Back catalogue: Dubstep

Review: Katy B 'Lights On' ft. Ms Dynamite
Dubstep/UK Funky/Pop
12” RINSE006 (Rinse) £2.99
DEAL: 5+1 B/C: 0886978271310 13th Dec
* LISTEN: https://files.me.com/ammunition/cy6haw
* We already know her name of course – as Katy has made one of this year’s defining singles – the Benga-produced
smash ‘Katy On A Mission’ In its first week alone the video for the track clocked up over 100,000 views. The current total
is 7.1 million views whilst the single sat in the top ten for 6 weeks, and inside the top 40 for 11 weeks Not bad from a 21
year girl from Peckham.
* The first bona fide pop star to emerge from the dubstep and UK funky undergrounds championed by the newly-legal
Rinse FM, Katy B encapsulates the sound, spirit and unrestrained energy of British youth culture right now. Combining
the rhythms of a currently resurgent UK underground scene with a songwriting ear for the vernacular and songs that
celebrate the being young, staying up far too late raving and falling for the wrong boys, she’s a fresh new pop star that
really has it all.
* Katy B is a raw, fresh talent destined for great things in 2011. Confidently seizing the middle ground between the totally
on-point lyricism of Lily Allen and the swagger of Ms. Dynamite and Neneh Cherry, Katy’s killer combination of natural
pop sass, uniquely powerful voice and total immersion in London’s club culture makes her the perfect popstar set to go
clear in 2011.
* Katy now rounds off the year with the out-of-the-box dancefloor smash ‘Lights On’. Featuring Ms Dynamite and
produced by Rinse FM founder Geeneus, with remixes by Skream and GIRL UNIT. It’s a fabulously life-affirming
celebration of the joys of refusing to leave the dancefloor at 6am with the house lights up and sure to be the second
smash hit from this immensely talented star-in-waiting.
* TRACKLIST: A: Skream Remix AA1: Original Mix AA2: GIRL UNIT Remix

Review: Hyperdub kick off the vinyl side to their ten-year celebrations with this weighty four-tracker from some of the leading lights from the label's story. Mala is in a strident mood with "Expected, Level 10" carrying through that extra touch of melody from the Mala In Cuba LP. DVA cuts loose with the leftfield scattershot groove of "Technical Difficulties", reveling in tonal experimentation and jagged rhythmic flair to a stunning end. Still locked into the sci-fi trap tangent that characterised Severant, Kuedo turns out the haunting "Mtzpn" and Helix pops up for a remix of Kode9's "Xingfu Lu" that strips down to bare essentials with a little starlit soul rubbed into the framework.

Review: Say a big hello to the new Modez label here while getting lost in the hard hitting first release from Modelle. It's a bold barrage of bass, Baille funk and dubstep across six sizzling cuts. 'Pursuit' opens up with lithe broken beats wired up with electricity and percussive hits. 'Dum Dumb' is built on a distorted low end with hard-ass raps and brutal drum breaks, 'Razor Rex' arrests the attention with its pulsing bass and bleeping modular synth sequences while 'Petrie's Rage' is a hyper-speed cosmic banger. 'Jeff On God' (feat Parkinson White) shuts down with more low end energy and this time jungle breaks provide the power source.

Review: Following mesmerising Marseilles mutations from the likes of Syqulone, Kabylie Minogue and Lisa More, Cain ? Muchi return to Gros:Oeuvre with their remarkable debut album. A heady tagine of grime, beats, techno, global bass and contemporary electronica with a title that either refers to famed Moroccan popstar or, far more likely, relates to meaning as 'universe', Dounia is a beguiling clash of western electronics and eastern bars, lyrics, and vocal harmonies. Fractured and macabre throughout from the distorted hardcore bass highs of 'J'wadi' to disarming vocal cries of 'Majdouba' this post grime, pre apocalypse opus is a trip from edge to edge.

Review: Since 2018, the Marble Elephant duo has been colliding drum & bass, deep dubstep and future garage into suns that are both physical but rife with emotion. Truth is a full length which goes deep into their style and shows how versatile they can be. There are atmospheric, immersive sound worlds like the title cut next to glitchy, skeletal garage workouts with sunny melodies like 'Believe', ambient jungle soothers like 'Serenity' and Burial-esque late night cuts like 'Discovery'