Back catalogue: Dubstep

Review: Fent Plates keeps it utterly deep with this new selection, Slowed & Reverb Versions. It's the work of Aether and comes pressed on white marbled vinyl in mad limited numbers. The beats are seriously heady and kick off with heart aching vocal slurs stretched over a lazy rhythm. Elsewhere the likes of 'Should Have Known' is another codeine paced sub-aquatic crawl with heavy-hearted hits and linger, melancholic vocals drifting forlornly. 'Together We Will Live Forever' is a divine closer with delicate melodic droplets and more drowsy vocals sure to slow your pulse and chill you right out.

Review: Bassnectar goes deep into his own take on dubstep here with a new album The Golden Rule on Amorphous Music. It comes across a triple selection of coloured vinyl and wastes no time in getting heavy. 'The Golden Rule' rides on saw tooth synths and slapping synths with 'Unlocked' (feat Rye Rye & Jamalski) bringing some vocal energy and 'I Am Another Yourself' then gets all screwy on some mad bass mutations. Elsewhere Bassnectar collaborates with Rebelwise on the exotic sounds of 'Prayer Song' and Hyper is peak time and maximal jump up for rave times only.

Review: James Blake's debut album is undoubtedly one of 2011's most keenly awaited releases, and its arrival via his own (major label funded) Atlas imprint ensures their is no lull in momentum for a producer who enjoyed a watershed 2010 with releases on Hessle Audio and R&S. The results here differ wildly from his previous sonic excursions - gone are the shimmering R&B soaked melodies of "CMYK" and the sheer experimentalism of the Klavierwerke EP, which saw the young Londoner depart from the confines of the dancefloor and enter a realm where there was only a passing reference to rhythm-based music. Instead we are treated to Blake's own yearning, raw voice, delicate pianos and an underlying sense of melancholy. Ubiquitous single "Limit To Your love" and the crackly sonic terrain evoked on "The Wilhelm Scream" are among the most immediately pleasing moments, but there is much to explore here. It's a fascinating opus and surely the catalyst to a long and fruitful career at the top.

Review: Mixed entirely during lockdown in his new Brussels home, prolific British producer Kevin Martin aka The Bug teams up with Berlin-based American Dis Fig, whose haunting yet seductive croon narrates a backdrop of paranoid electronic dub on In Blue. This is an album that captures a persevering sense of malaise and dread, that is so reflective of the times we are living through at present. From the grayscale industrial dub of 'Destroy Me' where Dis Fig's vocals flow hypnotically through layers of time based effects, to the low-slung subterranean sway of 'Levitating', the similarly contorted noise terror of 'Blue & Black' and the bittersweet closing track 'End In Blue' which perfectly encapsulates the "tunnel sound" the pair aimed to capture on this strong release.

Review: Seven years have passed since Burial first stopped us dead in our tracks with this universally acclaimed second album.. Sounding so different, so removed and far away from anything else, it changed the game entirely - and created a whole school of imitators in its wake. Now repressed by Hyperdub, this is a rare opportunity to grab it on fresh wax. Even if you have this on other formats in your collection, the dusty weight and chasmic crackles sound so much better on vinyl.

Review: Following mesmerising Marseilles mutations from the likes of Syqulone, Kabylie Minogue and Lisa More, Cain ? Muchi return to Gros:Oeuvre with their remarkable debut album. A heady tagine of grime, beats, techno, global bass and contemporary electronica with a title that either refers to famed Moroccan popstar or, far more likely, relates to meaning as 'universe', Dounia is a beguiling clash of western electronics and eastern bars, lyrics, and vocal harmonies. Fractured and macabre throughout from the distorted hardcore bass highs of 'J'wadi' to disarming vocal cries of 'Majdouba' this post grime, pre apocalypse opus is a trip from edge to edge.

Review: One of the most interesting artists to have emerged from the Czech and Slovak based crossbreed movements that dominated the first decade of the century on the harder side of d&b, Forbidden Society has evolved and morphed with the times to a much deeper, emotionally-wrought but still hard-assed sound. This seventh studio album (released on Noisia's iconic Vision imprint) is the best version of his fusions so far. From the dark industrial strength dubstep swagger of 'Wish' to the sci-fi hurricane of cuts like 'Deception' and 'Reaching Zero', this is an incredible body of work from an impressive and unique craftsman.

Review: Given his rapid ascent from pioneering 'purple' producer to major player, it's perhaps little surprise to find that Joker's long-awaited (and much hyped) debut album sees the Bristolian youngster mixing typically funk-laden synth-step jams with moments of soaring dubstep pop and hip-hop funk. While it's the latter that have propelled his rise, it's the former on which he built his career. It's notable, then, that the best moments on The Vision are those that draw most from his early purple work; the contemporary P-funk of "Level 6", cyber-funk of "Milky Way" and gorgeous Herbie Hancock-does-Purple grooves of closer "Magic Causeway" are amongst the best things he's done.

Review: Since 2018, the Marble Elephant duo has been colliding drum & bass, deep dubstep and future garage into suns that are both physical but rife with emotion. Truth is a full length which goes deep into their style and shows how versatile they can be. There are atmospheric, immersive sound worlds like the title cut next to glitchy, skeletal garage workouts with sunny melodies like 'Believe', ambient jungle soothers like 'Serenity' and Burial-esque late night cuts like 'Discovery'

Review: Restricted to a devilishly numbered 666 copies worldwide, this vinyl edition of Modeselektor's inaugural volume in the Modeselektion series is the one final tease before the full finished product drops on CD next week. Presented on crystal clear vinyl, this double pack features eight exclusive excursions into electronic excellence from some of the world's finest proponents. The brushed minimalist Burialism's of Apparat's "King Of Clubs" sets a standard that is maintained throughout. Dabrye's Tad Mullinix & Daniel Meteo adopt a cavernous bass approach to stripped back head nodders on "The Good Star" which is complemented by the short but sweetly demented hip-hop of Siriusmo's "Das Geheimnis". Housemeister breaks loose from the confines of BNR with the kaleidoscopic "Kristalle" which drops a multiplicity of lucid synths over ever mutating electro throbs. Equally "The Assistant Manager" demonstrates Feadz's talent when removed from the day glow environs of Ed Banger. Further tracks from Mala, Ikonika and Cylob lend this release an inimitable aura of must haveness.

Review: French producer Moresounds delivers a simple nine-tracker of rather advanced and pleasing trap beats, upending the idea that any beat as such needs an MC to survive. It's a miracle that this kind of music can emerge from the French countryside. Deep drops and wonky hat triplets abound, nodding to the deep dubstep tropes heard on international labels like Innamind, but retaining the clean production Moresounds is known for.

Review: Om Unit's Acid Dub Studies album, an inspired fusion of outer-space ambient sounds, deeply psychedelic TB-303 tweakery and outer-space digi-dub riddims, was for our money one of the standout electronic albums of 2021. This surprise sequel more than lives up to the high bar set by its predecessor, with the Bristol-based producer subtly expanding the project's boundaries (see the borderline Balearic brilliance of 'Camo') while delivering more fusions of ambient techno, acid and digi-dub. Highlights are plentiful, with our picks including the slow-motion strut of 'Strange Brew', the intergalactic squelch of 'Pursuit', the warming loveliness of 'To The River' and the borderline tropical melodiousness of 'Liberation'.

Review: Making their debut on Warp, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice proudly cross their beams to rain down a sick and slick kind of future-crunk, aptly demonstrated in in the introductory nature of bass-rich teaser "Top Floor" with its juke leanings and menacing posture. There's a detuned nature to the recognisable bleeps and wails on offer here while the beats remain crunchy and steadfast. "Higher Ground" is more overt in its use of juke to create a twisted kind of hype, while "Bugg'n" drips and drops in a loping vat of sub bass and slow-mo strangeness, leaving you with one of the oddest takes on the contemporary mess of electronic beats.

Review: London-based label Deep Heads are proud to present the highly anticipated vinyl edition of Deep Heads Dubstep Vol.3, featuring some of the scene's best producers throughout the past decade, and some timeless classics from the imprint's back catalogue. Highlights come from Kromestar with the glassy-eyed and bittersweet bass frequencies of 'Another Day', Biome with the grey area drum and bass experiment of 'Night Flight', Danny Scrilla with the slow motion power version of '#1 Station' and Synpal & Ras Stimulant venturing into dark and murky waters on the meditative riddims of 'Ital Being'.

Review: Three years since this formidable French troupe turned lead to gold on their debut, Visages' alchemy continues to bubble over with this utterly exceptional sophomore. Spanning the whole rainbow of styles from neo soul to grime to dubstep and a pungent range of dnb strains, this really is a unique and beguiling universe of sounds, themes, brutalist moments and poignant motifs. Complete with lyrical guidance from the likes of Strategy, Verbz, Chimpo, Snowy and others, there's a powerful adventure to be had among these tracks from the furious futurism of the opener 'Transhuman Music' to the woozy jazzy echoes of the closer 'Kintsugi', this is nothing short of outstanding.