New releases last eight weeks: Dubstep

Review: Ilian Tape have been sympathetic to the sound of UK bass for some time now, but this new drop from Atrice leans even further into the pervading energy of dubstep as a source of club pressure. The Swiss duo first appeared on Ilian Tape with Q back in 2021, and they're sounding stronger than ever on this latest missive. If 'Multiplex' brings a cybernetic sheen to headsy 140, then 'Is It Warm' does similar work with techy d&b as the pair dice up breakbeats with precision and drape exquisite, shimmering pads over the ruffness. There's also space for crafty techno propulsion on 'Broke' and high-tempo trippiness on '83 Steps', making this a versatile, consistently brilliant release from a rising force in the scene.

Review: Peaky Beats is a great name for a label that serves up such irresistible house and garage jams as it has so far over its first eight EPs. This ninth outing is no less desirable, coming from the in house production team in collaboration with Breakfake. 'Life In Stereo' hits a perfect note between kinetic drums and soulful, jazzy chords deigned to melt the heart. 'Rat City' is more filthy - a warped bassline screws about beneath more sleazy broken beats. 'Chapel Town' brings low end dubstep wobble to the party and 'Dub The Acid' is another filthy dirty skanker with echoing hits and mutant bass.

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Review: UK imprint White Peach have served up all things dubstep since before you likely developed any sense of taste. That's because they made yours; 'Likesss' is the latest set of sonic fruits from rising producer Moreofus, and continues to convince us of White Peach's ability to sway our low-end-erring predilections. Through its ploddy trap, midrange growls, triplet transitions, riotous vocal textures, and pistol-whipping snares - B2 'Menace' coming as the night-bussed, heavy-deep drill highlight - Moreofuss seems set to rack up a lot of 'Likessss' indeed...

Review: Former Grid member and now ambient superstar Richard Norris delivers two new oracular divinations for his very own Group Mind label, the imprint formed in and after the COVID-19 lockdowns to help mindfully assuage the creeping anxieties of the age. A six-track 12" limited to just 30 copies - numbered and signed by the artist himself (move quick, hares) - these six tracks segue between dub and deep listening, fronting the bass and keeping percussive elements spread and panned. Best on the obverse is the A3, 'Mystery Dub', whose endlessly delayed stabs and cutoff conga samples well convey a vacuum-of-space vibe. The B-side moves into snake-charming dancehall territory, the punning, chordophonic 'Rockers Sci Fi' and the vocal blissout 'Stronger Together' being the ethereal highlights.

Review: The bad news? We're all absolutely doomed. There's no way back from where humanity has taken us. We seem drawn like moths to a dystopic light. The good news? If this is anything to go by (or the inaugural one back in 2018) then hell has a ruddy sick soundtrack. Deep, beguiling, disarming; vibes on this black mirror menu range from the pure drama and stern soliloquy of Rider Shafique over 'Iceman' with Karnage and the tribal hypnosis of Sofa's 'Lost' (which is a really interesting departure from the jungle she is best known for) and plenty of dubby reflection rippling throughout. See you on the dark side.

Review: Ghetts is undoubtedly amongst the top tier of British MCs - a grime legend famed for being a genuinely dextrous lyricist. As On Purpose, With Purpose proves, he's also an artist whose output has evolved considerably since he emerged in the late 2000s. While his raps and rhymes are as sharp as ever, the beats he's working with are far more diverse, polished and - whisper it quietly - deeper than many may expect. For proof, check the r&b and hip-hop-soul influenced of 'Double Standards (featuring Sampha)', the sub-heavy punchiness of 'Laps (featuring Moonchild Sanelly), and the jazzy, head-nodding hip-hop warmth of 'Twin Sisters (featuring Skrapz)'. Throw in nods to Afrobeats and Amapiano, and you've got a set that will surely feature in many 'best of 2024' lists later in the year.

Review: Ghetts presents a new album, On Purpose, With Purpose, which follows 2021's epic Conflict Of Interest and continues the ongoing artistic evolution of one of the UK's foremost rappers. Ghetts returns sounding sharper, more unflinchingly honest and boldly confident than ever before, expanding his sonic palette by reaching out beyond rap and incorporating wider genre elements such as soul ('Double Standards'), r&b ('Mine'), gospel ('Hallelujah'), Afrobeat and amapiano ('Gbedu', 'Blessings', 'Tumbi'). With every contemporary stylistic box ticked, Ghetts' purpose is made abundantly clear: to please.

Review: Probably the largest project that could possibly be classified as an EP that we've come across this year, Om Unit's latest record 'Fragments' is an exemplary case of bass music vacillating between two referents that newcomers might mistakenly oppose: "atmospheric" and "banger". Once again released as part of his new spate of ongoing "off-label releases, which began with his titles 'Submerged' and 'Atlantis', this is a maximized, nebulous, glassy, spectral, constellatory EP verging on ghost-notes of UK hardcore and breakstep (check our fave, 'Moonglade'). Every drum hit is EQ-scooped, polished, glossed and preened to the max, evidencing Om's achievement of a sound that few dance music producers can hack without a burnout-inducing mixing session or ten.