Under the Radar - May

Glasgow party turned label, Erosion enters the fray with its first release from London’s Slacker on ‘View from an Empty Lake’, with an added dose of Doctor Jeep, who tackles a remix of ‘Shuttered’. Dark, gritty, and metallic club constructions are the order here across 4 original workings of UK techno and bass runners.

Rory Sweeney’s Carlos Danger moniker returns with the Irish Hash Mafia mixtape. Paying homage to 90s Southern US hip-hop forms like Memphis and trap, alongside trinkles of experimental grime and hip-hop, Sweeney gathers together an eclectic group of Ireland’s current wave of hip-hop artists across 12 tracks. Think E THE ARTIST, Ahmed with Love, Smokey, & more. Then think Tommy Wright, Lil Ugly Mane, Princess Loko. Sounds good right?

Has there been a more anticipated release in this first half of the year than SLOUCHO’s debut full feature? An artist of the moment, the Irish act has worked tirelessly to bring together NPC’s world of duality, mining sonics with an intriguing visual playground to uncover the ins and outs of the SLOUCHO world. 9 tracks full of heartfelt two steps, neo-grime, organ bass and ambient featuring dreamy team ups with a plethora of fellow Irish talent in EMBY, Curtisy, Rory Sweeney & more. NPC should have your attention by the end of this read if not already.

Ethereal yet haunting deconstructions from the Istanbul based Rumina & Starleaf on Ecuador’s C. T.M. Fixating on tribal tones with layered elements of glitching dembow and hard drum, this two tracker finds a way to lure with harmonic backgrounds and tentative percussion of a dystopian nature.

Dawn Razor and ArcheTech, two friends and two-thirds of the once-active trio Sonnen Blumen Kerne, have collaborated to deliver an album of tracks previously released exclusively on vinyl through Dawn Razor’s NARA Records. When Lobster Theremin ceased operations, the stock of these releases was lost, leaving only brief preview snippets online. A collection of 10 tracks that blur the boundaries between slammin' electro, breakbeat, and mutated bass, all with a minimalist edge.

In a blizzard of noise-speckled, ice-cold beatdowns from the London underground, Sneaker Social Club welcomes back Ivy Lab to the fold. The 20/20 LDN squad build upon their renewed focus on brittle, incisive uptempo dancefloor gear for the gritty end of the night. From the scathing mids and tops of ‘OURDOGISMISSING’ via the densely packed jungle tekno abstraction of ‘Torpedo’ on to the high octane drum flex of ‘12345’, this is a razor sharp, ear-snagging blast of dancefloor modernism from a crew with their own twisted vision of what slaps on a system.

Belfast’s Swoose continues on his assured rise to prominence in 2024 with this hard house manifesto on Saoirse’s trUst imprint. The Irish act has once again crafted a firm mould of deep, sincere energies with heady club grooves across these 4 tracks. ‘Cubensis’ is the stand out with its fizzing acidic 4x4 pump sure to arouse any club floor.

Scottish post-punk outfit 22 Beaches receive the reissue treatment on Glasgow label Seated Records, compiling the sounds that defined the Stirling band throughout their formative years during ‘80-’84. Peers of bands like Cocteau Twins and The Wake, although never quite reaching their levels of commercial success, 22 Beaches output in terms of production and performance was vast during their short 4 year stint as a group. This release of mostly unheard recordings uncovers sounds of raw punk & funk, through to balearica and psych folk across 8 hits.

Surging, anthemic amapiano, gqom and afrotech cuts from Wes Lee out on DRMTRK. Centred on primal percussion and deep ridging bass lines, the Amsterdam based act derives incredible energies from these minimally layered tracks, highlighting the power within the instrumentals used.

Edinburgh based audio-visual duo Muto Major deliver their first recordings to the world on city imprint Paradise Palms with the MOTHERC0DE EP. Deriving a multitude of sonic spheres from techno roots across 3 no nonsense tracks, the pair unlock grooves through gqom, Latin funk, and electro textures.

Berlin electro favourites, Raiders, celebrate 5 years in the game with a mini compilation featuring 5 tracks from the collective’s founding members. Packed with zorby electro, summery house pumps, Baltimore-Jersey tinges, and 160 transmissions, these numbers align with the stylistic diversity the imprint has become known for since its inception back in 2019. Feat. hits from Young Lychee, DJ Fucks Himself, DJ Nortside, Souci & $ombi.

Barcelona’s MIA FLAW receives the remix treatment on last year’s hard trance hit ‘Martillaso’. Acts like Sukubratz, Oxtek, and Licra offer alternative realities via dark techno, neoperreo, dembow & more on the Deprerreo imprint.

Locked and loaded single with rumbling basses in one corner and Emz’ in-your-face vocals in the other. At 168 bpm, it's weighty and full of tension thanks to the violin stabs you’d get in a horror slasher.

Any funk at the minute is just a bit of a cheat code?! T.NO from Amsterdam serves up some Brazilcussion in KIKANDO and DDDD DJ! Bewitching vibes with all the right elements in place; over-saturated kicks and cool-as vocals.

A bold collision of dubstep, breakbeats and drum and bass. ‘In My Fury’ is the sound of Jan Loup channelling personal challenges into empowering music that serves as a soundtrack to a therapeutic warrior dance. Cimer from Toulouse for the sound system testers.

Comprised of dirt under your nails, dust in your eyes, and hazy half memories from a few nights ago. The debut release by Cades on Grand Prix Records provides a fragmenting, melting, readjusting and cobbled EP of alien basses and fx.

Pineapple records give us a collection of exceptional UKG-flavoured yet totally unique tracks from Manchester’s Chimpo. Sam Binga’s 4x4 remix hits like a rocket. It was the mental remix we caught a listen to first before getting to enjoy the whole lot together.

Martyn, the Dutch artist now based in Washington D.C., just dropped an absolute gem. "Through Lines" serves up 12 low-tempo electronic tracks that are pure magic. It's more like a historical document of his life between 2005-2015, all remastered and fresher than ever. Groovy stuff with his timeless remix of TRG’s “Broken Heart,” and the deep, rare cut “Friedrichstrasse.”

Mutual Pleasure records lead hottie Partiboi69 appears on Raredub’s seductive Rare, Raw, and Ready EP with his usual lyrical flow. It sits nicely placed in the middle of some heavy no-filler techno bangers. Think FJAAK, X Club, KETTAMA.