January: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Various 'Bedrock 18 – Signals' (Bedrock)

John Digweed celebrates Bedrock’s 18th birthday with a double-disc compilation of 21 exclusive tracks – and there’s also a third CD containing a new artist album from Dutch musician C-Jay to boot. Sebastian Markiewicz’s ‘Sensation’ is a subtle house highlight, while Collective Machine & Philipp Straub’s groover ‘Hold You In The Moment’ picks up the pace. Digitaria’s ‘Revenge Of The Fantasy’ whispers seductively before Tiefstone’s pumping ‘Kratos’ hits harder on CD2. But it’s C-Jay’s tranquil six-tracker ‘Echoes’ that stuns the most. ‘Finko’ is the start of a retreat away from reality: peaceful and calming, its sparse production is effortlessly meditative, as is the eerie minimalism of ‘Carte Blanche’. Ben Jolley

8/10