Most notably signed to Planet Mu, Slugabed is Gregory Feldwick, a unique producer that originally hails from the proud city of Bath. In his bio he describes his music as “lazer battles in the future” although quickly asserts that “everyone says something like that”, illustrating his tendency to avoid convention. Quirky, irregular and more out there than Mork on LSD, Slugabed’s music is peculiarly charming, rather like disabled animals or crazy old men who flirt with their nursing home carers. If you want it in simple terms, it sounds like someone’s dropped a robot’s bollocks in a blender and I very much like it.

His EP Ultra Heat Treated, a 6 track labyrinth of mangled bass and impossibly sweet synths, dropped in February to positive reviews and everything I’ve heard from him before and since has been similarly mind-bending. If they ever remake Weird Science (with Kelly Brook please) Slugabed should bang out the soundtrack, it’d be sick.

Listen to ‘Ultra Heat Treated’ below and experience a vivid flashback to the time you got fucked by the Mysterons…

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Dentists should have this album playing on surround sound while they fuck about with your teeth. Who cares if they eventually get sick of it, I’m having my damn molars ripped out here. There is little to be said about this superb album that hasn’t been said already; even the Telegraph admitted it was bloody brilliant and it’s not often they use naughty words or have a clue what’s going on with people under the age of 52.

The album is made up of tracks right, and those tracks are made up of drums and bass and beeps and twangs and guitars and, most importantly, silence. The genius of Crooks & Lovers, therefore, lies in it’s sparsity and simplicity. At no point during this long player’s relatively un-long exploration of contemporary electronic dance music does a sense of uncertainty or bewilderment ever rear it’s ugly head (Editor’s note: better descriptive words needed here; shame author is retarded). Words are boring so here is the official video to ‘Would Know’. The ‘review’ continues after the drop.

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ASC is definitely one of the most interesting dubstep/electronica producers currently inhabiting our glorious planet, his recent LP Nothing is Certain was a tranquil triumph and everything he creates seems to be more delicate and exquisite than what came before. He’s also a pretty prolific DJ and every now and again drops an intriguing ambient mix on his blog. The suitably titled ‘Deep Space Mix 15′ is essentially a 50 minute atmospheric soundscape that submerges you in aural depths as chasmic as infinite…well…space. Beautifully relaxed yet languidly interesting, this is one to slide on when you really need to take a step back and collect yourself.

Tracklist after the jump.

ASC – Deep Space Mix 15

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Recorded at Thekla in Bristol for the Foo Magazine versus Monkey!Knife!Fight! night a couple of weeks ago, ‘The History of Dubstep’ is Plastician’s masterfully compiled journey charting the genre’s evolution from its humble garage beginnings to the diverse landscape we know today. Featuring tunes by the likes of Wookie, Skream, Flux Pavilion, Artwork, DJ Zinc and Sukh Knight, there’s a huge amount of quality running through this mix and some equally good MCing from P-Money — the guy who destroyed Ghetts — augmenting proceedings. If there’s one thing you download today, don’t let it be another Anal Adventure flick…let it be this.

Plastician and P Money – The History of Dubstep

Tracklisting after the jump.

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Amazing. From the lush beginnings of ‘Perforated’ to the frenetic finale of ‘The Epic Last Song’, Outside the Box is a pleasure to behold. Somehow richer than his self-titled debut, Skream’s sound has matured to positive effect, offering sweeter melodies, deeper pads and a new dimension of gorgeous vocal presence. Tracks such as ‘How Real’ featuring Freckles and ‘Where You Should Be’ featuring Sam Frank are testament to the evolution of his style and the rhythmic fluidity of the album as a whole. Similarly, his collaboration with dBridge and Instra:mental on ‘Reflections’ and the appearance of 8-bit infused roller ‘Listenin to the Records on My Wall’ displays a versatility which has become increasingly evident in his work with Magnetic Man. This is no surprise as Skream’s involvement in the development and innovation of dubstep is undeniable and I believe that from every angle Outside the Box is another step in the progression of the genre’s unspoken yet over-arching blueprint.

With all this talk of maturity and change you could be forgiven for thinking that raw edge of old was gone, but that is certainly not the case. Nastiness is still a tangible force in Skream’s world and ‘Wibbler’ delivers enough to venom to down a herd of elephants mounted by Ghurkas on crack. There are also plenty of other tunes, such as ‘Fields of Emotion’, ‘The Epic Last Song’ and ‘CPU’, offering up their fair share of booming low-end masochism, so bass is by no means scarce. At the opposite end of the scale, aperitif ‘Perforated’ introduces us to the action with a largely percussion free soundscape and ‘A Song for Lenny’ acts in a similar fashion as a light interlude before ‘The Epic Last Song’ executes the firework finish. These two particular tunes are a fine example of the album’s lavish musicality and Skream’s new attention to atmosphere and majesty.

I literally have nothing bad to say about this album. It is a tour de force and should be lauded as such. I just hope the genre elitists can handle listening to it knowing everyone else loves it too. It’s incredible.

Skream – How Real (feat.Freckles)

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I’ve been neglecting the heavy shit of late. A lot of time has been spent lying in an ambient stupor when I should have been jauntily tipping my top hat and do-si-doing the bass bins. Trolley Snatcha’s contribution to DP038, a joint release on Dub Police with Circus’ Doctor P, is perhaps the nasty kick in the balls I needed. A dulcet ethnic hook haunts a filthier than thou bassline that will pummel and shake the wobbly mass that you call a face until you’re uglier than Jo Brand and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s love-child (phew…deep breaths). It sounds a bit like a dog with an eye patch fucking Pochohontas behind the bins on a spaceship. In other words, it’s beautifully gruesome.

Meanwhile, Doctor P’s offering — cannily titled ‘Badman Sound’ — is about as imaginative as a Werther’s Original and seems to have pretty much the same bassline as ‘Sweetshop’. Perhaps he should just remove ‘man’ from the title and stop lying to us all, the swarthy blaggard. Lord knows why it snatched the a-side. Oh well.

Look out for Trolley Snatcha’s EP soon!

Trolley Snatcha – SlowDown

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Buy Trolley Snatcha tunes at 7digital.