Dubstep Recommendations March 2016

Review: ZHA's White Peach imprint continues to wade in the murkiest pools of bass, dub and grime. This time they're being led up the muddy path by Bristol's OH91. The lead track is straight-up deepness. All space and bass, the groove is created by woozy reverse tones shuddering rim shots. For more bounce head to "Space" where a two-step takes the lead and a bumbling sub follows dutifully. Finally we hit the Atlanta-bound 808 dynamics of "OJ Simpson" where the groove is as eerie and ominous as an unstoppable media swarm.

Review: As part of the Swing Ting collective, Murlo has established himself in the thrust of cutting-edge bass sounds emanating from the UK. As well as outings for Glacial Sound and Unknown To The Unknown, he has forged a solid connection with Dre Skull's Mixpak label, who he returns to for Odyssey. From the emotive, arpeggio-rich delights of "Cascade" to the scattered string hype of "Moodswung" the crisp, sharply defined lines of Murlo's productions positively surge out of the speakers with a confidence that belies the short time the London-based artist has been releasing music for. Of all the cuts the harder tones of "Furnace" are almost guaranteed to score plenty of plays in genre-spanning sets.

Review: Bristol grime time: Asa & Sorrow step away from the deeper, ambient, home-chilling beats for something club-ready and waiting for MC damage. "Island Wave" is the waviest cut of the bunch thanks to its ever-changing tones and far-away vocal textures, "Knights Of Ren" is the murkiest cut of the bunch, sabre slicing up the dance like Kylo while "Barbaric" does that really creepy staccato string thing that both Asa and Sorrow do so well. Finally we hit the Lemz & Hi5Ghost twist of the lead track. Utilising the strings for more drama and spacing out the beats/bass, it's a neat switch up that retains full respect to the original.

Review: Danny Scrilla tells two sides to one beautiful sonic story for the debut release on brand new underground bass imprint Library. The acid-heavy "Tell Dem" is the slow, steady and ultimately menacing march of the self-aware robots who will inevitably take over the planet. The beatless, synth-charmed "Cryosphere" soundtracks the aftermath as we're all preserved in freezers for future organ harvesting. A very serious label launch right here; get to know.

Review: Australian bass HQ Aquatic Lab invite Zed Bias for some low-hanging, sly-swinging Maddslinky dub fun. "Hammerhead" groans rather than rolls with its deep pressure rumbles. Ably paced with flutters of classic breaks, it's got the mood, energy and weight to stick across any dark genre from garage to tech. Speaking of tech, for a deeper bass pressure and leaner aesthetic jump straight on Bardeya's flip for added darkness.

Review: Repress time: Bristolian Lemzley dished out this string-strung classically informed dubstep banger two years ago. With the rise of instrumental grime, this sounds beyond on-point to this day. As do the remixes: Lington adds a little high end paranoia and tight LFO fluctuations on the fills while Spooky plays heavy on the strings with added bottom end wobble. Immense.... Records like this don't come round very often.