Dubstep charts

Review: The latest compilation album from COD3 QR is, as always, focused on eclecticism, open-mindedness, divergence and non-conformity, featuring the usual wide range of electronic music, all handpicked by Laurent Garnier and Scan X. The vinyl edition of this very latest edition of the compilation series - which was embarked upon in not long after the longstanding but mysterious label was revealed to be the fruits of the labours of this legendary duo, who had until then ran it incognito - comes as a condensed version of the digital, on which a terse seven tracks from the likes of Calibre, Seroplexx, Costello, Marcelus, Subground 3000, Lee Trax, Jim Rivers, Melatron and Ancient Artifact all appear. Though the label has set a high expectation with their admonition against "all expectations and all prejudices", they actually do extremely well to fulfil that aim. Most contributions here - from the steppy, sloppy 'Sump Dub to the just-plain-monstrous 'I Get My Kicks' - tend towards on the uncategorisable and unpigeonholeable, at least in terms of overtly boxed-in genre norms.

Review: Longstanding London deepsmiths Insight reissue their beautiful ten year anniversary retrospective X from 2021 for those of us who missed it the first time around. A powerful collection that reaches back to some of the label's earliest releases, the strong themes of ambience, emotion and depth that the label has always been renowned for breeze and tease throughout. Weave between trembling keys on gentle cuts like Pensees - 'Mist' and the hazy two-step of Magisterium - 'Metamorphosis' as we reacquaint ourselves at how timeless and evocative Insight have always been.

Review: Skid Row is a carefully composed six-tracker of modern club and soundsystem oriented Bristol-influenced bass music. Believe it nor not, all basslines on this release are created by the same untypical hardware device, the Benidub DS71 Dub Siren. The tracks fuse grime and techno, picking up early reggae and 90s warehouse toasting - far from shiny algorithm optimization. 'Rictus' attunes the listeners to a playful, deeply swinging bassline embedded in reduced drums and comfy pads. 'Cockatrice' unfolds a technoid, almost trancelike impetus - dressed in broken beats and thoughtful vocal samples. 'Weedlot' sticks more to the funky side and cavorts with witty sonic effects, while the flip meets with 'Clodbuster': a conscious, truly demolishing badass tune in the spirit of only-the-rawest UK bass and grime; 'Suttree', finally, slows things down to a wide and wry space garnished with reggae horns and contemporary dance music samples. The record closes with growling drums, reverberant chords, tripping vocal snippets, and a sub-bass targeted on blurring your sight: 'Calico'.

Review: Swiss label Dub Colony Music Switzerland looks across Europe to Mob Killa from The Netherlands for this fourth release after fine early entries from Sentient and TCP. '70 Degrees' opens up with a sense of late night mystery and urban loneliness. 'Kill A Boo' brings some gentle piano tinkles over earth-shattering bass that has you lurching from one foot to the other. There is more duality to 'The Mansion' which has a hypotonic lead flute up top and more weighty bass down low. 'Elitist' shuts down with a further mix of elegant and heady melody and more physical drums.

Review: EVA808 has used this new album to launch her own new label Gleb and a fine statement it is too across four sides of gatefold clear vinyl to "represent the ice that inspires" the music. The artist born Eva Johannsdottir hails from Iceland and has a signature sound that she hopes conveys a story of "being different." The album is rich and cinematic in design with bass driven low ends and dark, boorish synth moods up top. It's cold yet warm, icy yet inviting and comes after many years of Johannsdottir being a key part of the drum & bass underground having first started outpacing grime and dubstep in 2011.

Review: As one third of the Hessle Audio triumvirate, Kevin McAuley - better known as Pangaea - has been responsible for some of the label's best releases. The eight track Release represents his most potent statement to date; continuing the rolling pirate radio techno direction he started with last year's Hex and Inna Daze EPs. Beginning with the Missy Elliot sampling "Game", he sets out the stall for the rest of the EP, a combination of tough, steeled-up steppers rhythms and dub techno textures. Whether listening to the abstract melodies of the title track, the blistering pace of the searing "Majestic 12" or the broken garage of Middleman, its clear that Pangaea is still light years ahead of the competition.

Review: It's time to turn on, tune in and drop all over the shop as Low End Activist unleashes the deliciously titled 'Gossip Is The Devil's Radio' on ESP. A little deeper and more explorative than recent club-heavy dispatches he's been firing out lately, this EP takes us much deeper into his dubby, eerie psyche where cold, dystopian flavours and aesthetics rule the roost. Highlights include being pushed head first into abyssal frequencies on the likes of 'Good Question' and the industrial swagger of 'G.E.L'. Time to get activated.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


Putting the Head into Headland, New Zealand beat conjurer Gene Warriner gets his cosmic thing on for this superb System release. Each track laden with weight and hypnotic charm, 'Dogtooth' sets the scene and lures into the mist with its slow and sludgy diversions. It's followed by a whole stack next level sorcery; 'Roamer' is a disarming creeper from another dimension, 'Industry' was actually made out of your dreams while 'Sour' was made out of your nightmares. Finally Epoch goes bananas on the remix as he takes Headland's last single 'Garbo' and takes it to some very strange places. System smash it once again.

Review: Powerful hypnosis sessions from south UK artist Tom Woods AKA Sub Basics: Foundation Audio return after a short break with two stunning adventures. Both heavily groove-based, 'Tribal Flex' and 'YY' roll with percussive momentum, sitting somewhere between contemporary 140, timeless dub and universal dancefloor dynamics. The former is all about that bouncy kick and its sweltering tropical sound elements while 'YY' is on more of a mystical tip. Both flex hard, there's nothing basic about this operation whatsoever.

Review: Vinyl only and lucky if we see one release a year; Moonshine's Dubwise Revolution always keeps us keen with their white label 10s. This is no exception. Crafted by an anonymous source, these spicy versions join the dots in a contemporary, high grade way. Sleng tenging it out with plenty of molten low end, 'Garnedd' brings the soul while 'Ghetto Living' slugs it out with swagger. Grab it while you can.

Review: Burial drops his latest two-tracker on XL, two chaotic breakbeat balancing acts firmly rooted in rushy UK 'ardkore and day-glo 80s freestyle respectively. The A is a nail-biting, cavernous tweak out, which Burial pipes out into the darkest, most paranoid corners of the rave, exhuming frazzled dancers and inducing a queasy euphoria that any seasoned hedonists will recognise all too well. 'Boy Sent From Above', on the other hand seems to chart the passage of an obsessive, icy winter graff mission, with tinny drum machines, saccharine squarewave arpeggio hooks and spraycan samples harking back to the heyday of B-Boy electro, Miami freestyle and NYC breaking with devastating efficacy, albeit seen through Burial's unmistakeable misty-eyed LDN gauze; chrome and black over day-glo. Dreamfear marks yet another welcome switch up in Burial's artistic direction, and makes for one of the most evocative, moving and transporting entries in his much pored-over catalogue.

Review: The bad news? We're all absolutely doomed. There's no way back from where humanity has taken us. We seem drawn like moths to a dystopic light. The good news? If this is anything to go by (or the inaugural one back in 2018) then hell has a ruddy sick soundtrack. Deep, beguiling, disarming; vibes on this black mirror menu range from the pure drama and stern soliloquy of Rider Shafique over 'Iceman' with Karnage and the tribal hypnosis of Sofa's 'Lost' (which is a really interesting departure from the jungle she is best known for) and plenty of dubby reflection rippling throughout. See you on the dark side.

Review: Few are aware that the historic city of Bristol is still home to secret cabals of subaquatic explorers, the most open secret among which is the Challenger Deep crew. From the depths, one of their many regiments, duo Inner Echo, break the surface tension with two new ones, 'Aurora' and 'Ruminate'. Both tracks are masterclasses in deep dubstep, the first revelling in a low-bubbling lead line that leans heavy on the harmonics, the latter preferring a subtle ambience of piracy and novel Atlantean exploration.

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Review: UK imprint White Peach have served up all things dubstep since before you likely developed any sense of taste. That's because they made yours; 'Likesss' is the latest set of sonic fruits from rising producer Moreofus, and continues to convince us of White Peach's ability to sway our low-end-erring predilections. Through its ploddy trap, midrange growls, triplet transitions, riotous vocal textures, and pistol-whipping snares - B2 'Menace' coming as the night-bussed, heavy-deep drill highlight - Moreofuss seems set to rack up a lot of 'Likessss' indeed...