WDDS (pronounced 'Woods') returns with his first works of 2023; four, cold, moody, captivating, atmospheric dubstep tracks following a suit of releases on his label Hectare Discs and a stand-out jungle track on EMA's Woozy 2.5 compilation.

The Mancunian draws a wide range of influences, spanning cinematic techno and contemporary film scores, already perking the ears of honourable selectors such as Jossy Mitsu, Mixtress and Mantra.

'Rough Peak' is glitchy and eerie, complimented by a warping baseline and a sinister drone that slowly builds into a peak-time driver.

@wddsmusic

@hectarediscsmixes

Buy:

https://wddsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/pedra-ep

SSS is a Bristol-based label driven by exploring the realms of left-leaning, bass-weight dance music.

Label founder SSSLIP is a multi-faceted selector and producer with previous releases on Trax Haven, Folly and Ba Dum Tish, as well as forthcoming bits on EC2A and Slump.

Joe Koshin’s eclectic and high-energy productions have established him as a notable name in the underground dance music scene. His recent move to Bristol has seen him under a lineup of bass-driven labels including Night Service, Trax Haven, Gimme A Break and Time Is Now.

SSS001 captures the diversity of both producers' styles and aims, bringing together influences from electro, alongside ever-changing and evolving melody lines that refuse to sit still and will keep the dancefloor on their toes.

https://soundcloud.com/ssslip

https://soundcloud.com/joekoshin

https://soundcloud.com/sss_sss_sss_audio

Buy:

https://sss-sss-sss.bandcamp.com/album/sss001-ssslip-joe-koshin

Maroki launches the Spitskool Records imprint with 3 cuts of absolutely devastating club orientated sounds. Spitskool is a platform for Maroki and Coralie AKA ‘MXC’ and friends to release their music that perhaps wouldn’t fit elsewhere. Although it seems there is now a home at last.

‘AC4XT’ is a sleeping giant, again using the powerful rips and an earth shattering break and a sub that is oh so reminiscent of the old DMZ days but wholly different. The synth lines are tactile - loud, almost overpowering at times but once they disperse the space that is left is wide and compelling.

@letsgomaroki

@spitskool

Buy:

https://maroki1.bandcamp.com/album/maroki-no

☣︎Bay Area and Brooklyn meet with Kush Arora and HMXGOD (fka Hitmakerchinx) exchanging blends cybernetic dancehall riddims, drill and bashment, and FDM.

One for the dancers, riddim addicts, and hybridizers from soundsystem culture.

Vocalists - send us anything you do on this one...vocal versions soon on the way.

@ kusharora

@hitmakerchinx

Buy:

https://kusharora.bandcamp.com/album/alley-ghost

Intercept welcomes Destrata with his debut EP for the label: Squib. Over three tracks, the Vancouver based artist shows you his take on UK influenced bass and techno.

The title track 'Squib' is Eli's first foray in 4x4 music and showcases his talent for energetic moves whilst still retaining a taste for detail. With a lead built out of a twisted vocal sample and a bass that's as grooving as it is chest pumping, it perfectly sets the tone for the EP.

@destratavan

@interceptrecords

Buy:

https://intercept.bandcamp.com/album/squib

From a fresh generation of producer without any blinders, this resident DJ from both Rinse France and Positive Education Festival, and audio alchemist acidobasic (fka Basic) is making his Global Warming debut with a dancefloor driven 2 tracker for stompy adventurers.

Both immersed in a singular soundscape of bleepy synths, uncanny melodies and bass-loaded 4 to the floor kick drum, Baile & Tooping are the ideal soundtrack to both a peak time carnival street party, or a game of Mario Kart on acid. In both cases, designed to be played too loud.

The release is visually scored by Marseille-based graphic guru Ben Hubbard, responsible for previous Global Warming artworks from Realitycheck, Jon Beige or Ouai Stéphane. He’s adding an extra layer of styles crossover, using a blend of video footage, graffiti, visual warps and collage to create a unique piece for each track.

Global Warming Records is run by Franco-British producer and talent seeker Malcolm, who imagines and shapes each project hand in hand with his artists. Global Warming just won the Ed Banger & Trax Magazine prize for the most promising electronic labels. Baile / Tooping will be the label’s 19th release.

@acidobasic

@globalwarmingrec

Buy:

https://www.globalwarmingrec.com/gw019

On Refilling Automatic Mulch Tanks

Ah Mulch, such a curious thing

For a tank - dweller doth excitement bring.

Though I know not how it feels

To have Mulch in thine wheels

All I desire is [ERROR : REQUEST LINE DOES NOT EXIST]

@tcvbln

@failed-units

Buy:

https://failedunits.bandcamp.com/album/units-mulched

Attention all those in need of a UK funky fix – Tribal Brothers’ LR Groove is back on his own Renk Groove label with a five-track special poised to wreck the dance. The Cantankerous EP is headed up by ‘Nuclear’, a war dub built especially for a b2b DJ set featuring the mighty Troublesome shelling down in his inimitable toasting style.

A dancehall MC who got his taste for the studio in Trinidad and in Jamaica, Troublesome found his voice working with the likes of Daddy Noddy in Brixton and has since gone on to a two-decade-deep career taking in garage and jungle as much as Jamaica-rooted sounds. LR first clocked him on a white label Huckleberry riddim back in 1999, and when an opportunity arose to have Troublesome throw down on one of his war dubs, he jumped at the chance – ‘Nuclear’ is the right word for the end result.

As one half of Tribal Brothers, working with the likes of Scratcha DVA and DJ Polo and dropping the heat on labels like Livity Sound and Nervous Horizon, LR has more than proven his worth in recent years, but his legacy reaches back to the breakthrough years of UK garage. The decades of dedication shine through in the versatile club weapons he crafts on Cantankerous EP, where the foundation of sub bass and stripped-back, crooked grooves act as a springboard for the LR Groove sound. It’s a style which responds to the cross-pollination happening across UK club music, as the influence of amapiano, footwork, gqom and dancehall all feeds into a razor-sharp style steeped in flair, and there’s space for the drama of techno as much as UK funky’s upfront drops. From ‘Middle Finger’s teasing tension and epic synth sweeps to the raw bleeps and nagging drum pressure of ‘Clap Back’, this is an EP loaded with neck-snapping gear that sits comfortably across a whole range of scenes in the current UK club music climate.

@lrgroove

@user-927768308

Buy:

https://renkgrooverecordings.bandcamp.com/album/cantankerous-ep

Marga 2.0 Is a percussive shock out, tailored specifically for sweatbox clubs, basement raves, engaging in ‘tops off’ and spilling overpriced drinks all over yourself, and everyone else.

2.0 gives a firm nod to the Hard Drum contingent, whilst leaning into more chaotic, industrial textures and tones, delivering an end result of some finely tuned, chaotic rave grub for the masses.

@yeye-music

Download:

https://yeyemusic.substack.com/

After a brief hiatus, London’s Miriam return with Maerc’s debut effort, the ‘Innershade’ EP. The four track offering is complete with two original tracks and a pair of Oskar Offermann remixes to accompany the impressive first outing for the Italian producer.

The EP’s title track opens up the flip side. Maerc’s ‘Innershade’ employs textured, deep grooves on the low end with sub-oceanic synth work leading the track’s danceable rhythm. Completing the release, again we have one of Offenbach’s proudest sons providing his imitable interpretation for the EP’s closing stanza. Big drums drive Offermann’s ‘Tribal Mix’ with a prime Green Velvet-eqsue dose of acid squelching atop creating an altogether tension-ridden peak time head spinner to wrap of Miriam’s fifth release.

@maerc

@oskaroffermann

@miriam_records

Buy:

https://www.deejay.de/Maerc_Innershade_EP_MIRIAM005_Vinyl__999781