New releases last eight weeks: Dirty Dubstep/Trap/Grime

Review: Deep Medi Musik continues on its mission to find the darkest, deepest and heaviest dubstep out there with a new bowel-rumbling release from Compa. It opens with the lurching drums and insistent stabs of 'Mind Control', a spacious wobbler with impossibly weighty bass. 'Emergence' then gets a little busier with zippy leads pinging about the mix and frosty static adding texture to the low end wub. 'Stronghold' is another bleak futuristic vision where all humanlike has been replaced by AI and 'Armada Bleeps' brings glassy texture, edgy chords and glitching breaks.

Review: The Lost City Archives hits a fifth volume and enlist the skills of Main Phase for the sounds. He's an artist swiftly rising up through the ranks thanks to a diverse sound that takes in UKG, grime, trap and dirty bass and spits out something uniquely fresh. All that and more is in evidence here, right from the off. 'Hear Them' is a jungle workout with dark breaks, then 'Choral' is a turbocharged workout with plunging bass and suspensory pads. There is a bass heavy broken beat rhythm defining 'Ground 0.1' before 'Higher Dub' rounds out with heavy, wobbly and steppy dubstep vibes.

Review: Here's a tag-team you can ring home and tell you mam about: proud Salford Precinct shoppers Cartridge and Strategy's Regents project on Truth's Deep, Dark & Dangerous blasts out of the cannons with pure 140 venom. Heavy killer whale beats and fast piranha bars biting away with sharp truths and heavy realisms, the whole EP smacks hard with a unique fusion that not seen often enough in dubstep. Serious music that works in all realms.

Review: Zha brings together element of dubstep, grime and trap on his latest 12" for the Naan crew. It is his first outing of the year following solid slabs of wax for the likes of White Peach and this label dating back to 2015. This one kicks off with 'Spice,' which has bass tones pinging about the mix with big hits, snatched vocal yelps and dusty drums all keeping you on your toes. 'Grief' is darker and dirtier thanks to the filthy great oscillation that rips up the swaggering rhythm and 'Harm' gets deep on some pensive pads and intoxicating melodic sounds. 'Two Rumours' closes down with sub so warm and cuddly it's like being hugged by a new duvet.

Review: Ghett's Conflict Of Interest album late last year was one of grime's finest. It now makes its arrival on wax and still hits hard. There are plenty of hugely evocative and biographical stories in this record that make it all the more real and impactful, from tales of street life to memories of his childhood to worries about being a parent. Those many different sides to Ghett's personality are reflected by the artwork which shows him at different ages all at once. The dark production makes for long and shadowy moods but guest spots from the likes of Emile Sande and Ed Sheehan bring a lighter soul sound that will have you singing along.