April: 7 bass & club releases you need to hear this month

Kelly Lee Owens 'Kelly Lee Owens' (Smalltown Supersound)

Kelly Lee Owens asserts herself with a stunning debut LP on Oslo label Smalltown Supersound. The self-titled record flirts with several club-oriented ideas, but the songs veer smoothly from string-soaked pop to contained house and resolute techno. Her previous work – namely her ‘Oleic’ EP from last year and her collaboration with Daniel Avery on his 2014 album ‘Drone Logic’ – gave us a taste of her ability to infuse tightly controlled basslines with melodic overtones, but here, she finally gets the chance to showcase her versatility and immense production talent. The album starts off slowly with ‘SO’ before gradually picking up speed with the help of pulsating kicks. ‘Bird’ juxtaposes skittering hi-hats and a distorted low-end with a sunny marimba tune, while ‘Keep Walking’ is a soaring dream-pop masterpiece with Owens’ impressive vocals.

9/10