New releases last eight weeks: Breakbeat

Review: French house duo Cassius are undersung stars of the genre. Their cuspate millennial smash 'Cassius 1999' marked out well the fervour of the time, fizzing against our ears with its liminal "don't" vox, creep-in bass, brushup rides and stinger Morricone chords, which all build to a laggard but crucial French house wahher. A full-length album followed, exploring the same themes: and now the duo share a new "tool" version of the record, which pares the each of said debut LP's tracks to their barest bones. An "homage to our early experiments with endless loops", 1999 DJ Tool celebrates the long-form, live set cutup approach necessitated by their many European tour dates during the early noughts.

Review: The late great Cosmic AC's vast catalogue again yields some posthumous treasure with part two of the For Now album. It's another record that is as sophisticated as it is adventures with plenty of painstakingly crafted but effortless smooth breakbeats on 'Larvy' topped with pensive synths. Elsewhere there are logic-defying rhythm structures on 'Snood', hooky synth shimmers and more raw textures on 'Wisconsin Desert' and jazzy, cosmic motifs on the wonderful 'Setting Sun'. This is a high-class mini-album full of next-level sound designs and turbo-brain drum patterns. It makes for a compelling listen wherever you may be.

Review: This double record - originally released in 2002 - is a deep dive into the duo's creative process, reimagining the 1991 classic through multiple sonic lenses. The London duo bring an album's worth of reinterpretations, starting with the evergreen original version's ethereal pads and hypnotic breakbeats. T2 merges the iconic melody with playful elements blending dreamy basslines and warm builds with subtle psychedelic hues. T3 extends the atmospherics and psych guitar wails in the final stretch triumphantly. T4 drifts into ambient psych-rock while T5 is a harsher more abrasive version. T6 is a slow, genre-blending piece with psychedelic undertones and emotional weight, gracefully building toward a euphoric blend of organ notes, complex drum patterns and smooth saxophone. Finally, T8 closes with lush downtempo elegance, layering sitars, sax and processed vocals from the original track for a mesmerising finale. Old skool fans will lap this up all over again.