Juno Recommends Bass: Best of 2022

Review: The man occasionally known as Deadboy returns to Trule with more far-out garage subversions in the form of 'Callers Spring'. Sitting somewhere between techno, dub, UKG and deconstructed jungle, the title track sets the scene with its well-oiled, slippery beats and rising sub pressure. It's backed up by the brilliant 23rd century jazz of 'Grounding', the Isolee-meets-Carl Craig style spirals and sense of space on 'Saraph' before 'Doxa' closes the EP with a sparse minimal adieu that sits somewhere between Basic Channel and Zed Bias. Spring when you're winning.

Review: John Beltran seems to have been busy of late. Various different projects of his are dropping on various different labels and here he assumes his Placid Angles alias to go back to his roots. The Michigan maestro has always been hugely adept at layering up lush ambient sounds and that's no different on 'A Perfect Swim' which bathes you deep in grainy synth bliss. 'Stormy Angel' is a more lively and cavernous, bass driven track with trippy and trancey synths up top and 'Moonlight Sunset' is an upbeat thriller with woodblock hits and heavenly vocals. 'Setting Suns' closes down with real serenity.

Review: Dirtybird once again welcome another member to the ever-expanding but consistently forward-thinking family: Hugo Massien. Fresh from dropping his debut album on E-Beamz, the artist once again digs deep into the breaks and applies his own fresh and cosmic take. Highlights include the sobering emotions and sparse sensation of the UKG stepper 'Quantum Mechanics', the bubblesome analogue struts of the title track 'Fast Forward' and the introspective, slo-mo groove and staccato spirals of 'Astral Waves'. Hugo's metamorphosis continues...

Review: After three years away, Toma Kami returns to Livity Sound with his third EP for Pev and Kowton's inspirational imprint. In keeping with the label's trademark sound, the Paris-based producer first joins the dots between polyrhythmic techno, dub techno and hazy, early morning deepness on title track 'Amapaciante', before opting for a deep dubstep-inspired sound on the even more spaced-out and sub-heavy 'Zone Bruma'. Kami gives his take on West African-inspired tribal techno chug on 'Later To The Bone', while 'Mezcal' is a pleasingly hallucinatory modular ambient excursion. All four tracks are infused with a suitably psychedelic sense of atmosphere, with the percussion programming is naturally up to Livity Sound's usual sky-high standards.

Review: Putting the boo into booty call, Ghost Phone continue their series of anonymous 12s with this sweet and sassy 006 edition. 'She Knows' warms us up with a UKG vocal and a breaks/dnb switch before pushing us into the big RnB harmonies and WEEKND sheen of 'Flashing Lights'. Elsewhere 'No More Puppy Love' is an ocean of dubby lullabies, 'If This World Were Mine' keeps us up in the heavens with more lavish vocals textures while 'Soz' ends this beautiful 12 with unapologetic vibes. Don't get spooked, get sexy.

Review: Aussie producer Jarred Beeler aka DJ Plead returns to Livity Sound with the Quick EP. On the first side, you've got the contorted yet playful groove of 'Come Quick' and its nice steel drum melody, followed by the woozy cut 'Louca' taking you deep into mystical realms. Over on the flip, there's a dubby and slow burning stepper in the form of 'El Es' getting you into a deep medi state of mind, followed by the sublime 'Skittles' with its subtle bass pulsations underpinning a rich tapestry of melodic sequences.

Review: Formerly one half of the Beesmunt Soundsystem, Luigi BSS comes correct with his first solo EP for Dekmantel. As the title suggests, 'Suikerplein' takes reference and influence from Luigi's hometown Amsterdam, referencing various locations, places and people, all loosely themed with a positive socially minded agenda. Five tracks deep, it builds on his previous releases on the likes of Hivern Disc and Honey Soundsystem with heavy subs and leaden, slo-mo beats all weighted in emotion and atmospheres. Highlights include the industrial weight Kraftwerkian homage 'Domela', the well-oiled machine soul of 'Box' and the soothing Plaid-like acid shower finale 'Scanner'. Fijne dag.

Review: Jacques Greene records are as interesting as they are innovative and for this latest essential long player he joins forces with Joel Ford, Satomimagae (RVNG) and Leanna Macomber. It finds the Montreal produce conjuring up floaty breakbeats and lashing of loose, free flowing synths to maker for an idealised club sounds that will be impossible for dancers to ignore. There is fresh spirit in these tunes as well as sedate shoegaze sounds, shimmering pads and super sweet grooves to make any party that bit more special.

Review: Following last year's Kiwi Synthesis Diary comes the debut vinyl release from Gestural Electronic Music boss / NTS host Gigi FM. Like her sets it's a broad spread of flavours, all with full floor focus and hefty helpings of bass low end. 'Senstronaut' is a cosmic moment of elastic breaks, 'Manas' is a thumping slab of techno while 'Ketu's Dance' retains the high energy flavours but with strong shades of psy in the mix, too. 'Tear Drops' finishes the release on a downtempo moment of heavy reflection.

Review: The opening track from this special collaborative EP from London-based artists TSVI and Loraine James says it all: 'Gloom'. Created during the third and most depressing lockdown we had last year, as the pair shared a space in the same Hackney studios, this is the sound of two artists trying to find light during a very dark time and the results speak for themselves. The delicate pianos and industrial strength beats of 'Gloom', the scattershot breakbeats and tension of 'Awaiting', the rising-but-barbed optimism of 'Eternal', the ploughman cosmic techno of 'Observe' and the rays of hope on the finale 'Trust' are all the product of a moment in history and a reflection of how the pair made the best of their time. Unique.

Review: The awesome anonymous concept of Unknown-Untitled continues with the mysterious UK crew's 003 release. As with the previous dispatches, no details are supplied whatsoever until the wax is in your hands. In good time the world will know who's responsible for the beats on this. But not before the music gets the full focus and spotlight it deserves. Three bubblers here; 'Track 1' is a steppy 23rd century dub piece, 'Track 2' flips for a sunny side soul-out while 'Track 3' twists out melons with off-grid kicks and wonderful Orbitalesque synth splashes. Unknown but never unpleasant.

Review: At long last! An Avrin returns to the Scuffed scene of the crime where he first really dented our radars back in 2019 with 'Clodhopper'. Three years later he's back with 'Parisian Pitstop'. Not to be confused with a Glaswegian shower, this one whips up rainbow of broken beat aromas all destined for dancefloors that don't give a fig for pigeonholes and genre formulas. Highlights include the futuristic breakbeat tear-up 'Plata', the strange cascading time stretches and booty-shaking UKG bassline on the title track 'Parisian Pitstop' and the clattering snares and dubby ricochets of 'Stumbler'.

Review: Deliciously deep breakbeat bliss from Jacques Green, 'Relay' first handed us the baton back at the start of the year and has been on heavy rotation ever since. Now it returns for a second lap of the track with this exceptional reboot from man of the moment Skee Mask. Bending heads a well as dancefloors, his remix delves deep into the cosmos as the track progresses. What begins as deep and spacious suddenly plunges into multi-dimensional fractured chaos. Let's do another lap.

Review: Made over the course of 10 years, Yesterday Is Heavy is the sound of Lil Silva stepping outside of his comfort zone to deliver a much anticipated debut album. Having worked alongside Mark Ronson, Adele and more, the Lil Silva story is now coming full circle with heavyweight guest appearances from the likes of Sampha, Ghetts, Little Dragon and serpentwithfeet, while Benji B was on hand to offer some musical direction. All those extra ingredients are a bonus, but at heart this is Silva's record through and through, and it serves as a perfect declaration of all he has achieved in his glittering career to date.

Review: Disintegration is the perfect word to encapsulate this collaborative bass record between Kevin Martin, Goh Nakada (as G36) and Justin Broadrick's JK Flesh. This limited marble vinyl release of the 2021 subwoofer workout flits between the industrial and techno sounds Martin and Nakada rally back and forth, and the biological, acidic basslines that JK especially on the track 'Puppeteer'. Dub being intrinsically counter culture, the three distort and manipulate sound, pushing each track as far it can go whilst still being undeniably fresh and raw. Martin's intro track 'Wrong Place, Wrong Time' instantly lets you know that this record is not for the faint of heart, with mechanical-sounding bass lines and distorted 808s soundtracking a dystopian rave. A must-listen for any dub fan, you have not heard dubs as hard and heavy as these in a long time.

Review: Sega Bodega's new album explores Sega's relationship with Luci - his fictional girlfriend who is named after Lucifer, which means bringer of light. Ot is a record packed with plenty of sonic curveballs and some of his best production work yet. His own vocal turns are also exceptional and rightly brought to the front more so than ever before. After a couple of years of building a solid fan base this work really cements him as a multifaceted artist who has produced for a range of top names from Shygirl to Caroline Polachek.