BASS RECOMMENDATIONS NOVEMBER 2015

Review: The latest single from Jamie Smith's 2015 album In Colour, featuring The xx bandmate Romy Madley Croft, gets the remix treatment from a pretty stellar cast. Starting off, Hivern Discs boss John Talabot gets on board with his "Loud Synths Reconstruction" which definitely lives up to its name on this driving proggy take on the track. Ed Russell aka West Country bass techno auteur Tessela steps up and delivers a typically thumping and funked up rendition which is a real highlight on here. On the flip, Cologne's Barnt delivers yet another dark journey through the cosmic hole and the legendary Matthew Herbert offers us his take; sublime deep house and yet again; sampling everything but the kitchen sink!

Review: Mosca offers up an impressive release on his own Not So Much imprint. It showcases his ever evolving style that goes well beyond the post UK bass style we usually associate him with. "No, We're Not A Couple" is a wonderfully experimental take on said musical style; mainly beatless affair with oddball atmospherics and razor sharp synth leads which come in intermittently. "Cortisol" is deep dark and paranoid with that catchy, subtractive synthesis melody which constantly evolves, just wonderfully. On the flip is "White Mice" which sounds like more of a mid-noughties, peak-time minimal track by someone like Audion. Its tripped out synth squeals from another planet over a syncopated analogue drum machine pattern is completely mental and begs your attention.

Review: After some crucial drops on Tectonic, Soundman Chronicles and Badimup, man like Wen is back on Keysound Recordings for something a bit special. "Play Your Corner", the Riko Dan featuring closer to Wen's 2014 debut LP Signals, gets a 2015 reboot courtesy of Walton and Kahn & Neek. Given the iconic delivery of the "original Don Dada" Riko Dan, it's no surprise his vocals remain very much a central part of both remixes here with Hyperdub associate Walton opting for a sub heavy version with some neat, twinkling grime strings making their presence felt midway through. Offering a nice contrast, Kahn & Neek veer into more unpredictable territory with a remix filled with all manner of intriguing sonic detail that still bangs hard.

Review: London's shadowy bass maestro Zomby lands on the above-the-line XL Recordings with four hybrid tunes, a blend of pure experimentation from the lower end of the sound spectrum. "Neon" is a wonky, bleeped-out jam, whereas "Bloom" is more of a contemporary hip-hop instrumental. On the B-side, "Peroxide" takes a slow tempo and dabs plenty of gunfire over its groove, and "Xenon" prolongs that vibe into an even more melancholic bundle of sounds and beats.

Review: Houston artist Rabit debuted in quite distinctive fashion on Tri Angle earlier this year, bringing a sense of futuristic sound design a la Jam City to the current wave of grime-flecked music on the excellent Baptizm EP. A full album from the producer, real name Eric Burton, now follows and Communion finds the Rabit sound pulled in compelling new directions across the 11 tracks. Maudlin strings call out as beats jackhammer across the channels on the tone-setting opener "Advent", whilst there's a hint of Mr Mitch in the floating, alluring grime of "Snow Leopard". Throughout the sound design levels remain high, and Rabit's controlled aggression still palpable. A thrilling listen.

Review: Rising star of Lisbon's Afro-Portuguese scene DJ Firmeza appears again on local imprint Principe and after a great track on Warp Records Cargaa 2 compilation. The title track gets off on a typically off kilter groove that revels in its exoticism. The rest of the tracks are rather short, clocking in at around the three minute mark, but have enough impact in what they portray. "Solmos Melao Doce" is more straight ahead with its four to the floor beat, supporting a haunting harpsichord lead, but soon the intensity of the bongos and muted snare shuffle join forces to support the vocal chants. "Os PDDG" features the scene's other rising star DJ Liofox while "Coelho" is just wicked in its restrained mayhem; those tribal chants and layer upon layer of syncopated wooden drums that stutter out of time, only to lock again; it's wonderfully executed.

Review: His first original material since last year's Tayi Bebba album and the "Tambacounda" EP, Italian fusionist Clap! Clap! gets busy on an acrostic flex. S.I.M.P.L.E but highly effective; each cut slaps (and claps) with his now-trademark African tribal recordings and loopy tech dynamics. Cuts such as "Playfulness" flicker and shimmer with an Ame-style looseness while "Ingenuousness" looks more towards Detroit with minor key synth insistency and wriggling percussion. The most stark, memorable and ultimately explosive cut, however, is "Liberty". Pumping at full speed with full focus on dense layers of percussion and drums it suddenly drops into the sweetest house lick you'll hear all season. Another standing ovation for Black Acre's happiest clapper.

Review: Based in Peckham, Tokyo Wax is a unified collection of creatives sharing an appreciation for a broad range of Electronic Music. Having refined their tastes and gathered experience through promotion and radio shows their focus has since shifted to releasing records and in doing so, providing a platform for auspicious piers to bloom. In the wake of the success of that inaugural record from label owners Presence and Persona they ready their carefully crafted return with the second installment coming courtesy of 20 year-old mastermind Circula backed up by Endeguena Mulu of Ethiopian Records on his first ever remix.

Review: More bass therapy courtesy of the Tectonic camp. This time Jack Gibbons aka Ipman (who has previously collaborated with Killawatt) debuts and delivers some serious darkside power. Wasting no time, he launches into his full frontal attack with the junglised strength of "Regicide" while there's typical label fair in the form of the tough, four to the floor stomp of "Technicolor" and "Last One In The". "IPA" is far from the acronym you'd think; there's nothing drunk about this grinding, building slow mo techno jam. Ending things nicely is the dark, brooding epic "Strong Ones" with its angelic female vocals backed by the dichotomy of sombre church organs and a body bashing beat.

Review: There aren't many recent producers out there who have had a career as diverse and as wild as the present Alex Coulton. With his music ranging from house, to techno and bass, Coulton has released on an impressive spectrum of labels including the militant Frozen Border, Bristol's Idle Hands, Black Acre, and now dubstep heavyweight Tempa - yup, impressive, indeed! He's come along with a two-track bullet, the firs being the percussive "Hand To Hand Combat", a broken groove and a whole load of tribalesque goodness within, and the utterly stomping, totally dubbed-out and hazy "Concealed Weapon". Those swarms of bass on the latter literally made our spines tingle this morning. Hot and recommended!

Review: Gourmet return with another tasty treat: Sepia's on the chef flex with a glistening two course meal... "Harp Song" lilts softly with string-plucking grace before spasmodic kicks fire up from the rear and completely takeover the track with physical prowess. "Music Box" contains some equally delicate sounds. But in this instance the drums are present from the off, giving it an instant punch for the floors. Sitting somewhere between grime, bass and dubstep, there's a really refreshing air to both sides.

Review: Bass badboy Swindle rocks his way back onto the Butterz catalogue, a label he hadn't visited ever since his first releases four years back, after numerous outing on the mighty Deep Medi Musik and Planet Mu, among others. Peace, Love & Music is his first full-length work, and it's also the most diverse piece of music that he's put out so far. The opener "Gotta Do" is a true introduction of his skills, where strange instrumentation travels beneath radio edits calling his name, but every other track on here contains a wide range of sounds and influences, from jazz to R&B and even drum & bass, all coated in a familiar layer of bass to comfort the corner dwellers. It's a smacker, check it!

Review: Why Be is the second alias of DJ Yung Bukkake, an artist who has been experimenting with everything from ambient, nu-jazz, grime and ghetto - yes, we know, bold aspirations, indeed! After the self-released "Fam" Ep, Why Be lands on Rabit's fledgling Halcyon Veil with his daring blend of electronics in the form of a four-tracker. "Heroin Hat" is veritably UK in structure, its broken shreds of percussion fluttering amid vocal snippets and garage sonics, whereas "Whalin" is all about texture and mood thanks to its beatless format. On the flip, "Deeq" flirts with the idea of techno, and comes out the other end with a supremely fresh floor hitter, and "Late (Laser Ha)" shoots through a load of sub bass surrounded by swinging snares and a gorgeous but of melodic improvisation. Tippety tip tip!

Review: Warp return for Lisbon for their third and final Cargaa session and things are as hot, heavy and uncompromising as they were when they last took a trip there earlier this year. Melting down Afrobeat, cumbia, tech, hip-hop, house and bare-boned tribal funk, no other scene is making sounds like the Lisbon confederates are right now. Highlights include Babaz Fox's mangled time signature and tripped out bass plunges on "Decicado Ao Dadifox", the unrelenting ghetto-tech slaps of Nervoso's "Buzizz" and K30's deeper, Kerri Chandler-style percussive house gospel "Familia Do Guetto".

Review: As part of the Endless party crew, Kamixlo has played a part in creating a new kind of nocturnal language in certain forgotten corners of London. The Chilean-born artist and his peers show a disregard for genre boundaries, gleefully fusing the likes of Reggaeton tropes with bludgeoning industrial techno textures, flashes of hardcore and much more besides. In that sense it makes for a logical addition to the Codes roster, being Visionist's label recently given a new lease of life thanks to PAN. Veering from moody moments to outright aggression, this is an EP that will split the dancefloor in the most exciting of ways.

Review: Following their debut with Hi5Ghost, Paper Cranes returns with another highly limited double-up from Bristol-based Lamont. Beezy takes the lead on "Pondering", adding a wry sarcasm and wit over Lamont's spacious 30th century garage lickage. "Shadows" lives on the B: a creeped out broken beat gem that's part tribal, part proto-dubstep, part UK garage and part tech, it's a cavernous calling card for the most passionate of cellar dwellers. Only 300 copies pressed, no represses!

Review: After demonstrating an intriguing, hard to define approach to electronic music on a Gang of Ducks seven and a 12" for Exotic Pylon, Ed Gillett's Shape Worship project returns with its most comprehensive statement yet; the debut album A City Remembrancer. Finding an appropriate home on Manchester's Front & Follow label, Gillett has undertaken what sounds like a lengthy recording process for A City Remembrancer with hours of field recordings and vocal samples assembled and wedged deep into the Shape Worship sound palette. Inspired by the "disorientation, beauty and verticality" of London, there is an obvious political undertone that channels Gillett's (and many others) current disillusionment with life in the capital. Musically, it is pitched perfectly with the 12 tracks melding into one another for a coherent and constantly rewarding listen.

Review: Brit in Melbourne Kloke follows up previous releases on this impressive NYC label (and sterling effort in 2014 on Sub Squared) with something different. The intense Latin percussion workout of "PHONE" sounds like Sergio Mendes on steroids in this relentless epic, while "Rhythm #1" is more restrained in its exotic execution. Jamal Moss does an impressive job as ever on the remix. His analogue hardware jam turning the track into something else completely.