prime-time party pieces (Hint's b-boy breaking remix of Kraak & Smaak's "Let's Go Back") to low-swung, hipster disco (Tom Drummond's "Keep It Moving) via deep house that's so clean and pristine you could do surgery on it (D'Steph's "Getting It On"), the whole compilation sparkles with sonic sunshine. And for those days when you just haven't got the energy to mix (don't lie - we've all been there), they've even thrown in a DJ mix of the tracks too.