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: Woof! Hyperdub bring together two of the most recognisable and enigmatic artists of recent times on this 10", as Zomby and Burial square down ahead of the former's new album for the label. Zomby's Ultra LP is undoubtedly one of this year's most anticipated albums and "Sweetz" suggests it may be a very moody affair indeed. Whilst rooted in UK dance, Zomby and Burial do look elsewhere for inspiration too. Just under seven minutes long, "Sweetz" veers through various sub-heavy soundscapes with intermittent rhythmic patters and a distinctive looped vocal sample whose pitch changes with dramatic effect.

Review: Last year Burial and the Bug joined forces as Flame 1, delivering an in-demand EP on the latter's Pressure label featuring two sizable slabs of industrial strength soundsystem science. Here they return as Flame 2, once again offering up a pair of weighty dancefloor excursions. A-side "Dive" is a loud and claustrophobic affair, as the duo wraps dystopian dub bass and sparse, mutilated post-drill rhythms in layers of apocalyptic aural textures and mind-altering dub techno style processed noise. Flipside "Rain" is arguably more suitable for dancefloor plays and sees the esteemed twosome combine pulverizing sub-bass heaviness with dancehall style drums that come smothered in mind-melting effects and paranoia-inducing aural smoke.

Review: Although Rhythm & Sound and Basic Channel man Mark Ernestus has worked with or remixed many different artists over the years, we didn't expect him to join forces with D&B scene stalwarts Calbre and DRS. Yet that's exactly what's on offer here, as the Hardwax founder delivers two typically deep, dubbed-out techno outings crafted from portions of the pair's collaborative cut 'Badman', which is due to feature on Calbre's forthcoming sixteenth studio album, Feeling Normal. Both 'Bad' and 'Badder' are typical of Ernestus' ultra-deep and hypnotic style, with snippets of the duo's original instruments, beats and vocals echoing in and out of a warming, all-encompassing, sub-heavy groove. In a word, it's superb.

Review: The Vivid label is yet another one from Burnski who also runs Constant Blanc and Instinct. He is s single handed garage hit making machine and he knows how to tap into the next gen, too. Here he calls upon Peaky Beats for a naughty and nasty three track affair that has retro feels but contemporary style. 'Can't Stop' opens up with a 2-step shuffle and steely hits, then 'Get Ready' gets more free and melodic with some boxing little melodic patterns and oscillating bass. Last of all is the most menacing and dark - 'Wildcat' flips into a dub wise swagger mid-way through that is going to blow up the clubs.

Review: James Blake's debut album is undoubtedly one of 2011's most keenly awaited releases, and its arrival via his own (major label funded) Atlas imprint ensures their is no lull in momentum for a producer who enjoyed a watershed 2010 with releases on Hessle Audio and R&S. The results here differ wildly from his previous sonic excursions - gone are the shimmering R&B soaked melodies of "CMYK" and the sheer experimentalism of the Klavierwerke EP, which saw the young Londoner depart from the confines of the dancefloor and enter a realm where there was only a passing reference to rhythm-based music. Instead we are treated to Blake's own yearning, raw voice, delicate pianos and an underlying sense of melancholy. Ubiquitous single "Limit To Your love" and the crackly sonic terrain evoked on "The Wilhelm Scream" are among the most immediately pleasing moments, but there is much to explore here. It's a fascinating opus and surely the catalyst to a long and fruitful career at the top.

Review: Of all the artists past and present who claim to let their music do their talking for them, Burial is one of the elite band of whom this truly is the case. In fact, so reluctant is he to engage with the cult-of-personality hoopla that surrounds almost every modern producer and musician of merit, that he remains a genuine recluse; he has never appeared live, only one obliquely-angled publicity photograph is known to exist, and the number of interviews he has given can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Yet despite this, his music speaks loud and wide, and the world has been listening ever since his 'South London Boroughs' EP debut on Hyperdub in March 2005. His eponymous album, which began life as a low-key release in May 2006, is now widely regarded as the benchmark release of the ever-widening dubstep genre, picking up unanimous critical acclaim along the way, and ending the year heavily featured in many 'best of' polls. Now Burial returns with 'Untrue', a new record of weird soul music, which lovingly processes spectral female voices into vaporised R&B and smudged 2step garage. Vocal lines are blurred, smeared, pitched up pitched down and pitch bent until their content is cast adrift from their original context and they whisper their saccharin sweet nothings into the void. The album continues with the debut's crackle-drenched yearning and bustling syncopations, haunted by the ghosts of rave, but also reveals some new Burial treats with a more glowing, upbeat energy. Kicking off with the skittering 2step syncopations and vocal science of 'Archangel', 'Near Dark' and 'Ghost Hardware', before long it descends into a space of radiant divas and ambience. Where 'Burial' first was humid, suffocating and unrelentingly sad, 'Untrue' is less sunless. Many of the tracks are so sweet, they become toxic, underscored by the almost geological rumbles of growling basslines. Unlike the overpoweringly melancholic prevailing mood of before, Burial's sound is now better defined as a downcast euphoria typified by the epic, muted optimism of the album's last track 'Raver'. Forget central heating the radioactivity of this album is all that you'll need to keep you warm this winter. 'Untrue' is available as full 13 track digipack CD, including recent underground hit 'Ghost Hardware', and 9 track DJ friendly double vinyl set, from which some of the beatless pieces have been edited.

Review: After the massive impact of Vex'd in the breakthrough years of dubstep, it was big news when Jamie Teasdale chose to swerve in his own direction and emerge as Kuedo. Released in 2011, Severant was a bold statement of intent which didn't wholly shirk what had come before, but placed emphasis on the kind of romantic synthesis you'd readily associate with Vangelis and saw trap and other influences sneaking into the mix. In hindsight, Severant is typical of the times we live in, drawing on a glut of influences and presenting its own idiosyncratic vision, but above all that the emotion and intent of Teasdale's ideas make it an enduring, captivating listen.

Review: Having initially sprung into life back in 2005 to provide an outlet for dubstep productions by members of Bristol's bass music community, Tectonic has since developed into a must-check hub for heavyweight floor fillers across a range of bass-fixated genres. The label's shift in recent years is amply demonstrated by this latest Tectonic Plates collection, the first since 2009. Demonstrating label boss Pinch has lost none of his deft A&R skills, this quadruple vinyl has some relatively traditional dubstep from the likes of Tunnidge and Ginz rubbing shoulders with typically juke influenced 808 pressure from Addison Groove, while Goth Trad indulges his inner acid. Elsewhere Hoya Hoya alumnus Illum Sphere brings some electric warmth with "Promise A Secret" whilst 2562 and Kevin McPhee continue their efforts to frustrate the genre police with excellent results.