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Review: We're big fans of the great work that ZYX has been doing recently and it seems as though that is going to continue into 2023 if this first release of the year is anything to go by. Paul Crazy's 'Believe Me' is an Italo disco classic hit from back in 1984 that gets a top reissue on 12" vinyl. This version includes both the original vocal and the instrumental as well as, as is often the case with reissues from this label, a fine remix from Flemming Dalum. He flips the original into a more rigid and chugging disco stomper while a lush Victor Ark remix brings the dreamy arps.

Review: Swiss venue Zukunft Club Zurich made the logical expansion into a record label earlier this year with Zukunft Recordings, which was inaugurated in fine fashion by The Legendary Lightness, with Ripperton making the 12" all the more special thanks to his wonderful remix. Zukunft clearly felt there was further room to explore "Hey Ron" with two more remixes pressed up for their second 12" release. Up top Frank Wiedemann from Ame/Howling creates a hymn for the dancefloor, whilst the flip sees Kejeblos veering off into groovy disco territory on a revision blessed with early electro influences.

Review: Elevated Senses is the new series from the prolific Berlin-based producer Todo Kunst aka Zug (aka Gruvaldo among many others), this time exploring such concepts with the third eye, premonitions, telepathy and other arcane subjects. On the A-side you've got the deep groove of 'Tercer Ojo' followed by the late night affair of 'Premonition' - both on a housey tip. Over on the flip is the subtle computer funk 'Telepatia' and finally 'Seres De Luz' is a contemplative IDM affair that's perfect for drifting beyond the afterhours.

Notes: The Zomo carbon fiber brush VBC-01 is the perfect way to clean your vinyl without electrostatic charge. A gentle brush with the microniser prior to record playing enables a million tiny filaments to discharge the harmful deposits from the grooves and bring a new dimension to record care.

Review: DJ, curator and producer Dave Lee (fka. Joey Negro) continues to celebrate his 30-odd year long career in music with his second curatorital comp release. The 'Produced With Love' series charts all of Lee's original productions in soulful house and disco, and this second edition includes choices songs by the likes of Destiny II, Leroy Burgess and Andreya Triana. Always collaborative and with effortless attention to funking detail, Lee brings it once again.

Review: The latest single from Jamie Smith's 2015 album In Colour, featuring The xx bandmate Romy Madley Croft, gets the remix treatment from a pretty stellar cast. Starting off, Hivern Discs boss John Talabot gets on board with his "Loud Synths Reconstruction" which definitely lives up to its name on this driving proggy take on the track. Ed Russell aka West Country bass techno auteur Tessela steps up and delivers a typically thumping and funked up rendition which is a real highlight on here. On the flip, Cologne's Barnt delivers yet another dark journey through the cosmic hole and the legendary Matthew Herbert offers us his take; sublime deep house and yet again; sampling everything but the kitchen sink!

Review: It has taken five years for FKA Twigs to follow up her astonishing first album, "LP1". With that kind of timeframe, you can't help but have high expectations for the finished product, expectations "Magdalene" more than meets from the off. An artist in the truest sense - with every step and stage in the recording process controlled by her - it's an accomplished comeback for a woman who in the last half decade has experienced both personal loss and major physical challenges. Don't expect more of the same, then, but instead a talent finding new purpose and new confidence following difficult times. With the ever-impressive Nicolas Jaar giving a helping hand, the result is a raw, honest record that's deeply personal, full of self-reflection and, ultimately, accepting and positive. Not to mention destined to be on repeat. Her position as one of the UK's most vital and compelling acts re-confirmed.

Review: Young Turks clearly believe that Tahlilah Barnett, formerly known as Twigs (hence the FKA Twigs pseudonym) is a star in the making. They plucked her from obscurity last year and have since released a number of highly regarded singles. This debut album expands on her EPs to date, showcasing her woozy, intricate take on post-R&B. Naturally, her vocals - fragile and evocative, sounding not unlike Kate Bush on occasions - take centre stage, riding a bed of layered-up head-nodding rhythms, post dubstep grooves, trip-hop soundscapes, fizzing electronics and bubbling synthesizers. It's an intoxicating brew, all told, and one that delivers further proof of Barnett's immense potential.

Review: We have absolutely no idea who's behind this hand-stamped 12" - all involved are keeping tight-lipped - but you should certainly give the clips a listen if celebratory disco-house is your thing. It's a brilliantly bumpin' affair that adds a plethora of classic disco vocal samples to a surging disco, bass-heavy disco-house groove rich in savagely edited orchestral sweeps borrowed from another Salsoul-era gem. It's the kind of in-your-face, arms-aloft affair that sounds like it could have been crafted in the halcyon days of disco-house (the 'French Touch' era) in the mid-to-late 1990s. It's available in radio edit and 'club cut' forms, with the latter offering just that little bit more celebratory goodness.

Review: Already the winner of a Brit Award (Adele was voted the 'Critics Choice' - the most exciting new British artist expected to 'make it big' in 2008),
'19' is Adele's debut album. Citing influences as diverse as Etta James, Jill Scott, Bjork, Dusty Springfield, Billy Bragg, Billie Holiday, Jeff Buckley,
The Cure and Peggy Lee, Adele also recently completed her first solo UK tour, having toured previously with the likes of Jack Penate, Jamie T,
Raul Midon, Amos Lee and Devendra Banhart. '19' contains both her debut track 'Hometown Glory' and her smash single 'Chasing Pavements'.
Blues tinged and melancholic, Adele describes 'Chasing Pavements' as 'It's me being hopeful for a relationship that's very much over. The sort
of relationship you hate when you're in it, but miss when you're not'. A hymn to lost love and regret, 'Chasing Pavements' follows Adele's first
limited edition single 'Hometown Glory', which introduced her to the world to much critical acclaim, with NME calling it 'totally, absolutely beautiful',
Q Magazine calling her 'The voice of next year' and The Sunday Times saying 'A Star Is Born'

Review: It comes as a surprise that brothers Tom and Ed Russell - Tessela and Truss, together known as Overmono - are set to release their debut album. That's because their names are synonymous with a certain bleak UK techno sound, following the trend of imagery associated with the likes of St. Etienne, Mt. Kimbie or Real Lies, plus their music and live sets have seen to a wealth of stonking tracks over the years. They're arguably the popularisers of live techno for the next generation, so in 2023, we're floored by the Mandela-effecting notion that they haven't put out an album before. Thankfully, 'Good Lies' is their magnum opus, blending elements from emotive UK soul (the St. Panther feature on 'Walk Thru Water'), future garage (spot the Tirzah samples on 'Is U'), and pirate radio chatter and crud (basically every other track). Nu-school ravers rejoice; this is your defining album.

Review: Musician and actress Samantha Morton shares her latest collaborative productive output with XL honcho Richard Russell, 'Cry Without End', under the moniker Sam Morton. Featuring musician and composer Alabaster DePlume, 'Cry Without End' is a heartfelt cold surge of stark drum machine, icy melody progression and blurred memories of kinship retold through lyrics. An elegy that captures the lifelong aspect of loss - the grief that sticks with you forever, after which nothing will ever be the same, and there is no going back - this surprise release follows Russell's scouting Morton after her appearance on Desert Island Discs and their ensuing bond over Morton's selection of 'I Remember' by Molly Drake. Elegant but raw, 'Cry Without End' is the closest a ballad can get to evoking a vicarious experience of grief.

Review: Workshop is one of those labels that has always operated at the fringes of genre. Deep house and techno are the loose starting points in many cases, but artists never fail to veer off into the shadowy nether worlds that surround those basic forms. Kolorit does that here with two intriguing cuts all with the same name. The first has lumpy scattered drums, scraping sounds, ticking hi-hats and freaky noise samples all peppering them. The second has haunting chords sequences over a ticking sound that is coated in hiss and crackle. It's late night and mysterious. The third has clattering percussion and shimmering synths that rise and fall and build in tension and intensity.

Review: According to news stories when this EP was first announced, The Horrors' own frontman Faris Badwan describes the band's new song, 'Against the Blade', as a "further descent into chaos". A track about giving up hope, abandoning control, and coming to terms with the eternal human position of facing off against the world, rather than actually being part of it.

Listening to the tune now it's easy to buy into that description. The band have always had an uncanny ability to terrify and enthral, and this is a prime example of that. Opening with a searing refrain-cum-wasp-in-jar-noise, we soon explode into a monster metal riff with solid funk undertow, making for a tune that's destined to be a live favourite. Over the other side, 'Twisted Skin' sticks with the industrial-leaning feel.

Notes: Inside this brand new issue:

Releases of the Year: Wire asked their contributors to vote for their top ten records, CDs, streams and more, then added up the votes

Critics' Reflections: Wire's writers discuss their memorable cultural experiences of the year

Columnists' Charts: Wire's specialist critics delve deep into their musical niches from noise to modern composition

Archive Releases of the Year: Wire asked their contributors to vote for their top ten archive records, CDs, streams and more, then added up the votes.

Engineered Phantoms: AI for the masses. By Abi Bliss

Back to the Land: Strange as folk. By Louis Pattison

Rival Camps: Crossing the streams. By Britt Brown

Weapons of Mass Distraction: Artists and Gaza. By GAIKA

Invisible Jukebox: Linton Kwesi Johnson: The veteran reggae poet faces down The Wire's mystery record selection. Tested by Gabriel Bristow

Laetitia Sadier: The Stereolab founder promotes community and healing with her new solo work. By Claire Biddles

Fred Frith: The Henry Cow co-founder returns to his groundbreaking 1974 album Guitar Solos with a reissue and a new album. By Clive Bell

Unlimited Editions: Bead Records

Unofficial Channels: Lanner Chronicle

Phil Geraldi: Road head music. By Emily Bick

HUUUM: Viennese whirl. By Ilia Rogatchevski

Lisa Ullen: Piano magic. By Peter Margasak

Thomas Ignatius: Medieval synthpop. By Leah Kardos

Global Ear: Chicago Democracy and improv in the Midwest. By Levi Dayan

The Inner Sleeve: Vince Clarke on The Human League's Travelogue

Epiphanies: Mariam Rezaei on Persian pitch-shifting

Print Run: Dancehall: The Rise Of Jamaican Dance Culture by Beth Lesser; Lost In Room: Mark Perry, Alternative TV And Related, 1977-1981 by Richard Johnson; Deep Blues 1960-1988 by Val Wilmer; Ukrainian Field Notes edited by Gianmarco Del Re; At The Vanguard Of Vinyl by Darren Mueller; Too Much Too Young: Rude Boys, Racism And The Soundtrack Of A Generation - The 2 Tone Records Story by Daniel Rachel; NOTHING IS POSSIBLE NERVOUSNESS, OR IMMORALITY DON'T WAIT TO BE HUNTED TO HIDE/ SPOILT HEALTH by TRS: The Fucking Terrible Receding Shapes, Trading As TRIPLE NEGATIVE

On Screen: Midori Takada: Japan On Film; Robert Fantinatto Subotnick Portrait Of An Electronic Music Pioneer

On Location: Recombinant Festival, San Francisco, US; Sir Richard Bishop, Edinburgh, UK; Week-End Fest, Cologne, Germany; Black Industrial | Noise Event 4: Ain Bailey, London, UK; Out.Fest, Barreiro, Portugal; Gonerfest 20, Memphis, US; Sonica Surge, Glasgow, UK; People Like Us, London, UK; Loraine James, San Francisco, US; Usurper: That's That Then, Edinburgh, UK; Easter Margins Road 2 Redline Tour with OverMyBody Taipei, Taiwan; Donaueschinger Musiktage 2023, Donaueschingen, Germany

On Site: Val Wilmer Blue Moments, Black Sounds, London, UK; Meredith Monk: Calling, Munich, Germany; Barbara Ess Archives, New York, US

Soundcheck: Aesop Rock, Agitation Free, All Men Unto Me, Alternative TV, Chino Amobi, Andre 3000, Erlend Apneseth Trio & Maja SK Ratkje, Anenon, Daniel Bachman, BEAM SPLITTER + Eivind Lonning & Espen Reinertsen, Beans, Lea Bertucci, Better Corners, Galya Bisengalieva, Black To Comm, Andy Blade & Buddies, Danny Brown, Conflux Coldwell, Amelia Cuni/Werner Durand/Uli Hohmann, CZN, Angharad Davies & Phil Julian, Eartheater, Max Eastley/Terry Day/John Butcher, Carlos Ferreira, Peter Gabriel, Gruzja, Holy Tongue, Robert Hood & Femi Kuti, Idea Fire Company, Ed Jones/Dominic Lash/Mark Wastell, KAVARI, Kid Acne, Klein, Anysia Kym & Jadasea, Dominic Lash/Rachel Musson/Phil Durrant/Steve Noble, Joelle Leandre & Rodolphe Loubatiere, George Lewis/ICE, DJ Manny, Trevor Mathison, Myra Melford's Fire & Water Quintet, MHYSA, Moin, Maggie Nicols/Matilda Rolfsson/Mark Wastell, Steve Noble, Aki Onda, Ordeal, Aruan Ortiz, Tony Oxley, Eddie Prevost/NO Moore/James O'Sullivan/Ross Lambert, Janneke van der Putten, Lucy Railton, Maja SK Ratkje & Nordic Affect, Mike Reed, Marc Richter, Raphael Rogi?ski, Patrick Shiroishi, Timelash, David Toop & Tania Caroline Chen, Universal Harmonies & Frequencies, V/Z, Alex Ward Items 6 & 7, Teresa Winter, Various C-01 Compilation, Various Flux Gourmet: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The Boomerang:

Barry Bermange/Delia Derbyshire/The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Earth, Khanate, Meat Puppets, Meshuggah, Het Pandorra Ensemble, Penny Rimbaud/Mikado Koko, Rudimentary Peni, Archie Shepp, Masayuki Takayanagi New Direction Unit, War, Frank Zappa, Various The Complete Obscure Records Collection, Various One Mile From Heaven, Various Spectra Ex Machina: A Sound Anthology Of Occult Phenomena 1920-2017 Vol 2

Notes: Stylus Duo Clean Lab-21 is a complete and effective solution for delicate turntable needles.

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Instruction manual in 4 languages, including Spanish.

Review: Winthorpe Electronics signs up Dublin musician and producer Daniel Jacobson aka ZOiD for his debut on the label. What a fine one it is too with a real creative freedom in the melodies and rich sense design bringing each of these curveball cuts to life. '2-Oh-Techno' is a loose mix of bumpy drums and smeared chords, zippy leads and pixelated melodies that shine bright. 'Winthrope Acrid 2C (2-5s On The 303)' is then a double-time and wonky workout with a collage of synth textures all intertwining. 'Sunrise Acid' is another unusual but effective techno cut with a happy heart and 'Megajazz Acidhops' is a final collision of synths and rhythms that leaves you wanting more.

Review: Following eight years spent releasing all manner of albums, Californian combo Throttle Elevator Music - an open-minded, jazz collective helmed by Gregory Howe and Matt Montogomery, with star turns from Kamasi Washington and trumpeter Erik Jacobson - have reached the end of the row. Final Floor, their last album, sees them bow out in fine style, offering up 11 tracks that fuse ear-catching contemporary jazz sounds and arrangements with elements of post-punk and gravelly alt rock. The results are uniformly excellent, with Washington and Jacobson's effortlessly energetic and mind-mangling solos offering a firm jazz focus throughout, despite the near constant low-slung bass guitar, sweaty drums and fuzz-toned electric guitars sitting beneath.

Review: Former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe formed Demolition 23 in New York in 1993, and their sole album should be considered essential listening for any lover of that ramped up glam-punk sound. 'Nothin's Alright' was an absolute earworm of a lead single from the album, but throughout there's stomping, singalong anthems to get your strut on to. As well as the full original album, this reissue on Wicked Cool also offers up a few demo takes so you can hear how some of these kick-ass jams took shape. One for all Hanoi faithful and lovers of good ol' rock n' roll alike.

Review: The mysterious Who is a Berlin based artist who releases brilliant music but only sporadically so. They launched their own Who Is Paula label in December last year. That was an original EP which now gets revisited and remixed for the label's second release. Electro don Cignol gets first with a plenty of rueful pad work and leggy drums. Vertical67 's take on 'Bang Tang' is hurried, with bleeping melodies and closely stacked kicks bringing the cyborg-funk. The Sound Synthesis remix is a punchy one that goes deep and Train Station (36 Night Train remix) is lo-fi and thoughtful, with end-of-the-night melodies sending you home in a blissful state.

Review: Longtime friend of White Peach, Lofty returns to Zha's label with four more pristine oddities and odysseys. Following where he left us with 'Foretold', 'Supernova' takes us back into the Berlin style of sizzling arpeggios and crisp futurism. It's backed up by plenty more heat from across the spectrum: 'Embrace' is a UK funky style twister, 'Joyless' nods at the Hyperdub style of UK bass with a strong nod to UKG while 'Daybreak' carries that cathedral-like euphoria up a notch to halftime pastures. Immense.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record sleeve damaged, splits to the top and spine of the outer sleeves, dents to the lower left corners, product in perfect working order***


When The Morning Comes has done a quick job of turning heads by setting out a nice atmospheric deep house sound with its first EP, and now a second effort does the same. This one comes from Grant who lays out an elegant vision across four cuts. 'Opportunity' kicks off with analogue grooves laid down beneath warming pads and loose piano chords. 'Tangible Steps' picks up the pace with a more bristling mix of drums, perc and raw Chicago claps and onto the flip, things get deep once more with the horizontal vibes of 'Golden Wisdom' and more wispy cosmic pads of 'Foward Motion Dub.' Co-produced with the help of Dan Piu.

Review: Legendary Belgian record label WeMe has long been a pioneering force in the drum & bass underworld. It is Lord of the D who makes a devastating return here with all consuming sounds towering over you and do as they please with your brain and body. 'Dunstable' is all fizzing synths and hammering drum breaks then 'O Ixed Mpo' absolutely cuts loose with sonics in meltdown, reversed stabs and drum carnage that never resolves. 'DBLE' is another fucked up drum track that will leave you bedraggled and bewildered.

Review: Keppel was last on this label with a contribution to a various artist collection but now steps up with a full solo EP of his own. His unique take on techno is exhibited from the off on 'Stanley Knife' with its scurrying synths, drunken synth loops and drums that go nowhere fast but still draw you in. '194' is awash with kinetic synth sequences and distant dub chords that bring colour and 'Life Takes Rise' rides on another inventive and alluring rhythm pattern while the warming synth work gets you lost in thought. Closer 'Diesel', meanwhile, is tough, frosty, and more techno-leaning.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Vinyl has light scratches on A-side, otherwise in perfect working order ***


The Well Street label welcomes Yushh for her debut EP. The Pressure Dome label-head (who has previously landed on Facta & K-LONE's Wisdom Teeth as well as Banoffee Pies) brings a mind-altering mix of sounds here. There is sparse and futuristic space techno on 'Kara Arriba' then deeply introspective downbeat on 'Siro Silo'. 'Dough' is a percolating rhythm piece with rubbery bass and dreamy pads while 'OXI Ambigan' floats through space next to fizzing synth details, distant nebulas and alien life forms.

Review: Well Street continue to offer up some of the most inventive gear on techno's multi-faceted outer limits, this time welcoming South London's Kincaid to the table. There's certainly a vaguely defined style around the label now, and Kincaid fits right in with a dexterous line in rhythmic programming and hi-def sound design, but like all the other artists he's got plenty of individual personality as well. 'OOO' quivers and surges with a braindance demeanour, while 'Nothing Is' deals in a swampy, dislocated kind of soundsystem music. This is dense, brilliantly rendered club music for those who require the freshest of the fresh ideas.

Review: This tasty 7" single brings together two stalwarts of the thriving Finnish jazz scene, namely saxophonist Timo Lassy and drummer Teppo Makynen. It's A-side "Calling James" that hits home hardest, as Lassy adds a snaking, alluring sax solo - all parping blasts and fluid fills - to a bustling, percussively rich Makynen drum track. Despite the fact that there's no other instrumentation, it's a genuinely heavy dancefloor workout. On the flip you'll find the looser and slightly more experimental "Yanki", where Lassy provides some free-jazz style soloing over a distinctively left-of-centre Makynen drum workout.

Review: We Jazz Records welcomes a label debutant here for a tasty little 7". Gothenburg-based Finnish pianist Joona Toivanen is the man and he offers up a fresh take on Terry Riley's 'Keyboard Study' with trusty help from Tapani Toivanen on bass and Olavi Louhivuori of Superposition on drums, both of whom complete his trio. It is a heady, minimalistic piece with a deeply introspective mood. On the a-side is an edit of his future album cut 'Except For' which is another complex, moody piece of inward-looking jazz minimalism with gorgeously mellifluous

Review: Watergate welcomes back a crew of regular artists for an EP taken from the 27th instalment of its long running mix series. The Adana Twins kick off with a dark and bubbling minimal house number to set a late night mood then Sabb & Black Circle combine to great effect on the more uplifting, piano laced 'Vega', no doubt inspired by the house icon of the same name. Flip it over for 'Suwedi', a tech house track that traps you in a trance with computer melodies and last of all Emanuel Satie & Nanghiti get all spiritual and joyous with the warm house surges of 'Forever More.'

Review: The second analog release from the Japanese hip-hop label Warufuzake, 'Coffee' hears the amusingly-named Soy Ayers helm up production and rap duties for a new release on 7" wax. The track is a playful b-boy-breaksy hip-hop cut that regales the story of men seducing the objects of their affections with euphemistic 'coffee'. Exquisitely illustrated and obi-stripped, we can't wait to hear more from this new venture and wisecracking moniker.

Review: After what seems like an eternity, Warp has finally decided to give Broadcast's Microtonics series a full release. Initially made available only to fans at gigs, the two-volume series saw the band experimenting not with their krautrock-influenced brand of trippy electronic pop, but rather the kind of music concrete and synthesizer experiments that were once the preserve of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Peter Zinovieff and the various modular synthesis fetishists that came in their wake. For that reason, it's not Broadcast at their most accessible, but if you're into vintage synth sounds and admirable experimental electronica, Microtonics makes for hugely enjoyable listening.

Review: Sean Bowie's fifth full-length as Yves Tumor arrives with an epic title (the academically minded will be debating its meaning for years to come), a grandiose electro-rock/post-punk goes-electroclash sound, and a bagful of valedictory reviews. It's basically an extension of Bowie's previous work with a few twists, but that's no bad thing; after all, the artist's distinctive sound and strong songs have always been an impressive calling card. Highlights are plentiful, from the fizzing, 21st century punk-funk of 'Lovely Sewer', and the Prince-does-Nine Inch Nails-flex of 'Parody', to the alternately jangling and sleazy 'Operator', and the post-ESG dancefloor heaviness of 'Fear Evil Like Fire'.

Review: A decade after making her debut, and some six years on from the release of her widely acclaimed 'Tale Me Apart' album, Kelela is back on Warp with what some critics are saying is her strongest work to date. While her early musical missives twisted R&B in dark new directions, with her sweet and emotion-rich voice front and centre, 'Raven' takes her in a variety of thrilling new directions. The album was recorded in two weeks in Berlin, with the lyrics chronicling a love affair in reverse order (so the pain of breakup is explored on the drowsy ambient pop opener 'Washed Away'). Musically, it's far more diverse than many were expecting, with forays into dreamy breakbeat, jungle, IDM and two-step garage complimenting her usual otherworldly R&B grooves.

Review: There's no 'difficult second album' syndrome evidence on Squid's sophomore full-length. While it lacks the forthright, math rock and post-punk-inspired immediacy of the Brighton band's acclaimed full-length debut, the density, inventiveness and experimentation that marks out O Monolith more than makes up for it. For proof, check recent single 'Swing (In a Dream)', a wall of sound affair that builds through approaching waves of instrumentation (first picturesque 16-bit synths and acoustic guitars, then grooves, trumpet solos and finally grizzled guitars), the laidback post-punk-funk of low-slung treat 'Undergrowth', and the skittish, jazz-flecked, layered soundscape that is 'The Blades', where squally horn solos and dense alt-rock guitars catch the ear.

Review: Ghetts is undoubtedly amongst the top tier of British MCs - a grime legend famed for being a genuinely dextrous lyricist. As On Purpose, With Purpose proves, he's also an artist whose output has evolved considerably since he emerged in the late 2000s. While his raps and rhymes are as sharp as ever, the beats he's working with are far more diverse, polished and - whisper it quietly - deeper than many may expect. For proof, check the r&b and hip-hop-soul influenced of 'Double Standards (featuring Sampha)', the sub-heavy punchiness of 'Laps (featuring Moonchild Sanelly), and the jazzy, head-nodding hip-hop warmth of 'Twin Sisters (featuring Skrapz)'. Throw in nods to Afrobeats and Amapiano, and you've got a set that will surely feature in many 'best of 2024' lists later in the year.

Review: Warehouse Music boss Mello Dee doesn't muck around when making his robust, wall rattling house tunes. This time around he tackles a big Basement Jaxx tune and reworks it to his own powerful ends. 'Red Alert' (Mella Dee Panel Beater mix) has gigantic drums and edgy synth loops with the original's ionic vocals loop to insanity over the top. It's pure fire. On the flip, the Mella Dee Holding On mix is more dubby and grainy, with just as heavy drums but a little more movement and no vocal, instead just straight up dance floor action.

Review: Much has changed for violinist, composer and singer-songwriter Bev Lee Harling since the release of her acclaimed debut album, Barefoot In Your Kitchen, nine years ago. It's these changes - parenthood, family life, the difficulty of retaining artistic creativity and vision when it plays second fiddle to other life commitments - that inspired Little Anchor, a sophomore album recorded at different times and places over the last decade. First and foremost, the song is full of superb songs with plenty to say, with Harling's distinctive vocal delivery being joined by imaginative musical arrangements (her violin is naturally present throughout) and production that variously touches on soul, future synth-pop, jazz and dreamy electronica.

Review: More mutant modifications from Wah Wah 45s Scrimshire: "Inner City Dancin'" is a one way trip on the disco express with a dramatic sense of orchestrated vibrancy, "Earthly Feelings" lets its inner desires known with a little fire and some serious funk wind while "Blazed Up" finishes the trip in the heart of New Jersey with a nod to one of house music's most influential acts. Get up, get down.

Review: The mysterious Waffles series, rumoured to be the work of Belgian legends Soulwax, has been one of the success stories of 2016. It has succeeded, in part, due to the eccentricity of much of the source material. There's plenty more madness on this fifth volume in the series, with A-side "Aqua Dolphin", offering a skewed fusion of razor-sharp, acid-style electronics, mind-altering new beat rhythms, and plenty of weird, chopped-up vocal samples. Flipside "Computer" boasts similarly psychedelic acid lines, alongside gravelly, end-of-days vocals, synth riffs seemingly inspired by the original 1988 version of The KLF's "What Time Is Love", and a head nodding, toe-tapping breakbeat rhythm. We have no idea what the original source material is, but it's a deliciously weird and wonderful re-edit.

Review: Busy Signal has been blowing up the dancehall scene for a hot minute. He has the ability to cook up real crossover hits as heard on opener "Stay So" (which clocked up an incredible 32 million hits online) and "One Way" (with 17 million). With "Parts Of The Puzzle", the long time star wanted to show off his range, which he duly does across 10 crisp and contemporary cuts. The production is reflective and shiny, with a range of rhythms that take in classic reggae ""Girl Like You"", funk ("Balloon") and deep dancehall ("Bring Back The Vibes (feat. Josey Wales)". It all adds up to a comprehensive, forward looking record from one of the game's best.

Review: VP have got some special and long-lost roots reggae classics here on 45rpm for the first timer in forever. The A-side here first dropped in 1979 and was recorded at Channel One, mixed at King Tubby's and produced by Prince Jammy not one before he went digital - something of a holy trinity of top-class reggae quality. The original is full of proper good and authentic dub flavour with fat bass and smoky atmospheres. Prince Jammy's own superb dub cut features on the flipside which is full of his usual mixing desk magic.

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Review: Slight Delay aka Tiago makes a welcome addition to the Vibrations camp with this supreme e.p of leftfield house. 'West Sonic Vibe' is a deep eastern infused tropical gem with 'Party Over' taking on a harder edge on the same mystical journey. Oz producer of the moment Inkswel takes on the remix duties and rocks 'Party Over' into a slower funked up, bass line heavy trip via Sugarhill.

Review: Versatile's new Uprooted project, masterminded by serial curator and long-time label contributor Vidal Benjamin, has an intriguing concept. It focuses on the 'duality' of musicians who grow up in one place, then move to another and absorb that culture. The two tracks on release number one were picked by Vladimir Ikovic, who has selected a track a piece from Belgrade, the city of his birth, and Dusseldorf, his current home. On the Serbian side, he offers up 'Track 1' by Rex Ilusivii, Goran Vejvoda and Milan Mladenovic, a trippy, slow-motion slab of dubbed-out, Eno-influenced slab of post-punk experimentalism from 1984. Flip for some rough, powerful, mind-mangling proto-techno from 1981: the stylish, lo-fi and pleasingly intense 'NBKE' by CHBB. Inspired obscurities that are well worth a listen.

Review: Neik's debut came only a few months back, when the minimal-minded producer stepped onto our charts with a quirky little 12" for the fledgling Fun Records. A quick follow-up to cement his name was essential, and that's exactly what he's gone and done with this new EP for the Vara label's fifth outing. "Hacia Ningun Lado" and "Dresdener Strasse" proudly dominate the A-side as if it were a shooting ground, pushing forwards with two solid, tech-minded grooves that spew cerebral harmonics from all corners. On the flip, TC80 has the entire span of the vinyl to offer his version of the latter, and the results are one mean minimal punch with a subtle taste of Chicago house funk. Solid.

Review: Outer Heaven explores a range of tumbling tempos on this exploratory new EP for UVB-76 Music. 'The Observatory' has a grand scale - the drums ping about a wide stereo field, the fizzing synths, groaning vocals and scattered hits all cover a large area with you locked in the midst. 'More Hardcore' is a jungle cut that takes flight on dusty metal drum breaks as vocal apparitions and sci-fi effects dart about above. Closer 'Minority Industrial Complex' is a heavy and industrial dub with great height in the drums and a hint of dystopia never far away.

Review: Another anonymous tech house label this week, presenting a cheeky minimal remix of a very well-known crossover classic from the early 90s, featuring an equally famous ragga vocal. Expect to hear this at an afterhours party near you soon, at some ungodly hour of the morning we'd wager.

Review: There's a lot to like about this expansive EP from lyricist/vocalist Guux and producer Mr Ites. Guux naturally takes centre stage on vocal opener 'African Blood Defender', a jaunty and attractive number in which stirring synth strings and jangling piano stabs rise above a sturdy riddim. Mr Ites delivers two heavier, echo-laden dub revisions, with the weighty-but-melodious 'Afrikan Raw Defender' being our pick of the pair. Over on the flip, legendary Jamaican toaster Junior Dread lends a hand on 'This Road', which is then stripped-back and beefed up for the dance by Mr Ites on the equally impressive 'Dub Road' and 'Raw Road' versions.

Review: We're starved for two-sided 12"s in the world of ambient music, but Chris Madak aka. Bee Mask has refreshingly graced us with one this week. It should be said that there's Skee Mask and then there's Bee Mask; the latter is far more unsung, undeservingly so. Madak's music is abstract and cerebral enough to have lent him credo enough to have released on the likes of Weird Forest, Spectrum Spools and Room40. But this latest reissue, 'Versailles Is Not Too Large Or Infinity Too Long', hears him plunge the ethereal heights for the US label Unifactor. Originally released on cassette on Chondritic Sound in 2008, these pieces deserve the renewed attention and the fresh laying to wax, since they're not 'regular ole' ambient cuts in the slightest. Unafraid of indulging the high end freqs, Bee Mask fleshes out a mood of uncertain, urgent bliss - sizzling, crunching and soaring the drone, as if its maker were a modern Icarus flying too close to the sun.

Review: UFO Series starts 2022 with a high quality and intergalactic EP from a revelation artist called Moy On Wire. Emotional focused music that can remind us of many classic, warm and extra terrestrial sounds,crazy secuences even in fragments of the EP you can start making memories of the incredible space duo daft punk.