June: Bass tracks you need to hear this month

The Bug feat Riko Dan 'Iceman' (Ninja Tune)

Kevin Martin’s experimental roots have ensured he’s always been something of an outlier in dubstep and grime, but his personal philosophy of sonic destruction in volume and bass dovetails perfectly with both genres. ‘Iceman’, which features Roll Deep’s Riko Dan, is sure to tear the roof off, with its minimalist bass allowing room for the production flourishes to breathe. Let’s all just accept that he’s very good at what he does.

8/10

DVA 'Take It All' (Hyperdub)

Scratcha, DVA, Leon Smart: however you refer to him, the producer’s been around for long enough to have established his own musical personality. Unsurprisingly for anyone who used to enjoy his long-running Grimey Breakfast Show on Rinse FM, it’s a pretty sunny one. Like much of his previous work, ‘Take It All’ draws deep on soul and r’n’b flavours (especially on the title track, with its gorgeous vocal) and his usual club energy, but somehow sounds even more sci-fi high-definition than usual. The limited 10” release has four tracks in total, including a collaboration with Simbad and a remix from Sinjin Hawke, while the digital version gives you a further three remixes. It’s surprisingly cohesive, and that’s mostly down to DVA’s flexibility.

8/10

Lee Gamble 'Chain Kinematics' (UIQ)

UIQ is Lee Gamble’s own imprint, which launched last year with an EP from N1L. ‘Chain Kinematics’ is the label’s third release, and the first in the ‘Inversion’ series devoted to Gamble’s own works (his fans will probably recognise a play on the title of his 2012 ‘Diversions’ release). As a producer, Gamble is capable of a lot of things, but these four tracks are examples of one of his key abilities: they start from the dancefloor but launch out into unknown realms. Neither techno nor jungle is what it seems here and, like Burial, Gamble has developed his own brand of haze which is both a signature and unifying aesthetic. While the first two tracks contain soundclashes that do more to disorient, the latter half of the release uses similar tactics but flips the balance for some deliciously wobbly groove. Never a dull moment.

7/10

Ziúr 'Taiga' (Infinite Machine)

For Berliners, the debut release from producer Ziúr hits the right note before you even listen to it. Its 21st century pop-art sleeve was designed by Stefan Fähler, whose work is familiar to anyone who’s even considered going to Gegen, the city’s favorite queer techno party in a sex club –automatic spiritual alignment. Musically, there’s kinship with the likes of Janus, NON and Halcyon Veil. But whereas this scene can regularly descend into a maelstrom of aggy bombast and sonic affect, Ziúr always feels tight and controlled, keeping an eye on the dancefloor and riding the right side of musicality. It certainly doesn’t sound like the work of a beginner. It’s impressive enough at this level, but then you get to the EP’s fourth track, ‘Lilith’, an absolute banger of hybridised hip hop featuring the incredible MC RIN, rapping in Japanese. With both production and bars of this quality, there’s a new gold standard in post-genre club music. Add two remixes – an enjoyable dubsteppy number from Born In Flamez, plus Air Max ’97 outdoing PC Music
for ‘Lilith’– and this is surely the start of something beautiful for Ziúr.

8/10

Raime 'Tooth' (Blackest Ever Black)

Back in 2010, the rise of gloomy duo Raime seemed to signal a (re)turn towards a lumbering post-industrial sound. Since then, electronic music has been awash with such darkness, particularly in techno and experimental quarters. But despite having a headstart on the competition, Raime – aka Joe Andrews and Tom Halstead – seemed to go quiet; in fact, their last release in 2013 came under the moniker of Moin instead, and their use of guitars, drum and vocals made them sound more like a band than a production act. On their new album, though, the pair are using their old name once again. With ‘Tooth’, Andrews and Halstead have seemingly folded the aims of both projects together: there are guitars and drums here, but they’re played sparingly and are more heavily processed and edited, resulting in an even greater sense of tension than before.

7/10

Young Male 'Hot For Destiny And The Street' (White Material)

The White Material label co-founder returns after a three-year hiatus with his third EP of stripped-down techno. With plenty of punch and steely energy, it’s easy to imagine this on the most discerning of dancefloors. What the title track lacks in imagination it makes up for in reliable propulsion and quality production, but things really start to get interesting on the two B-sides. ‘Grey Gotham’ takes an off-beat kick and nervous hi-hats to scale up to peak-time excitement, while ‘Drug Deal Videos’ drops the fourth kick to create a club version of John Carpenter-esque tension. It may be a dark place, but it’s one you’ll want to explore.

7/10

Air Max ’97 'HPE' (Decisions)

People often speak of Melbourne-based producer Air Max ‘97 in terms of grime, but in reality he draws more from genres such as Jersey club and internet expansionism. Really, though, you may as well abandon any obvious genre signposts with his new release ‘HPE’ – and that’s exciting. Consisting of four tracks of varied and largely unclassifiable club mutations, there’s a lot of pleasing clangs, clanks and various other machine noises here, as well as a few laser synths thrown in for good measure. And it’s all tied together with a regimented beat and relentless energy, too: the dancefloor has thankfully become a more experimental place, but keeping a focus on its power and the imperative to move is an important idea that Air Max ’97 holds onto.

8/10