February: 7 bass & club releases you need to hear this month

NAR 'Jujeh' EP (Doom Dab)

Underground club music is constantly dealing with concepts of fragmentation. Various patterns and sounds are moved from their geographical roots and placed against those of other locales; noises once thought incompatible together bump up against each other in the mix. Los Angeles producer NAR demonstrates mastery of both phenomena on their latest project, ‘Jujeh’, which harmoniously combines distinctive samples (Arabic prayer vocals, the call of a whale) with more general club motifs. ‘Masjid’ features footwork-like kick patterns, echoing vocals and a rhythm that cracks like a whip, while ‘Joon’ starts with a clear, slinky synth line that becomes more and more distorted, until all that’s left is the sound of a bouncing basketball. These discordant pieces blend together naturally until they fade into the ether, fragments becoming part of a cycle.

9/10