Juno Recommends Dubstep November 2021

Review: Master beat maker Al Wootton debuts on Zam Zam with a pair of typically essential new dubs and reggae-inspired rhythms. This limited edition 7" comes in a screen-printed sleeve and offers two very different sounds. 'Every Knee Shall Bow' is a high pressure and uptempo track with rippling dub chords over chunky Afro drum patterns and with plenty of sci-fi effects fleshing it out. On the reverse, 'Every Tongue Confess' slows things down, invites you to lay horizontal and get lost in some superbly edgeless dub grooves. These are pure dubwise sound system steppers.

Review: Here's a tag-team you can ring home and tell you mam about: proud Salford Precinct shoppers Cartridge and Strategy's Regents project on Truth's Deep, Dark & Dangerous blasts out of the cannons with pure 140 venom. Heavy killer whale beats and fast piranha bars biting away with sharp truths and heavy realisms, the whole EP smacks hard with a unique fusion that not seen often enough in dubstep. Serious music that works in all realms.

Review: From the eastern sorcerer who gave us 'Dying On Acid' a few years ago on Deep Medi comes 'Pusher Acid', one of the most beguiling EPs Gantz has cast our way in some time. Six tracks over two 12"s, there's a real measured pace and sense of tension running across the collection as we gradually build up to the pensive, fierce and well-chiselled title track. Elsewhere we have the eerie cinematica of 'Sleepless Elite', the left-footed lollops and slug-like bassline of 'Chiral' and the palpitating, slo-mo seduction of the vinyl-only cut 'Spineless'. Keep pushing on.

Review: Russian producer Kercha has already served up two superb EPs that cemented his reputation as a contemporary deep dubstep great, and now he backs it up with a standout first EP of 2021. His Mental Ballast EP comes on the label he is a firm part of, DNO Records, and is complete with his signature off-kilter rhythms. Opener 'Ignornants' has shimmering oscillations and deep, dark dub. Plenty of subtle samples flesh out the eerie groove including a clip of Russian maestro E. Ponasenkov. 'Analysis' is another gem, this time with Berlin artist Yoofee with plenty of purple flourishes. There is serious wobble to 'Tigers' that keeps you on edge and 'Acid' is a real spin out to close.

Review: Lucky Me celebrate 10 years of Lunice's game-changing EP 'Stacker Upper' with this exceptional deluxe anniversary release. Now complete with the previously unreleased track from the time 'Geoid', this features all the futuristic hip-hop mutations of the original (including Rustie's timeless remix of 'Fancy Forty') The vibe and energy still sound vibrant and essential a whole decade later and the message remains the same: keep away from the microwave popcorn!

Review: Portugal's 3WA remains a key voice in the low end spectrum thanks to big tunes on Boka, Crucial Recordings, Foundation Audio and Earth & Stone. The master of the big drop and all consuming bass is now snapped up by Subaltern for three more of his menacing workouts. 'Master Of Finances' demands you to revel in the lurching drum work and cavernous bass. 'Slimy' is even more poised and heavy, with steel plated hits and sci-fi twitches making for a cinematic soundscape. Closing out the EP is 'Balaclava,' a wonky and wobbling affair with oodles of reverb, mysterious leads and of course a weighty underside.

Review: After a debut EP in 2018 under this alias, Berlin's Yoofee went quiet until earlier this year. Then he served up three new EPs in quick succession, with this being the most recent on White Peach. It's a perfectly sweet and ripe four tracker that takes dubstep into deep and atmospheric new territory. 'Wings' kicks off with plunging bass and scattered toms with a lush flute line leading the charge. 'Wahhh' is then icy cold and sparse, with vocal yelps and a low end oscillation charging up the crowd. 'Fermata' is a shuffler, with a soft edged lead synth and glorious muted melodies and shimmering snares sounding like rain dancing on a roof. 'Czeck Mystik' closes down with a deadly sense of dread and paranoia.

Review: Award-winning dubstep label operating out of Liverpool, LDH deliver some supreme goods here as Teffa and Breez go head to head with two solos and two collabos. 'Passing Through' sets the tone with a curmudgeonly bassline guffing around some deliciously slouchy drums. Old school with the warmth to back it up. Teffa's 'A17' is a much more futuristic, tense sounding piece with alien basses and lasers galore while Breez's 'Upper' maintains the menace but with bags and bags of room (and occasional clip-loads) Finally the pair lock horns again for '7Days'. A bubbly subaquatic trip, freshened up with big waves of trippiness and haunted cries, let's hope these two cats are forced in the ring together more often. Power up!

Review: For their first-ever full-length project, Lion Charge has coaxed a fantastic debut album out of Dublin native Sabab. The dub master serves up plenty of irresistible contemporary joints that showcase his studio trickery and penchant for spaced-out sounds. It comes on suitably fat 180-gram vinyl and showcases the sounds of the OG 70s era while also adding to a nice musical journey overall. The flabby bass, the off-balance rhythms, the hissing hi-hats that take off into space - it's all here and its all beautifully nostalgic as well as being stylishly finished with a modern touch.