January: 10 drum 'n' bass releases you need to hear this month

Homemade Weapons 'Negative Space' (Samurai Music)

Seattle’s Andre Delgado can respectfully claim to be a key player in drum ‘n’ bass’s half-time production gold-rush. His precise experimentation in moody minimalism over the past three years – which has promoted classic jungle break edits rat-tatting and evaporating above cavernous, textured, 85/170bpm half-time kicks – now finds its apex in ‘Negative Space’, a debut LP stuffed to the gills with masterful percussive workouts, yawning chasms of space and hand-stitched industrial soundscapes. These 12 tracks exhume the bones of helter-skelter 90s breakbeats and layers them into ceaselessly inventive technoid adventures, all finished with a sumptuous grainy aesthetic to rival anything we’ve heard from those at the sharpest edges of 170bpm bass science. Your adventure starts here.

9/10

OneMind 'Skin Dem' (Metalheadz)

DLR and Mako’s experimental border patrol project OneMind treds the perfect line in frenetic 170bpm shenanigans with this standout from an eagerly awaited Headz EP. Heralded by what sounds like the THX sound sample as reimagined by Doc Scott, we’re plunged into a threshing machine of off-kilter stepping snares and hyperactive vocals that dance antagonistically – all knotted together with beaded bass nodes and waspish synths divebombing in the deep.

9/10

A-Sides 'Believe In Who You Are' (Eastside)

A-Sides’ monster ‘Quart’ LP project sends its fourth instalment into orbit, and it’s feel-good fun all the way. With echoes of Zinc and Jenna G’s old tearjerker ‘In Love’, this booming slice of liquid-tinged jungle milks its fluttering breaks and melodious bass tones in fine style, with a soothing, breathy vocal layered on top to float us skywards. Hats off to a veteran who’s seen it all.

7/10

GHOST 'Heavy Shoulders' (Goldman Records)

London outfit GHOST and their intelligent, percussive creations are no slouches when it comes to tidy artwork, and they’ve brought the red carpet with them here. Collector’s item the ’41:39 Deeper EP’ comes with hand-painted sleeves in different colours, no less – and when the music’s this good, why not? Standout ‘Heavy Shoulders’ winds an agile, springy mesh of gently clattering breakbeats around glacial atmospheres and a luxurious velvety bassline. Whether you’re in a club or lost in headphones, the dusty, grainy, classical aesthetic will have you yearning for more.Outstanding stuff.

9/10

Delta Heavy 'Kill Room' (Ram)

The impressive Ram duo Delta Heavy have elevated themselves to become one of the most hyped draws of the all-conquering label (no mean feat, given the competition), and now cap a massive year with both a Radio 1 Essential mix and this unadulterated smasher. Ghostly synths and wind-up drums spear through the track from the off, but it’s those perfectly sequenced horror-style wails that steal the show, ushering in a mean, dancefloor-tech groove that hammers along without ever feeling overcooked. 7/10

Serum, Paul T & Edward Oberon 'Take My Breath Away' (V Recordings)

V regular Serum teams up with recent signings Paul T and Edward Oberon for an absolute stunner of a dark-light roller. The latter duo’s liquid roots are in evidence as a lilting, twinkly intro of goosebumping vocals suddenly cuts away into a futuristic, rolling groove – and it’s there that all the magic lies. With seemingly oceans of space around it, a gorgeous three-note synth chimes in the deep, first as a smoky rumble, then as a sweet melodic hook closer to the surface. It’s a finely weighted concoction: a rumbling aria with tiny snatches of something more industrial hovering in the wings.

9/10

Villem & Phase 'The Traveller' (Meth XX)

A fascinating track from an EP that also includes shimmering vocal offerings from Steo and McLeod. The title track’s dreamy atmospheres mask the punch of a stepping tech brooder until the fronds are stripped away, leaving us suddenly with the full force of a bassline that twists into myriad shapes, stretching the system to its limit. It’s the sort of tune that can only be fully appreciated in a club, as the low-end pyrotechnics morph continually, subtly and devastatingly along with the break patterns, which develop into a more rolling affair the longer the track goes on.

9/10

Skittles 'Everywhere' (Kolectiv remix) (Shack Out)

A gem of a remix from sharp tech up-and-comers Kolectiv, showing all the craft that’s made 2016 a breakthrough year for them. Skittles’ magnetic Manchester drawl is cloaked in all manner of tricks but still allowed to shine through, while a ceaselessly inventive tech lick bucks and scurries along. Each time the vocals dissolve and retreat, we’re gifted a new, subtle alteration to the snaking drum pattern – effortlessly breaking into half-time at certain points – or a new edge to the warping synth that sizzles alongside it.

8/10

Broken Note 'Rust In Peace' (Methlab)

The expertly manicured MethLab project gathers pace with a corking new ‘Monoleth’ series: six tracks of half-stepping robo-tech from the likes of Audeka, Rawtekk and Hybris, sculpted with myriad strains of impressive neuro sound design. MethLab co-founder Broken Note turns our head most with his gargantuan walls of distorted synths, which bludgeon along with half-time fury before morphing into a full-throttle 170bpm stomp.

8/10

Sam Binga & Chimpo 'For Those Who Like It Sweet' EP (Critical)

A scorching collaborative run-out on Critical’s Systems series for two absurdly talented electronic hellraisers. Drowning in bleepy electro squiggles and nimble juke athleticism yet shot through with fathoms-deep bass hooks and scorching low-end skulduggery, it’s impossible not to marvel at the inventiveness of the whole brew. Amid the fluctuating tempos, grizzled junglists can pan for gold in the lo-fi title track, as modulated bass warpings and a cut-up MC’s swagger provide old-skool echoes in bewitching new structures.

8/10