BASS RECOMMENDATIONS BASS 2015

Review: Fresh from getting refixed by Facta on a blink and you'll miss it 12" for Baitface's Badimup label, Wen adds Tectonics to his growing profile with the Finesse EP. It's a very apt title too, as the three tracks demonstrate the heavyweight UK producer is really developing his own style. Deep and dark are easy terms to come by when describing this mutant brand of UK bass culture, but they are particularly worthy here with Wen reaching all new cavernous fathoms with his basslines. A-side cut "Backdraft" has a wonderfully slippery feel to its rhythmic make up (and synths that sound like lasers!) whilst the title track is bare bones badness.

Review: Amsterdam production unit U Know The Drill first surfaced last year with some rough and ready contributions to split releases on Slapfunk and Music Is Love that evidently impressed UTTU lynchpin DJ Haus. Off The Chain finds the pair debuting on Hot Haus with a two track of rowdy, dressed to sweat house action that sits nicely alongside recent efforts on the label from Steve Murphy and Palace. The title track shamelessly embraces the art of the banger with some absolutely devilish sub bass manoeuvres, whilst "Like Thiz" initially feels a bit more restrained. Give it a minute or so and the Dutch pair unleashes a killer rave drop that ramps up the overall intensity.

Review: Fresh from the African diversions of his 12" with Nozinja on Bleep, Tessela returns to R&S with more of that singular club-wrecking business. "Bottom Out" is a wild track that pivots round a crisp, flanging clap and a teasingly restrained groove, letting in plenty of alien sound effects without ever letting the mix get overloaded. "Total Music" by way of contrast ploughs deeper into experimental territory with its lurid synth blasts and disturbing sample sources as freaky addendum to the release. Kowton is on hand to remix "Bottom Out" with a more energised approach that keeps the beat peppy until some audacious melt down moments surge up to throw you off the scent.

Review: Veteran Bristol producer Christopher Jarman started the wonderfully named Kamikaze Space Programme project three years ago and its popped up in some interesting places since, with last year's Mote Revolver 12" following appearances on WNCL and Deca Rhythm. Given the annual feel of his output as KSP, we were about due a new 12" from Jarman and it duly arrives through another label in Trust. Doffing a figurative cap to Bristol's most creative of hubs, Stokes Croft brandishes four cuts that pull from techno, electro, and bassier sounds and is quite excellent from start to end. Emika lends her vocals to lead "Choke" which is a rather impressive slab of steppers electro whilst "Clapper" wouldn't sound out of place on a 2562 record. "HSBC" is a real standout and we can only imagine the frantic, brutal production is inspired by the frustration Jarman has experienced dealing with the bank of the same name.

Review: US vocalist Kelela was announced to the world with the 2013 mixtape Cut 4 Me, issued digitally through Fade2Mind and featuring a whole host of killer cuts produced by artists closely associated with the label and it's UK affiliate Night Slugs. With a new Kelela album in the offing, Fade2Mind have decided to grant Cut 4 Me a deluxe physical edition with all the tracks from the mixtape present on this triple vinyl set along with a bunch of club ready remixes!! Jam City, MikeQ, Rizzla, NguzuNguzu, Girl Unit and Kingdom all feature among these reworks and it's really interesting to see the different ways in which Kelela's voice is implemented! The Girl Unit remix of "Send Me Out" stands out; a wonderful amalgamation of classic RnB and forward thinking club dynamism.

Review: World Series is a new LP length endeavour from Trax Couture which pits four artists closely associated with the label operated by London party types House of Trax - expect a mangled array of house, ballroom, grime and techno. It's undoubtedly their most ambitious release to date and the eight cuts here suggest it will be a most potent series going forwards. HOT main man Rushmore leads the onslaught with two banging productions that highlight his versatility as a producer - "Its Me" is electro flecked ghetto house whilst "Highroad Works" is finger snapping ballroom supremacy. From here, Imaabs, Sylvere, and Dreams all excel too with the high pressure "Sanctuary VIP" a real stand out.

Review: Biff! Two bass juggernauts team up for a three tracker on the infamous R&S imprint! Alec Storey aka Second Storey and Laurie Osborne aka Appleblim might be some years apart in terms of production experience but they certainly share the same passion and love for bass-heavy dancefloor cuts. The former has been busy releasing on London's Houndstooth while the latter deserves no introduction due to his important contribution in dubstep's twilight years. "Raves" is a percussion-heavy monster with wobbly low-ends; "Blyford Bass" is a stop-start head-jerker with another swell of bass circling around its epicentre, while "Pgs" is a gorgeous hard ambient track with subtle bursts of percussion and bass. Winner! Look out for their upcoming LP for R&S!

Review: Precious Metals NTS host Endgame makes his debut on Golden Mist... And it's not to be missed. Grafting at the harsh coalface of instrumental grime, he's carved four distinctive riddim tracks, each one reflecting his breadth and widescreen imagination. From the shimmering timpani harmonies of "Unlikd Riddim" to the soaring siren roars of "Sniper Riddim" via the dreamy downbeat of the LA-beat style "Koi" and the liquid rhythmic drops and fractured elements of "Luxury Riddim", it's an extensive and physical assault of the senses. Also included is a vocal redux of "Sniper" and a bright and bashy shake up of "Sniper Riddim" by Dinamarca. Heavy.

Review: It's been a sizable amount of time since the Don't Be Afraid main man dropped some new wares of his own, but now Semtek is back in action and appearing on Niche N' Bump with a two-pronged sure shot steeped in modern crossover concerns. The lead track "Bad Teeth" fuses metallic Detroit chord stabs with Yorkshire low end throb, and a laconic house jack makes this a slow and sizzling burner as sleazy as it is weighty. "John Of Worcester" meanwhile amps up some eerie sci-fi synth flurries and drops a cool and deadly break beat over the top of them. It's a considered and hugely effective return to the fray that hopefully spells more Semtek to come in the future.

Review: In a fit of complex hybrid future funk, Second Storey and Appleblim consolidate their first three EPs for R&S into a long player that shows the full breadth of their sound in glorious technicolour. It's a thrilling world full of contorting shapes, glossy melodies and large doses of psychoactive fairy tale ingredients, with a gutsy techno heart pulsing away at the centre. Hearing all the tracks in one sitting gives a worthwhile context to the artists vision as they contort in and amongst each other, while new piece "Arpegmonger" opens the album in utterly glorious fashion. Craftily blending the notion of home-listening music and dancefloor madness, ALSO will have you twitching wherever it infects you.

Review: Comprising Sepalcure's Braille and Infinite Machine's Seafloor, Rights make their debut with this beautiful collection of six originals and one remix. The swooning harmonised synths on "Cold In The B" instantly smack of the Iz & Diz classic "Mouth", which, as we all know, is no bad thing. Dig deeper for the more subtle pumps and pitched soul vocals of "Heartbeat", the techier most Detroit-minded stomps and loops of "I Believe", the sprightly early 90s Mr Fingers style "On The Phone", the insistent UR-minded broken beat techno lolloper "Can't Forget" and the spacious synth jitters and slo-mo footwork of "Understand The Meaning". And if that's not quite enough, then jump on the Bugz style swagger shake up of "Can't Forget" by Photay. Music with meaning.

Review: Fiery dynamics abound as Detroit's Snakepiss delivers a caustic six track document. Ranging from the paranoid and intense overlapping vocal samples of the angst-ridden "Blaze" to the slow-and-steady tribal thunder of "Our Love", each cut reveals a different shade of Snakepiss's sonic personality. There's anger here, but it's displayed conservatively and creatively; "Set Fire To The Living", for example, is an icy slice of electro that develops into such a rich groove you can't avoid the heat. The vocal texture on "Frig", meanwhile, sounds as if the devil has been sampled himself... And wrapped around a meditative cosmic sermon that would sit well in any daring disco set. Strike a light.