Back catalogue: Dubstep

Review: Following on from the monstrous rib-shaking beast from Czech Republic's very own ANS, another future dub creator makes for his debut 12" on Studio Rockers.
London based frequency tweaker Bionics steps up to the table with three bassbin quaking excursions. First up 'Dubcore' busts out the speakers commanding
mind and body from the off, robot vocals get warped and meddled into the mix as twisted synthesizers are pushed to the limits. As the bass rears its ugly head,
old skool jungle soaked snares weave their way in. Next up the infectious groove of 'Feist' comes along, pounding drums and vox stabs mesh in and out as
haunting pads heighten the intensity! Completing the outing with the low slung vibes of 'Kafka' Bionics shows his true versatility in sound design.

Review: Chase & Status and Stormzy coming together was always going to be huge. One rules the charts, the other the clubs, and between them they cooked up a massive single that got heard everywhere all summer long, including a special live performance of it in Ushuaia Ibiza. Now you can own it on a slab of vinyl that has been cut nice and loud, which is perfect for the tune - the bass is devastating, the bars from Stormzy are hard, the energy is dark and unrelenting and it's the perfect sort of jungle cross over sound that will continue to be heard everywhere well into 2025.

Review: The 15-year anniversary of Coki's 'Goblin' is upon us and forms part of UKF Dubstep's UKF15 sreies, which also celebrates 15 years of UKF with multiple series of releases spanning drum & bass, dubstep and beyond. Now pressed to 12" black vinyl, and helming up an A-sider's stardom compared to the original Ringo Records 12"'s B-side, 'Goblin' gets the respect it deserves. Once famed and flamed for being one of "the tunes that spawned brostep" alongside 'Spongebob', 'Goblin' is a seriously impish impressor - its snagletooth lead line emblematic of Coki's signature noughts breakout sound - and the track has never sounded so especially powerful and puckish as it does now, with extra reverb and decay effects peppered in. And on the B, fast-riser producer Hamdi provides an asphyxiant B-side, contrasting the original's fanged sludge.

Review: Throw the gauntlet: Fast Castle makes a welcome return here with Gent1e $oul's new Shoals"=-EP which is a superbly deep dive into some new and previously uncharted bass worlds. All five cuts are versatile and vital offerings starting with the in your face aggression of opener 'Dark Age' with its hefty low-end wobbles. 'Bad Neighbor' has some stepper energy with big waves of sub-bass washing over you and 'Dusty Acer' then pays tribute to the artist's "dear but aging AoE2 gaming machine". Deep dubstep fans will find plenty of love on 'Illumination' with plenty of mystic ambiance to get lost in and 'Shoals' draws things to a close with half-stepping 160bpm power.

Review: Katy B 'Lights On' ft. Ms Dynamite
Dubstep/UK Funky/Pop
12” RINSE006 (Rinse) £2.99
DEAL: 5+1 B/C: 0886978271310 13th Dec
* LISTEN: https://files.me.com/ammunition/cy6haw
* We already know her name of course – as Katy has made one of this year’s defining singles – the Benga-produced
smash ‘Katy On A Mission’ In its first week alone the video for the track clocked up over 100,000 views. The current total
is 7.1 million views whilst the single sat in the top ten for 6 weeks, and inside the top 40 for 11 weeks Not bad from a 21
year girl from Peckham.
* The first bona fide pop star to emerge from the dubstep and UK funky undergrounds championed by the newly-legal
Rinse FM, Katy B encapsulates the sound, spirit and unrestrained energy of British youth culture right now. Combining
the rhythms of a currently resurgent UK underground scene with a songwriting ear for the vernacular and songs that
celebrate the being young, staying up far too late raving and falling for the wrong boys, she’s a fresh new pop star that
really has it all.
* Katy B is a raw, fresh talent destined for great things in 2011. Confidently seizing the middle ground between the totally
on-point lyricism of Lily Allen and the swagger of Ms. Dynamite and Neneh Cherry, Katy’s killer combination of natural
pop sass, uniquely powerful voice and total immersion in London’s club culture makes her the perfect popstar set to go
clear in 2011.
* Katy now rounds off the year with the out-of-the-box dancefloor smash ‘Lights On’. Featuring Ms Dynamite and
produced by Rinse FM founder Geeneus, with remixes by Skream and GIRL UNIT. It’s a fabulously life-affirming
celebration of the joys of refusing to leave the dancefloor at 6am with the house lights up and sure to be the second
smash hit from this immensely talented star-in-waiting.
* TRACKLIST: A: Skream Remix AA1: Original Mix AA2: GIRL UNIT Remix

Review: Last spotted on Strictly 140's Overseas VA LP, Spanish new-gen bass chef serves up his biggest dish to date on Subaltern. Linking up with longstanding baron XL One for the opener, 'Cronauer'. Unhurried, twinkling but laced with a bitter bass bite, it sets the dark dream tone. 'Piranha Plant' and 'Dorsia' see Kodama going solo. The former is a woozy arpeggiated charmer that sits on the hip-hop side of the beat spectrum. The latter hums with similar melancholy but much more of an edge to the drums and that ominous waspy bass tone. Graveyard grooves.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


These tracks have received some huge hype just from the plays they have been getting from DJs luckily enough to have them. Now they finally get a vinyl pressing so the rest of us can join in the fun. First up is a three way collab between a trio of well-regarded artists in the UK drill rapper Kwengface, master bass producer Joy O and techno's Overmono. 'Freedom 2' has cut-throat rhymes and two-step garage influences with low-end subs which will destroy the club. The original version features on the flip with a less club-ready and more drill-centric sound.

Review: UK imprint White Peach have served up all things dubstep since before you likely developed any sense of taste. That's because they made yours; 'Likesss' is the latest set of sonic fruits from rising producer Moreofus, and continues to convince us of White Peach's ability to sway our low-end-erring predilections. Through its ploddy trap, midrange growls, triplet transitions, riotous vocal textures, and pistol-whipping snares - B2 'Menace' coming as the night-bussed, heavy-deep drill highlight - Moreofuss seems set to rack up a lot of 'Likessss' indeed...

Review: Always coming with the juiciest and most forward-thinking takes on 140 music and bass culture, Zhu's White Peach operations have been setting the benchmark for many years. And this reissue is a kindly reminder of their consistency and future-focused nature. Originally released in the summer 2020, it's now rebooted on lush yellow vinyl and, from the stunning Indian strings on the skin-scorching opening title track to the last rippling bleep from the finale track 'Renegade', the sounds remain as ahead of their time.

Review: Three exceptional low end delights from Parisian artist Quasar right here on Infernal. Each cut as unhurried as the last, there's a latent swagger coded deep into each groove as the Frenchman does his thing... 'Reminiscence Dub' is a gloopy, dubby strut in deep space, 'Space Raiders' hits with a deep bounce that recalls the likes of Roots Manuva's hopeful anthem 'Witness' while 'Molotov' (with Causa) brings the EP to an explosive finale. Unforgettable.

Review: Old Clarty pants Spooks switches up his brand for a new heavy hitting series of club jams. Kicking off with 001, there's a very distinctive bite to this ghost's bark as he goes in on the heavier tear-out vibes with 'Shark Attack'. Deeper into his ocean we plunge as 'Quiet Storm' sucks us down into the sand and 'Sitting Bull' flips for an upbeat early 2000s breakbeat garage type of mission. 'Gas Mark' brings this bloodclart bake-off to a tasty but very messy finish. Sheesh what a set. Spooky never misses but this is some serious Bizzle even for him. Essential.

Review: Now four years deep, Taiko's 'Oaken' still shines as White Peach remind us with this lovely limited pink vinyl. The title track, smouldering with Hodge's sax clouds, hits with a hard chill edge before we spiral deeper and deeper into the mystic mire. 'Lawless' cascades into a fluting tooting mess, 'Spent' is the sonic equivalent of a marble effect, all molten and oily but prone to sudden flurries and 'Where Ya From' finishes on the most dancefloor minded vibe as the bass wobbles away under those ever present flutes. Sublime. Just as it was back then. Don't sleep on this like you did last time.

Review: Ex-Roll Deep MC Trim is using his original tongue-twisting style to gain deserved popularity and support for his new sound. Joining the East London based Butterz collective, Trim presents "I Am" with two remixes from Preditah and LV. ''I Am'' is Trim on a more laid back vibe than usual, and it appears to be working as the EP receives vital support from names such as Benji B and Logan Sama. Trim's deep vocal patterns are scattered over a bouncing platform of rubbery modern percussion and sophisticated jazzy brass; almost a genre of its own, it's no surprise Trim is getting some serious attention. On remix duties are young Birmingham producer Preditah and Hyperdub / Keysound residents LV, who keep up the skippy vibe of the original. Finally, ''Notice Now'' on the flip is a new Trim vocal on D.O.K.''s ''Chemical Planet'' tune, which first appeared on Butterz in 2010.

Review: Wall In The Hole kicks off life with a first EP from an unbeknown producer of the same name. The label will be tapping into what some (us) are calling the great dubstep revival with a super minted, one time only pressing of two brilliantly juicy tunes. 'Monia' has bright synths and warm chords over nimble drums and bass that convey real weight, all topped off by a superb r&b vocal sample from the golden era. 'Reckless' on the flip is another one defined by its magnificent vocals sample, but this one has more broken beats and lively bass swings, low end wobble and wooden percussion.

Review: Repping Sugar Records and Tanum Sounds, Winsome comes through with three really interesting perspectives. 'Tab' is a unique and highly springy piece of work as it works and wriggles its away around some well sculpted table drum hits and sub plunges. '24gb' takes us down a much dreamier pathway, sitting somewhere between Indian Ropeman and Chicken Lips. Finally 'Who' closes this stunning EP with a faraway drone. Intense.

Review: Get your 'Freak' on! White Peach are reissuing this doozy of 12" from Yoofee and not before time, too. Originally released in 2021, and still sounding years ahead of the pack, 'Calibration' takes the lead in all its bouncy, steppy glory. It's backed up by plenty more heat... The four-to-the-floor switches on 'Freak', the depth plunge subby funk of 'OK Cold' and the super creepy graveyard gravy finale 'Negative Released'. Positive release.

Review: Garage powerhouse Zed Bias is back with more old school garage brilliance with the new single 'Shell Them Again' featuring the vocals of Yung Saber and Brakeman. The original has plenty of retro signifiers from the low-end wobble to the withering synth effects, plus crisp hits and jostling drums. After the dub mix comes a remix from Zed himself alongside Safire which is much more dirty and raw. The beats are broken up so the track takes on a dubstep quality as the low-end oscillations bring the weight and drums hit with more force. Finally, the acappella closes out this fresh 12" on IFG.