OWSLA At Juno Download

Review: Madcap funk meets dubstep experiment on this five track EP on Skrillex's OWSLA label. Sounding like a meeting of minds between Parliament and Nero, Bristol boys Koan Sound bring true originality with live sounds and futuristic synths jostling for space the mix. They kick off with "Funk Blaster" a joyous party-starting number with buckets of swagger and lashings of attitude. "The Edge" goes heavy on the squelch factor and "Meanwhile, In The Future" takes us deep into the zone with its searing dubstep vibes. Closer "Talk Box" has an 80's influenced intro before a deadly drop.

Review: A natural fit on Skrillex's OWSLA label, Australian electro-breaks star makes his debut on the label with the Tupac-recalling, California-lovin' "Like Boom" featuring rappers Wizard Sleeve, NFA and Kaba Jones. Elsewhere on this ten-track release, Thayer breaks out the distortion and hyper edits on the charged dubstep of "Haters Gonna Hate" and "Facepalm" while "Totalitaria" boasts some explosive, almost jazz-influenced rhythms underneath a sea of wonky leads. Keeping to his breaks roots, "Top of The World" is bound to keep heads nodding as will the gnarled funk of "Rise Up".

Review: Absurdly talented for a man of only 19 years of age, Porter Robinson has released huge electro/dubstep originals for Deadmau5's Mau5trap imprint, remixed Pendulum and now drops his first full-length EP on Skrillex's nascent OWSLA label. The epic drop of the slow-building opener "Spitfire" sees Robinson launch the EP just the right way - with plenty of shape shifting, tempo swapping dubstep stutters - while the more dancefloor friendly "Unison" takes over straight after with a storm of trancey leads and chords. This form of dubstep-electro hybrid serves him well on stand out tune "Vandalism" too, while mixes from Kinife Party, Mikkas, Skism and Kill The Noise only intensify the range of heavy wobbles on offer on this huge release.

Review: Sub Focus is on fire at the moment. Hot on the heels of his last release on Ram comes his next offering; this time a dubstep number on none other than man of the moment Skrillex's very own label, Owsla. "Falling Down" is a vocal-driven slab of filth with Kenzie May on vocal duties, trance-inspired synths, euphoric builds and juddering synths. Mid range warps and smashing snares add to the furore and will no doubt cause a riot on the dancefloor. Make sure you check the pounding xKore remix with its squeaky synth manipulations, as well as the 4/4 Nick Thayer re-lick plus the VIP version of the original. All are excellent.

Review: A little-known DJ/production trio from San Francisco, M Machine are set to go astronomical having been signed to Skrillex's OWSLA label. The first part of two scheduled releases, Metropolis Pt. 1 is a hard-wearing set of steroid-popping electro bangers, like opening tune "Immigrants", shuffle-beat riser "Deep Search" and the oceanic pop of "Faces". More subtle than their label boss, yet still able to pack a mighty wallop.

Review: Upfront electro madness from German producer Zedd on this single track release from OWSLA, as the heavy-hitting beatmaker brings out some mean combinations of kicks and crunch-bass, often worked into one solid, pounding note arranged in a brutal Bmore style. Having just taken on remixing Skrillex's hook up with The Doors (yes, you read that right), Zedd's star couldn't be higher at present.