Dubstep Recommendations July 2016

Review: From Cuba, Mala heads south for another mystic adventure in international cross-pollination on Mirrors, the Deep Medi man's latest LP-length bubbler for Brownswood. Fusing inspirations, energies, talents and techniques from Peru - and working with some of the country's most respected musicians - it's another immersive body of work that genuinely sounds like no other. From the pensive tribal march of "Cusco Street Scene" to the shimmering twangs and dusty, languid claps of "Zapateo" by way of demented insistency of "Looney" and the muddy cosmic textures of "The Calling", Mala has once again immersed himself so deeply into a culture and musical discourse that he not only speaks it fluently but has added to its rich vernacular. Vinyl was invented for albums like this.

Review: Longstanding Innamind representative Mikael sparks up our inner freaks once more with two system-primed sub smashers. "Wildfire" see-saws on a pivot-like atonal riff over a lolloping sub/kick flow and big splash rimshots while "Lintumies" is a spacier jam where stretched outer-space aesthetics play games with your head and the bass keeps kicking you out of orbit.

Review: James Blake temporarily downs tools as a melancholic sub-pop crooner to pick up close to where he left off with releases on Hemlock and Hessle Audio back in the day. For his own 1800 Dinosaur label he invites Javan St. Prix, aka grime MC Trim, to spit rhymes like "I surf waves most men drown in" over Blake-made digital vibraphone tones and syncopated, computer game basslines. On the flip, Trim, who's appeared on Keysound, Butterz and R&S in the past, dons the gloves for a second round called "Man Like Me", this time produced by Airhead who strips the melodies back for shuddering beats and strange, jingling percussion. Fresh.

Review: Sweet summer dub direct from Italy, D Operation Drop have always flirted with the more organic sound palettes but this is a whole new level. Big horns and authentic dynamics and arrangements; you really don't get much more rootsy than this... "Trident" is all about the plucked guitar line and star-gazing trumpet, "Common Rules" is more about the whole bass groove that leans heavily into the future supported by a select amount of hazy instruments. Essential for any daytime outdoor sets you have this summer.

Review: Markee Ledge is back everyone! The drum and bass legend formerly known as Substance who formed breakthrough act Kosheen with Decoder now appears for the esteemed London imprint Tempa. You trust a veteran like Ledge to deliver the goods here like he does on "Underground Railroad" with its immaculately programmed industrial percussion textures hammering away backed by chilling atmospheres and powerful bass pulsations. After first premiering on Youngsta's Rinse FM show over a year ago, we're glad this finally saw the light of day.

Review: Instrumental grime pioneers Boxed stay fixed to the split artist approach on their second 12", scoring cuts from Logos, Iglew, Jawside and a Spooky & Boylan collaboration. For those unable to attend the regular Boxed dances throughout London and beyond, this is a great snapshot of some of the music that soundtracks them with collective co-founder Logos leading the charge. His "Marked 4 Death Gunman" flips the classic Slewdem crew Gunman riddim, adding his own hardcore twist with "Lullaby" from Gobstopper graduate Iglew offering a neat thrust between moments of calm and chaos. Spooky & Edgem Records artist Boylan trace a line between South and East London on "Peckham to Hackney" whilst Oxford-based newcomer Jawside closes out the 12? with hyper-effective angular dancefloor bomb "Blurred Rain."