A second killer Trilogy EP from DJT in Japan, advancing the legacy of Chain Reaction.
Serious, emotionally reined-in music; structurally minimal, linear and open-ended, without the puppeteering routines of most dance music… but all the more enthralling and grooving, with hefty bass. The sense of monumental, weather-distressed, darkening dread is counter-balanced by this forward momentum, and expertly dubwise light-and-shade, with layered detail.
The reverberative, gong-like tolling of the opener gives way on the flip to machines starting up in a cavernous space, like vast beating wings, with a tumping bottom end, over nine minutes.
In-between is a more atmospheric and tentative interval, with slowly roiling synths and near-and-far, morse-code percussion.
Ace.

A rolling, resplendent tribute to griot life — ‘gawlo’, Fula for ‘griot’ — spear-headed by none other than Baaba Maal. Expressive interjections by a trio of talking drums are especially lucid on the instrumental.

Extended, with dub.

Extended, with dubs.

Scientist, Roots Radics.

Belting space-techno steppers.

Majestic and immense Cure, on The Heptones’ Give Me The Right rhythm.

A bass-bin trembler from the surefire doyen of nu disco-house.

‘Anutha ho (bites the dust)...’ Classic rap diss, elbowing in on the Roxanne Shante - Sparky D blow-up.

A traditional Jola rhythm, with tuned, talking and kit drums swarming across scraps of guitar and the Mboups singing; then a more deeply dug-in, spaced-out funk, spun from a Serer rhythm. With full instrumentals.

Two spaced-out, synthed-up, house tearaways; a chunk of totally fucked-up dancehall; dub techno. A guitar solo and tincture of Fleetwood Mac to boot. TTT measures.

Rock-steady, slow-burning, hard funk, a kind of fatback Mbalax, in no mood to be messed with, with full vocal and instrumental versions; plus two vivid sketches, talking drums to the fore.

Heartically dubwise, rugged and raw essays in classic grime, UK garage and dubstep from a new London-Berlin collaboration, with stuff like Horsepower’s In Fine Style galloping through its nervous system.

With a Regis remix.

Four DJ Spider remixes for his own imprint, including a Joey Anderson and an Innerspace Halflife.

Madteo mixes.