Juno Recommends Bass May 2020

Review: Prising himself away from his Atari ST for a moment, beat don Cannon links with Manchester artist Patrice for some purring 130 dark garage funk. Bubbling bass, writhing beats, it's a slinky one. With Snowy on hand for both a special "Vox" and "Dub" version which echoes and teases, the two cuts tickle spots you didn't even know you had. Sting like a "Butterfly"... Hum like a bee.

Review: Dusky's label 17 Steps follow-up the excellent "New Atlantis EP" from Chrissy with a fresh drop from mysterious outfit One One One. It's a slippery offering that exists in that grey area between techno and soundsystem music, veering from the bassweight 4/4 mood of "Pipeline" to the blunted electro machinations of "Squeak". "Jolt" takes things in a rowdy direction with the kind of buzzing mid-range synth nastiness you'd expect from a Vitalic or Alter Ego record circa 2005. Things get more discernibly acidic with EP closer "Bewusst", which also features some modulating synth lines you could almost expect to hear on a Marc Houle record. Great, versatile club stuff for all kinds of DJs to have fun with.

Review: With a title like "Scary Eire", you'd expect the artist behind it to be Irish. We can confirm that DART is indeed from the Emerald Isle. He resides in Dublin, though the bass-heavy, rave-ready cuts he delivers on this Homage label debut are truly international in sound and style. The EP boasts two original tracks: opener "Raided", where emotive, Orbital style lead lines and screams rise above a thickset acid bassline and sweaty drums, and the saucer-eyed, old school stomp of "Only The Strong". The track's early '90s credentials are emphasized further on X-Coast's rushing, stab-sporting flipside remix, while Big Miz's revision re-imagines the track as a wiggling trip through psychedelic acid house territory.

Review: Following a low-key EP way back in 2011, Eprom and Stillcold founder Andrew Doubek's Deep Sky Objects go high-key with this raw and rampant LP. Nine tracks spanning the electronic diaspora, we're treated to everything from warm jacking house ("Brothers & Sisters") to industrial strength techno ("Lethwei") to schizoid bashment ("T.M.K.F") to divine dubbed-up haunted house ("The Chant") and all manners of club flavours in between. Unbounded business.

Review: Debut album time! Berlin-based CPE has a reputation for generous EPs but this body of work is a whole new brutalist level. Stirring his techno-meets-grime-meets-dubstep cauldron with a series of sharp implements, Tectonic is the perfect playground for the young fusionist's fire. From the distorted electroid energy of "For The Memory Exchange" to the pulverising drum militancy of "War On Codex" via the more restrained, dreamy "Lack Of Wrong Format" and the total glitch frenzy of "I Get It (Lost Banknote)", Cocktail Party Effect references so much of modern electronica yet sounds unlike anything else at all. Dark times call for dark music...