DJ Druzz vs. OMEGA MUs, “Apeman” (Throne of Blood)
The Rapture’s Gabe Andruzzi gets tribal with an unhinged anthem in the style of Mu’s “Paris Hilton.”
DJ Marfox, “Mitologia” (Príncipe)
Kuduro meets U.K. funky, thumbs its nose at conventional tuning, swallows a whistle.
DJ Q, “Brandy & Coke” (Local Action)
More garage? You bet.
DJ Rashad, “We Leanin” (Lit City Trax)
Is what getting trepanned feels like? One of the furthest-out tracks on an LP that rewrites the rules of footwork.
DJ Sotofett, “Åsså Med Den Derre Fløyta (Video Bootleg Med Den Elektriske Fløyta)” (Wania)
Sex Tags Mania co-founder DJ Sotofett does a barefoot rain dance for his Wania sub-label. If you buy one tribal house record with free-jazz flute on it this year, make it this one.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q0IoJO23-TU
DjRum, “Mountains Pt. 1 (Pedestrian’s Pirate Radio Remix)” (2nd Drop)
Moody, muscular, late-night U.K. house with personality (and bass to spare).
Elgato, “Zone” (Hessle Audio)
A black hole throbbing at the center of the bass-music universe.
Four Tet, “128 Harps” (Text Records)
The plucked strings are old hat for Four Tet, but the groove is among his best; his rhythms just get tighter and tighter.
Function, “Inter” (Sandwell District)
Who says techno can’t be sentimental? A four-to-the-floor tear-jerker.
Geeeman, “Bang’t” (Clone Jack for Daze Series)
A no-holds-barred jack track with cutting claps and queasy organs.
WK7, “Do It Yourself” (Power House)
An unmarked white label of this Shed side project briefly turned the techno underground upside down, and flooded Hard Wax with queries; fortunately, it got a digital release.
