21 unreleased tracks that need an official release

Waiting for an unreleased track to drop is an agonizing experience, one filled with just a glimmer of hope, but also sobering disappointment that the day when the record reaches the market may never come. Rumours circulate and are later revoked as time passes and still no official announcement surfaces. Rips are available, but none are of high quality that are worth having. The waiting game ensues.

That said, as a DJ, playing a tune that no one else has is a special feeling and one that will attract avid listeners and connoisseur. Just one example is Skream's early work; listeners could only hear certain dubplates during his performances (of course, he and many others are carrying on a dubplate lineage that stretches back years).

Having rare music in your arsenal is something that can make a DJ set unique. In the early days, DJs would buy all the 12" copies of a track in a record shop just so they would be the only one in town playing it. Those days are long gone, but unreleased music continues to take over the airwaves, leaving fans guessing. Shazam won't work in these instances and though The Identification of Music Group is buzzing, sometimes no one can help with an ID. Maybe check the Reddit thread and see if anyone has the inside scoop. Sometimes years go by and the elusive track won't see an official release. It's a frustrating run around, but one can still hope.

Here we highlight 21 unreleased tracks that beg for an official release. View the list below.

With numerous rips circulating the internet, and none delivering sound quality sufficient enough to be played on a club system, Âme’s remix of ‘From Nowhere’ by Dan Croll is an elusive unreleased track. Some say it will never be released, as apparently Dan Croll’s management and the label decided not to include it on the EP. Three years ago there was even a petition launched to get the track a proper release, but to no avail. The petition accumulated just shy of 3,000 backers and the track has yet to see the light of day.

Despite toying with our hearts on Twitter as of late, (“Will he leak new tracks, will he not?”) many Zomby fans are just as familiar with his unreleased rips as they are his official discography. ‘Ice Lake’ is a prime example, a chilling instrumental with the hypnotic hardcore edge so stylishly attributed to the man behind the mask. Airhorn.

Initially thought to be a Speedy J remix, this track gained widespread popularity when a rip from Heidi’s Boiler Room set was uploaded to Soundcloud. This prompted Heidi to respond to the rip upload to clarify: “This is a track by Artwork and has nothing to do with Speedy J. Not sure when or if it will ever come out. Been sitting on this for almost 2 years now. NMBRS was supposed to release it but still have no clue what the deal is.” That was 11 months ago and the track has been rinsed in countless DJ sets around the world. Fans still have their fingers crossed it will surface soon, as Artwork shared a test pressing of another sought after unreleased track earlier this year. Who knows what will be next.

As if the original wasn’t heavy enough, the unreleased VIP of ‘Abattoir’ is brain-meltingly dark. Ominous as ever, Kahn somehow manages to make his own tune weightier as it tears its way through dubstep dances and the Youtube comments. As one elequantely puts it: “Holy fucking fuck”. Holy fucking fuck indeed.

Back in 2011 Joy Orbison’s ‘GR Etiquette’ made rounds on the club circuit with its sultry vocals, smooth, deep tones and unique rhythm structure. The track samples a vocal from Jamie Foxx’s ‘Can I Take You Home’, reason why it likely won't see an official release. Last year Four Tet had a b2b session with Joy Orbison on BBC Radio 1 and they ended the set with ‘GR Etiquette’, which sparked new rumours. Each year it seems a new rumour circulates and 6 years later we still don’t know for sure. They say patience is a virtue, is it now?

A tune Radiohead fans have been pining over for the last 20 years. ‘Lift’ is the epitome of the angst-driven, soul-baring sound made famous by Thom Yorke and co. It also sounds oddly alike another track you’ve probably heard rinsed at weddings, karaoke, Christmas parties, or anything that involves forced dancing sans gun fingers in clothes deemed ‘smart-casual’…

Delroy Edwards is an innovative producer who was making lo-fi electronic music years before the current trend swept the industry. His catalogue of releases is stacked, with five albums to his name, and many loyal fans might say ‘Maxwell’ is his best work, a track that’s never been given an official release. Like many unreleased tracks, the reason why a proper release is unlikely is due to uncleared samples, which ‘Maxwell’ is filled with. As is teased in the title of the track, it features material from ‘Matrimony: Maybe You’ by Maxwell. Don’t hold your breath awaiting this one to drop, it’s nice to hope though.

Although the likes of ‘Moth’ and ‘Nova’ were given the official treatment via Four Tet’s Text Records label, ‘Untitled’ is the collaboration that got away. The rip was taken from his Rinse FM show, and fans and forums alike lost their shit at the first drum kick. Taking vocals from Mariah Carey’s solemn, 'My All' and giving them the Burial treatment, the track is introverted and teary in trademark dystopian dubstep style.

Bicep are still rinsing this gem of an edit in their live sets and it always destroys the dancefloor. The original ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’ by First Choice is one of the most iconic dance tracks of all time, mixed by Frankie Knuckles and a crucial track for any disco head. Bicep’s edit brings the track into the future by highlighting the original and delivering an electronic assault of high pitched stabs. They’ve been known to produce brilliant edits of well-known tracks, just listen to their ‘SYNTHOL HIT’ mix from last year. They’ve released some of their standout remixes, like ‘Lovelee Dae’ by Blaze and ‘In Yer Face’ by 808 State, but ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’ might be a longshot.

Potentially one of the most beautiful tunes ever produced. Ever. ‘Alicia’ is one for the dubstep heads, the jazz heads, the “I like emotional bass bangers and I’m not afraid to show it” heads. Sampling Alicia Keys’, 'Feeling U, Feeling Me (Interlude)', the track did make a white label debut, however it can be assumed that due to copyrights it was never released officially. If the rips aren’t enough for you however, the sample can also be heard on Mall Grab’s 'Can’t (Get U Outta My Mind)'.

When Skream transitioned his musical style to be more focused on house and techno, the hearts of all his dubstep fans dropped as he had countless dubplates that never saw an official release. This was a major draw when he was touring as a dubstep artist, as fans were not able to hear the music he played anywhere else because he, and a select few mates, were the only DJs who had the records. Back in 2005 he delivered a Get Darker mix that featured a plethora of dubplates, which included the gem of a tune ‘Where Am I?’. A jazzy dub motif lays the foundation as a deep bass fills the atmosphere. Classic dub out of the UK.

With all the dubplates to his name, Skream took extra measures to make sure listeners could not get quality rips from the mixes that would surface online. That’s why in this rip from ‘Groovin’’, and the previous track ‘Where Am I?’, bird noises fill the space of the track. This carried throughout the Get Darker mix from 2005. Nevertheless, the rips give us a taste and a tease of the forbidden fruit that fans and DJs greatly desire. ‘Groovin'’ possesses that foundation dubstep sound and listening to it is almost like going back in time. Skream has been far removed from this sound for some time now, so it’s unlikely his dubplates will surface again any time soon.

With grime’s undeniable influence in contemporary chart music, it’s not surprising that many of the names behind the beats are making waves in the mainstream as well. Sir Spyro’s far from an industry novice; but after big-name collaborations with the likes of Stormzy reaching top-10; his instrumentals have never been more in demand. Here, AJ Tracey spits over ‘Grenade’, an unreleased belter.

Four Tet is a producer of the highest calibre and his harddrive is likely stacked with unreleased bits. 'BACK2THESTART' was shared on his SoundCloud one fine summer day in 2015, and if you were one of the lucky ones to see it, a limited number of free downloads were made available. He shared a bit about why he made the track, disclosing that he honestly had no idea: “Made this on a plane end of last year... Not sure what I was thinking or why it exists… When I start a track by searching "acappella" in Pirate Bay the music always comes out a bit different.” Think Burial and Four Tet collabs with deep bass and an intricate house/garage rhythm and you have the aesthetic of 'BACK2THESTART', except it’s a bit less brooding, yet no less brilliant.

Just last month rare, unreleased Dilla was unearthed as part of Gus Sutherland’s upcoming documentary, The Unseen: A Detroit Beat Tape. Archival VHS footage from the mid 90s was complied by Sutherland and archivist Justin Kovar for the ‘Ghetto Wishing’ visuals, and the track itself is an effortless gem from the late Detroit beatmaker.

When Kanye West's hit collaboration with Rihanna and Kid Cudi titled 'All Of The Lights' released back in 2011, it was arguably the mainstream track of the year. Remixes began to surface, as the industry was amidst the height of the trend where producers would remix pop songs with electronic variations. That said, Commodo's version delivers a warm, gritty dubstep version that stands the test of time. It's another gem that will likely never officially be released due to the sample used. But fans can beg Commodo for a free download perhaps?

Last year, The Bug shared five previously unreleased tracks with features from the late, great Spaceape. Having worked together before on pioneering projects within the Hyperdub hub, the reveal included a remix of The Clash’s 'Guns of Brixton'. With the familiar voice of Stephen Samuel Gordon, aka The Spaceape, over the top of the song, it’s a sobering listen in light of Gordon’s passing.

As jungle and drum ‘n’ bass roared through the 90s in a sea of illegal raves and pirate radio, stand-out tracks from the era still live on in the nostalgic hearts of the ravers. This Grooverider remix is a lost gem from the decade, and one many consider to be one of the greatest unreleased treasures to date.

Digital Mystikz’ take on Mighty Zulu Nation’s, ‘Justice Day’ is legendary. As the story goes, there are only 2 copies of this track in existence, belonging to Mala and Joe Nice respectively. Whilst the Croydon crew are infamous for their unreleased dubplates, (looking at you Loefah), this is a niche track even for DMZ. Beautiful and bassy, it’s a tune you’ll never forget, with or without a release.

Oh yes, him again. The elusive face of an era, (albeit a face only now revealed to us via a select selfie or two), Burial’s heartbreaking ‘Feral Witchchild’ sits alongside the likes of ‘True Love’ VIP and ‘Afterglow’ as tracks we can only assume will never be heard on wax. Here’s hoping though, with ‘Untrue’ celebrating its 10^th birthday this November…

An Eski-boy instrumental taken from a period known by some as the “Myspace Era” of Wiley. ‘Mystic Forest’ is a beat that works just as well today as when it was first produced. Taking a step away from the sound he was better known for at the time, it’s a melodic enigma as classic as the godfather himself.

Harrison and Jasmine trawled through the dusty depths of YouTube so you don't have to. Follow Harrison here and Jasmine here