June: 6 bass & club tunes you need to hear this month
Yaeji, Bonaventure, v1984 and more
Album of the month
Bonaventure 'Free Lutangu' (PTP)
Sometimes the club’s cacophony of sounds can be confusing; after a while, abrasive pressures and movements in basements can start to blend together. But 30 seconds into Berlin-based DJ Soraya Lutangu’s debut EP, you’re hooked. Delving into themes of institutionalised racism and oppression, ‘Free Lutangu’ is best listened to as a whole, as moods deftly switch from one track to another. ‘Supremacy’ heaves with rumbling bass, sirens and samples from Sister Souljah’s speech from PBS’s Listening To America series. ‘Hopelessness’ focuses on humming and hand drums for a quieter moment, and ‘Fearlings’ feat Hannah Black weaves spoken narration through wispy, haunted textures. Lutangu entwines powerful samples with huge instrumentals to make for one of the most formidable debuts club music has seen for a long time.
10/10