Back catalogue: Deep Dubstep

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: Instalment # 2 of Hyperdub's rapid-fire assault on 2008 continues to mine the same rich bleep seam which kicked off with Kode9's remixes of 'Find My Way' and 'Skeng', rolled on through Quarta 330 and marks time right now with Ikonika. This latest release, 'Mush', bloods another pair of selectors fresh to the label; both Zomby and the on-fire Glaswegian producer Rustie. They have built up a dedicated following based on a string of off-key productions, with the ferric-oxide-like one hailed in a recent post on Dubstep Forum as "Autechre fighting Four Tet while grime and dubstep make bets in the background". Their first Hyperdub outing is headlined by Zomby's epic bleep symphony 'Mu5h' (yes, with a 5), a dramatic and melodic 8bit stepper, while the new retooling of 'Spliff Dub' - one of the scene's biggest tracks in the last 12 months - claims equal honours on the flip. Where Zomby's original followed on from the classic 1980s 'Sleng Teng' school of digital dancehall, Rustie's glitched version scuttles along with wonky denatured percussion, jiggy groove, speaker busting bass, blaring synths and a chopped-up vocal instructing you how to 'keep the evil away'.