Various Artists 'Back and 4th' (Hotflush)
Hotflush is a label that should need no introduction, straddling the divides between dubstep, house and techno with never less than complete assurance. Here, bossman Scuba curates a double CD of past and future classics on the label, featuring standout tracks from the likes of Boxcutter, George Fitzgerald, Roska and, of course, Joy Orbisons' ubiquitous 'Hyph Mngo', probably the labels biggest track to date. If you're looking for dubstep purism move along - the tracks here all push and pull at the boundaries of bass music with a depth and complexity that is the Hotflush signature.
5/5
Peverelist 'Dance Til The Police Come/Fundamentals' (Hessle Audio)
A key player in the Bristol dubstep scene, this is Peverelists first appearance on Hessle and he debuts with style. A side 'Dance Til The Police Come' is a relentless percussive tease, dissonant metallic tones getting tweakier and tweakier over a rhythm that is driving and insistent, yet never quite drops. Sure to bend a few brains and possibly buckle a few bins! 'Fundamentals' also features teasing, rolling drums but with more of a sci-fi vibe thanks to weirdo strings and textures, a little more meditative than the A, which edges it for me.
5/5
Om Unit 'The Timps EP' (Civil Music)
Following on from releases on labels as diverse sonically as they are geographically, LA's Om Unit drops a huge slab of electro on your asses. Dark synth riffs bubble in and out of tech-infused drum machine patterns on a trio of tracks that could really have been made any time in the last 30 years but nothing here is stale, all have a classic and futuristic feel about them. Remixes come courtesy of downtempo reworks by Salva and Hrdvsion.
4/5
