Mumdance ‘MD001’ (Self-released)
‘MD001’ marks a welcome return to music following a hefty five year hiatus from Mumdance and it’s so good to have him back, serving up a typicaly deranged techno experiment with ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and exploring weightless jazz dissonce on accompanying cut ‘Jazz Excursion’.
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Honey Dijon ‘Black Girl Magic’ (Classic Music Company)
Honey Dijon has rightly risen to superstar status in a number of creative worlds, becoming an icon of fashion and art. But the house clubs of Chicago will always be her first love and the places that shaped her, which shines through in her exceptional second album ‘Black Girl Magic’. Packed full of house music spirit and featuring collaborations from the likes of Mike Dunn, Channel Tres and Hadiya George, it’s a flawless showcase of her endlessly inspiring talent.
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V/A ‘Juke Bounce Werk Presents | JBDUBZ Vol. X’ (Juke Bounce Werk)
The mighty JBW have blessed up with another far-reaching compilation of next-level cuts from members of the collective and friends. Opening on what can only be described as unstable jazz from Slow Hand, the intro sets the tone for a compilation that regularly fucks with existing forms and takes them into mind-blowing territory. Other highlights include footwork wunderkind DJ Corey’s menacing ‘Fuk Koopa’, Poison Frog’s blissed-out breaks on ‘Musical Thing’ and Tay Dee-man’s unusually mellow ghetto house… the list goes on. The tenth instalment is 10/10.
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V/A ‘Homecore! Miami All-Stars’ (Omnidisc)
On ‘Homecore! Miami All-Stars’, Danny Daze brings together ‘the connective tissue of Miami’ from the wider scope of the city’s past and present. The ubiquitous sound of Miami runs through all 44 tracks on this expansive compilation - from the demow influence on La Goony Chonga’s ‘Phonkay’, to Greg Beato’s ethereal halftime cut, and the acid stylings on Push Button Objects and Danny Daze’s collaborative track, ‘I.E.’ featuring Tushna. “[Miami] has a rich history of all sorts of music including electronic music. From house music legends to IDM and hip hop pioneers, this release is intended to show what we’ve been about for the last 30+ years,” Danny says on the record.
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PinkPantheress ‘Take me home’ (Warner)
Since blowing up on TikTok and reaching even higher levels of fame with her acclaimed 2021-released debut album ‘to hell with it’, PinkPantheress is on a roll that continues on her latest EP ‘Take me home’, where she can be heard questioning her struggles with adulthood. “Making the most of my life / ‘Till the day that I hit twenty-five / I know that they'll make an adult of me,” she sings on the record’s title-track, an ethereal jungle cut with subdued breaks. Across the three-track EP, the 21-year-old producer also collaborates with Kaytranada on ‘Do you miss me?’, and touches on self-love in the record’s opening track, ‘Boy’s a liar’.
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The Alchemist ‘The Alchemist Sandwich’ (ALC Records)
From his 2018’s album ‘Bread’ and ‘Lunch Meat’ this new release compiles the best-tasting work into one flavorful sandwich. This may be a compilation album however The Alchemist has been picky on what fillings went into this project. Even though these have been picked from different albums, it’s great to listen to their resurgence including the likes of ‘The Hopeless Romantic’ with Action Bronson and renowned single ‘E. Coli’ with Earl Sweatshirt. Also on the album are two new tracks which are the gentle ‘Big Syke’ with Boldy James and Meyhem Lauren and the dirty tune ‘Clip In A Tray’ with ScHoolboy Q. This album is the best way to hear some of The Alchemist’s best work over the last five years all in one place.
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Little Simz ‘NO THANK YOU’ (Forever Living Originals)
Through her 2019 breakthrough album ‘GREY area’ and award-winning ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’ in 2021, Simz has long used her musical prowess to combat some of the key issues which surround being a young Black woman growing up in London. With a reputation for creating powerful music, which is held sentimental by so many, comes great pressure to deliver something as hard-hitting, exciting and unique. Through her latest project, ‘NO THANK YOU’, she has done just that. The tone is set instantly with opener ‘Angel’, which combines a dreamy beat with hard-hitting yet always clean and measured lyricism. The album further evolves, and through tracks such as ‘Heart on Fire’ and ‘Gorilla’ it quickly becomes clear that this is a real development from her previous work — it feels more measured and refined, yet with the same hard-hitting grit she made her name from.
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Laurence Guy ‘You Do Your Best To Hide The Good Parts Of Yourself’ (Shall Not Fade)
The echo of the disco plummets into you as soon as you hit play on this all-new EP from Laurence Guy. Feeding us mouthfuls of feel-good vibes to end the year with and bring us through these colder days. Laurence’s EP - especially the track ‘Can’t Find Her’ featuring J. Peacock - giving us the momentum to get back on the dancefloor.
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Sohrab Voyria (Kalahari Oyster Cult)
Gradually becoming one of underground house and techno’s most important labels, for Kalahari Oyster Cult’s latest record they bring a full eight-track LP from the ever-excellent Italian-born, London-based Sohrab. Split into two vinyls, the first four songs are club-ready bangers in his usual style – prog-flecked, groovy techno-electro hybrids – whereas the final four show off the producer’s softer, downtempo and ambient side.
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Slikback ‘K E K K A N’ (Self-released)
With a few cancelled gigs due to difficulties sourcing visas, Kenyan noisemaker Slikback ends the year on a high, with the self-release of ‘K E K K A N’. With frenetic beats and completely singular sonics, Slikback’s music can’t really be defined by any genre other than ‘club’, despite its perfectness for home listening as well as on a night out.
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Terence Fixmer ‘Shifting Signals’ (Mute)
Making his debut on evergreen electronic label Mute, techno veteran Terence Fixmer brings 11 tracks of looping, driving tracks that span his breadth of style. The tracks are pumping and driving, yet always remain considered and hypnotic, with movement coming from subtle switches and additions.
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V/A ‘no pare, sigue sigue’ (TraTraTrax)
2022 has undeniably been the year of TraTraTrax, so it’s fitting that the Colombian imprint chose to celebrate its end with a juridical compilation showcasing the very best producers from across Latin American and the Latinx diaspora as a whole. ‘no pare, sigue sigue’ which translates to “Don't stop, go on and on and on” features 16 tracks from a mixture of established names and up-and-coming talent; Nicola Cruz’s wobbly electro banger ‘Accelera’ sits alongside the raucous hardcore of ‘Azud’ from Mexican-Palestinian newcomer Loris. Breakout star Nick León is joined by Luca Durán on the bass-heavy club heater ‘Joga Bola’ while Doctor Jeep delivers unrelenting percussion on ‘Prisma de Luz’. A particular highlight is DNGDNGDNG and Prisma’s ‘Distal RKT’ that pulls the frenetic percussion of bomba and reggaeton into the low-end for a staggering dubstep hybrid. All in all, the record demonstrates the diversity of the trans-continental scene and its unique, all encompassing sonic perspective — creating an experience that is diverse, yet cohesive. TraTraTrax continues its path to world domination.
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