BASS RECOMMENDATIONS MARCH 2016

Review: The mighty Hessle Audio delivers its' first 12" of 2016, and it's not from one of their established names. Instead, it marks the debut of previously unknown newcomer Ploy. The mystery artist begins with "Sala One Five", a heady, intoxicating brew seasoned with fluctuating bass, whizzing electronic stabs, steam-hammer textures and throbbing, floor-friendly percussion. Flip for the deeper, bongo-laden trip that is "Move Yourself" - all swirling, psychedelic noises, sampled tribal rhythms and deep space chords - and the Actress style, experimental electronic mechanics of "Helix". It's this track, with its' hard-to-fathom construction, befuddled textures and dream world chords, that shows the most promise.

Review: Ahead of a forthcoming new album for Brainfeeder, Martyn drops this killer induction into Steffi's recently established Dolly Dubs imprint. The offshoot launched in relatively low key fashion late last year, with Swedish producer Staffan Lindberg at the helm. The addition of Steffi's compatriot Martyn is however big news, with the three track Newspeak EP the Dutchman's first proper release since Hello Darkness, the 12" single that bookended his album for Brainfeeder in March of last year. Long term devotees of the 3024 boss's output should be familiar with the sub heavy snap of the title track which featured on his Essential Mix for Radio 1 last Spring, whilst lead track "Oceania" is a rolling, broken treat.

Review: Cousin is a hyped duo Sarf London duo aka Mia Mouse & Mani Festo. Aside from their own projects doing art and design and stuff, they also make some bass music with an urban edge. Here they drop a two-track banger on 81 (a spin-off of Swamp81), which is all about the atmospherics. The title track sees distant vocal snippets riddled with steppy, anxious beats. Digital B-side "4got" however is perkier with moody vibes giving way to some swingy ghetto bounce.

Review: ssingno has been missing from our charts for a while, and it was his EP last time around that really shook our bones, and got our bass needs pumping away like a kick drum. His return has been hotly awaited, and it comes through the big n' bad Xl Recordings, home to only the best cuts around. Here, we got "Dead", the title track "Fones", "Inta", and "Scope", four bass melters that stray towards house, but without leaving the low frequency junkies dissatisfied. If you're into the material that comes out via labels like Ninja Tune, FWD, or even some of Werk Discs' output, then look no further, Mssingno is the right call this week. Heavy and sleek.

Review: Established in 2012, Beneath's No Symbols label has been a home for some of his most hard-hitting productions. "Giv Sum", the title track from the hotly-tipped producer's first EP of 2016, is an undoubted late night treat, with cut-up, hardcore-era vocals whipping up a frenzy atop powerful sub bass and a rock solid, broken techno groove. It's simple in arrangement and construction, but hugely powerful. There's a similar feel about the skittish, snare-heavy "Sprung", which offers a denser, arguably wilder interpretation of the warehouse-friendly A-side. Proper club music for dark basements and sweat soaked tunnels.

Review: Longtime Swamp81 member and master of both sides of the mic, Manc murker Chunky takes his production chops to a new tripped-out level: "Tolk To Meh" is a bad dream stepper, all weirded out noises and beats so spacious you could park an Ford Cortina between them. "Who Is That" sits somewhere between UKG, funky and a dark alley; sweet-shuffled beats galvanised in molten spookiness. Close your eyes and it could easily be Zed Bias... Comparisons in this game don't get much higher.

Review: First making his name as a producer on local Manc operation Fat City, Hoya Hoya resident Illum Sphere has quite the cultured discography with high profile labels like Tectonic, Monkeytown, 3024 and Ninja Tune in his locker. It was with the latter that Illum Sphere released his debut album Ghosts Of Then and Now in 2014, and the music has slowed down since then, with just a RSD released Spectre Vexd doublepack arriving later that year. The wait is over however, as Illum Sphere confidently strides forward with this club-ready Second Sight 12" for Ninja Tune with both the title track and B-side "Ritual" apparently "reflective of a shift to a more machine-sounding approach" from the producer and bodes well for future Illum Sphere music. This is a less formulaic, and more highly resonant Illum Sphere and comes highly recommended.

Review: Donga's long-awaited new imprint Gully finally comes correct with four blisteringly fresh bass designs: Etch takes the lead with "Collision" a rolling garage subversion that's been floating around on dub for at least two years, "Smokey Joe" sees Foamplate going all slo-mo jazz with added dub lasers while Corticyte's "ZWPV2" plays the baddy of the selection with its tribal techno drums and unforgiving bass scrapes. Last but not least we scatter and dash to the rifle snares and alien plunges of TeeFreqs' "Trust Issues". At once spotless and murky: Gully by name, gully by nature.

Review: Dama Dama: a brand new label co-founded by Pedestrian himself. They launch with a great conceptual EP that takes from sun-up right through to the deep of the night. From the twinkling early bird chorus and rising fog of "Simple Minded At Dawn" and the breezy, emotion-laden garage skips of "Deep In Daylight" we're then hurled much deeper into the day with the persistent chugs of "Torn Blue" and the come-to-bed shuffle of "JNT" featuring long-time friends and collaborators Maribou State. Sweet dreams, let's do it again the morning...

Review: Longstanding NTS host and Bala Club founder EndgamE delivers yet another smelted precious metal hybrid. "Savage Riddim" is far from savage; a cumbia-inspired rhythm with a rising major key arpeggio, there's a lot more uplift than the title suggests. Deeper again "1 Night Riddim" is a lilting, Asian-minded grime instrumental that would sound perfect alongside a Faze Miyagi track. "XOX" takes us deeper down the Far East immersion tunnel with added dancehall character on the drums while "NXN" closes the show on a deliciously slo-mo 4/4 crescendo.

Review: The man, the myth, the bass-busting legend: Benga returned to the game last year in the most honest and frank way possible. His first released beats since his departure match his spirit; unapologetically wonky, gritty and unformulaic. "Future Funk" is all about the stomps, "Make Moves" is all about the acid (with a slight anti-capitalist shout out along the way), "Power" is all about the deep Berlin style bass plunges and paranoid off-key melodies. Stripped back and sassy, there's a fresh rawness to Benga we haven't heard in years.

Review: Lone's Magical Wire label has been at the forefront of our list of besties since the debut release last year, and this new EP by Lance Neptune is nothing short of spectacular, an aptly sublime piece of electronic dance music with a cinematic edge. The opener and title track "Animal Eclipse" is a stellar soundscape that creates the perfect mood film, and it falls neatly into the airy, wide-eyed house beats of "Janus", and the more broken, more downtempo "Golden Inferno". "N4" and the rest of the tunes are cater ever so well to our current house tastes, and this EP sits ever so well into the output of label's such as Mood Hut, Going Good, and the rest of the new age house connection.

Review: 20 years after the release of The 5th Chapter, long-running UK label XL Recordings reboot their dedicated electronic music compilation series in grand fashion with this double LP offering Chapter XI. The past few years have seen the label refocus efforts on the cutting edge of electronic music with the likes of Powell, MssingNo, Zomby, Mumdance & Novelist and Special Request jumping on board. This 10 track compilation heralds XL's increased involvement, featuring tracks from these aforementioned artists plus contributions from deep tech hopeful Hugo Massien, Kaytranda, London house duo Homepark, and Denver grime act GILA.

Review: Anthoney J Hart aka Imaginary Forces who has appeared on Entr'acte, Bedouin and of course his own Sleep Codes label now appears on Type with his new project Basic Rhythm. Eight excursions in street level, post grime/dubstep bass mutations. We particularly enjoyed the smoked out beats of the title track, the forceful and jagged antics of "Your Love" (featuring some particularly thrilling low end pulsation) and the deconstructed jazzy drum and bass of "Feel Me". Roll one up and put this on, you'll be right!

Review: Macabre Unit Digital founder Demon dons his Nurve guise for a ruthless Tectonic jam. Flickering and fluctuating between techno, breaks and all things dub, there's a dark, twisted physical edge to each track. "Pyromaniac" rattles with chunky 4/4s and distant waves that are reminiscent of Max Cooper, "Brain Sugar" is thundering tribal techno while "Cabana" punches with a really grainy squat party riff and pensive drum arrangements while "Drugs Don't Work" stutters and stalls with Radioactiveman style breaks to darkly trippy effect. Heavyweight.

Review: NYC songstress Lafawndah makes her big label debut on Warp with some killer jams produced by Night Slugs lynchpin Lvis 1990. "Town Crier" is bass driven urban dance with her sweet soaring vocals backed by stuttering and clattering industrial textures. "Ally" is a full frontal and funky bass assault with exotic middle eastern instrumentation infused throughout as she declares "I'll take you like in like a firefly". "Tan" is the most restrained and stripped effort on here, with massively reverberated drums carrying the track wonderfully while "Crumb" is the most chilled track: it's pop inflected and will take you on a journey with its immaculately programmed steel drums. Big things!

Review: After a string of wild and diverse appearances for Get Some and Gaia Sound, respectively, the multi-talented enigma of an artist, that is Ling, lands on PAN and Visionist's ever compelling Codes for something totally different to his previous works, and very much up our end of the block. "Thuril Whir" is a mechanical sort of beast that sits somewhere in the middle of bass, broken beat, and noise, and "44 Blue" jerks and stutters its rattling shreds of percussion all over the place, before being swallowed whole by a sea of meditative sonics. "Jezmonite", on the other hand, is murkier and that little but more sinister, whereas "Canthem" is an ode to grime, or rather a completely new and exciting interpretation of the genre. Sick.

Review: One of YouTube's most popular music channels - and now an international party tour de four - TheSoundYouNeed follow up their chart-busting first album with a second collection... Complete with a vinyl edition. Eight tracks from the likes of ZES, Flume, Sorrow, FKJ and more, it's a great cross-section of the channel that ranges from the soft-focus, romantic night in ("Miles") to the sweaty night out ("Some Minds") to moments of unabashed, planet-shifting euphoria ("Indian Summer") You really do need this.