The best albums and EPs of the year 2023 so far - July - Music - Mixmag

Burial & Kode9 ‘Infirmary / Unknown Summer’ (fabric Originals)

After teasing their first link-up in five years via cryptic billboards around East London, Kode9 and Burial put out a joint two-tracker, ‘Infirmary / Unknown Summer’ on fabric’s flagship record label, fabric Originals. The record welcomes a slightly meatier cut from Burial than his recent ambient-leaning productions with ‘Unknown Summer’, while Kode9’s disassembled footwork track ‘Infirmary’ provides full-throttle kicks and the redolence of Hyperdub nostalgia.

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FAFF ‘Camp Summer Hits’ (Planet Euphorique)

Two years after they first formed, Big Dyke Energy residents FAFF land on D. Tiffany’s Planet Euphorique with five cuts of pure rave ecstasy. The duo whip up warm, euphoric breaks and sliced vocals in a frenzy of nostalgic rave melodies, all squeezed together to provide five surefire dancefloor killers.

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Ana Roxanne & DJ Python ‘Natural Wonder Beauty Concept’ (Mexican Summer)

‘Natural Wonder Beauty Concept’ is a new 10-track release from Ana Roxanne and DJ Python, fusing their prowess in ambient and club music respectively. The pair put together a body of work that sounds effortlessly coherent over 10 tracks, both musing on their individual gripes with loneliness as musicians as we hear each provide hauntingly delicate vocals - DJ Python’s for the first time ever on a record. Ana Roxanne and DJ Python’s first collaborative work is contemplative, sometimes drifting into moments of ambience or trip-hop, giving the pair a “creative licence of freedom”.

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DJ Marky ‘The Time Is Right’ (Shogun Audio)

It’s difficult not to get on board with an album that has been created by someone who just loves music. Created off the back of a plethora of personal struggles for the Brazilian drum ‘n’ bass pioneer, DJ Marky’sThe Time is Right’ is one of those records that sits elegantly between playfully boundary-pushing and deeply resonant. Similarly to his work on 2003’s ‘In Rotation’ with XRS, Marky’s newest record focuses on genre fluidity — combining elements of funk, soul, disco into raucous drum ‘n’ bass — giving listeners the opportunity to embark on something much deeper, and more altruistic. Highlights include the beautiful strings of ‘Colours Of My Mind’ and the cleverly employed Sylvester sample in ‘Sliding Gliding’. DJ Marky at his emotionally-tinged, groove-heavy, rowdy best.

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IMOGEN ‘Albert Road’ (Steel City Dance Discs)

An explosive debut on Steel City Dance Discs for London’s resident speed queen, IMOGEN brings the same no-nonsense slam to ‘Albert Road’ as her hard-as-nails techno sets; with a winning formula of spine-tingling bass, keening acid and hearty breaks — the record manages to slap you in the face while remaining lighthearted, employing tongue-in-cheek sampling, effervescent vocals and some unpredictable corner turns to keep you on your toes.

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Yetsuby ‘Water Flash’ (Third Place)

In its traditional employment of providing the edge and substance to a track, it’s rare for percussion to feel as floaty and effervescent as it does within Yetsuby’sWater Flash’. Delicate, shuffling pads consistently dance alongside the Seoul-based artist’s bleeps and bloops to the point where at times they are indiscernible from each other, relying instead on low-end bubbling synths for depth. Whether employed in the energised ‘Electro Union’, or the more muted and subtle '물먹는하마’, it’s glittering, positive drums that take centre stage. Boundlessly optimistic, while still peaking your curiosity; a record for if you want to be blissed-out while simultaneously being challenged.

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Disclosure ‘Alchemy’ (Apollo Records, AWAL Recordings LTD)

From the get-go, Disclosure re-jog our memory to their treasured sound. Floating in with ‘Looking For Love’ the album kicks straight into action into a world of blissful synths. The only difference with this album is that there are no samples or features, but instead, Howard’s own vocals. The holy grail of this project has to be ‘Higher Than Before’, which rolls forward on a pulse of warm breaks and dreamy singing. 10 years may have passed but Disclosure have still got it.

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SUCHI ‘Birdy Bell’ (Spectral Sound, Ghostly International)

Made up of four tracks, SUCHI has delivered quality over quantity with her new EP, ‘Birdy Bell’. This powehouse of an EP will make you surrender to its relentless booming bass. Opening with the title-track, she explores a soundscape built for the club. Nick León adds his own spin of this track to the end of the EP with a more techno-infused yet violent and industrial perception. Sandwiched between these two takes of ‘Birdy Bell’ is ‘100 Rupees’ and ‘All The Time’. Both running on very different BPMs yet still draw you in even when paired next to each other.

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J Hus ‘Beautiful and Brutal Yard’ (Black Butter)

J Hus’ third studio album, ‘Beautiful and Brutal Yard’, has further cemented him as one of the most consistent rappers in the UK music scene. From future classic Afrobeat bangers such as ‘Palm Tree’ and ‘Masculine’, to hard-hitting drill tunes ‘Cream’ and ‘Bim Bim’ and the all-conquering ‘Who Told You’ which has implanted its lyrics on the nation’s minds, J Hus shows off his versatility, shape-shifting effortlessly across multiple genres and styles. Huge features from Jorja Smith, Burna Boy, CB and Popcaan make this album another classic to J Hus’ already impressive catalogue.

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1905 ‘Never Been 2 Bristol’ (Former City Records)

Owner of the German-based Former City Records imprint, 1905’s most recent release’s title reflects the far-reaching impact of Bristol’s stamp on club music. Each of the four tracks catapult listeners right in the middle of the city’s jungle scene at the turn of the millennium, in all of its breakbeat and ragga glory. The A1 cut uses sampled MCing from Kool FM’s ‘Jungle Fever’ event series, layered over dark side jungle basslines and chopped up breaks, with R&B vocal samples creeping in towards the end. The next two tracks ‘Jngl Massive’ and ‘Doss Bass’ begin with horn-led sunny jazz melodies that promptly erupts into a bass-led breaks exchange with transcendent ethereal chords complemented by snippets of more sampled MCs. The EP’s titular final track is a showcase in itself, fusing happy hardcore synth chords with classic d’n’b low ends, a swinging groove and airy vocal samples.

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Nikki Nair, Breaka and Thys ‘Extra Playtime; (Future Classic)

This EP comes as a fusion between three industry heavyweights renowned for their creative compositions. Atlanta-based producer Nikki Nair spearheads the transatlantic project, inviting London-based Breaka and Dutch don Thys to collaborate on this EP of four genre-bending cuts. The opening track is a future bass meets electro smasher, with a thumping beat underneath repetitive vocals, complemented by spacey laser zaps. The following track, ‘The Zoomies’, matches its interstellar predecessor by opening with pleasant, ascending synth notes layered under warped baritone utterances of ‘your conscious, your subconscious’. The track then develops into four-to-the-floor, booty-shaking techno heaven. Thys first appears on the third track, an electro meets percussion gem with an extremely satisfying breakdown that paves the way for the more 2-step leaning elements of the EP. The final track is a classically sunny 2-step cut, showing the true versatility of the producers involved.

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Shygirl ‘Nymph In The Wild’ (Because Music)

As with the foundational elements of Shygirl’s sound, ‘Nymph In The Wild’ takes a delicate, otherworldly approach to music - with dancefloors in mind, as always. The Mercury Prize nominee’s recently released EP blends updated, “wilder” live edits of gems like ‘Shlut’ from her 2022 album debut ‘Nymph’ with new material. The lead-off begins in earnest with four bars of fingerstyle melancholia before a muffled on-beat bass introduces the gentle vocals of Erika de Casier. A beautiful breakbeat composition then gets layered over the vocalists ethereal harmonisations, creating a perfect backdrop for the wistful lyrics. The EP’s heavy hitting omega is a spacey mashup of DJ Zinc’s absolute UK club classic ‘138 Trek ‘, booming under Shygirl’s introspective, seductive, self-affirming rap with a trap leaning intro and a synthy outro.

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Carré ‘Tilted’ (SPE​:​C)

LA-based DJ, producer and Fast At Work party-thrower Carré’s debut EP lands with a crash on fellow bassweight fiend Darwin’s SPE:C imprint. A-side track ‘Titled’ is a murky sub rattler, blending sparse but fast percussion, atmospheric echoes and throbbing bass into a moody, heads-down heater. The warm pads of ‘Fainting’ feel like coming up for air, with a dreamier approach that still keeps the pace and bass rolling.

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Pigeon Steve ‘FS1’ (Future State)

New Glasgow imprint Future State launches with a trippy, trancey four-track from local hero Pigeon Steve. Opening track ‘Do You Wish To Be Saved?’ slots foreboding speech samples in between melodies that oscillate disorientatingly, leading into ‘Chuffalump’ which squelches and gently soars in a style akin to AFX. ‘Trancit (Hypno Mix)’ combines those approaches with extra weight at the core, before closer ‘Polemico’ hits with more straightforward dancefloor impact, but stays weird with off-kilter chimes and dehumanised vocal murmurs.

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Jessy Lanza ‘Love Hallucination’ (Hyperdub)

Jessy Lanza recently moved to Los Angeles with the aim of writing more music for other artists in the star-studded city — but heading to LA with plans that go awry is a well-trodden path. Finding herself writing some of the most intimate music of career - and having received a few rejections (that’s Hollywood!) - she instead ended up making an album of her own. Apparently freed by the process of writing with other’s in mind, the lyrics are more soul-bearing than Lanza has ever sounded, from the salacious story-telling of ‘Marathon’ to the dejected refrain of ‘Don’t Leave Me Now’ (inspired by dealing with of agorophobia after a close shave with a car), while ‘I Hate Myself’ takes its needy lyrics from the Prefab Sprout’s “I hate myself / 'cause you're so cool” line in ‘Wild Horses’. While the words go into confessional nit and grit, the production — aided by Jacques Greene, Paul White, Pearson Sound, Junior Boys’ Jeremy Greenspan and Tensnake — is mostly warm and woozy, with ‘Limbo’ serving up a truly anthemic pop moment (and an accompanying video featuring a person in full gimp suit reflecting Lanza’s idiosyncrasy).

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