Back catalogue: Dirty Dubstep/Trap/Grime

Review: With a discography that spans a wide range of contemporary bass music genres - most notably dubstep, drum and bass and the kind of wonky, experimental post-dubstep heaviness currently in vogue - DJ/producer Icicle is probably the ideal man to mix the latest installment of the well-loved Rinse series. Following a similar pattern to his excellent debut full-length for Shogun Audio (2011's Under The Ice), Rinse 19 characteristically shuffles between hulking basslines, atmospheric rollers and a myriad of beat patterns at a near furious pace. Along the way, he makes room to squeeze in a healthy dose of his own productions, as well as booming tracks from Rockwell, Distance and Youngsta.

Review: Having kept fans hooked since her first Hyperdub single Please/Simulacrum, Ikonika graduates with flying colours into the the big league with this stunning debut. Ikonklast (Insert Coin) starts things off in a measured but confident way, with half-step beats and bent Eastern scales vying for your attention. The rollicking funky meets glitchcore of Idiot is a revelation though. A perfectly tempered mix of stacked snares, sub bass and a complex melody picked out of a slew of bleeps and test tones, it's both satisfyingly familiar whilst also sounding totally unique and fresh.


While her early singles were leapt on by dubstep fans everywhere, Ikonika takes the wise decision not to go down any cliched or well-trodden routes on Contact Love Want Have. There's no gratuitous wobble for example on tunes like Millie or Sahara Michael, the basslines are tight and full of bounce rather than showy and over the top. There are also so many influences at work here (all expertly realised through her sharp production) that every listen solicits a different response from the listener. Continue? for example gives off a slow-jam R&B vibe with the beats but quickly picks up the pace and transforms into something else entirely. Heston gives off some serious kwaito vibes too, coming over like a sequel to Township Funk (Mujava's classic which Ikonika remixed for Warp last year) and Psoriasis will be the one that dj's will go crazy for - a seriously banging fusion of funky and swirling melodies. Fans of Zomby, Kode9 and the extended Hyperdub and Planet Mu family will instantly rate this straight away, but there's every chance it's unique edge and all round quality will see it reach a wider audience pretty soon.

Review: Alex Green and Damon Kirkham's debut album has been a long time coming. It follows an action-packed decade that's seen them morph from drum & bass punishers to dubstep fusionists and, more recently, bass music experimentalists. With such experience behind them, it's perhaps no surprise that Resolution 653 is an eclectic set. What's more surprising is the expansiveness of their approach. Within the album's 13 tracks lies glass-clear electronic futurism, brain-warping acid tracks, murky dusbtep, slo-mo 4/4 sweetness, hard edged electro bounce, off-kilter IDM and, naturally, 140 BPM bass bangers. As a summary of where British bass music's at in 2011, it's unsurpassed.