March: 18 albums you need to hear this month

Sampha 'Process' (Young Turks)

Let’s bring you up to speed on Sampha. Songwriter; producer; owner of a once-in-a-lifetime voice. The South London-born artist of Sierra Leonean heritage who rocked up on Jessie Ware records over half a decade ago, became the go-to vocalist for SBTRKT and slowly built a rep so impressive that he’s featured on records by Drake, Kanye West and Solange. So: why’s it taken so long to get here? Life. The passing of his mum after a long illness; the lump in his throat that freaked him out (but proved to be benign). The wait is worth it, though: ‘Process’ is a moving, musical autobiography of futuristic, soulful electronica and brittle r’n’b. That lump, and its effect on his psyche, rears its head on ‘Plastic 100˚C’, which muses on his vulnerability accompanied by plaintive koras – a subtle, recurring link to his African heritage – and celestial choir, introducing first-time listeners to a voice for the ages.

The album’s personal nature continues with ‘(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano’, which features just Sampha’s voice, piano, understated percussion and birdsong. “I have something/ Some people call it soul,” he croons. Today, overwrought emotion is often mistaken for soul, but Sampha is no construct – with him, you truly believe. The pace picks up, imperceptibly, on the stoned urban shanty ‘Timmy’s Prayer’, while the album concludes with ‘What Shouldn’t I Be?’, built only upon a swollen chord and synthesised harps. With a voice like his, Sampha’s ingredients can afford to be simple. He is, perhaps, the UK’s finest vocal talent since Amy Winehouse. If that sounds like too much pressure, then he’s already shown he has the courage to step back from it. Back home to his piano. Family. Music. Always the answer. Stephen Worthy

9/10

Call Super 'Fabric 92' (Fabric)

It’s easy to forget that, 15 years ago, John Peel curated an early Fabriclive album. But Joe Seaton hasn’t. Seaton, as Call Super, invokes Peel’s memory on ‘Fabric 92’ – if not in sound, then in the personal nature and spirit that percolates throughout. Call Super’s trademark itchy techno dominates the first half of the mix, but it then alights on d’n’b, electro boogie, experimental/ambient, roots reggae and even delta blues. The galloping, fidgety groove of Objekt’s ‘The Stitch-Up’ is a highlight, as is Shanti Celeste’s euphoric ‘Strung Up’. It also shines a light on artists such as Yves Tumor, whose ‘The Feeling When You Walk Away’ mixes up classic r’n’b, psychedelic pop and soul. Stephen Worthy

8/10

Young Marco 'Selectors 002' (Dekmantel)

Amsterdam DJ/producer Young Marco offers 10 decade-spanning, genre-crossing global jams for ‘Selectors 002’. Danny Boy’s funky ‘Diskomix’ gets the feel-good vibes flowing before Gerrit Hoekema’s melodic ‘Televisiewereld’. Like Wolf Müller’s obscure gem ‘Pfad Des Windes’, Ghostwriters’ 10-minute journey ‘Swizzle’ packs in a range of global influences and multi-cultural instruments. Larry Heard’s 1994 deep house track ‘Dolphin Dream’ follows before Frank Youngwerth’s ‘Whirr’ captivates with tribal drums and ethereal synths, while 90s Italian act Green Baize’s ‘Spick And Span’ delivers a dreamy escape. Ben Jolley

9/10

Dirty Projectors 'Dirty Projectors' (Domino)

Fusing sonic intricacies, captivating melodies and compelling storytelling, Dirty Projectors’ eighth LP is their most honest and affecting yet. ‘Keep Your Name’ is haunting and harrowing, ‘Death Spiral’ is built on endearing piano keys and lead singer David Longstreth’s wide-ranging falsetto flirts faultlessly on ‘Up In Hudson’. ‘Winner Take Nothing’ becomes frantic as Longstreth concedes “in losing you, I lost myself”, while ‘Ascent Through Clouds’ morphs from a minimal folk-style tale into glitchy electronica. ‘Cool Your Heart’ is the most ‘pop’ offering, mixing Dawn Richard’s summery vocal with Major Lazer-esque drums, and closer ‘I See You’ is an organ-pounding farewell. Ben Jolley

8/10

Catz ‘N Dogz 'Watergate 22' (Watergate)

Polish duo Catz ‘N Dogz deliver a collection of high-energy house and techno for their 22-track Watergate comp. ‘To Ma People’ is a subtly grooving opener compared to the more bumping ‘Afterglow’, but their acid-flavoured edit of Da Posse’s ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ is the most infectious mover. Elsewhere, K’ Alexi’s screamer ‘You Get Down’ meets Krikor’s funky ‘Sometimes Sweet Susan’, Stashrider’s ‘Vibration’ pumps with energy and Bruce Trail’s ‘Bridgework’ is dreamlike. Just when it seems things are winding down, Heiko Laux’s techno evolution ‘Souldancer (Hlx Re-Construct)’ charges into the duo’s own cut ‘Fire Burning When We Are’. Ben Jolley

8/10

Moiré 'No Future' (Ghostly International)

Moiré certainly has a distinctive sound: bumping house basslines, classic techno synths and lo-fi sounds contrasted with an overall hi-def sheen, all given a dark, gloomy mood and frequently slowed down to a crawl. Here, he’s brought more voices into the mix in the form of looped-up verses/phrases from leftfield d’n’b stalwart MC DRS and spoken word star James Massiah, but these feel like an extension of the introspective grooves more than a departure. A track at a time, it’s great, but the absolute consistency gets wearing over the course of a whole album. Weirder tracks such as ‘System 100’ break the routine a bit, but it’d be nice to hear Moiré’s huge production skill with more variation of tone. Joe Muggs

6/10

Graeme Miller & Steve Shill 'The Moomins' (Finders Keepers)

Like many kids’ shows of its era, The Moomins was occult, dark, curious and druggy – but really quite alarmingly so. Among the new age flutes and naive Casio keys on this never-before-released sountrack are dark wave basslines and paranoid vocal chants that, in the dark, would freak you the fuck out. Worldly lullabies such as ‘Woodland Band’ and sci-fi passages such as ‘Most Unusual’ wouldn’t sound out of place on an experimental NTS radio show, while ‘Midwinter Rites’ is the sound of a hellish bad trip. Growing up watching this, it’s no wonder we all ended up in dark rooms marching to repetitive beats. Kristan J Caryl

9/10

Egyptrixx 'Pure, Beyond Reproach' (Halocline Trance)

Canadian Egyptrixx makes hugely conceptual music: he seems to imagine a distant world then makes them come to life with sound. His four previous LPs have envisoned eerie interplanetary landscapes and post-apocalyptic metropolises, but here he goes deep underwater. The 10 tracks are littered with microbial bacteria, droplets that rain down the face of reflective chords and synths that shoot through the arrangements like beams of light in deep waters. It’s hallucinogenic and ravey, retro yet futuristic, and the whole thing has a bright, translucent glow. There are no beats, just dynamic peaks and troughs, and the hugely textural and evocative results are unsettling yet absorbing. Kristan J Caryl

8/10

Barclay Crenshaw 'Barclay Crenshaw' (STX&BRX)

For an artist who came out the blocks with ‘Who’s Afraid Of Detroit’ as Claude VonStroke and spent December criss-crossing the US playing lashings of house and techno with Cajual Records boss Green Velvet, Barclay Crenshaw’s debut LP (using his real name) is something of a surprise – albeit a very pleasant one. The tone recalls everything from early Dirty Projectors to classic Timbaland and ‘Guns Don’t Kill...’-era Major Lazer – and with a smattering of vocalists across the album from Lady Chann to The Underachievers, it’s a record that reveals new, soulful depths with every listen. It’s a departure from his usual dramatic club sound, and those expecting to hear bangers in the ‘….Detroit’ mould may be confounded by this space-exploring 10-track collection (‘The Gene Sequence’ and ‘Hidden Harmonics’ are arguably the standout tracks, the latter thanks in part to Aviella).

But Crenshaw has always been a fan of leftfield funk and hip hop, and on ‘U Are In My System’, those influences are alchemized brilliantly. It’s followed by ‘Artifacts’ featuring a fierce flow from The Underachievers (who ironically more than deliver over a DJ Shadow-esque beat). Whether it will find the same audience that DirtyBird have cornered in clubland remains to be seen, but Crenshaw should be applauded for taking this artistic risk: ‘The Sleepy Kids’, let’s not forget, is about alien abduction (no wonder he gets on so well with Green Velvet). But most important of all, the LP is a blast from start to finish. Ralph Moore

8/10

Tin Man 'Dripping Acid' (Global A)

Acid abides. Way beyond retro value, the sound of the TB303 has proved to have enduring value in the timeless interzone of the small hours – and few have proved that recently as well as Tin Man, aka Vienna’s Johannes Auvinen. On this six-vinyl, 17-track selection, he’s created an extended dreamlike experience: all the tracks are themed around different states and behaviours of liquid, and sure enough, the acid sounds flow, drip, ooze and pour through the dark, misty landscape of rhythmic house. All the acid lines unfold in slow and complex melodies, singing as only the 303 can. As you might guess, these are a long way from peak-time smashers. Sometimes they skip along funkily and on other occasions they’re bordering on ambient, but any of these tracks will definitely work magic in dark underground spaces – and as a complete world to inhabit, ‘Dripping Acid’ is a beautifully complete statement. Joe Muggs

8/10

Formation 'Look At The Powerful People' (MENO/Warners)

Fifteen years after The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem unified the electronic and alternative music scenes, Formation (aka London twins Will and Matt Ritson) are underpinning their urgent, politically motivated tunes with house sensibilities. For that, a debt is owed to Leon Vynehall who, having made some of the most intriguing house music of recent times, adds to his burgeoning rep as a producer here. The gritty nature of Vynehall’s own productions fits snugly with Formation’s own lo-fi aesthetic. ‘Drugs’ is a lithe lope across angry, percussive bass while ‘Back Then’ stomps through a riot of Hammond organ and discordant sax. And before you ask, yes, there are cowbells. Stephen Worthy

7/10

Marc Houle 'Sinister Mind' (Items & Things)

Canadian producer Marc Houle serves up nine science fiction-infused creations on ‘Sinister Mind’. The opening ‘Don’t Think Of Me’ is tinged with eerie atmospherics thanks to its brooding bass and menacing whispers, while the title track settles into a midtempo techno groove before an otherworldly vocal takes control. ‘Maskatron’ is more villainous, its gurgling bass and alien percussive sounds building pressure before ‘Loafers’ gets trippy. ‘Failure’ is a complete contrast, resetting the mood to slow-motion dark wave. The final third carries the robotic melodies of ‘Bassorrific’ and bleeping synths of ‘Conbular’, but it’s bubbling closer ‘Paligama’ that’s most primed for the dancefloor. Ben Jolley

7/10

Sherwood & Pinch 'Man Vs. Sofa' (On-U Sound vs Tectonic Recordings)

When one of the masters of dub teams up with a latter-day pioneer of all things heavy, dark and loud, it’s difficult not to be stirred – both emotionally and physically. ‘Man Vs. Sofa’ picks up where Adrian Sherwood and Rob ‘Pinch’ Ellis’ 2015 collaboration ‘Late Night Endless’ left off: with cavernous bass, splintered rimshots and fractal percussion. It hangs on the pair’s innate ability to find light and space amid the sturm und drang – the shards of piano on the paranoiac ‘Midnight Mindset’ or dub deity Lee ‘Scratch Perry’’s soothing vocal contribution to ‘Lies’ – and is further emboldened by the beautiful but skewed reimagining of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s electro-classical gem, ‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’. Stephen Worthy

7/10

Differ-Ent 'It’s Good to be Differ-Ent' (Don’t Be Afraid)

Of all the OG Detroit techno generation, DJ Bone is one of the most under-appreciated outside specialist circles – perhaps because he’s always gone his own way and ignored all hype. But he’s up there with the best, and is clearly as in love with sound as ever on this new album released under his Differ-Ent alias. He occasionally breaks from four-to-the-floor on a few Underground Resistance-ish electro tracks, but he never sounds beholden to anyone else: whatever rhythmic framework he builds is always from first principles, exploring the synths and sequencers as if for the first time, constantly searching for the funk. This is hugely listenable dancefloor dynamite, and demonstrates how much techno’s core values still matter. Joe Muggs

8/10

Justin Carter 'The Leaves Fall' (Mister Saturday Night)

Along with his Mister Saturday Night partner Eamon Harkin, Justin Carter is simply one of the world’s greatest DJs: his musicality is matched only by a passion for the inclusive, love-fuelled ethos and focus on real dancers at the heart of real-deal house and disco. It almost seems unfair that on top of this, it turns out that he’s a shockingly good singer-songwriter, too. Whether on purely acoustic songs or gentle analogue indietronic grooves, he conjures beautiful sketches of human fragility, hope, fear and loss. You might hear hints of Joni Mitchell, Arthur Russell, John Martyn, Hot Chip and more good stuff in there, but this is an impressively individual statement that will reward return visits. Joe Muggs

8/10

Sailor & I 'The Invention Of Loneliness' (Skint)

Sailor & I, aka Stockholm producer Alexander Sjödin, trades in saturnine Nordic electro-melancholia with sorties into deep, dancefloor-friendly territory. Like his compatriots The Knife and iamamiwhoami, he has a winning ability to make vocal electronica that’s icy, claustrophobic and widescreen, as the coruscating ‘Black Swan’ and lavish, metallic electro of ‘Black Stars’ attest here (black, it seems, is big in Sailor & I’s world). Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, ‘Paramount’ – with its flurry of vocal samples, hammering piano riff and restrained percussion – is a fine example of his grasp of moody house ordnance. It’s music with a cold edge, but with warmth in its heart. Stephen Worthy

8/10

Jesse Rose 'Alright Mate' (Made To Play)

There comes a time when “your body doesn’t enjoy [the industry] as much as your mind”, which is why ‘Alright Mate’ will be the final album of Jesse Rose’s colourful career. It’s an impressive ending that flits between white-hot heaters and poignant touches. ‘Future’s Dream’ and ‘Pressure’ ooze warm vibes perfect for Balearic summers, while ‘In My Mind’ slinks along a groove-tipped edge. ‘Appreciative’ is reminiscent of Rose’s earlier Induceve work and ‘Everyone’ is classic house with disco quirks, while ‘What You Talkin Bout’ is the highlight of the record: it’s dark and almost analogue in its repetition, with a tongue-in-cheek message that insists you hit the dancefloor. Leah Connolly

8/10

Clap! Clap! 'A Thousand Skies' (Black Acre)

Take a cult Bristolian label and add an African influence from Italian musician Clap! Clap!, and we might just have the best fusion record to kick of 2017 so far. Returning to Black Acre after his Gilles Peterson-approved ‘Tayi Bebba’ LP, Clap! Clap! is now on “the search for new flavours”. Throat-driven chants seep through native percussions on ‘Discessus’, and ‘Nguwe’ feels like a Gqom-on-speed ticket to the tropics, glitches stabbing through Bongeziwe Mabandla’s vocals. ‘Hope’ (featuring OY) breaks things down, while the layers of ‘Ar-Raqis’ and ‘Ode To The Pleiades’ clatter and clang, cultivating the sounds of a rich landscape that are felt globally. Leah Connolly

7/10