BASS RECOMMENDATIONS APRIL 2016

Review: First surfacing in impressive fashion with two heavyweight records for Hessle Audio and Livity Sound offshoot Dnuos Ytivil in 2014, Bruce has been carefully considered in his output since then with just the odd remix here and there. It is Hessle Audio that signals his return, issuing the highly sought after "Steals" which has been burning a hole of expectation in the internet for the past six month. Naturally, "Steals" hogs the A-side, peppering a moody post-bruk, tribal-minded groove with distorted electronics for the pleasingly percussive opener. He explores deeper pastures on "Relevant Again", fusing fevered electronics and exotic sound effects with a dub-wise, hip-hop tempo groove. A fine EP concludes with "Petal Pluck", an ambient/IDM excursion that puts a contemporary spin on mid 1990s Aphex Twin.

Review: Fresh from his excellent ebm-influenced debut album, UK producer Julian 'October' Smith October looks to a more reflective approach. Working with his long-term collaborator and fellow Bristolian Appleblim, he lays down an lurching, acid-soaked bass and jittery drums on "Other Side of the Sky". These elements complement the melodic chord sequence that flutter their way through the arrangement. On the flip side, Appleblim delivers a remix; retaining the mellow chords but replacing the backing with a stepping, dub-wise rhythm, it makes for a gloriously blissed out take on the dance floor-based original version.

Review: Making the leap from 50 Weapons (RIP), German darkmonger Phon O makes the logical leap to Tectonic. And he does so with three barren break-based constructs: "Mercurial" is all about the deep space breakbeats and groaning high-end bass slurs, "U8 Phunk" carries classic electro elements in its synths while the au-natural snare rolls suggest more of a militant march, finally "Bell Blender" takes the bleak dynamics established throughout the previous tracks and repurposes them in a modern day jungle amen-shattering framework. The results are beyond satisfying.

Review: Bristol badness: Blacklink deliver another limited vinyl-only beat collection and every track's an under-the-counter creeper. Strict Fact takes Britney's finest and sullies it up with grimy stickiness, Tarquin does that jazz thing that sits somewhere between MJ Cole and Derrick Carter, Marcx gives Ciara the ride of her life while Grizzle closes the show on a pitched up Trey Songz wavey flex. Limited and not likely to see digital release.

Review: Lit Internet, Lit Daw and Lit Empty are up to their stark, dark tricks again. As "Glacial" softly and gently opens you could be fooled into thinking they've been soothed by the wave machine but, mercifully, no... They're still as twisted and isolating as they always have been: "Affliction" lets rip like a gabber AK47, "Gravity" jars between florid and foul with atonal mischief while "Cypher" brings things back to the club (slightly) with a fusion that nods towards grime while still very much in its own internet world. A suitable reflection of the darker side of virtual humanity.

Review: After a prolonged period of inactivity, Spatial's Infrasonics label was rebooted last year with the launch of an Emergence trilogy of 12"s produced by the man himself, and Part#1 set a high standard indeed. A penultimate edition duly arrives and offers another two track salvo in taut rhythmic exercises. Presented on silver marbled vinyl no less! The Emergence concept remains intact here with both pieces "emphasised and systematically developed in the bass, to outline a narrative assimilable in terms of basic neurophysical functioning preceding musical understanding." What this manifests into is two killer reductionist cuts from Spatial that you've probably heard Ben UFO dropping in the dance.