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

Various 'Harmony From A Dominant Hue' (Body Promise)

Amelia Jenner and Doug Wright have been hosting their radio show, Body Promise, on Sydney’s FBi Click station for over two years. It’s an homage to underground club sounds from all over the world, and they’ve had vibrant guest mixes from artists such as YancityGurl, Mina, Lil Tantrum and Morten HD. It follows, then, that the duo’s first release as a label is an impressive compilation of original sounds featuring Jikuroux, rapper Kimchi Princi and Chunyin (who makes experimental pop under the moniker Rainbow Chan), as well as friends from around the globe including Mexico’s Mya Gomez (in a collab with Felix Idle) and Portugal’s Elite Athlete.

The record manages to masterfully blend together 15 expressive tracks of house, techno and experimental club music. As the comp’s title suggests, what unites the songs is a feeling – each cut hones in on a dark and anticipatory vibe, capturing that moment when you’re walking down the stairs to the basement venue and can hear thin strands of bass and melody seeping through the walls. Highlights include DJ Plead’s ‘Levant Motors’, which features gauzy chords and sparse percussion; spooky, rolling techno from Elisabeth Dixon; and ‘To Be Possessed’, a roiling, crashing banger by Marcus Whale under the alias Marcus (Not Singing).

9/10