Back catalogue: Bass

Review: Following his soundtrack to the Roki game and appearances on the likes of Monstercat, Aether returns to his spiritual home Fent Plates for the first time since 2017. The wait has of course been worth it as 'Fragments' takes us back to the Scottish deepsmith's finest elements; stirring, poignant chords, foggy, disarming textures long lingering-but-tender notes. From the opening airy pads and trembling keys of 'Luna Awaits' to the final slo-mo plod and echo of the finale 'Worlds Apart', it's Aether doing what he does best; conjuring up emotions you didn't even know you were feeling while making you feel like you're in an impenetrable bubble. Beautiful.

Review: As Trule approaches the occasion of its 25th EP, Alpi is given the nod to take care of a sublime new four-tracker. This is an EP of stylish and subversive techno that is meticulously designed and all named after plants. The rhythms are suggestive rather than in your face but never fail to lock you in while you gaze at the fresh synths and unusual sound designs all around. 'Hedera' is first up and floats on air with skittish hits and detuned chords, then 'Oxalis' slows to a crawl that melts the mind. 'Aquilegia' has a sub-aquatic dub techno feel and 'Paeonia' is a double-time stepper.

Review: The first VA release from Edinburgh-based rave Headset, showcasing unsung Scottish artists making sound system music in any tempo. On side A, LWS does broken beat techno on the druggy 'BR Saulus' followed by more experimentally minded material by Kamus with the downtempo beats of 'Bedrock Head Knock'. The second side features the very early UK hardcore aesthetic of Aggergate Culture's '703 Ekranoplan (Ground Effect)' which will take you to a higher state, and finally Delahunt's deeply meditative bass exploration 'BM Solitaire'.

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: Multidisciplinary artist Fatima Al Qadiri aligns with Hyperdub to release Asiatisch, a keenly anticipated debut album that's described as a "simulated road trip through an imagined China". First coming to prominence on the UNO label in 2011, Al Qadiri has subsequently provoked critical acclaim for the 2012 Desert Strike EP for Fade To Mind that played on her time spent living in Kuwait as a child, while her work under the Ayshay moniker for Tri Angle explored vocals in a unique manner. Asiatisch expands on the political themes of Desert Strike in a new and unexpected way, and acts as a homage to the style of grime known as "sinogrime". Asian motifs and melodies are prominent throughout whilst conceptually Al Qadiri runs through "the fantasies of east Asia as refracted through pulpy Western pop culture". If that wasn't enough to sell you on the concept, opening track "Shanzhai" is a "nonsensical Mandarin" language cover of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U".

Review: By now, it should be more than well-known that Joe-Armon Jones and Maxwell Owin are two of UK's jazz's most prominent and deserving fixtures, with the former having made a name for himself as part of outfits like Ezra Collective, and the latter for his unique blend of jazz and future garage. Together, they have an unmatched synergy; not staying too rooted in the potential quagmire of jazz alone, Archetype is a critical exploration of genre, as both Armon-Jones and Owin segue through explorations of their favourite non-jazz genres (dub, funk, garage, hip-hop) as "archetypes", paying homage to their infleunce on the music they make now. Guest features from Mala, Fatima, Lex Amor and O The Ghost cement this notion of tribute and versatility, making for a serene and virtuosic albu that best falls under the category of "jazzifyer".