This year, FACT Magazine offered me the opportunity to compile a “25 Best Club Tracks Of 2015” list and after weeks of agonizing over the selections, it went live last week to many readers’ consternation. Unfortunately, a good deal of tracks that I would have liked to include didn’t fit in to the feature’s scope, which was more of less limited to club-focused material and original works (a self-imposed limitation). The following 25 tracks either aren’t aimed at the dancefloor, fit the club-theme or just didn’t quite fit the rubric for the column. Like the FACT list, we’ve kept this one in alphabetic order and considering that these songs come from across a ridiculously wide spectrum we felt there was no need to order them otherwise. Hit the links below to listen to each respective track and enjoy. Big thanks to anyone and everyone who has stuck with us, enjoyed our releases and/or followed the FACT column.
We’ve been a little behind on a our daily posting and while it’s been necessary to push some of that material into our monthly FACT column and various radio ventures, it would have been a travesty to miss out on covering Iglew‘s debut EP on Mr. Mitch‘s Gobstopper Records. Since hearing the demos last year and immediately signing the Leeds-based producer on for an Astral Plane mix, we’ve been readily awaiting the announcement for the Urban Myth EP and there isn’t a better place for it than Gobstopper. And while the rest of the tracks on the EP are more or less based in grime’s square wave legacy, “Urban Myth” is a solitary track built on a beatific Japanese koto sounding melody and swaths of low end pads. It’s easy to enter something of a hypnotic state when listening to Urban Myth as a whole and the title track exemplifies that best. Or as Iglew told FACT, “[I] like thinking of music in terms of escapism, whether that’s delving into your own imagination when listening individually, or becoming part of a body of individuals having a collective listening experience.” Urban Myth is out in digital and vinyl formats on April 27 via Gobstopper. Hit the jump for snippets of the full EP.
It’s only been a few days since we dropped Heterotopia Remixes Vol. 2, but it’s hard not to look on to the next and final volume in the series. That being said, it almost seems like we’re getting a rhythm down with these releases and it’s a pleasure to see a good deal of our readers coming back for each of our first three releases. You can check out the full release down below, as well as the tracks that hadn’t been premiered previously after the jump, or just head straight to our Bandcamp for the free download. Thanks to everyone involved, including our own team of Sam and Will. Can’t wait to announce Vol. 3!
With less than 24 hours until release, we’ve got a roundup of a few more tracks from Heterotopia Remixes Vol. 2. The first is Air Max ’97’s bootleg version of Jacque Gaspard Biberkopf’s “Public Love”, premiered by the good folks at Liminal Sounds this morning. Because of a hard drive crash, the Melbourne-based producer was forced to go off of the MP3 version of Biberkopf’s original, but that just made his kinetic flip even more inventive. Second is Gobstopper signee Iglew’s take on Celestial Trax’s “Illuminate”, the most grime-leaning attempt from Vol. 2 and a peak time banger if I’ve ever heard one. Vol. 2 can be found here tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. Enjoy.
Without an official release, guest mix, or even online interview to his name, it’s not an easy task to gauge the output of British producer Iglew. There’s the “Iglew 01” mix uploaded last year featuring a combination of unreleased tracks and oddities from Mr. Mitch, Jam City, E+E and more. There’s a rip of one of his originals from one of Murlo’s Rinse FM appearances, a thrilling, albeit brief, two minutes of bright square wave fuzz and extravagant melodies that bring to mind Loom and Mssingno. And those two producers are probably the best place to start when considering Iglew, not just due to sonic crossover, but due to the fact that they are two acts who virtually sprung out of nowhere and are now lauded as some of the most creative producers in the UK.
What Iglew lacks in a track record, he makes up in demos and support; support from the likes of Mr. Mitch and Last Japan and a collection of wildly inventive demos that will hopefully reach the light of day soon in a release on the former’s Gobstopper Records. “Cascade”, the Murlo rip, is only recorded and clipped taste, but there are Iglew joints circulating in nearly every Boxed mix and his time-warped take on the devil mix palette has begun to garner support in ever-larger circles. For now, we’re happy to feature Iglew in our Astral Plane mix series and the 43 minutes of exclusives, rarities and general heat he turned in consistently flips the grime mold on its head. Filled with exclusives from himself and a host of talented young producers, the mix attains an aesthetic coherence even as it runs through 24 tracks in under forty five minutes. Iglew is clearly a melody technician in his own right and prides the work of likeminded producers, resulting in a head twisting effect as square waves and complicated chord patterns seem to constantly melt into harmonic bliss. You’ll also find a bit from Iglew himself that will appear on a forthcoming Astral Plane release!
The practice of cutting dubs is often viewed as a rather arcane, outdated practice to many people in my age bracket (early 20s), enmeshed in a culture of exclusivity and privilege. More often than not, owning a selection of dubs is presented less as a means of playing out on-the-cusp tracks than a fundamental status symbol, awarding the owner a step up over the plebes without Loefah b-sides. Of course, digital dub culture isn’t any less insidious and the more the forums, groups and download sites infringe on the cool kids table, the more unfortunate conflict arises among young kids and scene veterans, DJs and producers, the United States and the UK. South London’s Riz La Teef seems to be one of the few good natured proponents of dub culture and he has filtered that responsibility into a few dozen, exclusive-laden, mixes over the past 24 months. Rinsing everything from roots reggae to jump up bassline, Riz’s adherence to vinyl and access to dubs from the likes of JT The Goon, Rabit and Novelist make him one of the most in demand and well respected deejays in both his native London and among the hordes of dispersed garage fans across the internet. We asked Riz about his favorite dubs from the past year and he was kind of enough to list them out and take some lovely photos of his hand-marked classics to be. Not all of these tracks will be revealed in the next months, but they will certainly live on in infamy, thanks to Riz’s spacious repertoire, innate deck skills and engaging demeanor. Peep his choices and a slideshow of each and every dub listed.
Gundam – Pulse Wedding VIP (RIZLA SPESH)
Def one of my favourite dubs I’ve cut this year. Played it a day after I cut it in a dance and it got reloaded 4/5 times.
Brackles & Fox – Skank + Famous Eno Remix
Not really a dubplate, but both tunes have a top vibe.
E.M.M.A – Pyramids, Peridot & Light Years
Pyramids is the coldest beat made this year imo and not alot of Emma’s stuff hasn’t been pressed to wax so I had to cut the other two beats!
Fallow – Strings Hoe Refix (RIZLA SPECIAL)
Fallow is a guy to watch out for next year for sure both his refixes and original tunes are quality. Big up to him for doing me special of strings ho refix.
Grandmixxer – Windrush VIP
Melody is so good, has been in my head for weeks.
Boycott – Kowloon Bae (RIZ VIP)
The original is such a sick tune and the guys blessed me with a VIP. Proper colourful vibes.
Iglew – Sleep Lighter VIP
Again Iglew is another guy to watch out for in 2015. Everything he’s done this year has been pretty special – Urban Myth, Cascade etc
JT The Goon – Twin Warriors VIP & Polar
JT is one of the best snm. Polar is a rude beat.
Apple – De-Siegalizer (Logos Refix)
Great cheeky refix and the mastering by Jason on the dub is so good.
Loom & Tarquin – Pompelmo Riddim
Fruity, eski dancehall from another two guys who I expect to do big things next year.
Mssingno – XE2 VIP BIELDUB REMIX PART 1
Actually cut this last year, but battered that dub so much had to cut it again!
Rabit – Black Dragons
Again not a dubplate anymore but was so gassed when Glacial sent me this month or so before its release. GULLY
Shriekin’ – Red Beach VIP
Maybe my favourite tune of the year??
Silk Road Assassins – Deadcell
The waviest beat made this year.
Wen – Backdraft/Walton – Bulldoze
BANGERS
Novelist – Yakuta
So excited to be able to cut this, Novelist is huge rn and gonna be even bigger next year. Excels in both MCin’ & production.
Murlo – Into Mist/Roman Baths
Was lucky enough to cut these before they came out. Into Mist has been in my bag as soon as I got it.
The Astral Plane 