February: 9 drum 'n' bass releases you need to hear this month

Various 'Cyberfunk V/A LP 001' (Cyberfunk)

In less than 18 months, Xtrah’s gloriously named Cyberfunk project has hurtled up the cluttered echelons of sharp-edged sci-fi tech-funk (currently drum ’n’ bass’s most exciting corner by some distance). The springy, robotic rumble-shuffle of the bossman’s ‘Nachtmuzik’ and the surging, spidery, rolling murk of Phentix and Xanadu’s ‘Galaxite’ set the tone on this new compilation, as both known and unknown artists including Lockjaw, Monty and Simple Technique represent the brand in impressively precise style. If it’s fabulously textured bass warp that does it for you, with percussion that dances nimbly one moment and crushes savagely the next and future-tense sound design that stays the right side of bonkers, sign here.

9/10