New releases last two weeks: Drum And Bass

Review: Ma?h is based in Berlin but makes occult techno inspired by Tikal, which is the ruin of an ancient Mayan city in Guatemala. He creates a sense of ancient ritual, tribalism, primaeval drums and otherworldly atmosphere across five fantastically evocative and escapist cuts here. They all go deep, with rubbery rhythms marbled with wordless vocals, chanting, eerie FX and absorbing mysticism that is all expertly done and hugely authentic. 'Acat' is a standout with its lolloping bass and tom-peppered beats, while 'Exorcismo' is more intense and heady. 'Caiman Ritual' is a humid and intense dub techno bumper, and it rounds out one of the most original EPs we've heard in ages.

Review: Machine Girl's debut album celebrates its tenth anniversary with a long-awaited reissue, which marks the first time it arrives on CD as well as vinyl. Originally released in 2014, WLFGRL fused footwork, jungle, digital hardcore and rave into a chaotic, euphoric sound that helped launch a global underground movement. The album's packed with raw intensity and plenty of breakcore influence so it introduced a new generation to extreme electronic music and to celebrate its return, a one-off livestreamed show at Brooklyn's Trans-Pecos accompanied the release. As we are reminded listening back now, WLFGRL is a real high-water mark in outsider music culture.

Review: Brenda's debut for Rupture LDN is a love letter to the dancefloor in all its phases, from early anticipation to late-night transcendence. Hailing from the UK and embedded in the country's long rave lineage, she draws on 4x4 jungle techno, deep d&b and spoken word to map out a personal and emotional arc. 'Come Undone' captures the energy of the night in full swingirushing breaks, euphoric pressure, the kind of track that commands the room. Elsewhere, 'Benda Brenda' and 'Total Danger' are raw-edged and jungle-rooted, while 'Rolling With Fabio' is deeper and more rolling. It all closes on 'A Deep Shade of Rave (Outro)', a poem dedicated to her long-running Ferry to the Underworld sessions at Corsica Studios. Spiritually full, physically rinsedithis EP nails what it means to live for the rave.

Review: Refreshers is a little-known alias of Lukid, an underrated producer who has previously explored murky lo-fi sounds on cult labels like Werk Discs. With this alias, though, he makes drum & bass and jungle, and crafted the original featured here back in 2021 and dropped it into his Dekmantel mix. It was heard by the Future Retro label head who reached out to release it and we're glad he did. It's a hidden treasure that is dark, intricate and perfectly crafted. The surprise release feels like uncovering a secret moment in jungle history and it comes with Phineus II's powerful remix, which adds depth and drum rawness, which makes this a vital pick up.

Review: The debut full-length from Bangladeshi-Canadian producer Raf Reza fuses UK soundsystem culture with his own deep-rooted Bangladeshi influences. Raised in Tokyo and musically shaped in Toronto and Glasgow, Reza blends dub, bleep, breaks and jungle with Baul music samples and vintage Bengali film soundtracks here and it results in a brilliantly original style. The album explores sonic futurism and asks how diasporic and Dhaka-based electronic cultures can intersect. With a unique mix of field recordings, semi-obscured monologues and dubwise textures, Reza's identity-driven narrative comes to life and cements him as a bold, genre-bending voice in cultural fusion and sound.

Review: Zinc was a busy busy boy in the 90s. Especially those foundation years. His work with Hype and Bizzy B around this time was legendary but besides his UKG moniker Jammin' years later, less is spoken of his various aliases. Jack Ruby had a cool run of cuts in 94 and 96 including this almighty slab of breakbeat drama 'Ophelia'. Big pads and a breath-taking arrangement. It's your quintessential deep or atmospheric jungle cut that has all the hallmarks of a Good Lookin jam. 'Beyond Reality' (which came out in 95 under his Tyranny alias) follows a similar sweeping sense of triumph but a little jazzier and cooler in its roll-out. Timeless.

Review: Seba & Paradox reunite on Metalheadz with their first joint release for the label in over five years, reaffirming the synergy of two of drum & bass's most distinct voices. Known alike for their brooding musicalities and breakbeat precision, the pair unite styles once more on 'Cypher' and 'Orlean', resulting in a razor-sharp two-tracker through surgical drum edits and cleaving depths; the kinds of immersions both artists are celebrated for. Their return feels both timely and timeless, reminding listeners of the subtle power in expertly crafted, uncompromising d&b.

Review: Shadow Child mints his new label TBC with a rave-ready release that taps into playful jungle influences with driving club rhythms that are likely to go down a storm over summer and beyond. Early support from heavyweights like Scuba, Horse Meat Disco and Gerd Janson mean you may have already heard some of these jams and also hint at the EP's broad appeal. Standout tracks are, well, all of them. 'The Street' is a nimble stepper with pruning basslines, 'In My Dreams' is a percussive fenny with another brilliantly old school low end, and an untitled gem brings rave-ready pianos and old school energy. 'Bubble' flips the script with a rugged bass-driven house workout.

Review: Bristol's Technical Itch returns with a long-awaited full-length on Over/Shadow and it serves up a relentless dose of darkside energy hot on the heels of the 2024 prelude single 'Fear & Fantasy. Here, Mark Caro dives deep into his signature sound which is a blend of moody steppers, cinematic dread and brutal amen workouts. It's everything fans have come to expect from the master of atmospheric darkness, all wrapped in precision engineering and raw intensity. With nods to techstep and futuristic jungle alike, this is Technical Itch at his uncompromising best and a heavy, immersive odyssey through the darker corners of drum & bass.

Review: Essex rave pioneers and indeed, instituion, Suburban Base plunges into its 90s archive with the new Subbase Sampler, at first a CD-only compilation from 1997. Coming at an evolutionary moment in jungle and drum & bass, we hear the figureheads of said insurgency - Remarc, Dream Team (Bizzy B & Pugwash), Pascal, Mampi Swift, and Marcus Intalex presents The X (Mark XTC) - spread their audio ambits over two tracks per side. While 'Hardstep' by D'Cruze and Remarc's 'In The Hood (Shy FX Remix)' are omitted from the vinyl due to space, they're included in the digital package and available on other recent Suburban Base reissues. Most of the tracks featured here haven't been repressed since the 90s; and aren't 'Raw Dogs', 'One Style' and 'New Dawn (VIP Mix)' true soulful stars among them?

Review: South Korea junglists representing! Following a series of more house / beatsy focused missives, Sambo up the tempo for this Seoul breakbeat showdown. Local donnies Slowpoe and Kim Han get busy on 'Soju Skanking'. Big reggae licks and a sing-along chorus (even if you can't speak Korean), this is a warm-as-toast weapon ready for the summer. Setting the energy for the EP, the rest of the 12" stretches its legs in all directions; 'Groover Han' takes a deeper twist before more associate breakers join the fray... Noah1luv deconstructs the funky beat on the rock-inspired/early 90s inspired 'Def Leppard', SGSY remixes his jungle band Kom Agens into a super warm lick while DJ Funny lays down the real head-turner of the EP in the form of the heavily emotional 'Hot N Cold' before Yetsuby brings the EP to a dreamy-but-skatty close. Sweet.