Back catalogue: Bass

Review: Well Street continue to offer up some of the most inventive gear on techno's multi-faceted outer limits, this time welcoming South London's Kincaid to the table. There's certainly a vaguely defined style around the label now, and Kincaid fits right in with a dexterous line in rhythmic programming and hi-def sound design, but like all the other artists he's got plenty of individual personality as well. 'OOO' quivers and surges with a braindance demeanour, while 'Nothing Is' deals in a swampy, dislocated kind of soundsystem music. This is dense, brilliantly rendered club music for those who require the freshest of the fresh ideas.

Review: Heavyweight heroes Kode9 and Burial are no stranger to working together having done so to great success on FABRICLIVE 100 back in 2018. They don't actually collaborate on this one, though, instead serving up one side each of a new 12" for Fabric. As experimental artists with a penchant for drawn from the UK hardcore continuum you roughly know what to expect - fresh rhythms, emotive sounds designs, compelling rhythms. The 140g 12" comes in both limited edition and standard black vinyl versions, and both have bespoke 3D design with the fabric logo printed on reverse board heavyweight card.

Review: It almost seems redundant, writing something about the latest fabric Originals release. If you could think of a more enticing double-header for fans of bass, Leftfield techno, and UK-hued alternative electronic music then we want to hear it, with both producers here moving well beyond cult status and into the world of households names in homes well beyond their original audiences. And yet, remarkably, neither have strayed too far from where they initially set stalls. Hyperdub boss Kode 9 proves this first, with the sightly dizzying 'Infirmary'. Born from a combination of loose, open, galloping UKF and organic techno, with its foundations rooted in footwork, it's a bounding high-energy body mover that refuses to quit. Flip it and find Burial edging closer to 'dance music' than many might be used to, although it's a deep, moody interpretation packed with the spellbinding vocal flourishes of a mutant garage and suppressed, fidgety drums so subtle they're close to background noise.

Review: Koma returns to the scene of the crime, finishing off what he started in 2018. First there was ENV 018 with massive tracks like 'Uncle Sullivan' and 'Moonlight'. Then came some very cheeky unauthorised versions in 2020 which most definitely weren't on Encrypted (the release was even called NOT-ENV to prove this!) Now he returns with ENV 018.1, another stately slab of wax comprising three smouldering 140 jams... The purring 'Dialtone', the militant march and thundering bumps of 'Flick' and finally the woozy swagger and eerie tension of 'Untitled'. Each one as heavy as the last, rumour has it he'll be back with an album. We can't wait.

Review: Hyperdub kick off the vinyl side to their ten-year celebrations with this weighty four-tracker from some of the leading lights from the label's story. Mala is in a strident mood with "Expected, Level 10" carrying through that extra touch of melody from the Mala In Cuba LP. DVA cuts loose with the leftfield scattershot groove of "Technical Difficulties", reveling in tonal experimentation and jagged rhythmic flair to a stunning end. Still locked into the sci-fi trap tangent that characterised Severant, Kuedo turns out the haunting "Mtzpn" and Helix pops up for a remix of Kode9's "Xingfu Lu" that strips down to bare essentials with a little starlit soul rubbed into the framework.

Review: A decade after making her debut, and some six years on from the release of her widely acclaimed 'Tale Me Apart' album, Kelela is back on Warp with what some critics are saying is her strongest work to date. While her early musical missives twisted R&B in dark new directions, with her sweet and emotion-rich voice front and centre, 'Raven' takes her in a variety of thrilling new directions. The album was recorded in two weeks in Berlin, with the lyrics chronicling a love affair in reverse order (so the pain of breakup is explored on the drowsy ambient pop opener 'Washed Away'). Musically, it's far more diverse than many were expecting, with forays into dreamy breakbeat, jungle, IDM and two-step garage complimenting her usual otherworldly R&B grooves.

Review: Hyperdub founder Kode 9 has always operated at the vanguard of his own musical world. The author of the hugely dense and academic Sonic Warfare boss approaches making music from a different perspective and shows that again here. This new 10" on Flatlines features two 12-minute plus tunes. the first of which 'Astro Darien" (part 1)' opens with a dialogue about space travel before glassy melodies, solar winds and cosmic ambiance take over and another dialogue starts. There are no beats on 'Astro Darien' (part 2) either - it's another atmospheric bit of cinematic mind-movie music.

Review: Originally released digitally in September 2022, Kreed's debut album A Brief History enjoys a much deserved vinyl boost. A veritable soundsystem odyssey featuring vocals and links with a remarkable cast of vocalists from Rider Shafique to Killa P, Jman, Gardna, Charli Brix, Catching Cairo, here the Bristol producer goes all-in with the dot-joining and genre fusing. The end result sits somewhere between dub, soul, bashment, hip-hop, garage and dubstep. Warm, hypnotic and loaded with twists and turns, highlights include the garage-style shuffles and flexes of 'Weeper's Lament' and the digi-dub bubbler 'Ashes'. Vibe overload. The rest is history.

Review: After the massive impact of Vex'd in the breakthrough years of dubstep, it was big news when Jamie Teasdale chose to swerve in his own direction and emerge as Kuedo. Released in 2011, Severant was a bold statement of intent which didn't wholly shirk what had come before, but placed emphasis on the kind of romantic synthesis you'd readily associate with Vangelis and saw trap and other influences sneaking into the mix. In hindsight, Severant is typical of the times we live in, drawing on a glut of influences and presenting its own idiosyncratic vision, but above all that the emotion and intent of Teasdale's ideas make it an enduring, captivating listen.

Review: Mount Kimbie's journey of self discovery continues with the next instalment in the MK3.5 series. Whether this really is a new era for the pair, or not is of course besides the point - Kai Campos and Dom Maker have displayed real evolution on the road to get their two-man project to this point, and at this point it really shows.

Dom's side is an altogether more colourful and varied affair in the sense it opens with sultry piano-driven late night drinks electronica via 'dvd', featuring the perfectly suited vocal cuts of Choker, before edging into rainier territory with 'in your eyes', welcoming everyone's favourite UK MC with loads to say, slowthai, and Danny Brown . Sparse but technically astute, Campos opens his lot with clubbier tones, namely the muffled crunch-house of 'Q', quickly moving through broken filter bass ('Quartz'), and warm, laidback beats ('Satellite'), among other vague descriptions.