Sepehr ‘Fool's Ovation’ (Kapsela)
“I'm now in this phase of my career where I want every piece of my discography to have a concept and a sound,” Sepehr told us in a 2023 interview. Having taken us on metaphysical journey the following year through the ‘Genesis Domain’, this latest offering on Objekt’s Kapsela label falls back down to earth with a thud, accompanied by a short story that reads like internal conflict about being a DJ in a burning world, earning your ‘Fool’s Ovation’. The soundtrack is thrilling: a blend of guttural bass, pulsating techno, rushing breaks, growling vocals and trance-like chants. For music like this, maybe it’s all worthwhile.
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V/A ‘Mzansi Bass compilation’ (TraTraTrax)
An absolutely essential compilation from TraTraTrax, curated by Shannen SP, which pushes onwards with one the label’s core missions: to “amplify powerful voices from the global south, where the true underground is happening today, and that move away from the traditional axis of New York, London, Berlin.” Opening with a debut production credit for Shannen SP, in collaboration with HENNYBELIT, the title-track sets forth the MO of ‘Mzansi Bass’: crafting earth-shaking music that engulfs the mind and body and moves them. Across the eight tracks, the compilation is rooted in South African electronic music styles with forays into global mutations: dark, hypnotic low-ends growl and shimmer; rave whistles ring out in urgent euphoria; log drums punch emphatically through dizzying grooves; rap vocals and meditative chants add stirring, distinct texture.
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Beatrice M. ‘Sinking’ (Tectonic Recordings)
Nu skool dubstep genius Beatrice M. lands on Tectonic with their debut album, stretching the heavyweight club sound out into often-skeletal arrangements that are all about the space as well as the bass. Opening with the intricate skulk of ‘Ever’, sweeping pads suffuse the air below trickling percussion, flooding into the more expansive ‘Ocean’, bobbing from a textural current into a melodic tide, with stepping chords and a hint of trance at its most subtle. Brisker cut ‘Disco Corner’ ups the ante, pushing into the moodier Sir Hiss collab ‘Juice’ and its splutters and growls, with the title-track landing at the midway point in layers of immersive sheen. A collab towards the close, ‘In Touch’ ft. Jinnal + Kaba, reflects Beatrice M.’s own dual heritage as the two MCs lay down lyrical French and English verses, while the final ‘Years’ draws the record to an emotionally resonant ending note.
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REZZETT ‘Into the Boiling Darks’ (RZ)
Building on the Cav Empt tape of the same name they released last October, Tapes and Lukid have now fleshed out that cassette into the first Rezzett album in three years. It lands as 21 tracks of gnarly, textural je ne sais quoi, pulling from dark corners of techno, glistening realms of ambient, skittering notes of jungle, mutant collisions of bass, and more, among its discordant dot plot of experimentation.
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Oyubi ‘White birch burns’ (TREKKIE TRAX)
Tokyo’s premier juke and footwork producer Oyubi, tipped as one of our top artists to watch in 2026, delivers a beauty of a debut album on TREKKIE TRAX, melding the pace of Chicago dance influence with his own intricate sound design and introspective influences. Opener ‘White noise peaks’ swirls and glitches, ‘Eye shaker’ judders and groans, ‘Kernelpanik!’ gets unhinged with a collision of discordant tones and frantic beats. ‘Since I’ is heavy on emotional resonance while keeping the urgent club pace and bass; ‘Gon be rich oneday’ also feels reflective of feelings deeper than wanting to dance, while producing that exact effect. With the album informed by childhood experiences, including the loss of his father aged five, and named after the ancient Japanese tradition honouring departed family members, there’s a woozy quality to the record that reflects its existence in spaces in-between. Hints of memories and experiences are funnelled into its chaotic textures, all swirling into one unstable and impactful whole.
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georg-i, Sobolik ‘Final Drive’ (Kindergarten Records)
Kindergarten Records is carving out a lane for unleashing some of the best split EPs around right now, and this latest Brooklyn-to-Bristol link-up from Sobolik and georg-i is another killer addition to its catalogue. Featuring two collabs, the opener ‘Forced Induction’ opens agitated, with roadrunner bursts of melody later gorged by thick bass notes. Follow-up ‘Overtorqued’ is breezier in its sonics yet equally frantic, with airy pads soon giving way to angular textures and blistering percussion. Each artist has also contributed a solo production to the tracklist: Sobolik stomping through eccentric bassweight on ‘Short Shift’ and georg-i unleashing rhythmic chaos with ‘Surface Tension’.
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Machinedrum ‘BL00MS’ (IAMSIAM)
Machinedrum is going it alone. On his first independently released album, the North Carolina-hailing artist sounds buoyed by his decision, making some of his most joyful music in recent memory, while still retaining that erratic edge that makes his music stand out. Opener ‘THE FROG SONG’ sets a euphoric tone as it gradually builds into a wall of synth bliss, before ‘NO 1 KNEW’ barrels into the more rhythmically angular sound he has mastered. ‘WHEN UR GONE’ is a haunting blend of mournful vocals, skeletal breaks and eerie synths, maintaining warmth with deep, beguiling bass tones. Closer ‘BL0000M’ sums the record’s approach up best, casing fidgety rhythms in a cocoon of rousing synths and infectious vocals, breaking down into chaos at the midway point, then bringing it all together in a dizzying array of vibrancy. Having recently marked his one year anniversary of sobriety, the record’s energy may well be informed by what he describes as his “new addiction”: sugar.
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Tatyana Jane ‘Discordia’ (Ed Banger)
On her debut EP for Ed Banger, Tatyana Jane could have been forgiven for taking the easy route and wholeheartedly pulling inspiration from the legendary Paris imprint’s eye-watering catalogue. Yet, on ‘Discord’, the Cameroon-born, France-raised DJ and producer stays true to her ‘Afro-clash’ sound, subtly weaving French touch motifs into riotous techno, spine-tingling dub, and low-end percussion across its six tracks. Opener ‘KTM’ pairs up syncopated synths and a needle-sharp phaser, while ‘Orbit’ mashes together space-age, robotic samples with cavernous bass. Complementing her spattering of features, Jane utilises ricocheting synths to underpin commanding bars from Kay The Prodigy on ‘Brutal’, while Lala &ce’s distinct, autotune vocals dance above a cacophony of frenzied drums on ‘Disto’. Magnifique!
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Skrillex 'SOMA' (OWSLA/Atlantic)
Surprise! Well, maybe by this point it's safe to assume Skrillex has got a project ready to drop out of the blue at any given minute, but that isn’t to say there aren’t some truly bewildering turns on his fifth album. Continuing on from the string of EPs and singles released following last year’s ‘Fuck U Skrillex…’, ‘SOMA’ sees the US dubstep legend take on a dizzying array of contrasting sounds. Take ‘Duro’ featuring Puerto Rican vocalist Young Miko which wades through hyperpop-tinged trance, or ‘Pente Rala’ featuring Dismantle, DJ 2K DO TAQUARIL & MC Dricka, which blends junglist dub with Brazilian funk. Each track allows its various collaborators to add their own unique flavour, with ground-shaking bass on the ISOxo-featuring tracks ‘Smoke’ and ‘Anybody’, and of course, the dissonant-yet-complimentary coming together of Blawan, Randomer and MC Drika on previously-released single ‘Thistle’. Some things are worth not waiting for!
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V/A ‘Ten Years of On Loop Vol.1’ (On Loop)
Marking a decade of her On Loop imprint, London’s Moxie has enlisted an exciting crew of up-and-coming producers for the first of two celebratory compilations. Typically eclectic, the 10-track (for 10 years, get it) project features Italo kicks courtesy of CC:Disco and Manuel Daquart on ‘Don’t You Want My Love’, frenetic hi-hats from K-LONE on ‘iluvuu’ and pumping, acid-tinged house via LAIDLAW on ‘House of Dub’. Ten more years!
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Yushh ‘Full Body AXY’ (Timedance)
The Bristol connection is strong in this link-up between Yushh and Timedance. On her new EP ‘Full Body AXY’, Yushh sends it full-throttle with five tracks purpose-built for the club, her first in some three years. It’s a welcome return filled with precise synthlines and powerful bass, some tracks moving slow and dark, others airy and brisk.
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INVT ‘8 AM Swim’ (Self-released)
Miami’s INVT switch things up on their first full-length record in four years, ‘8 AM Swim’, leaning into-tech house territory as they showcase a fresh, dubbed-out sound. While still influenced by the Miami bass music they were surrounded by growing up, the new 10-tracker also pays tribute to their “electro roots while mixing in the molecular tightness of tech house 808 hats”.
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dgoHn ‘Tessares’ (Planet Mu)
Marking his fourth release on Planet Mu, dgoHn’s ‘Tessares’ is an innovative effort and a fresh merging of sounds blending the worlds of math rock, breakbeats, and fragmented drum ‘n’ bass. Live instrumentation weaves through distorted polyrhythmic madness, spiralling and unravelling in constant motion across its eight tracks. It’s an acoustically chaotic affair, but a treat to listen to nonetheless – one you won’t forget fast.
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