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Punk funk seems such an outdated concept now. Just like Nu-Rave, Indie-dance and a whole other host of names that have been and gone that were used to describe the point where indie kids started going to clubs - Erol Alkan was king and Data Rock looked like the most exciting band on the planet. For better or worse, mixed in amongst this was !!! aka Chk Chk Chk, a band that always seemed to have a bit more going on between the ears. However, when I heard news of a new album, I still wasn't expecting anything more…

Mark Broom is one of those figures who have bubbled on the periphery, seemingly forever. His latest album is simply entitled Acid House, and though not strictly a collection of acid tracks, it is a selection of music that has one purpose in mind - to make you move. Preferably in a robotic, repetitive way whilst in a warehouse or basement full of similarly minded individuals. Spread across two discs, from the opening filtered thud of 'Gap' you know that Broom is not fucking around. Acid House is the willful opposite of an album that has parts, sections, flow etc.…

I suspect like many people I was hoping for a record in a similarly upbeat vein to Asa Breed when I received Black City - the second full length from Matthew Dear where he uses his own name for more pop-orientated releases. Therefore getting my head around the significantly bleaker beats contained within took a good three four listens, and only then did my feelings of vague disappointment fade away and allow me to enjoy what is ultimately a spirited follow up to one of my favourite albums of the last ten years.

Firstly, Dear has one of the most…

A different set of sounds and instruments, and I would hazard a new way of working, has led to a significant development in the sound of PVT as aptly demonstrated on the nausea inducing video for 'Window' (which you can see below).

However, for better or worse it's still the same band and the trio - made up of brothers Laurence and RIchard Pike and long term musical partner Dave Miller - are resolute in exploring how and where they can push the boundaries of a three piece band, whilst retaining the energy and drive that is possible within the…

Danny Native aka Altered Natives must be a restless soul. It was only a couple of months ago that he released his first full length - Tenement Yard. Rather than being a cohesive opening statement (although it was), it was closer to a compendium of the house orientated tracks he had developed up until that point. A statement for his vision of grimey 4/4 club music. Preceding this was the dance-floor destroying 'Rass Out' , featured on Martyn's Fabric CD, and a massive remix of Ikonika's 'Idiot'. All helped to pique interest in the London based producer, but maybe not…

Germany’s small town of Jena has not only spawned techno superstars Wighnomy Brothers and the associated Fat Plastics recordstore, but now the seven piece instrumental collective, Feindrehstar. The techno-jazz collective has happily chimed and freestyled their way through their first album Vulgarians Knights. Swerving between various musical lanes, the septuplets have put together a gem of an album for future jazz enthusiasts. The ten-track longplayer remains fresh, inspiring and exceptional for a debut album.

Strangely enough, they have been around for ten years and their discography only accounts for five 12”s. Four of the records have been released on their…

Channeling the energy of fellow mid-west native Prince, Jimmy Edgar's second full length album XXX - this time on !K7 - is riotous mix of electronic funk that is at times utterly futuristic and at others like a homage to the Pac Jam Band.

Album opening 'Function of Your Love' is a strutting electro-boogie workout that sounds better than most of the boogie records I have in my crates, updating and elevating the sound to a credible, contemporary style that no longer has to wallow in pastiche.

'Hot Raw Sex', the lead single of the album, has 'hit' written all…

One of the years most highly anticipated releases, Mount Kimbie's debut album - Crooks & Lovers goes to show just how far what was once termed 'dubstep' has come. SIgned to Scuba's Hotflush label, and preceded by a brace of stunning EP's ( and a fair few remixes) Crooks & Lovers feels like it has been a lifetime in the making, so rich as it is with emotion, depth and sonic trickery.

Sampled children and a simple acoustic guitar fill your ears, before a shuffling beat drops into a sea of haze on Tunnelvision, which serves as an opening vignette…

I wish there were more record labels like Seed. From the stylised Italo of Antoni Maiovvi to Sleeps In Oysters’ wind-up pop charm, there is no logic to the direction of the label, just the impeccable taste of label boss ‘Bruce’.

This three CD retrospective celebrates 10 years in the game for a label that knows nothing in terms of genre, just music that they believe is good enough to be released through their tiny imprint. Unit Black Flight, the ridiculous and amazing Dagger Brothers and Company Fuck all appear with starkly different but equally brilliant songs. In fact the…

I was very excited to receive this album. I had read the press release, checked out a whole load of videos and waited patiently for the postman to come knocking.

Shangaan is hugely popular type of music that originates in Limpopo, South African that was dominant in the seventies and eighties, but fell out of favour in the following decades. A resurgence of the style was sparked by producer Nozinja aka 'Dog' who updated the sounds by replacing electric and bass guitars with organs and marimbas and pushing up the tempo to something closer to gabba. He also incorporated english…