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

Various 'Critical: 15 Years Of Underground Sonics' (Critical Music)

You know you’ve made it when the forum warriors claim you’re no longer underground. The clattering of keyboard strokes was somewhat outgunned at Electric Brixton in March, as boss Kasra Mowlavi oversaw a sold-out ‘15 Years’ Critical jamboree, where each of these 15 parcels of tech-funk futurism killed the dance. There’s no looking back here: Enei, Break, Ivy Lab, Signal, Mefjus, Sam Binga, Emperor and the core Critical stable serve up crunchy tech heatseekers, glitch-hopping half-time and deep-sea rollers. A decade ago, we sat with Kasra and reflected on how Critical had become the best new d’n’b label around. For a lesson in how to construct an underground powerhouse, look no further.

9/10

Mikal 'Spirited' (Dust Audio)

Returning from his superlative ‘Wilderness’ LP on Metalheadz, Mikal might even have taken it up a notch here. There’s a Break-esque ear for that balance between rough industrial elements and percussive funk, but with a confident techno aesthetic: the dusty quality to the breaks, those rat-tat-tat fills whispering notes of jungle into the mix, the synth implosions that sound like metal twisting into impossible shapes. Super-tough, super-intelligent dancefloor grit.

9/10

Dawn Wall 'Twin Falls' (Integral)

The guessing game on d’n’b’s longest-running alias saga continues – but frankly, who cares when we’ve now come to expect regular slices of Dawn Wall goodness? The sumptuous piano and dizzyingly warm bass pulses on this new EP’s title track are intense and absurdly rich: the luxurious deep-end tones of an Ivy Lab, the glistening breaks of a Calibre and the artful melodious tinkerings of a SpectraSoul, perhaps? See, it’s more fun to invent one’s own hybrid conclusion. And it’s simply not possible to not adore this kind of enveloping quality. Game on.

9/10

Kyrist/Data 3 & Revaux 'New Age Myths' EP (Addictive Behaviour)

The excellent Addictive Behaviour draws together some of the best new names in taut tech-science for a stone-cold corker of an EP. Bristol’s Kyrist flexes her more experimental tentacles with the spidery, squelchy darts of ‘The Drifted’, as wonky synth threads and acidic touches scurry around over athletic, nimble drum flurries. Data 3 specialise in dark tech-rollers hewn from classic sound palettes, and we’re loving the range of intricate shifts on ‘Basilisk’. Check the way the nibbling horror synth vanishes part-way through, and a deliciously organic bass tone replicates its melody instead. Glorious stuff.

8/10

Mako 'Fourfit' EP (Soul:r)

Mako pops up for the ninth instalment of Soul:r’s prestigious Fourfit series, bringing his assured, border-pushing brand of exquisite tech menace. Springy, zingy tech-roller athleticism fuels ‘Come Down’, with its crunchy Break-esque sizzles and effortless percussive funk patterns, while ‘Message Music’ see a team-up with Marcus Intalex: with its distilled dancehall vibes, it sits somewhere between percussive workout and experimental half-time.

8/10

John B 'Unshakeable Viper' (Smasher)

When John B finishes a track and realises it’s turned out “Vipery”, you know you’ve established your sound. ‘Unshakeable’ begins with the kind of trancey synth staircases and space-girl vocals synonymous with our favourite sequin-covered scientist, but then drops into something altogether more menacing, as those immaculate phased synths undulate and refract with a hypnotic melodic sheen. Viper’s ‘100’ EP series completes its fourth instalment in style, after a romping collaboration from Futurebound and Jaguar Skills last month. It’s no mean achievement that it’s kept true to its 2004 ‘future funk’ beginnings, defining up-front, tear-out rippers with a dose of electro sizzle. Hats off.

7/10

Current Value, Optiv & CZA 'Ghost Nation' (Cause 4 Concern)

When Sub Focus dropped C4C’s 2003 archetypal tech anthem ‘Carrier’ during his secret guest slot at XOYO in February, it received an arguably bigger reaction than some of Andy C’s bashiest weapons that night. The C4C trio are the real deal, but these days their eponymous label is the key focus, with head honchos Optiv and CZA scoring a mighty coup as darkside scholar Current Value joins up to hammer down a frankly disgusting tech-roller. Tidal waves of grizzled sub-bass froth up alongside a broiling mass of sniping synth slivers as the snares flicker and roll.

7/10

Bungle 'Cocooned' (31 Recordings)

Sao Paulo’s Bungle returns to Doc Scott’s 31 Recordings with the biggest bassline you’ll hear all month. A stripped-back, metronomic slice of rolling industrial tech, its no-nonsense classical elements – ludicrously deep, undulating bass nodes and funk-tinged breaks – are studded with delicious modern touches, with the sparking ends of synth electrodes shorting and sniping throughout. It’s a perfect snapshot of the sound 31 has been nailing over the past year.

8/10

Phaction 'Signature Moves' (CIA)

Still a relative newcomer, Bristol’s Phaction has certainly put himself in the shop window with this, the title cut from a five-tracker on CIA that’s easily the most unusual tune we’ve heard this month. An electro-tickled roller that shades into acrobatic tech, the track is swooshed in off-camera trills and r’n’b vocal splashes – all of which become irrelevant when that corkscrewing bass dives in and out of the mix, forcing smiles and head-nodding all round.

8/10

Forbidden Society 'Outlaw' (FS Recordings)

If there’s a screwface moment to be had this month, it’s three minutes into Forbidden Society’s full-throttle tech howitzer ‘Outlaw’. Balanced between snaking neurofunk and hardstyle d’n’b batterage, the thunderous synth wave suddenly finds itself alone, naked, released from all background noise. Pinioned by unforgiving metallic snares and little else, the effect is jaw-dropping. On a big rig, this sounds like being dragged through a sonic wormhole to a very, very excellent place.

8/10