Back catalogue: Dubstep

Review: In a world saturated with easily digestible sounds, aya's music is a welcome jolt to the system and the debut album from this Huddersfield-raised, London-based artist is a bold and uncompromising album that challenges norms, questions truths and celebrates the spectrum of queer experiences. Through a tapestry of fragmented sounds, distorted vocals and experimental electronic textures, aya crafts a deeply personal narrative that resonates with both vulnerability and defiance. Tracks like 'Somewhere Between The 8th And 9th Floor' and 'What If I Should Fall Asleep And Slip Under' delve into the depths of self-discovery, their introspective lyrics and haunting melodies capturing the uncertainties and anxieties of navigating a world that often feels hostile. 'Dis Yacky' and 'OoBrosThesis' inject a playful energy, their distorted vocals and tongue-in-cheek humor offering a counterpoint to the album's more introspective moments. 'Emley Lights Us Moor', featuring Iceboy Violet, is a standout, its ethereal vocals creating a sense of otherworldly beauty. Aya's refusal to shy away from difficult topics and her willingness to experiment with sound and language make this album a powerful and thought-provoking work that pushes the boundaries of electronic music and challenges listeners to confront their own preconceptions. It's a challenge to the often-limiting tropes of queer art.

Review: Mixed entirely during lockdown in his new Brussels home, prolific British producer Kevin Martin aka The Bug teams up with Berlin-based American Dis Fig, whose haunting yet seductive croon narrates a backdrop of paranoid electronic dub on In Blue. This is an album that captures a persevering sense of malaise and dread, that is so reflective of the times we are living through at present. From the grayscale industrial dub of 'Destroy Me' where Dis Fig's vocals flow hypnotically through layers of time based effects, to the low-slung subterranean sway of 'Levitating', the similarly contorted noise terror of 'Blue & Black' and the bittersweet closing track 'End In Blue' which perfectly encapsulates the "tunnel sound" the pair aimed to capture on this strong release.