New releases last four weeks: Hardcore/style

Review: Charming post-gabber connections from Fish & Rice aka Hellfish (King of Ironfist) and Akira (Ricemaster). Go Fuck Yourself goes with the epic synopsis of a sordid culinary horror: our deuteragonists Fish and Rice once again must defeat the tyrannical lord Pink Fist using stolen weapons-grade audio care packages, hacked from the data banks of Iron Prime (we can only guess what this means, exactly). Edacious in theme, this is an erratic, (sea) bass dropper of an LP, with not a single given eff in sight. 'Fish Ramen Gabba', 'Rice-Fish' and 'Do You Cook' serve poisson poisons of hardcore tok kicks and citrusy supersaw sound design, causing our faces to scrunch up in olfactory delight.

Review: Canadian-born, German-based producer Ash Luk is best known for his work in Minimal Violence, a band that used electronics to create raucous, vivid punk-rock style live experiences, as well as his role as one half of 'doom electronic' duo S.A.T.I.N. alongside Ireen Amnes. Under the Infinity Division moniker he's created more impressively dystopian sonic adventures that channel a suitably wide array of extreme music styles, from isolationist ambience at the start of 'No Reason' - which then twists into industrial junglist madness - to breakbeaty Sisters of Mercy-style coldwave on 'Weather Prophets'. Fans of Alec Empire's notorious Digital Hardcore Recordings label and its output should find this entertainingly terrifying and twisted up musical vision very much up their street.

Review: Brenda's debut for Rupture LDN is a love letter to the dancefloor in all its phases, from early anticipation to late-night transcendence. Hailing from the UK and embedded in the country's long rave lineage, she draws on 4x4 jungle techno, deep d&b and spoken word to map out a personal and emotional arc. 'Come Undone' captures the energy of the night in full swingirushing breaks, euphoric pressure, the kind of track that commands the room. Elsewhere, 'Benda Brenda' and 'Total Danger' are raw-edged and jungle-rooted, while 'Rolling With Fabio' is deeper and more rolling. It all closes on 'A Deep Shade of Rave (Outro)', a poem dedicated to her long-running Ferry to the Underworld sessions at Corsica Studios. Spiritually full, physically rinsedithis EP nails what it means to live for the rave.

Review: Malvern's Rave 2 The Grave are a dedicated rave cultural node, committing their entire artistic output to nostalgic remakes of fave rave brainwaves. Adding to their many from-scratch taxidermies - including FSOL's 'Papua New Guinea', Liquid's 'Liquid Is Liquid', 808 State's 'Pacific State' and Outlander's 'Vamp' - they now take up 'Take Me Up' by Soundsource (1991), whose floor-al transmission made it through to being sampled by Rhythm On The Loose on 'Break Of Dawn'; both became fast-track underground hits back then and the rework is just as cracking. On the B is an equally respectful replica of 'Injected With A Poison' by Praga Khan (1992), steering the mood logarithmic, wooping, psychedelic.

Review: After originally being self-released as a white label, Synthasy's breakbeat hardcore debut quickly gained cult status. It was engineered by Jezz Wright, who did renowned work on Liquid's 'Sweet Harmony' and Lemon D's early EPs and was distributed through London shops. High demand led to a full artwork repress, but copies vanished swiftly and helped cement its cult reputation as a rare gem. Over time, it became a coveted collector's item that commanded high prices - but not any more, thanks to this latest reissue. The rain, directness of the music, rave-ready synths and unforgettable vocal cries that turn the emotion up to 11 mean this debut remains a standout from early '90s rave culture.