Back catalogue: Dubstep

Review: Werk Discs chief Actress - aka Darren Cunningham - drops the breathtaking Machine & Voice EP ahead of a full album release slated for May. Despite a relative paucity of releases in recent years, 2010 is set to be a watershed for Cunningham. A remix of Joy Orbison’s recent single "The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow" on Will Saul’s Aus Music, kicked things off. Now within a space of a fornight he’s dropped this EP, on Instra:mental's Nonplus imprint, and another on his own label.  And of course Splaszh, his second full length album, continues to loom tantilisingly on the horizon.



Machine & Voice sees Actress pulls off his usual trick of drawing on many disparate influences - from dubstep to techno to drum & bass -  yet managing to make his sound stand alone. In keeping with the label, these three tracks are of a more experimental/bass-driven bent, although such an ambiguous description hardly does it justice. Whatever you want to call it, the fact is Actress now occupies a space in electronic music that no one else can touch. Do not miss this EP.

Review: Fresh from featuring alongside Lapo on Moonshine Recordings, Agostino Isola AKA Ago returns to the Innamind Recordings label he's long called home. It would be fair to say he's in fine form, too, serving up a double-EP of melodious, atmospheric cuts that pepper the deepest of dubstep riddims with a variety of smoky samples, blissful lead lines and becalmed chords. For dancefloor play, the highlight is undoubtedly "So I Smoke", where echoing female vocal snippets bounce above dub bass and punchy drums, though "Deer (Dub)" - a rumbling club revision of included ambient cut "Deer" - is similarly impressive. Highlights elsewhere across the EP include the trip-hop style stoned beats of "Dragon Love" and the wind chimes-sporting bliss of "Above".

Review: Coming on like boogie for the apocalypse, Anstam isn't pulling any punches on this new EP on 50 Weapons. There's a definite funk to the industrial beat and hooky lead synth that propels "Intuit". It just so happens that it's placed in the hands of a madman who sets the pitch off on tangents while flinging borderline disharmonious diversions into the mix as well. "Feed The Pigs" is no less easy on your senses, with a rapidly disassembling beat and erratic synth washes. "Whiskey" makes sounds like it was maybe an attempt to make a sweet-natured track. Instead the brilliant horror of Anstam's musical vision gets woven into the core, much to our delight.

Review: Even before you hear the first beat, there is something incredibly exit about seeing the names Male - a pioneering beat master and pivotal figure in the early emergence of the dubstep sound - with Joe Armon-Jones, talented musician and master keys man. A Way Back comes on Aquarii, Armon-Jones's own label with him on keys and synths, Mala on drums and bass and Maxwell Owin featuring on 'Oh Lord'. It brings back memories of the golden dubstep years with cavernous bass and heavy weight drums all finished to perfection with Armon-Jones top lines.

Review: Volume Six of Tempa Allstars collects contributions from some of the underground music scene's pioneers and leading lights Skream. "Rollin' Kicks" begins the EP with a tapping drumbeat and a Breakage hued sonic palette (circa "Open Up") which is a million miles away from Magnetic Man. D&B-turned-dubstep minimalist Icicle steps up with "Anything". Crisp, acerbic breaks feature heavily, perfectly calculated beats and a futuristic touch. Falty DL adds a funky touch with "Sunday" as chirpy bleeps and bellows of bass underpin the fidgeting rhythms here, with notable sunny, upbeat vibes in the synth work. Benga injects a dose of humour with the ticking percussive lisp and robotic chant of "I Come From London" driving things along into a hypnotic state of sentiency. SBTRKTs "Sleep In Tokyo" is all broken, funked up beats, warm keys and delicately textured rhythms. Alix Perez brings the EP to a close with "Metric". Deep, atmospheric crackling, crisp SFX and rumbling subs roll along with dark menace. A superb finale to one of the finest releases in the Tempa Allstars series so far.

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.