This month’s column marks the first time it’s also being published over on Kmag (the new online home of the now defunct Knowledge magazine). So you can now read it here or there, as you wish. Monthly new music fill up, you know the deal.

Playlist of the month

This month’s playlist has a distinct electronic/dance music edge to it from producers in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Not really on purpose, just a lot of quality electronic music in my inbox recently.

First up is Dokkebi Q, a Japanese duo composed of Gorgonn on the boards and Kiki (aka Hitomi from King Midas Sound) on vocals (as well as production I believe). These guys have been making music together for a while from their Dalston home though I first met them when I was living in Tokyo in ‘08, round about the time they started to make some noise on the dubstep and alternative electronic ’scenes’. Titled ‘Hardcore Cherry Bonbon’ the album should be out in the coming months via their 3qreq imprint – it’s a compilation of new and older tracks, twisting between dub, jungle and breakcore/noise with surprising ease. I’ve picked ‘Black Vomit’ as a preview. Don’t let the name fool you though, it’s a surprisingly mellow dub ballad with edited amens and some lovely singing by Kiki. Keep an eye out on their site for more news of the release. And if you haven’t yet also look at their side projects including King Midas Sound (with The Bug and Roger Robinson) and Devilman.

Next is Funki Porcini, a name that should be familiar to anyone who like me spent too much time obsessing over releases by Ninja Tune in the 90s. The funky mushroom man returns with a new LP on Ninja this May. Titled ‘On’ is a real delight of an album, a perfect continuation of his work in the 90s with a distinct mellow, some may call it ambient vibe to it. Personally it’s hitting the spot. I’ve chosen ‘Undermud’ as a taster, and I think it gives a nice insight into the whole album. If you can’t wait till May you can bag his previous album on his bandcamp for a fiver.

Vex’d shouldn’t really need any introduction, considering the fundamental part they played in the birth of the dubstep sound and scene with their debut album ‘Degenerate’ on Planet Mu back in ‘05. Having geographically separated a few years later, with Roly moving to Bristol and Jamie to Berlin, the duo have reformed (well sort of) for a long overdue second opus on Mu. Combining previously released singles and tracks with some new ones, ‘Cloud Seed’ is as good a follow up as the fans are going to get and definitely shows that the duo are still heads above most when it comes to the quality of their productions and delivering style over substance. I’ve picked ‘Disposition’ with Jest on vocals over one of their previously released singles (I can’t remember which one though – anyone?) – a perfect blend of hip hop and dubstep if you will. I heavily recommend you check the album, which should be out this month, as it’s full of gems you may have missed like their amazing remix of Plaid. And the new tracks are pretty bad too. And if you’re wondering what they’ve been up to since Degenerate, check Jamie’s solo stuff on Mu under both Jamie Vex’d and Kuedo. Styles for days.

We stay with Berlin-based UK ex-pats with a track from the forthcoming Scuba album, his second, due out end of the month on his Hotflush imprint. ‘Triangulation’ is as beautiful as its predecessor, no mean feat considering both the expectations and difficulties of producing an album within a dance music genre. Scuba is by far one of the most able producers to achieve this though and the whole thing is quite frankly perfect, varying in styles, moods and atmospheres effortlessly and without once leaving you wanting to skip ahead. I’ve picked ‘So You Think You’re Special’ which has a haunting female vocal that reminds me a lot of the recent Club Autonomic work DBridge and Instra:mental have been doing. And I mean that in a good way. Definitely album of the month for me.

Pursuit Grooves is a New York-based female producer and singer whose latest mini-album, ‘Fox Trot Mannerisms’, is being released by Bristol label Tectonic, home to Pinch, Joker and RSD among others. To say I was surprised to hear she would be releasing on the label is an understatement, but it’s the good kind of surprise. Not just because she’s a talented artist, but also because it shows that Tectonic is another label that understands the need to step away from being boxed and instead focus on releasing quality music, regardless of tags. Back to the music though, she manages to cover some serious ground over 7 tracks, and most of which you probably wouldn’t expect on a Tectonic release. ‘Shabaps’ is smooth, with tinges of house and definitely hits the spot. She also has a mean live show so we’ll hopefully have more chances of catching her once this drops, which should be early April.

Rounding things up this month is Cali-based Free the Robots whose debut album for Alpha Pup (the label behind the now semi-legendary Low End Theory parties) drops end of the month. ‘Ctrl Alt Delete’ has been a long time coming and the wait was worth it. If you’ve been following the rise of the beats/electronic hip hop scene over the last couple of years then you’ll have a good idea what to expect, as Free the Robots is very much part of the L.A beat scene. The album however eschews the more obvious, sample-based, straight-up beat approach for a more electronic one, heavy on both the sub and the rhythmic intricacies. Sort of like IDM you can dance to (j/k). Ironically ‘Turkish Voodoo’ is the one track on the album that has more of a sample-based approach to it, being built around a, you guessed it, Turkish funk sample. It’s dope though and so is the rest of the album. Check the Alpha Pup site for a freebie that gives you an idea of the more sub-heavy, dancefloor tracks on there.

Musical round up of the month

Freebies and others found online for your aural pleasure.

Mux Mool – Viking Funeral EP
Mux Mool has just released his new album, ‘Skulltaste’, on Ghostly International today. In case you’re not familiar with the man, if so I recommend you fix up asap, here’s a free EP called Viking Funeral the label gave away in the run up to the release.

Himuro Yoshiteru – do it ourself EP

Himuro is a Tokyo-based producer I met/discovered via Soundcloud. Like many of the Japanese producers I know he manages to have a certain uniqueness to his productions that sets them apart from the template approach too many people rely on today,
whether in hip hop or electronic music. This self-released EP can be purchased for 350yen, which is I think about 3 pounds these days. Look out for his album ‘Where Does Sound Come From’ on Murder Channel later this month. It’s big, bad and heavy.

Brey – Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Brey – Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy by Brey

Brey is someone else I discovered via Soundcloud. And every new tune he puts up grabs my attention. This is one of the latest, and I recommend you check his page for more.

Om Unit remixes
Remixes by omunit

I’m not even going to lie, Om Unit is one my closest friends so I am biased. But his music has been getting a lot of attention recently and that’s because it deserves it. With a long-overdue EP on Terrorhythm in the next month, a 7″ on All-City records earlier this year and lots more coming up he’s going to be in a lot of places this year. The above Soundcloud set rounds up five of his upcoming remixes, including the mighty Digidesign one and a free Mahavishnu Orchestra one on a late night tip. Get to know if you haven’t yet.

Bug – Cosmic Lab

Last one this month is courtesy of London-producer Bug (someone may want to tell him about the other Bug btw) who has released the above single for free via his bandcamp and in association with the recently founded Jus Like Music records, an offshot of the Jus Like Music blog. Definitely a nice opening shot which should make following this guy around interesting.