Lists
February: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Nightmares On Wax, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Nils Frahm and more
Dabrye 'Three/Three' (Ghostly)
A rap veteran who’s been in the game for over two decades, Dabrye’s new album not only includes some of his most daring and ingenious productions, but collaborations with some of the scene’s biggest names. Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah raps over a glacial beat on ‘Emancipated’, Danny Brown offers his usual hyperactivity on the 8-bit glitches of ‘The Appetite’, and US rapper Jonwayne spits rolling lyrics on ‘Pretty’, which combines a grand piano with hip hop tropes. Allowing the music here to be obtuse in ideas but tight in refinement, Dabrye’s repetition is driven by an ambitious desire to merge two worlds – studio-based electronica and beats from the streets - and he executes his vision with style. Leah Connolly
8/10
