1OO1O ‘Tres De Espadas’ (Club Romantico)
From its therapeutic percussion right through to its sub-heavy, rippling bassline underfoot, 1OO1O’s new single ‘Tres De Espadas’ is an example of club music moving into the future. The Mexico-hailing producer turns down the tempo and collates snappy kicks and filtered MC samples inspired by both Latin and Caribbean sounds to dramatic effect.
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Headphones Girl ‘Rock Ya Soul’ (Fortune Signal)
New York artist Headphones Girl spent the last five years producing her new record ‘Lowdown Motivator’ on Fortune Signal, and it arrives at a time where her inspirations are more widespread than ever, drawing from West Coast acid house, electro, techno, breaks and much more. The EP’s lead track ‘Rock Ya Soul’ combines many of those styles into one, with a rapidfire bassline and hypnotic vocal on loop throughout.
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Optmst ‘Soft Note’ (EELF Records)
Ahead of the release of his infectious EP ‘Flux’ in June, Belfast bass head Optmst dropped an earworm new single on the heavier end of his usual production style, ‘Soft Note’, packed with bassweight and and low-end pressure. Taking cues from contemporary pop music and old skool UKG alike, ‘Soft Note’ is a firm standout from Optmst’s new five-tracker.
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DJ Manny and DJ Phil 'Make Me Wanna’ (Hyperdub)
A masterclass in proper, unruly footwork sampling, Chicago maestros DJ Manny and DJ Phil twist and warp a vocal snippet from Lulu’s cover of The Isley Brothers ‘Shout’ into a juke-inflected, blistering cacophony. With those decadent synths, driving percussion and smooth melody towards its finale, ‘Make Me Wanna’ kinda does… doesn’t it?
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UNiiQU3 ‘Mile High Club’ (Local Action)
Wispy percussion, languidly oscillating synths and a jelly-like bassline, UNiiQU3’s new single ‘Mile High Club’ is the sonic embodiment of a queueless trip through airport security, of being upgraded to first class, of touching down 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Add in the Jersey club Queen’s trademark catchy vocals, and we can’t help but ascend to 737 heights.
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LUXE 'flow out' (Mercury KX)
Mura Masa & Ledbyher ‘Needja’ (Pond Recordings)
We were already feeling good about Pond Recordings, the independent imprint Mura Masa launched after growing sick of being a cog in the major label machine. Now with ‘Needja’ landing as one of the first collaborations released by the outlet, we’re all in. Serving up a sound coined as “emo-breaks” by Mura Masa, he lays a foundation of melancholic guitar and d’n’b drums, which Ledbyher’s emotional bars glide above in her signature drawl. The accompanying video leans heavily in '00s nostalgia, looking like it was shot on a Sony Ericsson camera phone and edited on Windows Movie Maker, and uploaded to MySpace, complete with a group of friends forming a star sign out of fingers.
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6SISS ‘Helium Optic’ (Terra Atomika)
Opening with a blaring that sounds like a nuclear power plant warning of impending meltdown, the title-track of 6SISS’ new EP on Terra Atomika only gets more urgent and frantic from there. Palpitating percussion, heavy synths and and urgent whizzes and whirs ramp up in ever-increasing intensity, before a spooky breakdown preludes a final assault.
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Sophia Stel ‘Molly In The Club’ (A24 Music)
“Molly in the club, I feel amazing” sings Sophia Stel on her wonderful new single ‘Molly In The Club’. A message we can all relate to, and another anthem in the Canadian artist’s growing catalogue of heaters. Long-held chords act like the low level buzz of euphoria, while moments of more frantic melody mimic the come-up, all complemented by her blissed-out, airy vocals.
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Hijinx ‘Deflect’ (INGRAM)
Melding icy bass tones, skittering percussion and deftly warped vocals, this an addictive cut of low-end pressure from Bristol’s Hijinx. Landing on linchpin radio station Rinse FM’s in-house record label INGRAM which launched last year, it slots neatly that lineage, cut from a distinctly UK cloth, blending heritage and forward momentum.
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