XI's Beats & Bass Top 10

UPDATED 14/02/2010

1. Breakage ft. Newham Generals - Hard (Caspa and The Others remix) - [Dub Police] - Total grimey dancefloor explosion. Get's the people moving with an aggressive flavour ala Newham Gens gritty vocal stylings over raw unabaited beats care of dubstep dance masters Caspa and The Others. Instant classic.

2. King Midas Sound - Waiting for You - [Hyperdub] - Pure space-dread vibes from the King Midas Sound camp, this album picks up where the slew of impreccable Hyperdub singles left off. Great melodic contruction and atmosphere, required listening for fans of classic and modern dub.

3. Eprom - Never/(FaltyDL Remix) - [Surefire Sound] - A much lighter offering than I'm used to from Eprom, but a refreshing direction indeed! Maintaining rave sensibilites while still keeping the heads interested. The Falty DL remix on the other side shows the young master at work, boosting the already skippy 2-step vibes of the orginal to new heights.

4. Terror Dainjah - Acid/Pro Plus - [Hyperdub] - Classic Dainjah on this cut. Taking a page from his long history of impressive work Terror brings the old Grime ethos to the track with a smattering of modern UK Funky feeling. Could you expect anything but brilliance from the king of the grime production game?

5. Slugabed - Ultra Heat Treated EP - [Planet Mu] - Everyone start writing your thank-you letters to Starkey and Mike Paradinas. These two have talent detecting radars on ultra-sensitive mode. Slugabed, a fresh face coming with total heat from the Slit Jockey camp, along-side other exceptional newcomers SDUK and Hovatron, has solidified his prescence with this delightful EP on giant Planet Mu. You have to hear it to believe it.

6. Four-Tet - There is Love in You - [Domino Recordings] - Another solid offering from Four-Tet, touching on classic jazzy and r'n'b flavours with a seriously contemporary twist. Fans of his previous work will eat this up, but as a first foray into Four-Tet will not be found alienating in the slightest. Great food for the mind and soul.

7. Hyetal - Pixel Rainbow Sequence/(Peverelist Remix) - [Reduction Records] - Absolutely smashing up playlists all over the world, a trippy and involved offering from Hyetal which has cause enthusiasts to stand up and take notice. With a delicious remix from Punch Drunk label boss Peverelist, you can't lose.

8. P.U.D.G.E & Dibia$e - L.A Series Vol. 1 - [All City] - P.U.D.G.E has been tearing it up for me lately, his offering "Reign Dancing with the Stars" on the 7x7 Beat comp is stuck in my head forever. This 7" with associate Dibia$e (who drops MIND BLOWING sets) is absolutely required for fans of the Hud Mo/Fly Lo school of contemporary beat mayhem. Get to know.

9. Bullion - Say Goodbye to What - [One-Handed Music] - Amazing chops and reconstruction from Bullion, champion of the folk/psych rock refix. Full of future-nostalgia for fans of organic sounds in unnatural environments. Bullion means "buy on sight."

10. Blue Daisy - Stings Detached EP - [Black Acre] - People are just warming up to this one now, but when this first dropped I was floored. Totally bad (as in good), crushed, and distorted dystopian hip-hop. Angsty overtones give way to driving, almost aggressive synth work and drum programming. Squashed.