Compilation Recommendations April 2013

Review: he Boddika-helmed Nonplus unveil Think & Change, the label's first compilation and what a way to mark such an event. Calling on a cast of the great and the good of contemporary techno and bass music, Think & Change arrives sporting some thirteen tracks, a statement of how far Nonplus has come since its emergence in 2009 as an outlet for the Autonomic family of artists, gradually mutating into a more wide ranging approach, with material from Actress, Kassem Mosse and Basic Soul Unit ensuring a reputation as one of the most respected labels in the bass music diaspora. The highlights on this compilation are many, but you should be checking Four Tet's contribution "For These Times" (easily his best, least fussy club track to date) "Bad Chicago" from Martyn, and Kassem Mosse's excellent "Broken Patterns".

Review: Calibre has always been one of the more thoughtful members of the drum & bass fraternity, with a passion not just for rumbling rhythms, but also pleasing musicality. It's these two sonic traits that come to the fore on FabricLive 68, his first contribution to the London super club's long running mix series. While there are plenty of sublime moments punctuated by punchy percussion, it's the more fluid, musically complex tracks that stand out (see the twinkling pianos of DRS's "Keep The Faith", Marky & SPY's carnival-tastic "Yellow Shoes (Calibre Remix)" and Zero's "Inner City Life"-ish "Refusal"). As a result, FabricLive 68 is a loose, languid journey through D&B's greener pastures.

Review: Kevin Griffiths is a wag. Having previously decided to press up just 100 copies of his latest Tsuba Limited compilation, he then had the masterstroke of calling it One Per Customer. We chuckled, at least. Still, it would be wise to move fast if you fancy a copy, as it's actually a bit of a belter. Made up of previously vinyl-only jams (Italo Johnson's rather fine remix of Spencer Parker's "Show Him You're The One" being the most obvious example) and a smattering of new cuts (including a bassy chunk of low-slung basement house from Milton Jackson and a near Balearic rush of eyes-shut goodness from Rio Padice

Review: Unless you've been living in a cave up a remote Scottish mountain for the past few years, you can't have failed to notice the unrelenting success of Damian Lazarus's Crosstown Rebels label. Here, he hands over the controls to Subb-An for a two-disc mix-up of 2012 label highlights that comes bundled with a third disc of unmixed favourites. There's little particularly revelatory, though that's hardly the point; as a showcase of the slinky, touchy-feely, subterranean groovery at which the label excels, it's near perfect. There are one or two surprises - see Subb-An's remix of Tiga classic "Pleasure from the Bass" - as well as hot cuts from the likes of Jamie Jones, Fur Coat, Laura Jones and Maceo Plex.

Review: The slow, steady rise of Manchester's excellent Prime Numbers label continues. Original founded by Trus'Me as an outlet for his atmospheric, jazz-flecked deep house offerings and those from pals Linkwood, in recent times its expanded its repertoire to include fresh techno, tracks from Detroit and more than a little late night murkiness. This third label collection showcases the best of the label's output from 2012, mostly focusing on the Trus'Me reworks project. So, we get a string of fantastically hypnotic techno makeovers from Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann and Terence Dixon, some robust machine music from Nick Sinna and a thrilling acid assault from Vakula, whose remix of Trus'Me's "Need A Job" is a highlight.

Review: Luciano has never struck as the "wacky" sort, but there's a strangely forced "craziness" about his Vagabundos brand. For the last couple of years he's hosted weekly parties at Pacha Ibiza during the summer season, featuring "top DJs and a carnival of sights". In preparation for this year's residency, he's asked pals Argy and Andrea Olivia to provide the obligatory tie-in mix-up. Each gets a CD to impress, and duly mixes up a hot, humid, sweaty selection of main-room friendly grooves, bass-heavy house hits, carnival techno and "party minimal". As a mood-setter, it can't be faulted; one listen, and you'll be painting your face, buying a top hat and booking tickets to 'Beefa.

Review: Having just dropped their 100th release, the time is probably right for the good folk at Nang to drop the latest volume in their ongoing label retrospective series, The Array. Musically, it's arguably one of their strongest collections to date, showcasing a drowsy and occasionally impressively bright take on synth-laden nu-disco and woozy nu-Balearica. Vintage reworks (see Max Essa's still ace remix of Escort's "Starlight") and overlooked originals (Tiger Cubes' breezy "2012 Thinking About You") rub shoulders with fresh material (Loudery and company's excellent "Wan (Dub)", James Bright's sludgy electrofunk tweak of Hiem and Roots Manuva's "DJ Culture") and previously unheard remixes (two floor-friendly Venice Beach tweaks of Situation and Space).