November: 9 dubstep & grime releases you need to hear this month

Distance 'Dynamis' (Tectonic)

Distance’s third LP (and his first for Tectonic) is arguably the best of his career so far. Inspired by a move away from his favoured 140bpm template, ‘Dynamis’ feels in tune with the work pioneered by US beatmaker overlords such as Clams Casino and Metro Boomin’, as well as flashes of those operating in more exploratory spaces (see Arca, Rabit) – but it’s also delivered with a distinctly UK accent. From the shadowy chills of rolling trap opener, ‘Instruction To Survive’, to the stripped-back, dread-like grime flavours on ‘Badman’ feat Killa P, it feels like ‘Distance’ is uncovering new ground with every track. The frenetic and sample-heavy production on ‘Collide’ is another standout, as are the horror-score melodies and thugged-out sub on the eerie ‘Unite’, but there are also surprise club abstractions in ‘Fiya’ and ‘Paradigm’. It’s as far removed from his Chestplate material as you can get, but on this evidence, that’s no bad thing.

8/10