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

Naibu 'Corners' (Horizons Music)

Naibu is France’s answer to Calibre, and he’s the real deal. Boasting a vault of tracks from liquid’s golden age on labels such as Creative Source, Soul:r and Bassbin, the producer has released his occasional deep-end mosaics mainly on Horizons over the last decade. Now, he makes his return to the label with a new dancefloor-tipped LP performed and recorded entirely at home. There are no samples to be found here, just a fiercely intelligent musical aesthetic: crackly, rolling liquid-silk on the title track, Rufige Kru-style grit amid experimental percussion on ‘Burning’ and some Calibre-standard vocals and keys on ‘No Return’. After an admittedly rather leftfield last LP (‘Case Study’ on Scientific Records), ‘Corners’ is a delicious return to a danceable format.

9/10

Jubei 'To Have And Have Not Remix EP' (Metalheadz)

Shutdown! Om Unit, Blocks & Escher, Ulterior Motive and Skeptical line up for the hippest, most heavyweight tracklisting of any EP this year. The beefed-up opening thunderblasts of ‘The Prayer’ alone are spine-shiveringly wondrous, thanks to its sluiced-up breakbeats, haunting industrial soundscapes and one-inch punch savagery. These four tracks are a show of force: a rugged, sharp, tech-shaped Headz ruckus from the crème de la crème.

9/10

Bass Brothers 'WTF' (Playaz)

Is it possible to make tech-flavoured tracks that are bouncy enough to be called big-room party smashers? Of course it is. Straight outta Viana do Castelo in Portugal, Playaz’ exclusive signings Bass Brothers lash down a huge EP of controlled dancefloor excellence. Lead track ‘WTF’ sets the tone, its cheeky, wobbly wind-up intro turning into something unexpectedly refined: a loping, springy tech groove with bleepy globules and plenty of trills, but pinioned by elephantine bass nodes and ice-pick snares. It’s a great formula: minimal, funky and with maximum dancefloor appeal.

7/10

Fierce & Zero T 'Bonesmen' (Metalheadz)

Epic track name, epic Reinforced-era rolling steel from a hot duo. Not content with resurrecting the beloved Quarantine label, Fierce and Zero T are awash with cold, classical material right now. ‘Bonesmen’ is muscular, knotty industrial fare, with snares alternately rolling then bunching up into one another before smoothing out again. Set against a cavernous backdrop of crunchy echoes and slithering mentasms, this is rugged and regal at the same time. Salute.

8/10

Handra 'Far Away' (Ed:it remix) (Addictive Behaviour)

The very best kind of deep-end production from Ed:it: lush and rolling breaks and liquidy tones, yet tinged with a faint warping sizzle to give it that dancefloor edge. Part of a delicious EP from Polish duo Handra, the track beefs up on the second drop with cleaner lines and muscular low-end, flexing its sinews towards lithe tech territory.

8/10

Rido 'Cut The Midrange' (Blackout)

Surly, waspish, surging tech bullishness from Rido, as a haunting, twinkly intro cuts away savagely into a knuckle-dusting tech thunk-up. There are elements of Hazard’s ‘Machete’ in there, as the scuzzed-up breaks clatter into each other, wrapped tightly around throaty knots of bass. Check the subtle arpeggios that creep up out of the mix, attaching themselves to the snares like strangling creepers.

8/10

Nitri feat DRS 'Enough Is Enough' (Horizons music)

Intelligent, evolving half-time brutality from Sao Paulo’s Nitri, who burst onto our radars three years ago with a slew of powerful 12”s. Ahead of his imminent album release, this clever slice keeps the snares light-touch and percussive instead of slamming them down, contrasting nicely with the rasping synth waves that colour DRS’s aggy vocals. The experimental electro shades of the track mean it’s murderous but meditative at the same time.

8/10

John B 'Evolve' (Beta)

Everyone’s favourite Euro-glitzed hardstepper John B drops his 50th Beta release in visionary style. His new ‘Evolve’ concept will eschew albums in favour of regular monthly releases, a new radio venture, a live show and more. Hundreds of John B fans were asked to record and upload spoken word vocals for this first track, with their contributions cascading around the euphoric wall-of-synths intro before a rumbling curveball of a drop kicks in. Scything breakbeats and classic rolling percussion bunches and coils, snaking along in a far grittier manner than expected, while the trancey bleepage continues to fill the spaces inbetween. John B’s rekindled love with his 90s techstep roots is a joy.

8/10

Redders 'Critical Presents Systems 005 EP' (Critical)

Hyperactive Bristolian mic lord Redders has some weighty substance to match his animated style. Not many have the gravitas to front up a seven-track Critical EP, but here you’ll find Sam Binga, Gorgon Sound, Hyroglifics and Moresound all providing half-time bassline and electro-dancehall jams while the main man owns the stage. Redders seems to have distilled many of our favourite d’n’b MC elements into a fresh weave: the artillery-quick ragga patter of Manc kingpin Fox; the slick Americanised flow of the evergreen Dynamite; the infectious Bristolian humour of Jakes; the smile-inducing tics and wibbles of old don Skibadee; and a gorgeous languid melodic croon a la David Boomah. The man can do it all and, armed with these beats, this release is pretty unstoppable.

8/10

Think Tonk 'Jung’Hall Special EP' (V Recordings)

As well as lashing down one of our favourite combos – jungle and dancehall – in style, we’re going to assume that Manchester collective Think Tonk are also tipping a wink to Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology. ‘Jung’Hall’ does indeed do a fine job of individuation (the process of integrating opposites), as ably demonstrated on opener ‘Magnificent’, where wild neighing horses and an assortment of other zany off-camera FX meet whip-smart snares in a relentless skipping patchwork of dancehall energy. Indeed, standout track ‘Opposite’ sees MC Fox flowing with trademark texture over a low-slung bopping dancehall brooder of a groove, its darker undertones enhanced by the wider spaces among the breaks. Most impressive.

7/10