BASS RECOMMENDATIONS JUNE 2014

Review: It's been a little while since Kyle Hall dropped his album The Boat Party, but now the Detroit powerhouse is back on Hyperdub to indulge the freakier end of his studio output inline with his previous Kaychunk 12" for Kode 9's outpost. "Girl U So Strong" is a stirring beast of a track, starting in scattered fragments of bass patterns, vocal snippets and woodblock hits, gradually forming into a starlit stepper of the highest calibre. "Take Me Away" comes on like a Detroit take on the Purple phenomenon, all sticky synth lines and Mega Drive melodies but roughed up with ample grittiness.

Review: KiNK's technical prowess has long been a known trait of the Bulgarian producer's music, and here on Marco he gets to stretch-out his intellectual, avant garde-self more than what he's ever done for other labels like Burek, Ovum, Boe or liebe*detail. After a long career which, release-wise, dates back to 2005, he's delivered for the most-part straight up house and techno. But here, after all these years, his debut LP sees KiNK twist his synths and contort his grooves to sound, well, very Macro. Take the confused bleeps and brash drums of "Summa Technologiae" and "Kakavida" or the interdimesional electronics and Hare Krishna chinqs of "Povreda" for example. But for some real dancefloor toughness it's tracks like "Sintezator" and "Source OF Uncertainty" that do the trick, while for something a little more disco look out for the album's penultimate track "Tel". Go KiNK!

Review: With his star in rapid ascent what with releases on Keysound and Tectonic, Beneath broadens his remit from the more funky-influenced material of the last few years to doff a cap to his home town of Sheffield. "Bored 2" definitely sports some of the clanging experimentation of the bleep-era Warp releases, albeit shot through with the sophistication of modern production. "Occupy" may move with slithering steppers rhythms, but there's still a bit of LFO heft to the square wave bassline, while "One Blings" has a curious sideline in micro house with the catchy melodic twirls that hop around in the more typically bleak surroundings of a Beneath production.

Review: Four Tet certainly isn't doing anything by halves these days, with no less than three records on his Tex label surfacing in the space of a week. Dedicated Four Tetters will no doubt recall Text slipping out a record from the anonymous Percussions a few years back, and it now seems that Hebden has owned up to being behind the project. If you follow Four Tet on twitter you probably know all about the two tracks on Ascii Bot which seem to capture the producer's current style perfectly, all mushy chords, euphoric synth lines and big room-friendly vocal sampling that steer clear of unnecessary melodic noodling. "Blatant Water Cannon" is a particular gem, especially when that phasing comes in.

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: It's been a long time since Jamie XX offered up any solo material, so this new release for Young Turks comes loaded with a certain amount of expectation. His trademark knack for atmospheric melodies and catchy arrangements is intact, with "Girl" stepping out on a slow house template anchored by live bass while snatches of strained vocal meld ring out to form the basis for the track. "Sleep Sound" is equally winsome, if a little more energetic as it moves through filtered breakdowns and skittish diversions as though Theo Parrish were on a rotary mixer in front of the final master.

Review: "I just thought I'd call before I throw myself into the icy lake." So goes the chilling vocal sample for "Icy Lake", an track by DAT Oven that became a curio of the late 90s ballroom voguing scene in NYC and has been presented for modern ears by the Night Slugs and Fade To Mind family. For the best possible background to this release we suggest you seek out the short excellent documentary that details the original impact of "Icy Lake" and how it was rediscovered and issued for release here. For this 12" version the creepy original version features (replete with Twilight Zone style keys) along with two remixes from L-Vis 1990 and B Side versions from Fade to Mind's Total Freedom and DJ Rashad (RIP) & NA (Daniel Pineda of Nguzungzuzu).

Review: Channeling his love of late '80s R&B productions with his futuristic production swagger, Bok Bok is back on his own Night Slugs with a slick salvo of tracks that highlight his ever-progressing skills. "Melba's Call" wraps around an impeccable vocal delivery from Kelela, firing off snappy synth hooks and sharp guitar licks with a flair that comes on like micro-boogie. "Howard" too summons the gods of electro funk, although here the Moog lines are fused with some proper UK sub busting b-lines, while "Funkiest (Be Yourself)" pares everything down to a minimal Linn Drum beat and wobbly bass. Who said you can't look backwards to move forwards?

Review: The debut release on Meze's very own HomeMadeZucchero imprint, this needs swift attention before the 200 copies get snapped up. Rich subversive techno with roots entwined deep into earthy bass, each of these cuts slams with deep, dark drama. From the ominous Jaws-style groans of Marco Shuttle's remix to the ricocheting percussive shots of "Onuga Shouts To Betrayal's Vise" via the fizzled fractures of the title track, this breaks down the boundaries between dub and techno with clarity and confidence.

Review: First making his name with a series of records for the F4TMusic label, rising Berlin-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Afriqua aligns with 2nd Drop for this sublime two track journey beyond the club into the realm of cerebral electronic music. Given that Adam Longman Parker previously studied piano at the storied Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, it's no surprise to see a level of musicality at play with Concomitance. The title cut is the kind of tunnelling main room bass number that you might easily mistake for a forthcoming Sunklo drop and the arrangement demonstrates Parker knows his way around a dancefloor. On the flip "AEIOU" offers up a different side to the Afriqua production palette; not quite rolling, not quite floating, here Afriqua's talent for conjuring swampy basslines and polyrhythmic drums that are almost footwork. Smart art from Jimmy Turrell too!

Review: The latest release from Illum Sphere on Ninja Tune comes bolstered with so many remixes they actually come in before the original material on the tracklisting. Legowelt leads the charge with a superlative version of "Embryonic" heavy on bleeps and keyboard choir tones, before Lone delivers a sugar-sweet drum & bass interpretation. "Spectre Vex" meanwhile finds Illum Sphere exploring fulsome synth tones with a coldwave leaning, which leads neatly into the JTC and Charles Manier versions of "The Road" with their varied 80s stylings. Let's not overlook the charms of the Zed Bias version of "Sleeprunner" not to mention the other original material on the EP. It's a veritable feast of electronic ideas for those with eclectic palates.

Review: A new signing to Deepblak finds Aybee's label ever-broadening its repertoire of forward thinking broken beat underpinned by sci-fi attitude and hand-played soul. "From Heat2yu" pivots on a cyclical spread of percussion and a honey-coated voice coos out a message of getting "so far away", while dreamy daubs of synth ping around the broken rhythms. "Islands Of Dust" gets into a more introspective headspace with melancholic tones rubbing up against a skippy 2 step beat. Label regular Afrikan Sciences steps up for a remix of "Islands Of Dust" that sports his trademark tricky time signatures and a positively 'out-there' palette of sound.

Review: Representing a spread of some of the strongest operators in the ever-more fractious world of electronica, Bleep celebrates ten years of operations with this strong package of exclusive tracks. The styles run the gamut from nervy droning sub-techno courtesy of Gas through to Nathan Fake's charmingly fuzzy melodic bombast. Notable inclusions come from Machinedrum with an excellent line in live drum funk, Autechre refiguring the slow jam as a hallucinatory march, and Shackleton turning out some fiery percussive patterns. When the cast also includes Lone, Oneohtrix Point Never, Untold and many more besides, who needs any more convincing?

Review: After stepping out with the choice remixes of "Pulse X" last year, Liminal Sounds is back with some fresh talent in the shape of Air Max '97, whose fusionist styles are bolstered by a serious handle on sound design and production skills. The title track is a sci-fi vision that takes the fragmented groove of juke and infects it with celestial synth work, before Neana remixes it into a stop-start slammer with equally non-conformist rhythms and sounds. "Sleeveless" on the flip comes on a little more measured with its discernible kick-and-clap beat and hooky off-key stabs, before "Peak Flow" sets things adrift once more with a complex throwdown of polyrhythmic drums and alien samples.