Juno Recommends Dubstep May 2021

Review: Hot on the heels of his recent Deep Medi and Black Acre releases, Commodo makes his debut on Sector 7 with two very distinctive, breaks-based cuts. Both sitting at around 140 but sounding like they're 160 records, there are shades of footwork, broken beat and jungle all in the mix here. 'Scabz' takes the Atlanta sound to dark new places with its slurring vocal sample and heavy 808s while 'Guah' has more of a bashment step to the groove that rattles beneath tribal percussion. Both smack with Commodo's signature tension and sparseness and, just like real life 'Scabz' they're impossible not to pick.

Review: N-Type's latest collaboration project finds the dubstep don work with Wheel & Deal family member Sleeper. This is the latest of several such collections of tunes coming in the next week months. And that's great news because it is another killer four tracker. 'Dozer' is a real slayer with its fizzing synths and dark, cavernous bottom ends dragging you through a bleak urban landscape, then 'Arcane' follows a similar path but with a monstrous lead. 'Drift' is a bright melodic gem that has a more airy and reflective vibe and 'Carbon' closes with a seriously wobbly bottom end.

Review: AJ Tracey famously announced the release of his sophomore set, Flu Game, with a fake press conference in which he took on the role of a star basketball player. There's a reason for that - Tracey claims to have drawn influence from the story of Michael Jordan and his legendary Chicago Bulls side of the 1990s - though some reviewers have questioned the relevance of the concept to the album itself. Putting that to one side, Flu Game is a very good album indeed: a contender for the grime album of the year with Tracey spitting thoughtful and hard-hitting rhymes atop punchy grime beats and hot-stepping UK garage grooves. To our ears it's a step up from his self-titled 2019 debut album and in time will be regarded as a genuine grime classic.

Review: A big collaboration here that will appeal to fans of the deep dubstep sound. A duo from Nottingham, Gaz and Tulip aka Congi have appeared on Robin Dub, Yellow Flower and White Peach sister label Fent Plates. De-Tu from Bristol is comprised of Christopher Iona and Jevon Ives, who have had releases on Innamind and Infernal Sounds. The result is the meditative street sound of 'Off My Chest' with its emotive lyrical delivery atop. More knackered and introspective beats await on the sombre 'Shallow Waters' until De-Tu take control on the flip with the intricate polyrhythms of 'When Will We'. Congi then deliver something altogether different on the deep and hypnotic closer 'Tides'.

Review: Deep Dark & Dangerous snap up debutant signing Hypho here. The talented producer created the tunes on this EP during lockdown and next to his beats, four guests all step up to make fine features. 'Dust Of The Devil' opens with an ice cold sound built on bottomless low ends and with some fine flow from Slowie. Strategy is the guest on 'Dirty Water' and his rapid bars add real energy to the sparse and deadly rhythm. 'Suffering' is another fresh cut with digital effects and punning kicks then the twinkling keys and Digital-dub of 'Stellar Transit' (feat Xakra & Finnoh) close in style.

Review: Legion is a new collaborative project featuring contributions from Boylan, Trends, P Jam and D.O.K, with the aim being to fuse elements of dubstep, grime, breaks and techno into fresh slabs of 140 BOM dancefloor pressure. As debuts go, We Are Many is certainly confident and quietly impressive. Our pick of a very strong bunch is opener 'We Are Many', a hot-stepping dancefloor stomper that peppers a tough beat with metallic percussion hits, warped sub-bass and industrial style electronic textures. That said, there's much to enjoy elsewhere across the EP, including deep dubstep wobbler 'Boards Don't Hit Back', the fuzzy mutant techno of 'Bewildered' and the heavy dubstep pressure of closing cut '3rd World Cup'.

Review: Low End Activism follow up a head turning first EP with a quick second offering just a month later. The label is the latest from the tireless UK workhorse behind Sneaker Social Club and this release once again comes from Low End Activist. They offer just the one single this time - 'Invite Chaos (Kill Dem' feat Sikka Rymes, but it sure is a deadly one with militant drums and lurching drums all finished with darkened mantras from Sikka. Next to the instrumental is a raw, brain frazzling Low Jack remix that also breaks into a more melodic and summery phase before sinking back into its own nasty bass. Loraine James remixes things to a more punchy and high energy framework.

Review: Last year Sir Hiss (real name Jeff Emmott) was catapulted into the limelight via his most high-profile 12" yet - a fine EP of 140 BPM dancefloor mutations on K-Lone's Wych imprint. Here the Bristol-based producer returns to his own label for the first time in two years with three more weighty chunks of atmospheric post-dubstep pressure. He begins with 'Wot', a sub-powered, off-kilter monster laden with crunchy snares, tough kick-drums, mangled musical motifs and just the right amount of head wobbling effects. 'Na Di Mi Na' is even creepier and moodier, with crackly spoken word samples, plucked harp melodies and horror soundtrack textures wrapping around a more punchy and upbeat dubstep rhythm, while 'Schmetterling' is a quietly jazzy chunk of cinematic trip-hop with a 21st century twist.

Review: Nova is a new signing for the Infernal Sounds crew and the artist has saved some of his best work for the occasion. He opens up with 'Bonafide,' a dark and heavy wobbler with a busy, oscillating low end that is full of menace while some subtle pitched up vocals hint at the rave. 'Single Fuse' is a noter one to loosen the bowels and melt your face with its lumpy, leggy rhythms and tripped out watery effects. It's 'Fivers' which then gets more tight and tense with an edgy synth hustling in the background while jittery snares keep you on edge up front. 'Intricacy' closes with a heavyweight bottom end and plenty of reverb to get lost in.